Reactor Sparger Assembly

Abstract

To provide a reactor system in which the sparger is easily accessible and does not require substantial operational costs to clean and / or repair, and which minimizes interruptions to the operation of the system. The system includes a reactor vessel and a sparger assembly connected to the reactor vessel and supplying a mixture of gas and recycled process fluid to the reactor vessel. The sparger assembly includes a plurality of sparger chambers, each having a process fluid passageway fluidly connected to the reactor vessel's process fluid circuit via a process fluid inlet. The process fluid inlets include a first block valve and bleed valve assembly. Each sparger chamber includes a sparger passageway connected to the process fluid passageway and a sparger disposed within the sparger passageway and fluidly connected to a gas source via a gas inlet. Each sparger chamber includes a process fluid-gas mixture outlet fluidly connecting the sparger passageway to a sparger outlet of the reactor vessel.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 031,257, entitled "Reactor Sparger Assembly," filed May 28, 2020, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

[0002] Spargers are typically designed to be located at the bottom of a reactor vessel, below a large volume of process fluid, and are designed to introduce a gas flow into the process fluid to facilitate chemical or biological reactions. In such systems, the process fluid may contain both liquids and solids, and small particles contained therein can interfere with or inhibit the operation of the sparger. Traditional sparger maintenance typically involves shutting off the reactor communication and draining the process fluid from the reactor vessel in order to access, clean, and / or repair the sparger. However, draining the process fluid from the reactor vessel can take hours or even days, resulting in substantial operational costs and delays. Summary of the Invention

[0003]

[0013] Embodiments commensurate in scope with the claimed invention are summarized below. These embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the claimed invention, but rather to provide a brief summary of possible forms of the invention. Indeed, the invention may encompass a variety of forms that may be similar to or different from the embodiments set forth below.

[0004] In one embodiment, a reactor system includes a reaction vessel configured to contain a process fluid and a sparger assembly operably connected to the reaction vessel and configured to supply gas and circulated process fluid to the reaction vessel. The sparger assembly may include multiple sparger chambers. Each sparger chamber may have a process fluid passageway fluidly connected to the reaction vessel's process fluid circuit via a process fluid inlet, the process fluid inlet having a first block valve and bleed valve assembly. Each sparger chamber may have a sparger passageway fluidly connected to the process fluid passageway and a sparger disposed within the sparger passageway and fluidly connected to a gas source via a gas inlet. Each sparger chamber may also have a process fluid-gas mixture outlet fluidly connecting the sparger passageway to a sparger outlet of the reaction vessel. The process fluid-gas mixture outlet may include a second block valve and bleed valve assembly, the first and second block valve and bleed valve assemblies configured to fluidly isolate the sparger from the reaction vessel.

[0005] In one embodiment, a method of supplying a gas to a fluid in a reactor includes passing a process fluid through a first valve assembly to a sparger chamber, passing the gas through a sparger section in the sparger chamber, forming bubbles in the process fluid in the sparger chamber to form a mixed fluid, and passing the mixed fluid from the sparger chamber into a reactor vessel. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0006] These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will be better understood by reading the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like parts are designated with like characters.

[0007] [Figure 1] 1 is a graph illustrating the relationship between bubble diameter and the ratio of bubble surface area to bubble volume according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2]FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of a reactor system having a reaction vessel with a sparger assembly according to embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a sparger plate of a sparger assembly according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of a sparger chamber of a sparger assembly according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of a header arrangement for a sparger assembly according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of an alternative header arrangement for a sparger assembly according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] One or more specific embodiments of the present invention are described below. In an effort to provide a concise description of these embodiments, not all features of an actual implementation are described in the specification. It should be understood that in developing an actual implementation, such as a commercialization or design project, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developer's specific goals, including meeting system or business constraints that may differ from one implementation to another. Moreover, it should be understood that such a development effort might be complex and time-consuming, but would be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and production for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.

[0009] When describing elements of various embodiments of the invention, the words "a," "an," "the," and "said" mean that there is one or more of the element. The words "comprising," "including," and "having" are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements.

[0010] The invention disclosed herein relates to reactors (e.g., bubble columns) that utilize spargers, and more particularly to sparger assemblies that allow the sparger to be fluidly isolated from the reactor vessel for maintenance.

