A modular reactor

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a reactor is provided for combustion and / or reduction, comprising: a container defining a chamber for either a combustion or a reduction process; a combustion or reduction gas supply; and a combustion or reduction material supply. The container comprises a base module and at least one additional module, wherein the base module and the at least one additional module are configured to be selectively combined to adapt the chamber in accordance with the process executed in the chamber. The present disclosure also relates to a system comprising two or more reactors, and a common discharge. Further, the disclosure relates to a method of configuring a reactor from modules.

Description

[0001] A MODULAR REACTOR

[0002] FIELD

[0003] The present disclosure relates to the field of reactors for combustion and / or reduction.

[0004] BACKGROUND

[0005] Reactors in general are known.

[0006] SUMMARY

[0007] The system according to the present disclosure provides improvements over the prior art.

[0008] To this end, according to the present disclosure, a reactor is provided for combustion and / or reduction, comprising:

[0009] - a container defining a chamber for either a combustion or a reduction process;

[0010] - a combustion or reduction gas supply;

[0011] - a combustion or reduction material supply; wherein the container comprises a base module and at least one additional module, wherein the base module and the at least one additional module are configured to be selectively combined to adapt the chamber in accordance with the process executed in the chamber.

[0012] Additionally or optionally, the base module comprises the combustion or reduction gas supply.

[0013] Additionally or alternatively, the at least one additional module comprises the combustion or reduction gas supply or an additional combustion or reduction gas supply.

[0014] Additionally or alternatively, the gas supply is configured to introduce a reaction gas from a group at least comprising Oxygen or Nitrogen.

[0015] Additionally or alternatively, in a reaction mode of operation, the material supply is configured to introduce a reaction material from a group at least comprising metal, metalloid, a metal or metalloid oxide, such as of iron or titanium.

[0016] Additionally or alternatively, in a reduction mode of operation, the gas supply is configured to introduce a reduction gas from a group at least comprising Hydrogen or Nitrogen.

[0017] Additionally or alternatively, in a reduction mode of operation, the material supply is configured to introduce a reduction material from a group at least comprising metal oxide, such as iron oxide, metalloid oxide, or titanium.

[0018] Additionally or alternatively, the at least one of the additional modules exhibits a transverse dimension relative to a general progress direction of at least one of the gas and material, different from the base module. Then, combined additional modules and the base module may define a shape of the chamber that diverges in the general progress direction.

[0019] Additionally or alternatively, the reaction or reduction material supply comprises an injector. Then, the injector may extend into the space from an end opposite the base module. Additionally or alternatively, the injector may supply reaction or reduction material at the base module. Additionally or alternatively, the injector may comprises a cooling channel. Further, the injector may comprise a jet generator, in which case the jet generator of the injector may be connected or connectable to the gas supply, wherein the injector forms part of both the gas supply and the material supply.

[0020] The present disclosure also relates to a reaction or reduction system comprising two or more reactors, as claimed in any of the preceding claims and a common discharge.

[0021] In such a system, the common discharge may comprise a cyclone.

[0022] Additionally or alternatively at least one of the reactors may be connected to the common discharge for a eccentrical or tangential inflow into the common discharge from the reactors.

[0023] Thus, a system as described above and hereinafter may embody also a method, as has also been defined in the appended claims.

[0024] According to the disclosure, a method is provided of configuring a reactor as defined above, comprising selectively combining the base module and the at least one additional module to adapt the chamber in accordance with the process thereafter executed in the chamber.

[0025] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

[0026] In the appended drawing, embodiments of fluid heating systems and components thereof are shown in non-limiting embodiments, wherein the same or similar elements, components and functional aspects may be designated throughout the drawing with the same or similar reference signs and wherein:

[0027] FIG. 1 exhibits a schematic configuration of a system according to the present disclosure;

[0028] FIG. 2 exhibits an exemplary embodiment of a burner of a system in FIG. 1 ;

[0029] FIG. 3 exhibits a top or cross sectional view onto line or plane A - A in the embodiment of FIG. 2, and

[0030] FIG.’s 4 and 5 respectively exhibit cross sectional and perspective views of an injector used in the burner embodiment of FIG.’s 2, 3.

[0031] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS In fig. 1 system 11 is shown, in which two main aspects of the present disclosure are embodied.

[0032] System 11 comprises burner 12 and combustor 13. An exemplary embodiment thereof (both or either of burner 12 and combustor 13) is shown in more detail in FIG.’s 2 - 5 and discussed herein below.

[0033] Burner 12 is supplied with air via combustion air conduit 1 , which is in turn connected to an ambient air pump, fan or compressor 14 and / or to Compressed Air Bottles (CAB’s) 15. Other means to supply air may be embodied instead.

[0034] Ambient air normally consists essentially of 79% Nitrogen and 21% Oxygen in volume, and may comprise additional constituents.

[0035] Burner 12 is supplied via burner material conduit 16 with material to be burned in the burner 12, in particular (but not exclusively) Iron, Magnesium, other metal than Iron and / or at least one metalloid. Material to be burned may be powdered. Iron powder may be supplied as a major component, with added reactive metal or metalloid powders, such as magnesium, silicon, and the like as secondary components. However, the Iron powder may be omitted, enabling reactive magnesium, silicon, other metal powder or metalloid powders to become the primary burner material(s).

[0036] At an output of burner 12, heat exchanger 17 is arranged. Burnt material is expelled in a residual gas flow from burner 12 to heat exchanger 17. The residual gas flow carrying burnt material from burner 12 to heat exchanger 17 contains less oxygen, as oxygen is used to burn the material to be burned in burner 12. Consequently, the residual gas flow will normally comprise a high content or concentration of heated nitrogen gas (> 95% or approx.. 99%). Depending on an efficiency of burner 12, a remaining oxygen content in the residual gas flow may be very low, and nitrogen content may be very high. Heat exchanger 17 is also supplied with an air flow from pump or compressor 14 or from CAB’s 15 via cooling air conduit 2. Another cooling liquid or air source may be used instead. While keeping the cooling air from cooling air conduit 2 separated from the residual gas flow with burnt particles therein from the output of burner 12, heat is transferred from the residual gas flow to the cooling air flow, turning the cooling air flow into heated air output 7, which is forwarded to energy converter 19. Energy converter 19, such as a turbine, generates electrical energy from the heated air supplied via heated air output 7. Energy generated by energy converter 19 may be stored in batteries 20. Power generated by energy converter 19 or optionally intermediately stored in batteries 20 or another energy supply or storage may be supplied to pump or compressor 14, or to other components of system 1 , or may be furnished to an external facility such as factory 26.

