Recycle fluidized batch reactor

The Riser Simulator Reactor is an internal recycle fluidized batch reactor. This patented novel device (de Lasa 1989 de Lasa, 1991), has been developed and successfully tested for the estimation of kinetic parameters of catalytic cracking of heavy oils (Kraemer and de Lasa, 1988). The details of the unit are given in the section entitled "Novel Techniques For FCC Catalyst Selection and Kinetic Modelling" by de Lasa and Kraemer in this NATO-ASI Proceedings. 

Various devices can be used to determine the kinetics and rates of chemical weathering. In addition to the batch pH-stats, flow through columns, fluidized bed reactors and recirculating columns have been used (Schnoor, 1990). Fig. 5.15a illustrates the fluidized bed reactor pioneered by Chou and Wollast (1984) and further developed by Mast and Drever (1987). The principle is to achieve a steady state solute concentration in the reactor (unlike the batch pH-stat, where solute concentrations gradually build up). Recycle is necessary to achieve the flow rate to suspend the bed and to allow solute concentrations to build to a steady state. With the fluidized bed apparatus, Chou and Wollast (1984) could control the AI(III) concentration (which can inhibit the dissolution rate) to a low level at steady state by withdrawing sample at a high rate. 

Several bioreactor designs are used to produce bioproducts, and include, but are not limited to batch reactors, fed-batch reactors, continuous cultivation reactors, plug flow reactors, recycle bioreactor systems, immobilized cell reactors, biofilm reactors, packed bed reactors, fluidized-bed reactors, and dialysis cultivation reactors (Williams 2002). These reactor types can contain either mixed or pure cultures, and can stimulate heterotrophic and/or phototrophic cellular functions depending on the specific reactor design. Additionally, these reactor schemes can be used to produce products directly, or to harvest biomass or other products for downstream processes. Due to the complex nature of bioreactors, particularly anaerobic digesters, the use of metagenomics is helpful to understand the physiology of such systems. 

Like enzymes, whole cells are sometime immobilized by attachment to a surface or by entrapment within a carrier material. One motivation for this is similar to the motivation for using biomass recycle in a continuous process. The cells are grown under optimal conditions for cell growth but are used at conditions optimized for transformation of substrate. A great variety of reactor types have been proposed including packed beds, fluidized and spouted beds, and air-lift reactors. A semicommercial process for beer used an air-lift reactor to achieve reaction times of 1 day compared with 5-7 days for the normal batch process. Unfortunately, the beer suffered from a mismatched flavour profile that was attributed to mass transfer limitations. 

Thermal pyrolysis for upgrading plastic wastes is one of the better methods for recycling plastics in terms of its perspectives for industrial implementation. The conical spouted bed reactor proposed in this paper may be a solution to the problems arising in fluidized beds handling sticky solids, as particle agglomeration phenomena, which can cause defluidization. In order to avoid defluidization, experiments have been carried out in batch mode in the temperature range of 450-600 °C. A good performance of the reactor is proven under the conditions of maximum particle stickiness. 

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