[0011] Conventional spargers are located within the reactor vessel, and the entire vessel must be drained to access the spargers for maintenance. Furthermore, conventional spargers are often connected together and used as a single unit. Even if different rings or sections are used to allow portions of the entire sparger to be shut off, the spargers cannot be accessed without draining the entire reactor vessel.

[0012] Furthermore, spargers are generally capable of releasing a gas phase into the reaction vessel, where the gas is released from the sparger into the main flow of fluid, and it would be difficult to control the flow of fluid around the sparger or to create any kind of high velocity flow when the gas is released into the reaction vessel.

[0013] Disclosed herein is a sparger design in which sparger sections are located within a sparger chamber that is in fluid communication with the reactor vessel and can be individually accessed for maintenance without affecting the other sparger sections. As an example, a sparger section can be located within a sparger chamber, and fluid passes through the sparger chamber to deliver gas-phase bubbles to the reactor vessel. The sparger chambers can be isolated from the reactor vessel using one or more valves, allowing each sparger chamber (or a group of sparger chambers) to be isolated from the reactor vessel for maintenance.

[0014] In addition to facilitating maintenance, the sparger designs provided herein also allow for the selective use of one or more spargers with a reactor, which allows for control, as desired, of the flow rates and velocities of the fluid and / or gas phases entering the reactor, the flow patterns within the reactor, and the reactor damping performance.

[0015] As described below, disclosed embodiments include a reactor (e.g., a bubble column reactor) that includes a sparger assembly. The sparger assembly includes a sparger plate with multiple sparger outlets located at or near the bottom of the reactor vessel. The sparger outlets have fluid communication paths through the sparger plate, allowing gases and / or recycled process fluids to flow from the sparger chambers into the reactor. In some embodiments, any shape or configuration is possible, and the sparger outlets can be arranged on the sparger plate in a grid, patterned rings, concentric circles, etc. Each sparger outlet is fluidly connected to a separate sparger chamber, which in turn is fluidly connectable to a sparger chamber located outside the reactor vessel and that provides a flow of gases and / or recycled process fluids into the reactor vessel.

[0016] The sparger chamber is configured to provide a gas phase that mixes with the fluid phase before the mixed fluid enters the main fluid in the reactor. In some embodiments, the sparger chamber is also referred to as a sparger manifold. The sparger chamber may include a sparger disposed within an outer tubular member that receives the fluid flow around the sparger. This may be a pipe-in-pipe arrangement (e.g., a sparger pipe disposed within an outer tubular member), a concentric arrangement, or other arrangement in which a sparger section of any shape or size is disposed within an external chamber fluidly connected to a fluid source.

[0017] In some embodiments, each sparger chamber has a sparger with one or more fine-pore sparger sections that produce small bubbles (e.g., about 0.2 cm in diameter or less) when gas is supplied to the sparger at an appropriate pressure (e.g., a pressure equal to or greater than the pressure of the fluid) and passes through the sparger into the surrounding fluid. As used herein, a sparger section refers to the portion of a sparger having holes or apertures through which gas passes to form bubbles in the surrounding fluid. Smaller diameter bubbles increase the interfacial area between the bubbles as they enter the reactor and rise through the process fluid in the vessel, allowing a reduction in the gas flow rate used to achieve the desired amount of gas-process fluid mixing.

[0018] It will be appreciated that sparger sections that produce small-diameter bubbles may become clogged due to their small holes. Therefore, the disclosed sparger section includes appropriate valves that allow the sparger section to be isolated from the reactor vessel process fluid for maintenance. That is, with the disclosed sparger section design, individual sparger sections can be removed and serviced (e.g., maintained, repaired, cleaned, replaced, etc.) while the reactor vessel is operational and the other spargers in the sparger assembly continue to operate. Thus, embodiments of the present disclosure allow for continuous reactor operation without taking the reactor offline for maintenance of one or more spargers. The disclosed embodiments allow for independent configuration and operation of each sparger operating with the reactor.