[0037] Cooled residual gas flow with burnt particles from an output of heat exchanger 17 is supplied to separator 21 , such as a cyclone, where burnt particles, such as iron oxides (or other metal or metalloid oxides), are separated from the residual gas flow having a high Nitrogen content. The burnt particles are discharged through an output while the residual gas flow having a high Nitrogen content of at least 95% and more preferably at least or approximately 99%, is discharged through Nitrogen conduit 5 to be compressed by pump, fan or compressor 22 and optionally stored in Compressed Nitrogen Bottles (CNB’s) 23 for later gainful use. The pump, fan or compressor 22 may be configured for compressing the residual Nitrogen to more than 10 bar, preferably more than 100 bar, and more preferably more than 200 bar, and most preferably between 300 and 400 bar. This may depend on a pressure that the CNB’s 23 are able to withstand, or requirements of the subsequent nitrogen based process. Optionally, a filter may be provided in Nitrogen conduit 5, i.e. before compressor, fan or pump 22, to filter out burnt particles of for example Iron oxide from the Nitrogen. Alternatively, Nitrogen conduit 5 may be connected directly or via pump 22 to combustor 13, in which a subsequent embedded or incorporated downstream process may be performed, such as titanium nitride production. In yet another embodiment, combustor 13 may be supplied with high content or high purity Nitrogen from CNB’s 23, or CNB’s 23 may be filled and - after filling - disconnected and transported for the high purity or high content Nitrogen to be deployed elsewhere, and / or may be sold off for this purpose.

[0038] Combustor 13 is supplied with high purity or high content Nitrogen as a reaction gas via Nitrogen conduit 6, which may be connected to CNB’s 23, to pump or fan 22, directly to conduit 5 or to any other source of Nitrogen, preferably of a high purity and / or high Nitrogen content. Preferably, a heater is provided to heat the Nitrogen, before entering combustor 13.

[0039] Ambient air normally consists of 79% Nitrogen and 21% Oxygen in volume, and may comprise additional constituents. After passing through burner 12, a high content or high purity Nitrogen (> 95% or approx. 99%) flow may be furnished to combustor 13 for processing Titanium into Titanium Nitride (TiN) very efficiently and / or effectively, as most if not all of the originally present Oxygen in ambient air will have been spent, used or burnt in burner 12. When supplying combustor 13 with Nitrogen from a residual gas flow of burner 12, a highly effective and / or efficient system 1 may be provided.

[0040] Combustor 13 is supplied via combustor material conduit 25 with material to be combusted in the combustor 13, in particular (but not exclusively) Titanium, for a combustion reaction with supplied Nitrogen, to yield a nitride, and in particular Titanium nitride (TiN). Material to be combusted may be powdered into for example Titanium powder.

[0041] At an output of combustor 13, heat exchanger 18 is arranged. Combusted material is expelled in a flow from combustor 13 to heat exchanger 18. The flow carrying combusted material from combustor 13 to heat exchanger 18 is heated and heat exchanger 18 can be used to win back (some of the) heat in the flow from the output of combustor 13. Heat exchanger 18 is also supplied with an air flow from pump, fan or compressor 14 or from CAB’s 15 via cooling air conduit 3. Another cooling liquid or air source may be used instead. While keeping the cooling air from cooling air conduit 3 separated from the flow with combusted particles therein from the output of combustor 13, heat is transferred from the flow with the combusted particles to the cooling air flow, turning the cooling air flow into heated air via output 7, which is forwarded to energy converter 19. Energy converter 19 generates electrical energy from the heated air supplied via heated air output 7. Energy generated by energy converter 19 may be stored in batteries 20. Power generated by energy converter 19 or optionally intermediately stored in batteries 20 or another energy supply or storage may be supplied to pump or compressor 14. Likewise, batteries 20 may power other components in the shown configuration, such as burner 12, pump 22, combustor 13 and I or other components.

[0042] A cooled flow with combusted particles, such as TiN, from an output of heat exchanger 18 is supplied to separator 24, such as a cyclone, from which combusted particles may be discharged and may be collected for later use.

[0043] Excess heat or (electrical) energy generated anywhere in system 1, for example at energy converter 19, heat exchanger 17, heat exchanger 18 and / or at batteries 20 may be provided to an external facility, such as a factory 26.

[0044] FIG. 2 exhibits an exemplary embodiment of a burner 30 or combustor of or for system 1 in FIG. 1 and the shown embodiment may be used as burner 12 or combustor 13, but in FIG. 1 other embodiments for burner 12 and combustor 13 may alternatively be deployed. FIG. 3 shows a top or cross sectional view onto line or plane A - A in in the embodiment of FIG. 2, and FIG.’s 4 and 5 respectively exhibit cross sectional and perspective views of an injector 33 used in the embodiment of FIG. 2 or 3.

[0045] Burner 30 shown in FIG.’s 2 - 5, which may also be referred to as a reactor, comprises at least one primary chamber 31 and a secondary chamber 32. In figure 2, two primary chambers 31 are visible and in in the top or cross sectional view of FIG. 3 four primary chambers 31 are shown. The two, four or any other number of primary chambers 31 are distributed evenly or uniformly around the secondary chamber 32.

[0046] (Each) primary chamber 31 comprises at least an injector 33 connected or connectable to burner material conduit 16 in FIG. 1. Injector 33 will be described below in more detail with reference to FIG.’s 4 and 5, and the above mentioned or other burner material may be introduced into primary chamber 31 in a top-down fashion.

