Immersion Fixed Bed Reactor Catalyst Immobilization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional fixed bed reactors and jet reactors face issues such as poor heat transfer, catalyst damage, low reaction rates, and high costs, along with challenges in catalyst replacement and secondary reaction control, especially for solid catalysts like sulfonic acid type ion exchange resins.
Innovation Solution
The immersion fixed bed reactor intensified by liquid flow features a cylindrical tank with an annular catalyst bed made of stainless steel sheets, allowing for efficient catalyst immobilization and liquid circulation, which enhances reaction intensity and catalyst longevity by reducing catalyst collisions and improving heat transfer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional jet reactors use liquid flow to intensify reaction, then reaction rate is improved, but catalyst collision and damage increase
Solution Approach 1:
The reactor is divided into two distinct zones: an inner column zone where catalyst is fixed on a support structure, and an outer annular zone where liquid reactant flows. This segmentation prevents catalyst particles from being carried away by liquid flow while maintaining high reaction intensity through controlled liquid circulation.
Solution Approach 2:
A support structure (mesh, screen, or porous plate) is introduced as an intermediary between the liquid flow and catalyst particles. This intermediary holds the catalyst in place while allowing liquid to pass through and contact the catalyst surface, preventing direct catalyst-catalyst and catalyst-internal collisions.
2Reliability
If conventional fixed bed reactors use fixed catalyst arrangement, then catalyst damage is reduced, but heat transfer performance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The reactor utilizes liquid circulation through the catalyst bed to enhance heat transfer. The liquid flow through the porous support or mesh structure provides continuous cooling and heat removal, solving the heat transfer problem of fixed bed reactors while maintaining catalyst stability.
3Productivity
If conventional reactors operate with high liquid flow intensity, then reaction productivity is improved, but catalyst particle breakage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The catalyst is segmented and fixed on a support structure rather than being free-flowing. This allows high liquid flow rates to be maintained for high productivity while the support structure prevents catalyst particles from colliding and breaking.
4Ease of manufacture
If conventional fixed bed reactors use simple structure, then manufacturing cost is reduced, but catalyst replacement difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The support structure is designed to be removable or adjustable, allowing the catalyst to be easily replaced by removing the support from the inner column. This dynamic design feature enables simple catalyst replacement without dismantling the entire reactor, maintaining manufacturing simplicity while improving maintenance ease.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design significantly intensifies reaction rates and energy efficiency, extends catalyst service life, and allows for easy catalyst replacement, overcoming the limitations of traditional reactors while maintaining the advantages of both fixed bed and jet reactors.
Implementation Method 1
a liquid circulating pump P-1... enables the liquid pumped from P-1 into the central column space of T-1 and radically pass through the catalyst bed of T-1 into the space between R-1 and T-1, thus one cycle of reaction operation is accomplished. With the continuous work of the pump P-1 the liquid in R-1 will be repeatedly circulated
Implementation Method 2
heat exchanger E-1
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
An immersion fixed bed reactor intensified by liquid flow contains a cylindrical tank R-1 internally installed an annular cylindrical catalyst bed (ACCB) T-1 packed with solid catalysts. The inner and outer walls of the T-1 are composed of two layers of stainless steel sheets with holes. The outer layer of stainless steel perforated with holes. The inner layer of catalyst contacting stainless steel is covered with stainless steel waved mesh in circumferential direction. The bottom of T-1 is sealed with a steel plate by welding or a blind plate and the top of T-1 is fixed to R-1 with a flange. The solid catalysts are packed in the ACCB. The cylindrical tank R-1 is equipped with a reaction mass inlet duct 1 at the top and mass outlet duct 2 at the bottom and the duct 2 is connected with a liquid circulating pump P-1, a liquid outlet duct valve V-1, a flow meter L-1, a heat exchanger E-1 and a normal tube inlet M-linserting into the central column space of T-1 at axial position through the top of R-1, and enables the liquid is pumped by P-1 into the central column space of T-1 and radically pass through the catalyst bed of T-1 into the space between R-1 and T-1, thus one cycle of reaction operation is accomplished. With the continuous work of the pump P-1 the liquid in R-1 will be repeatedly circulated and the reaction is simulanously carried out again and again. if it is gas-liquid-solid reaction system, the above-stated normal tube inlet M-1 will be substituted by a jet inlet M-2 which has a vacuum inlet tube allowing the surrounding gas or mass vapor sucked and mixed with the liquid into the central column space of T-2, then radially flows together with liquid reactants through the catalyst bed of T-1 into the annular space between R-2and T-2. The vacuum inlet tube of M-2 is connected to the outlet tube of R-2 and the gas reactant is added through the gas inlet and a gas distributor.