[0019] Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 is a graph 100 illustrating the efficiency of a gas-liquid mixing vessel versus bubble size. More specifically, graph 100 illustrates the relationship between bubble diameter and the ratio of bubble surface area to bubble volume. As illustrated, larger diameter bubbles (e.g., approximately 2 cm) have a smaller surface area to volume ratio. Larger diameter bubbles, indicated by arrow 110 in the graph, are produced with a conventional sparger. Embodiments of the present disclosure produce smaller bubbles, with bubble diameters of less than approximately 0.5 cm. The smaller diameter bubbles, indicated by arrow 110, exhibit improved interfacial area between bubbles. It can be seen that smaller diameter bubbles exhibit a 2- to 10-fold (e.g., 2× to 10×) improvement in interfacial area between bubbles relative to larger diameter bubbles. In addition to improving interfacial area between bubbles, embodiments of the present disclosure achieve sufficient gas-liquid mixing when introducing a mixture of gas and recirculating process fluid through the sparger outlet of a reactor. Because it is now recognized that pumping a liquid consumes significantly less energy than pumping a gas, the disclosed sparger designs achieve the desired level of gas-liquid mixing substantially more efficiently than reactors that utilize high gas velocities and large bubbles to achieve the desired amount of gas-liquid mixing.

[0020] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of a reactor 200 (e.g., a bubble column reactor) including a sparger assembly 208, according to the present embodiments. The reactor 200 includes a reaction vessel 202, and the sparger assembly 208 includes a sparger plate 210 disposed at the bottom of the vessel 202. The sparger plate 210 is illustrated in FIG. 3 and described in more detail. A sparger chamber, which supplies process fluids and gases to the sparger plate 210, is illustrated in FIG. 4 and described in more detail. In some embodiments, the sparger plate 210 is formed within or configured as the bottom wall of the reaction vessel 202. The sparger plate 210 may include a sparger outlet 212 designed to provide a gas flow and / or recirculating process fluids near the bottom of the reaction vessel 202. As will be appreciated, gas under pressure at the bottom of the reaction vessel 202 is less dense than liquid at the top of the vessel. As such, gases introduced near the bottom of the reaction vessel 202 will typically rise toward the top of the vessel, causing further mixing of the gases with the process fluids.

[0021] Reaction vessel 202 may include a process fluid circuit 206 located near the bottom of reaction vessel 202. In one non-limiting example, a portion of the process fluid (e.g., 500 gallons per minute) is discharged from reaction vessel 202 via process fluid circuit 206. In one embodiment, at least a portion of the process fluid discharged from reaction vessel 202 via process fluid circuit 206 is sent to a purification or separation system (e.g., nanofiltration unit 214) that can selectively separate products from the process fluid and reintroduce the remaining process fluid into vessel 202. In another embodiment, the process fluid is reintroduced into reaction vessel 202 without purification or product separation. In some aspects, the process fluid used in the spargers disclosed herein may be supplied by fresh fluid entering the system and / or circulating fluid from a different point in the system.

[0022] In alternative embodiments, process fluids reintroduced or recycled to the reaction vessel 202 are delivered to the vessel in different manners. For example, as described below, at least a portion of the process fluids reintroduced to the reaction vessel 202 may be mixed with gas in a sparger chamber before being reintroduced into the vessel through a sparger outlet in the sparger plate 210. Additionally, in some embodiments, at least a portion of the process fluids are reintroduced into the reaction vessel 202 through one or more sets of fluid recirculation nozzles 216 positioned above a sparger outlet located at or near the bottom of the vessel. In some embodiments, the set of fluid recirculation nozzles 216 comprises an annular array of nozzles positioned about the inner circumference of the reaction vessel 202, with the nozzles oriented to direct the reintroduced process fluids in a generally downward direction toward the sparger outlets 212 in the sparger plate 210. The fluid recirculation nozzles 216 can be positioned at any suitable location along the axial length 204 of the reaction vessel 202. Also, in some embodiments, the fluid recirculation nozzle 216 may be positioned within the bottom third (e.g., 1 / 3, 33%) of the axial length 204 of the reaction vessel 202. It is recognized that for such embodiments, the gas and liquid mixing observed in the region of the reaction vessel above the recirculation nozzle is typically more "plug flow" like, while in the region of the reaction vessel below the recirculation nozzle, the gas and liquid mixing is more continuous or uniform.

[0023] In some embodiments, the sparger chamber is opened to allow process fluids within the reactor to flow into the sparger chamber while gas is being introduced through the sparger section. In these embodiments, no fluids are introduced into the sparger chamber to mix with the gas before it enters the reactor (except for fluids coming from the reactor due to mixing caused by the introduction of gas through the sparger section). In this embodiment, the sparger chamber may be isolated to allow for maintenance of the sparger section.