[0047] Further, (each) primary chamber 31 comprises a number of modules 35 - 39 for introducing reaction gas into primary chamber 31 , at distinct locations or heights, and may to this end each be connected or connectable to combustion air conduit 1 in FIG. 1 , or this may be the case for a selection of modules 36 - 39. A heater (not shown), such as a plasmatron or plasma torch, may be arranged in combustion air conduit 1 before module(s) 35 (- 39). If a single module is realised, then preferably though not exclusively the lowermost stage or module 35 is deployed for introducing the supply from the combustion air conduit 1. Some of the modules 35 - 39 may be supplied with other reaction gas(ses) than ambient O2 and N2 containing air. In the interior of primary chamber 31 , and upward flow of reaction gas(ses) is generated, sweeping along injected burner material in an upward direction to a top of primary chamber 31 , where a flow to secondary chamber 32 is established.

[0048] (Each) primary chamber 31 tangentially injects a flow into the secondary chamber 32, as also shown in FIG. 3, directed at and along an internal wall of secondary chamber 32. Flows injected by primary chamber(s) 31 into secondary chamber 32 along the arrows there between in FIG. 3, form a swirling flow inside secondary chamber 32 along the inner wall thereof, corresponding with the arrows within secondary chamber 32 in FIG.’s 2 and 3. In practice, these swirling flows may progress along the inside of an inner wall of secondary chamber 32 in a downward direction and at diminishing diameter, in so far as that secondary chamber 32 has a downward tapering shape, as shown in FIG. 2. Thus secondary chamber 32 may be identified as a cyclone 40.

[0049] Inside secondary chamber 32 a burner or a cyclone process is performed, and burnt Iron Oxide FexOyor Fe powder (or any other product) may be expelled downward through an exit in a direction of arow 41 . Conversely, if ambient air was used as a reaction gas, consisting mainly of 79% N2 and 21 % O2, by selecting the process parameters appropriately, most of the oxygen in the supplied reaction gas may be spent, leaving a residual flow of mainly and practically only N2, that is discharged at the top of secondary chamber 32 in the direction of arrow 42, where the residual gas can be input into heat exchanger 17, if the burner 30 is an embodiment of burner 12 in FIG. 1.

[0050] A similar burner 30 may be deployed in FIG. 1 as an embodiment of combustor 13 for combusting Titanium with Nitrogen gas as the reaction gas to yield Titanium Nitride TiN. Since the input reaction gas for the combustor 13 in FIG. 1 practically only consists of Nitrogen N2, if the N2 input flow is controlled in correspondence with the input of Titanium along combustor material conduit 25, a yield from combustor 13 may comprise only Titanium Nitride, without any or hardly any residual gas. To this end buffering of Nitrogen N2 in CNB’s 23 and controlled release into cyclone 40 may prove to be instrumental. Other process parameters may also need to be properly controlled to achieve the set goals of the disclosure, such as burner heat or temperature, filtering, heat exchange characteristics of exchanger 18, et cetera.

[0051] In FIG.’s 4 and 5, respectively a cross sectional and a perspective of injector 33 are shown. Therein, injector 33 may be connected or connectable to burner material conduit 16 in FIG. 1. Material to be burned, which may also be referred to as reaction powder here, which may be introduced via burner material conduit 16 in FIG. 1 , may comprise either or more than one of iron, magnesium and titanium or other material, and is injected into primary chamber 31 of burner 30 from a top side through the injector 33, through injector tube 44. Around injector tube 44, a cooling tube 45 is arranged, that may be supplied with cooling fluid, like water, via a supply 46 and a return 47. Cooling tube 45 may comprise, form of be part of a heat exchanger like the heat exchanger 17 and / or 18 in the embodiment of FIG. 1. Around the cooling tube 45, a jet tube 48 may be arranged with circumferential apertures and that may be connected or connectable to the combustion air conduit 1 in FIG. 1 , to ward off deposition of materials to be burned on the injector 33.

[0052] FIRST APECT

[0053] A first aspect, the present disclosure relates to a concept of isolating, acquiring or collecting high purity I content nitrogen gas. To realise this function, high purity nitrogen gas is produced as a co-product of metal or metalloid burning or combustion process, in addition to burnt, oxidized or combusted metal or metalloids. Thereby, it’s made possible to gainfully use of the co-product of high purity nitrogen gas for other purposes. The focus of prior metal combustion literature is solely on the efficiency of burning or combustion and collection of oxides and non-combusted metal particles. After having been compressed, the nitrogen can be stored for a future use or may be used right away, even without compression, for example, as above for generating Titanium Nitride or other products reliant on the availability of high purity or high content Nitrogen gas as a reaction gas. Co-burning iron powder as major constituent of a flow of material to be burned with other reactive metal or metalloid powders (e.g., magnesium or silicon) as a part of this process is also considered new. Further, the high purity nitrogen produced during the first step of burning or combusting a metal or metalloid is used in a second step of combusting titanium to produce titanium nitride as well as thermal energy as another co-product.

[0054] In the above exemplary embodiment of this aspect of the present disclosure, a process is employed to co-produce thermal energy, high purity nitrogen gas (>98%), Metal or Metalloid oxides, and Titanium nitride by first burning or combusting metal or metalloid. However, the material to be burned may be e.g. iron or any other combustible metals such as Mg, Al, Mn, or metalloids like silicon (Si). Likewise, Titanium may be replaced with any other material that reacts with Nitrogen to yield a product having a useful application. The powder based process serves to add much more value over prior processes for burning or combusting iron powder and makes it much more profitable beyond already defined missions for the technology which is related to its environmental impact to produce zero-carbon dioxide emission thermal systems. The combined process can result in a robust “chimney- free” system with quaternary products packed in ONLY one process with minimum thermal and pollutant emissions compared to available metals or metalloids-firing burners and thermal systems.

