The ARCO Reactor

Reprinted with permission, 1988 American Chemical Society. 

Actually, the very first homemade recycle reactors in 1965 at Union Carbide Corp. were of this type. In an ordinary one gallon top-agitated 

In gradientless reactors the catalytic rate is measured under highly, even if not completely uniform conditions of temperature and concentration. The reason is that, if achieved, the subsequent mathematical analysis and kinetic interpretation will be simpler to perform and the results can be used more reliably. The many ways of approximating gradientless operating conditions in laboratory reactors will be discussed next. 

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Figure 2.3.1 (Wachtel, et al, 1972) shows the ARCO reactor that tried to simulate the real reaction conditions in a fluid cracking unit. This was a formal scale-down where many important similarities had to be sacrificed to get a workable unit. This unit was still too large for a laboratory study or test unit, but instead was pilot-plant equipment that could still give useful empirical results Since this serves a very large industry, it may pay off to try it, even if it costs a lot to operate.

Reprinted with permission from Wachtel etal. Oil and Gas Journal, 1972 Pennwell. Figure 2.3.1 The ARCO reactor. 

Ten hot napkin rings had been cooked with neutrons in the Arco reactor for more than two years. 

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