[0024] Figure 3 shows a cross-sectional view of reaction vessel 202 of Figure 2 taken through line 3-3. More specifically, Figure 3 illustrates sparger plate 210 of sparger assembly 208, which is disposed near or forms the bottom of reaction vessel 202. As described above, sparger plate 210 has a process fluid circulation port 218 disposed near the center of sparger plate 210 that is fluidly connected to process fluid circuit 206 of reaction vessel 202 for discharging process fluid from reaction vessel 202. The illustrated sparger plate 210 includes multiple sparger outlets 212 disposed about the periphery of process fluid circulation port 218, with each sparger outlet 212 fluidly connected to receive a mixture of gas and process fluid from the outlet of a separate sparger chamber, as described with respect to Figure 4.

[0025] The sparger outlets 212 of the sparger plate 210 are arranged differently in different embodiments of the sparger assembly 208. For example, the illustrated sparger plate 210 has the sparger outlets 212 arranged on an outer ring 224 and an inner ring 226. In other embodiments, other arrangements, such as three rings or a single outer ring, may be used. Also, in the illustrated sparger plate 210, the sparger outlets 212 are evenly spaced (e.g., about 6-30 inches apart, or about 12 inches apart) to allow for even distribution of gas bubbles within the reaction vessel 202. In some embodiments, one or more sparger outlets 212 are spaced apart from the outer wall of the reaction vessel 202, such as about 6-18 inches, 8-16 inches, or 10-12 inches, to allow for thorough mixing of the gas and process fluid within the vessel.

[0026] As explained, a portion of the process fluid is reintroduced into the reactor vessel 202 through sparger outlets 212, each of which may be supplied by a separate or independent sparger chamber 222. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the sparger chamber 222 of one embodiment of the sparger assembly 208. The illustrated sparger chamber 222 has two inlets (e.g., fluid inlet 231 and gas inlet 233) and one outlet (process fluid-gas mixture outlet 235), which can be connected to the sparger outlet to provide a mixed fluid stream to the reactor. In one embodiment, the process fluid enters through the fluid inlet 231 and flows toward the mixture outlet 235. The sparger 230 is connected to a fluid line 242 via a sealed connection, which delivers gas to the sparger section 234. The sparger section generates small gas bubbles in the process fluid, and fluid flowing around the sparger section 234 carries the gas bubbles along with the process fluid into the reactor.

[0027] In one embodiment, a recycled process fluid is delivered to a fluid inlet 231 of the sparger chamber 222 while a gas (e.g., air, oxygen, nitrogen) stream is supplied via a gas source (e.g., compressor, gas supply tank) to a gas inlet 233 of the sparger chamber 222. Within the sparger chamber 222, the process fluid is mixed with the gas stream before being reintroduced into the reaction vessel 202. The process fluid-gas mixture outlet 235 of the sparger chamber 222 is fluidly connected to individual sparger outlets 212 of the sparger plate 210, as shown in FIG. 3, to deliver the process fluid and gas mixture into the reaction vessel 202.

[0028] 4 as connecting to the sparger passage 232 at a right angle, the fluid conduit 242 may be at any suitable angle. In certain embodiments, the fluid conduit 242 connects to the sparger passage 232 at an acute angle (e.g., about 10 to about 90 degrees) to allow fluid momentum to be transferred along the sparger 230 and / or to create a desired degree of turbulence around the sparger section 234 to mix the gas bubbles with the process fluid.

[0029] Sparger chamber 222 includes a sparger 230 disposed within a sparger passage 232. Sparger 230 may have a multi-pore sparger section 234 that produces smaller bubbles than perforated tube spargers. The pores in sparger section 234 are approximately 0.01-100 μm in diameter. In one embodiment, the pores in the sparger section have a diameter of approximately 5 μm. In one aspect, sparger passage 232 has an inner diameter that is approximately 2-4 times larger than the outer diameter of sparger section 234. In one aspect, the ratio of the sparger section diameter to the sparger passage diameter is less than 0.01.

[0030] As mentioned above, sparger section 234 can become clogged due to its small bore size. Sparger chamber 222 includes a suitable valve for fluidly isolating sparger 230 from the process fluid within the reactor vessel, as well as from the process fluid provided via fluid inlet 231 of sparger chamber 222. Therefore, the sparger 230 of one sparger chamber 222 can be fluidly isolated, drained, removed, and serviced (e.g., cleaned, repaired, replaced) while the other spargers 230 of sparger assembly 208 are in operation. Compared to conventional spargers, the sparger assemblies of the present disclosure allow for continuous operation of reactor 200, thereby eliminating downtime of reactor 200 for maintenance. In some embodiments, the number of sparger assemblies is selected to allow for multiple sparger sections to become clogged and / or be serviced while still allowing the reactor to operate at the desired rate.