[0055] In relation to a process of a reaction with Titanium, for which Nitrogen is currently envisaged, currently, mostly a limited number of strategies are used, such as air filtration to separate nitrogen from air and an individual process to burn or combust titanium powder with nitrogen gas or ammonia. These approaches have their own limitations, CAPEX, and running costs, which in the past have hindered practical technical and / or economical implementation.

[0056] Herein, and as set out above, metals or metalloids are burned or combusted in ambient air (mostly 21% O2 + 79% N2 in volume) to produce heat and metal or metalloid oxides. The produced thermal energy can be used for heating and electrical power generation purposes, such as the above mentioned factory or other 26, and the produced metal or metalloid oxides would be recycled using green hydrogen or green electricity later on. As a normal co- or by-product, high-purity nitrogen gas (>98%) is produced thanks to the burning or metal or metalloid powder's self-sustainability without significant other emissions like NOx and COXor water vapor. The high-purity or high content nitrogen gas can be compressed and bottled and sold or be fed to downstream industries or embedded or connected processes, e.g. for reaction with Titanium, e.g. for the production of titanium nitride powders.

[0057] Titanium nitride is a super refractory material widely applicable in coating and medical industries, and thus has highly beneficial and / or gainful use. Considering all the quaternary products of the proposed metal or metalloid burning process, it has proven possible to develop a combined process without any chimney or the like for discharge of any residual product thanks to post-treating emitted or better: more highly concentrated nitrogen downstream of the metal or metalloid combustion process. This means that a completely zero emission process is attainable, which is not only a carbon dioxide-free process, but also conversion of all emissions and co- and by-products to added value instead of discharging them into the atmosphere.

[0058] As shown in Figure 1 , the process starts by compressing or blowing air with mainly Oxygen 21% and Nitrogen 79% in volume therein and feeding the compressed or atmospheric air to burner 12. In burner 12, metal or metalloid (here iron) powder begins to burn with air in the presence of an electrical heater (not shown). The electrical heater may be powered by battery 20 or a pack of batteries 20, which may also be provided to store electrical energy as a co-product of the process, and serve to store and manage the electrical requirements also of other elements and components in system 11. Moreover, in the proposed process, as another new feature of the process, it is also considered to co-burn iron powder as major with other reactive metal or metalloid powders, with magnesium (Mg) or silicon (Si) as minor, to get higher thermal and conversion efficiencies. The burning process in burner 12 preferably consumes all available oxygen in the air, or at least a very considerable portion thereof. The heat during the combustion process is transferred by heat exchanger 17 to the cooling air of conduit 2 supplied by the compressed air bottles CAB’s 15 or directly from pump 14. Then, heated air may be fed through conduit 4 into energy converter 19, such as a turbine with an electrical generator to generate electricity. The generated electricity may be deployed to charge the (pack of) batteries 20. There are no other significant components in the gaseous exhaust of the combustion products of burner 12, then residual Nitrogen after the process of burner 12, of which an exemplary embodiment is shown as burner 30 in FIG. 2. The only primary co-products of the process in burner 12 are metal or metalloid (here iron) oxides and high-purity nitrogen. The metal or metalloid (here iron) oxides are separated from the exhaust stream, for example, using a cyclone 21 , and captured, for example into specific buckets (not shown). After optional filtration, the exhaust nitrogen is expelled via conduit 5, may be compressed and then stored inside high- pressure compressed nitrogen bottles CNB’s 23 for supplying downstream industries or an embedded downstream process, such as titanium nitride production by combustor 13. The compression step is optional but may be required for both purposes due to minimizing the required space to collect and store Nitrogen gas. The compression method applied for air and Nitrogen storage can be the same or may be different. In one embodiment, it’s possible to use normal or compact gas compressors that can compress nitrogen by 300-400 bar. Then, compressed nitrogen would be stored in normal 50 litres or other custom-made size high-pressure compressed nitrogen bottles CNB’s 23 to store or transport produced Nitrogen gas resulting from during the burner process of burner 12.

[0059] Thereby, compressed Nitrogen gas can be made available for burning or combusting Titanium for generating Titanium Nitride in combustor 13, which may also be embodied in the form of a burner 30 of FIG. 2, but with appropriate adaptations, which the skilled person may readily implement on the basis of common general knowledge to arrive at a Titanium combustor 13 starting from an Iron burner 12 or burner 30 in FIG.’s 1 and 2. The required amount of nitrogen for burning with Titanium is fed through conduit 6 in FIG. 1 , to an input of combustor 13. Titanium powder is injected into high-temperature incoming nitrogen gas already from conduit 6 that may be heated by an optional electrical heater (not shown). It is noted that if Nitrogen is not stored in compressed nitrogen bottles CNB’s 23 after emerging from burner 12 in a heated state, and supplied directly to combustor 13 from cyclone 21, there’s then no or less need for cooling it using heat exchanger 17. Thanks to the exothermic reaction between titanium and hot or heated Nitrogen, there is a possibility of extracting the combustion heat using cooling air supplied via conduit 3 that originates from pump or fan 14 or from compressed air bottles CAB’s 15, in heat exchanger 18. Then, the heated air is fed to the energy converter 19, such as a turbine with an electrical generator, to generate electricity and the generated electrical energy may then be stored in the battery 20 . The output of the combustor 13 comprises almost entirely only titanium nitride (TiN) with virtually no gaseous co- or by-products, according to the consumption of the nitrogen gas fed into combustor 13. As shown in Figure 1, the surplus heat “8” and electricity generated during the processes may be used for residential and other production facilities, such as factory 26.

[0060] As mentioned above, two consecutive components of burner 12 and combustor 13 are used in the proposed process. The layout and the configuration of each of burner 12 and combustor 13 is demonstrated in Figure 2. The configuration of burner 12 and combustor 13 can be the same or may be mutually different. Further, other configurations than the one illustrated in Figure 2 may be used for burner 12 and / or combustor 13.

[0061] The proposed configuration of the burner / reactor, referred to in the above embodiment description of the appended drawing as any of burner 12 or 30, or combustor 13 or 30, or primary chamber 31 , having the disclosed design and injection strategies, elongates the flying powders' residence time inside the burner / reactor by establishing a counterforce between the flying particles' speed and their sedimentation terminal velocity inside burner 12 or combustor 13. The reaction gases, including air and nitrogen (but are, as has been demonstrated above, not limited to thereto), blow into and from the bottom of primary chamber 31 of burner 30 through module 35 (or additional modules 36 - 39) after passing through an optional electrical heating element (not shown), which may be a plasmatron or plasma torch (but also can be radiant and other types of electrical heaters). The reaction powder e.g. iron and / or titanium, is injected into the burner 30 from the top through a powder injection port (PIP) formed by injector 33, connected to a powder supply, such as burner material conduit 16 or combustion material conduit 25, in a counter-current form compared with the reaction gases flow. There is a complex swirling flow pattern inside primary chamber 31, including radially turning shear flows and toroidal vortex flows that may be induced due to the expansion of the upward-moving flow at each module 35 - 39. In this regard, the injection flow patterns in modules 35 - 39 in FIG. 2 can be either upward straight non-swirling shear flows or tangentially located upward moving swirling shear flows.

[0062] Injector 33 defining an injector input port PIP is cooled using a circulation water line of which in FIG. 2 only supply 46 and return 47 are shown. Heated water exits injector 33 or PIP through return 47. To prevent flying particle sedimentation on the PIP’s body, a portion of the reaction gas blows may be introduced via jet tube 48 comprising micro jet ports defining an outer periphery of the injector 33 or PIP, as shown in FIG.’s 2, 4 and 5. Primary chamber 31 of burner 30 comprises several steps or modules 35 - 39 with individual different step heights and / or step widths. In one embodiment the hight of each module can be above 20 cm, and preferably 50 cm. The width depends on the terminal velocity of the particles and the flow rate of the gas.

[0063] Here, only four modules of 36 - 39 are shown in addition to central module 35. Some of the reaction gases or ambient air may be injected into burner 30 through module 35 or modules 36 - 39. Input through each of these modules may be regulated at the designated modules to fully execute I complete the metal or metalloid (here iron) and / or titanium burning reaction process(es). That is to say, that for iron burning, all supplied iron is converted into Iron Oxide and all supplied oxygen is spent, and for titanium combustion that all supplied titanium is converted into Titanium Nitride and all supplied Nitrogen is spent. Also, this multiple injection pattern may help to prevent sedimentation of the flying particles on the inner surface of the burner 12 or combustor 13 or primary chamber 31. Then, the combustion and / or oxidization products, e.g., oxides and / or nitrides, are flown out through the cyclone 40 in the embodiment of FIG. 2.

[0064] It is noted here that primary chamber(s) 31 of burner 30 may define (a) burner chamber(s), and secondary, central chamber 32 may then define an embodiment of cyclone 21 or 24 in FIG. 1 or cyclone 40 in FIG. 2.

[0065] As shown in the “A-A” top section view, several primary chambers 31 , that may define burner chambers, can be clustered around secondary chamber 32, defining one of cyclones 21 , 24 in FIG. 1. Solid particles from the exhaust gas are collected at the bottom or another output of one of cyclones 21, 24, 40 and exhaust gas (if any) is evacuated through conduit 42.

[0066] In such an embodiment, in which primary chambers 31 define burning chambers, use of a cyclone 21 , 24 or 40 in this process and system 11 is aimed at minimizing a need to use a plurality of cyclones. For example, a configuration using several primary chambers 31 or reactors with the same operating conditions around a single cyclone has been tested, instead of connecting each of primary chambers 31 or the reactors to an individual cyclone. This may significantly reduce the cost of the system and also help to extend the capacity of the installed primary chambers 31 around a common cyclone 21, 24, 40. Theoretically, there is no limitation on the minimum (one primary chamber 31 or reactor) and maximum number of primary chambers 31 installable around a common cyclone 21, 24, 40, other than physical limitations according to size and volume.

[0067] It is further noted here that the burner 30 in FIG. 2 can also be used to reduce metal or metalloid (here iron) oxides to original metal or metalloid (here iron) using hydrogen or other reducing agents. However, in a reduction mode, the reaction powder comprises metal or metalloid (here iron) oxides, and the reaction gases are typically hydrogen and nitrogen. The design of the present primary chamber 31 or burner 12 or combustor 13 (reactor) takes into account two major parameters involved in both the combustion and reduction processes of metals, in general, and iron, in particular. The first one is the residence time and the second one is terminal velocity. Indeed, the terminal velocity affects the residence time and may cause residence time to be elongated or shortened. In the current design, a potential objective is to significantly elongate the residence time of the burning and reducing particles in a hot doming which is critical for both processes which are quite slow in nature. In this design, lowering the terminal velocity and prolonging the residence time is achieved by the step-wise and modular design of the primary chambers 31 in which the terminal velocity is decreased from the bottom to the top, and consequently, the residence time of the flying particles is increased by having particles move against gravity from the bottom to the top. Moreover, designing shear and swirling flows implemented at each section of primary chambers 31 may significantly suppress the sticking of the flying particles to the wall of the burner 12, combustor 13, or the reactor. On the other hand, the swirling shear flows may intensify the mixing between particles and gases in both oxidation and reduction processes.

[0068] According to the first aspect of the present disclosure, established novel effects, features and / or functionalities are as follows.

[0069] This aspect of the disclosure allows for production of high-purity nitrogen gas through the metal or metalloid combustion process, achieved by proper tuning of the burner design and having a burner, in an embodiment of which an example is shown in FIG. 2, which is able to fully oxidize the iron powders with no other residual gases (than Nitrogen). Further, an efficient approach is provided to sustainably and efficiently burns titanium powder with nitrogen. Electrical energy may be harvested from both proposed processes in burner 12 and in combustor 13. Mixtures of materials to be burned can be burned or deployed, for example iron with other metals and metalloids.