[0031] The illustrated sparger chamber 222 includes a number of different valves (e.g., block valves and bleed valves) to facilitate fluid isolation and removal of the sparger 230 from the sparger passage 232. In the illustrated embodiment, the gas inlet 233 of the sparger chamber 222 includes an air inlet valve 236 that can selectively isolate the sparger passage 232 from a gas source (e.g., an air compressor). The process fluid-gas mixture outlet 235 of the illustrated sparger chamber 222 includes a double block valve bleed valve assembly 238 that can selectively isolate the sparger passage 232 from the process fluid within the reaction vessel 202. The fluid inlet 231 of the sparger chamber 222 includes a double block valve bleed valve assembly 240 that can selectively isolate the sparger passage 232 from the process fluid that is delivered to the sparger chamber 222 for recirculation.

[0032] When sparger 230 is accessed for maintenance, air inlet valve 236 and double block valve bleed valve assembly 238 are closed to block the flow of incoming gas and prevent process fluid within reaction vessel 202 from entering sparger passage 232. Similarly, double block valve bleed valve assembly 240, located along recirculation process fluid line 242, may be used to prevent the flow of incoming process fluid from reaching sparger passage 232 and to drain any process fluid remaining in sparger chamber 222.

[0033] In one embodiment, process fluids and gases are supplied to each sparger chamber 222 of the reaction vessel 202 via one or more fluid headers and one or more gas headers, respectively. For example, FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of a header arrangement 300 of the sparger assembly 208, having a gas supply line 302 fluidly connected to a suitable gas source, as well as a fluid supply line 306 fluidly connected to the process fluid circuit 206. In the illustrated embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the gas inlet 233 of each sparger chamber 222 is fluidly connected to at least one gas outlet 304 of the gas supply line 302, thereby enabling a flow of gas to reach the sparger chamber 222. In this manner, the process fluids and gases are transported and mixed within the sparger chamber 222 before the mixture is introduced into the reaction vessel 202.

[0034] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of an alternative header arrangement 400 for sparger assembly 208, including a gas supply line 302 fluidly connected to a suitable gas source, as well as a fluid supply line 306 fluidly connected to process fluid circuit 206. In the illustrated embodiment, liquid supply line 306 and gas supply line 302 may be formed in an annular or circular flow path. For example, as in the illustrated embodiment, supply lines 302 and 306 may be arranged concentrically, or in other suitable arrangements. It will be appreciated that utilization of the alternative header arrangement 400 of FIG. 6 greatly enhances flexibility in the placement of sparger chamber 222 and / or sparger outlet 212, and greatly facilitates access to supply lines 302 and 306 for inspection and maintenance.

[0035] Certain aspects may include, but are not limited to, the various devices, systems, and methods described above.

[0036] In a first aspect, a reactor system includes a reaction vessel containing a process fluid and a sparger assembly fluidly connected to the reaction vessel and configured to supply a mixture of gas and process fluid to the reaction vessel. The sparger assembly includes a plurality of sparger chambers. Each sparger chamber includes a process fluid passageway, a sparger passageway, a sparger, and a process fluid-gas mixture outlet. The process fluid passageway is fluidly connected to a process fluid circuit of the reaction vessel via a process fluid inlet. The process fluid inlet includes a first block valve bleed valve assembly. The sparger passageway is fluidly connected to the process fluid passageway. The sparger is disposed within the sparger passageway and fluidly connected to a gas source via a gas inlet. The process fluid-gas mixture outlet fluidly connects the sparger passageway to the reaction vessel. The process fluid-gas mixture outlet includes a second block valve bleed valve assembly disposed between the sparger passageway and the reaction vessel. The first and second block valve bleed valve assemblies are capable of fluidly isolating the sparger from the reaction vessel.

[0037] A second embodiment is the system of the first embodiment, wherein the sparger assembly includes one or more process fluid headers fluidly connected between the process fluid circuit of the reactor vessel and the process fluid inlet of each sparger chamber.

[0038] A third aspect is the system of the first or second aspect, wherein the sparger assembly includes one or more gas headers fluidly connected between the gas source and the gas inlet of each sparger chamber.