[0070] SECOND ASPECT

[0071] According to the present disclosure, a configuration of a burner 30 and in particular in the form of primary chamber 31 is provided that can be used as (part of) a burner 12 or (of) a combustor 13, i.e. as a reactor for burning metals and / or metalloids. However, it may also and notably be used for reducing their oxides (which allows them to be used interchangeably and / or clustered). Another feature is a modular design that includes two or more step-wise gas (e.g., reaction gas) supply modules configured to deliver reaction or reduction gas in a direction generally opposite to that of particle delivery. One or more modules can be removed / attached to change the burner12, combustor 13, primary chambers 31 or reactor according to a desired application or mode at a given time and to change operation between combustion and reduction modes. Indeed, the chamber 31 may have the same configuration for both the combustion and the reduction modes, however the number of modules (e.g., 36- 39), the flow rates, particles injection rate, and working temperature of the unit “P” shown in FIG.2 which can be electrical heater, plasma torch or etc. could be adjusted to meet the requirements of each process. Hence, due to the fact that the reduction process takes longer time to be completed then determining the required modules based on the reduction process may hinder changing the number of the units for the combustion process. This aspect of the present disclosure solves a number of persistent problems, including lengthening the residence time of the particles in both combustion or reduction processes, making it possible to add or remove air supply modules to lengthen or shorten the burner / reactor, or at least particle residence times therein, making it suitable for both burning / combustion and reduction processes, controlling agglomeration or sintering of the particles, and increasing the energy production capacity, due to the ease of clustering the burners / reactors. The adaptation of the reactor to a combustion or reduction process by adding or removing additional modules 36 - 39 may be performed in advance of taking the reactor in use, and may be altered after a period in use, to switch from the one mode (combustion) to the other (reduction) or vice versa. Likewise, a reactor may be adapted after some time in use to new processing parameters while thereafter continuing to operate in the same mode (combustion or reduction) as before the adaptation. Parameter adaptation may be achieved by adding or removing one or more of the modules. In an embodiment having a diverging shape of a chamber of a reactor, viewed from the base module or any of the gas or combustion I reduction supplies, selection of modules 36 - 39 to be added may be based on realizing the envisaged divergent form of the resulting reactor chamber. The new design also enables high controllability of the both combustion and reduction processes.

[0072] Herein below, reference will be made to the primary chamber(s) 31 of burner 30 in FIG. 2 as an embodiment of both a reaction chamber and a reduction chamber. Primary chamber(s) 31 have an upward diverging configuration, where in a height direction optional modules 36 - 39 for input of reaction or reduction gasses may be available to be added and / or omitted, in addition to a base or default module 35. This modular up-side, flow-reactor type design improves or solves, or at least addresses, one or some or more of the following issues in a practical oxidation (combustion)-reduction reactor:

[0073] Due to an upward diverging up-side design of primary chamber(s) 31 , residence times of particles in both reaction (burning or combustion) or reduction processes may be prolonged due to approaching the terminal velocity of the floating particles. The particles are referred to as ‘floating’, since these are suspended in the reaction or reduction gas flows, that may be input via module 35 and optionally via additional modules 36 - 39.

[0074] Due to a simple and identical modular design of each section, it is completely feasible to add or remove some complementary or redundant modules 36 - 39 to elongate or shorten the reactor or reductor to render primary chamber(s) 31 suitable for both combustion and reduction processes. Due to a continuous injection process, agglomeration or sintering of the loaded particles into primary chamber(s) 31 may be reduced considerably.

[0075] The modular design allows for easy clustering of reactors and increase the production capacity of the reactors.

[0076] Thanks to the flow-reactor-type design of the reactors, a high controllability may be furnished on both combustion and / or reduction processes inside the reactor I reductor (depending on the selected mode of operation).

[0077] In prior technology, such issues were addressed using fluidized-bed-type reactors to significantly lengthen residence times of the burning or reducing particles in the process. However, these prior art processes have limitations and applicability in terms of particles agglomeration, sintering, feeding capacity, process controllability, etc.

[0078] Features of this second aspect of the present disclosure relate to a newly configured embodiment with identically and modularly designed flow-reactor-type primary chamber(s) 31 that may be used at a time for either or both of combustion and reduction processes of metal, metalloids and their oxides. In this aspect of the disclosure, an aim is to significantly increase the controllability of the combustion process of metal and metalloid powders as well as the reduction process of metal and metalloid oxide powders by tweaking (controlling) the residence time (increasing) and the velocity (decreasing) of the floating, flying or suspended particles. Controlling these two parameters may significantly improve conversion efficiency in combustion as well as reduction processes. To do so, a high momentum reducing or oxidizing (combustion) agent (which are normally hydrogen and air in reduction and combustion processes, respectively) blows upward against gravity while the powders are injected from the top to form a counterflow interaction between the process gases and the particles. Then, the mixed gas and particles fly upward against gravity where the desired reaction takes place.

[0079] The proposed configuration of primary chamber(s) 31 forming the burner / reactor or reductor, having the above described new design and operated using above disclosed injection strategies, allows for elongating the flying powders' residence time inside the burner / reactor by establishing a counterforce between the flying particles' speed and their sedimentation terminal velocity inside the burner / reactor. In combustion mode, primary chamber(s) 31 may be referred to as burner 12 or combustor 13. However, in reduction mode, the term ‘reactor’ may be used.

[0080] Reaction gases may include air and nitrogen (but as shown not limited to these gases), that may be blown from the bottom of the burner from module 5 after passing through an optional electrical heating element, such as a plasmatron or plasma torch (but also can be radiant and other types of electrical heaters). Reaction powder here, iron and / or titanium, is injected into the primary chamber(s) 31 of burner 12 or combustor 13 from above through injector 33 in FIG. 2 forming the powder injection port (PIP) connected or connectable to burner or combustion material conduit 16, 25 in FIG. 1 in a counter-current form compared with the reaction gases flow from modules 35 - 39. There is a complex swirling flow patterns inside the reactor including radially turning shear flows and toroidal vortex flows that may be induced due to expansion of the upward moving flow at each module. In this regard, the injection flow patterns in modules 35 - 39 in FIG. 2 can be as either upward straight non-swirling shear flows or tangentially located upward moving swirling shear flows. Other orientations are also possible.