[0039] A fourth embodiment is the system of any of the first to third embodiments, wherein the sparger has a plurality of small hole sparger sections disposed on a surface of the sparger, each small hole having a first diameter.

[0040] A fifth embodiment is the system of the fourth embodiment, wherein the sparger passage has a second diameter, and the ratio of the first diameter to the second diameter is less than 0.01.

[0041] A fourth embodiment is the system of any of the first through fifth embodiments, wherein the reactor vessel has a set of fluid recirculation nozzles disposed above the sparger outlet of the sparger assembly and fluidly connected to the process fluid circuit of the reactor vessel.

[0042] A seventh embodiment is the system of any of the first to sixth embodiments, wherein each process fluid-gas mixture outlet is located in a sparger plate at the bottom of the reactor vessel.

[0043] An eighth embodiment is the system of any of the first to seventh embodiments, wherein the sparger assembly is external to the reaction vessel.

[0044] In a ninth aspect, a sparger assembly for a reactor includes a plurality of sparger chambers. Each sparger chamber includes a process fluid passageway, a sparger passageway, a sparger, and a process fluid-gas mixture outlet. The process fluid passageway is fluidly connected to a process fluid inlet. The process fluid inlet has a first block valve bleed valve assembly. The sparger passageway is fluidly connected to the process fluid passageway. The sparger is disposed within the sparger passageway and is fluidly connected to the gas inlet. The process fluid-gas mixture outlet is fluidly connected to the sparger passageway. The process fluid-gas mixture outlet has a second block valve bleed valve assembly. The first block valve bleed valve assembly and the second block valve bleed valve assembly are capable of fluidly isolating the sparger assembly.

[0045] A tenth embodiment is the sparger of the ninth embodiment, wherein the sparger assembly includes one or more process fluid headers fluidly connected to the process fluid inlets of each sparger chamber.

[0046] An eleventh embodiment is the sparger of the ninth or tenth embodiment, wherein the sparger assembly includes one or more gas headers fluidly connected to the gas inlets of each sparger chamber.

[0047] A twelfth embodiment is the sparger of any of the ninth through eleventh embodiments, wherein the sparger has a plurality of capillary sparger sections disposed on a surface of the sparger, each capillary having a first diameter.

[0048] A thirteenth embodiment is the sparger of the twelfth embodiment, wherein the sparger passage has a second diameter, and the ratio of the first diameter to the second diameter is less than 0.01.

[0049] A fourteenth embodiment is the sparger of any of the ninth through thirteenth embodiments, wherein the reaction vessel has a set of fluid recirculation nozzles disposed above the sparger outlet of the sparger assembly and fluidly connected to the process fluid circuit of the reaction vessel.

[0050] A fifteenth embodiment is the sparger of any of the ninth through fourteenth embodiments, wherein the process fluid passages are connected to the sparger passages at an angle of 10 to 90 degrees.

[0051] In a sixteenth aspect, a method for supplying a gas to a fluid in a reactor includes delivering a process fluid to a sparger chamber through a first valve assembly, passing the gas through a sparger section within the sparger chamber, forming bubbles in the process fluid within the sparger chamber to form a mixed fluid, and delivering the mixed fluid from the sparger chamber to a reaction vessel.

[0052] A seventeenth aspect is the method of the sixteenth aspect, further comprising the step of passing the process fluid out of the reaction vessel, wherein passing the process fluid to the sparger chamber comprises circulating the process fluid from the reaction vessel to the sparger chamber.

[0053] An eighteenth embodiment is the method of the sixteenth or seventeenth embodiment, wherein the sparger chamber is external to the reaction vessel, and wherein the step of passing the mixed fluid from the sparger chamber to the reaction vessel includes passing the mixed fluid through an opening in a lower portion of the reaction vessel.

[0054] A nineteenth embodiment is the method of any of the sixteenth to eighteenth embodiments, wherein the bubbles have an average diameter of 0.2 cm or less.

[0055] A twentieth aspect is the method of any of the sixteenth to nineteenth aspects, wherein the sparger section has openings for forming bubbles, the openings having a size of 0.01 to 100 μm.

[0056] The above description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and practicing the incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they have equivalent elements that do not differ substantially from the literal language of the claims.