[0081] Primary chamber 31 of burner 30 consists of several stages referred to herein as modules, that may have different step heights and widths (radii). The modules of the same system can be different from each other and capable of being removed from and / or attached to a primary chamber 31 of the burner 30 to allow for reconfiguration with more, fewer and / or different modules. The length and width of the modules used in a particular configuration to act as a burner, combustor or reactor or alternatively as a reduction may be determined in accordance with some or more of the following considerations. In doing so, it is intended to control two major parameters - the terminal velocity and the particles' residence time inside the primary chamber 31 of burner 30 for both combustion and reduction modes. In this regard, for a given flow rate it’s possible to adjust the terminal velocity by selecting wider successive modules in an upward direction, thus widening primary chamber 31 using differing modules to achieve a gradual widening of primary chamber 31 in an upward direction, to prevent sedimentation inside the primary chamber 31. By the way, by widening each module gradually in an upward direction, not only the flying particles’ velocity is reduced towards the terminal velocity, but also the residence time of the flying particles inside the burner / reactor is elongated. Additionally or alternatively, the residence time of the flying particles may be reduced or lengthened by removing or adding to the axial length of each module and / or of the primary chamber 31 resulting from stacking less or more modules 36 - 39 onto one another. For example, in the reduction mode, the required residence time of the flying particles inside primary chamber 31 may amount to several seconds, while - in contrast - the residence time for the burning mode may amount to ‘just’ several milliseconds. Depending on the capacity and other requirements of burners and reactors, it is possible to tune dimensions of primary chambers to meet the required residence time and the minimum value of the terminal velocity to prevent sedimentation of the flying particles. The velocity should not be too low as that would yield sedimentation of the flying particles and the velocity should not be too high either, as that would leave flying particles uninfluenced by the desired process.

[0082] Here, only four optional modules of 36 - 39 are shown to be provided in addition to the base or default module 35. The completeness of the desired processes will determine the number of modules. Indeed, during the combustion process less modules may be required, because of the lower processing time in the order of several milliseconds. However, for the reduction process more modules are expected to be required due to the slower process of reduction compared with the combustion process. The number of modules may be optimized, depending on available space and a capacity required for completing the desired process on essentially all of the introduced particles. There is no preferred number of required modules, and any required number of modules may depend also on quantities of particles to be introduced into primary chamber 31 per unit of time.

[0083] Some reaction gases such as Oxygen and Nitrogen may be injected into primary chamber 31 through injection ports of designated modules 36 - 39, to complete the metal or metalloid (here iron) and titanium burning reaction process. Also, this multiple injection pattern may help to prevent sedimentation of the flying particles on the inner surface of primary chamber 31 or injector 33 therein. Then, combustion and / or oxidization products, e.g., oxides and / or nitrides, are flown out through cyclone 40. As shown in the “A-A” top section view in FIG. 3, several primary chambers 31 may be clustered around cyclone 40, forming or defining a secondary chamber 32. The particles that are separated from the exhaust gas are collected at the bottom of cyclone 40 in a collector 41 or any suitable receptacle, and exhaust gas is evacuated upward through exhaust 42.

[0084] A preferred configuration may be directed at minimizing a need to use several cyclones, for example one secondary cyclone 40 chamber 32 per primary combustion chamber 31. For example, a configuration deploying several primary chambers 31 with the same operating conditions around a common cyclone 40 has been tested, instead of connecting each primary chamber 31 to an individually corresponding secondary chamber 32 formed by a cyclone 40. This may significantly reduce the cost of the system and may also help extend the capacity of the installed primary chamber(s) 31 only around a cyclone. Theoretically, there is no limitation on a minimum (or it would be one primary chamber 31 formed by a reactor) or a maximum number of reactors installable around a single common cyclone 40, other than physical limitations according to available size and volume.

[0085] It should further be mentioned here that the proposed primary chamber(s) 31 burner in Figure 2 can be used to reduce metal or metalloid (here iron) oxides to the original metal or metalloid (here iron) using hydrogen or other reducing agents. However, in the reduction mode, the reaction powder is metal or metalloid (here iron) oxides, and the reaction gases are typically hydrogen and nitrogen. The design of the present primary chamber(s) 31 takes into account two major parameters involved in both combustion and reduction processes of metals, in general, and iron, in particular. The first one is the residence time and the second one is terminal velocity. Indeed, the terminal velocity influences residence times and may elongate or shorten residency time. In the current design, it was attempted to significantly lengthen the residence time of burning and reducing particles in a hot doming, which is critical for both processes which are quite slow in nature. In this design the lowering the terminal velocity, longer residence times may be achieved by the step-wise and modular design of primary chamber 31 in which the terminal velocity is decreased from the bottom to top and consequently, the residence time of the flying particles is increased from the bottom to the top. Moreover, designing shear and swirling flows implemented at each module or section may significantly contribute to suppressing the phenomenon of flying particles sticking or adhering to the inner wall of the reactor. On the other hand, the swirling shear flows may intensify mixing between particles and gases in both oxidation and reduction processes.

[0086] Burner configurations described above can be advantageously used in processes for co-production of thermal energy, metal / metalloid oxides, nitrogen gas, and titanium nitride using metal or metalloid combustion process. As shown in FIG. 1 , the proposed process starts by compressing or blowing air and feeding primary chamber(s) 3. In primary chamber(s) 31 , metal or metalloid (here iron) powder burns with air in the presence of an electrical heater, that may receive electrical energy from battery 20 or a pack of batteries also used to store and manage electrical requirements of other components and which may be charged through electrical generator 19 in FIG. 1.In the proposed process, as a feature of the process, it is also considered to co-burn iron powder as major with other reactive metal or metalloid powders, with magnesium (Mg) or silicon (Si) as minor, to get higher thermal and conversion efficiencies. The combustion process consumes much if nor all of the available oxygen in the drawn in air. The heat during the combustion process may be transferred through heat exchanger 17 to the cooling air from cooling air conduit 2 originating from the provided compressed air bottles CAB’s 15 if supplied, or directly from intake via pump or fan 14. Then, the heated air is fed through conduit 4 into the turbine 19, which drives the electrical generator in tandem to generate electricity. The generated electricity charges the pack of the batteries. Thanks to the presence of no other significant components in the gaseous exhaust of the combustion products of primary chamber 31 which acts as a burner / reactor or as a reduction process chamber (Figure 2), metal or metalloid (here iron) oxides and high-purity nitrogen are the primary products of the process. The metal or metalloid (here iron) oxides are separated from the exhaust stream, for example, using cyclone 21 or 40 and captured into specific buckets or other receptacles. After filtration, the acquired nitrogen expelled through conduit 5 is compressed and stored inside high-pressure compressed nitrogen bottles 23 for supplying downstream industries or an embedded downstream process, for instance a titanium nitride production combustor 13. The compression step may be required for both purposes due to minimizing required space to collect the gas. The compression method applied for the air compression and nitrogen compression may be the same or different. In one embodiment, normal or compact gas compressors may be used, which are able to compress nitrogen by up to for example 300- 400 bar. Then, the compressed nitrogen would be stored in normal 50 litre or other custom made size high pressure bottles to store or transport the gas that is produced during or acquired from the combustion process.

[0087] The amount of nitrogen required for burning with Titanium is provided to combustor 13 through conduit 6 in FIG. 1. Titanium powder is also injected into high-temperature incoming nitrogen gas already heated by an electrical heater (not shown). Due to the exothermic reaction between titanium and nitrogen, there is a possibility of extracting the combustion heat using heat exchanger 18 which is supplied with cooling air through conduit 3 that comes from the compressed air bottles or directly from an air intake via pump or fan 14. Heated air from heat exchanger 18 may be supplied via conduit 7 to the turbine of generator 19 to generate electricity. The output of the combustor 13 is almost entirely titanium nitride (TiN) with virtually no gaseous by-products, according to the consumption of the nitrogen gas fed to the combustor 13. As shown in Figure 1 , surplus heat may be supplied via a conduit 8 to a factory 26, as well as electricity generated from generator 19 or batteries 20, and / or may be used for residential and other production facilities.

[0088] As mentioned above, burner 12 and combustor 13 can be used in the proposed process. Exemplary layouts and the configurations of burner 12 and combustor 13 are demonstrated in Figure 2. The configuration of burner 12 and combustor 13 can be the same or different. Further, other configurations than the one illustrated in Figure 2 may be used for burner 12 and / or combustor 13.

[0089] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises" and / or "comprising," when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0090] The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of all means or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended to include any structure, material, or act for performing the function in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. The description of embodiments of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration, but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the implementations in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope of the present disclosure defined in appended claims. The actually shown and described embodiments were chosen in order to best explain the principles and some practical applications of the present invention, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the present invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A reactor for combustion and / or reduction, comprising:- a container defining a chamber for either a combustion or a reduction process;- a combustion or reduction gas supply (1);- a combustion or reduction material supply (16, 25); wherein the container comprises a base module (35) and at least one additional module (36- 39), wherein the base module (35) and the at least one additional module (36 - 39) are configured to be selectively combined to adapt the chamber in accordance with the process executed in the chamber.

2. The reactor as claimed in claim 1, wherein the base module (35) comprises the combustion or reduction gas supply.

3. The reactor as claimed in any one of claim 1 and 2, wherein the at least one additional module (35) comprises the combustion or reduction gas supply or an additional combustion or reduction gas supply.

4. The reactor as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the gas supply is configured to introduce a reaction gas from a group at least comprising Oxygen or Nitrogen.

5. The reactor as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein, in a reaction mode of operation, the material supply is configured to introduce a reaction material from a group at least comprising metal, metalloid, such as iron or titanium.

6. The reactor as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein, in a reduction mode of operation, the gas supply is configured to introduce a reduction gas from a group at least comprising Hydrogen or Nitrogen.

7. The reactor as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein, in a reduction mode of operation, the material supply is configured to introduce a reduction material from a group at least comprising metal oxide, such as iron oxide, metalloid oxide, or titanium.

8. The reactor as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein at least one of the additional modules (36 - 39) exhibits a transverse dimension relative to a general progress direction of at least one of the gas and material, different from the base module (35).

9. The reactor reaction or reduction chamber as claimed in claim 8, wherein combined additional modules (36 - 39) and the base module (35) define a shape of the chamber that diverges in the general progress direction.

10. The reactor as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the reaction or reduction material supply comprises an injector (33).

11. The reactor as claimed in claim 10, wherein the injector (33) extends into the space from an end opposite the base module (35).

12. The reactor as claimed in claim 10 or 11, wherein the injector (33) supplies reaction or reduction material at the base module (35).

13. The reactor as claimed in claim 10 or 11 or 12, wherein the injector (33) comprises a cooling channel (45, 46, 47).

14. The reactor as claimed in any of claims 10 - 13, wherein the injector (33) comprises a jet generator (48).

15. The reactor as claimed in claim 14, wherein the jet generator (48) of the injector is connected or connectable to the gas supply (1), wherein the injector (33) forms part of both the gas supply (1) and the material supply (16).

16. A reaction or reduction system comprising two or more reactors, as claimed in any of the preceding claims and a common discharge (41).

17. The system as claimed in claim 16, wherein the common discharge (41) comprises a cyclone (40).

18. The system as claimed in claim 16 or 17, wherein at least one of the reactors is connected to the common discharge for a eccentrical or tangential inflow into the common discharge (40) from the reactors.

19. A method of configuring a reactor as claimed in any of preceding clams 1 - 15, comprising selectively combining the base module (35) and the at least one additional module (36 - 39) to adapt the chamber in accordance with the process thereafter executed in the chamber.

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