Claims

1. 1. A reactor system comprising: a reaction vessel containing a process fluid; a sparger assembly fluidly connected to the reactor vessel and supplying a mixture of gas and process fluid to the reactor vessel; and the sparger assembly having a plurality of sparger chambers; Each sparger room is a process fluid passageway fluidly connected to the process fluid circuit of the reaction vessel via a process fluid inlet, the process fluid inlet having a first block valve and bleed valve assembly; a sparger passage fluidly connected to the process fluid passage; a sparger disposed within the sparger passage and fluidly connected to the gas source via the gas inlet; a process fluid-gas mixture outlet fluidly connecting the sparger passage to the reaction vessel; and the process fluid-gas mixture outlet has a second block valve and bleed valve assembly disposed between the sparger passage and the reaction vessel; The first and second block valve bleed valve assemblies are capable of fluidly isolating the sparger from the reaction vessel.

2. 10. The reactor system of claim 1, the sparger assembly having one or more process fluid headers; A process fluid header is fluidly connected between the process fluid circuit of the reactor vessel and the process fluid inlet of each sparger chamber.

3. 10. The reactor system of claim 1, The sparger assembly has one or more gas headers; A gas header is fluidly connected between the gas source and the gas inlet of each sparger chamber.

4. 10. The reactor system of claim 1, the sparger having a plurality of capillary sparger portions disposed on a surface of the sparger; Each pore has a first diameter.

5. 5. The reactor system of claim 4, the sparger passage has a second diameter; The ratio of the first diameter to the second diameter is less than 0.

01.

6. 10. The reactor system of claim 1, the reaction vessel has a set of fluid recirculation nozzles; A fluid recirculation nozzle is disposed above the sparger outlet of the sparger assembly and is fluidly connected to the process fluid circuit of the reaction vessel.

7. 10. The reactor system of claim 1, Each process fluid-gas mixture outlet is located in a sparger plate at the bottom of the reactor vessel.

8. 10. The reactor system of claim 1, The sparger assembly is located outside the reaction vessel.

9. 1. A sparger assembly for a reactor, comprising: Having a plurality of sparger chambers, Each sparger room is a process fluid passageway fluidly connected to a process fluid inlet, the process fluid inlet having a first block valve and bleed valve assembly; a sparger passage fluidly connected to the process fluid passage; a sparger disposed within the sparger passage and fluidly connected to the gas inlet; a process fluid-gas mixture outlet fluidly connected to the sparger passage; and the process fluid-gas mixture outlet has a second block valve and bleed valve assembly; The first block valve bleed valve assembly and the second block valve bleed valve assembly are capable of fluidly isolating the sparger assembly.

10. 10. The sparger assembly of claim 9, Each sparger chamber has one or more process fluid headers fluidly connected to the process fluid inlet.

11. 10. The sparger assembly of claim 9, One or more gas headers are fluidly connected to the gas inlets of each sparger chamber.

12. 10. The sparger assembly of claim 9, the sparger having a plurality of capillary sparger portions disposed on a surface of the sparger; Each pore has a first diameter.

13. 13. The sparger assembly of claim 12, the sparger passage has a second diameter; The ratio of the first diameter to the second diameter is less than 0.

01.

14. 10. The sparger assembly of claim 9, the reaction vessel has a set of fluid recirculation nozzles; A fluid recirculation nozzle is disposed above the sparger outlet of the sparger assembly and is fluidly connected to the process fluid circuit of the reaction vessel.

15. 10. The sparger assembly of claim 9, The process fluid passages are connected to the sparger passages at angles of 10 to 90 degrees.

16. 1. A method for supplying a gas to a fluid in a reactor, comprising: directing the process fluid through a first valve assembly to a sparger chamber; Passing a gas through a sparger section within the sparger chamber; forming bubbles in the process fluid in the sparger chamber to form a mixed fluid; Passing the mixed fluid from the sparger chamber into a reaction vessel; It has.

17. 17. The method of claim 16, removing the process fluid from the reaction vessel; Directing the process fluid to the sparger chamber includes circulating the process fluid from the reaction vessel to the sparger chamber.

18. 17. The method of claim 16, The sparger chamber is located outside the reactor vessel; Passing the mixed fluid from the sparger chamber into the reaction vessel includes passing the mixed fluid through an opening in the lower portion of the reaction vessel.

19. 17. The method of claim 16, The bubbles have an average diameter of 0.2 cm or less.

20. 17. The method of claim 16, The sparger section has openings for forming bubbles, The size of the opening is from 0.01 to 100 μm.

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