Qingdao Energy Institute developed external circulation slurry bed mixing and separation process strengthening reactor

[ Instrument Network Instrument Development ] Gas-liquid-solid three-phase slurry bed reactor has the advantages of uniform temperature distribution, good mass transfer effect, large production capacity, low energy consumption, simple operation, etc., in energy and chemical industry, fine chemical industry, material chemical industry. It is widely used in pharmaceutical and chemical industries, and is also the first choice for today's Fischer-Tropsch synthesis reactors. Since solid catalysts need to be recycled continuously and liquid products need to be removed from the reactor in time, liquid-solid separation is the key to continuous production. The traditional slurry bed technology requires a separate solid-liquid separation system, which has problems such as low continuous operation, high operating cost, unstable production, and poor safety, thus limiting its large-scale popularization and application.

In response to the above problems, the Multiphase Reaction Engineering Research Group of the Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Processes of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, under the leadership of researchers Yang Chao and Huang Qingshan, developed a new type of internal circulation slurry bed mixing and separation process intensification reactor in 2018. Without additional power, the liquid-solid separation is realized in the hydrocyclone by the directional circulating power provided by the inner loop reactor slurry, and the alumina particles having a particle diameter larger than 59 μm can be trapped in the reactor for recycling for a long time. On the basis of the previous success, the same working principle was applied. Assistant researcher Yan Shujun and others recently combined the external loop reactor with the hydrocyclone to successfully develop a new type of external circulating slurry bed mixing and separation process intensification reactor. Compared with the internal circulating slurry bed reactor, the external circulating slurry bed reactor has a large operating space, can be connected in parallel with a plurality of hydrocyclones, has better mixing and heat exchange effects, and has greater processing capacity and operational flexibility. . The new slurry bed reactor can not only realize large-scale and continuous production, but also save energy and environmental protection, and the process is intrinsically safe, and has important industrial application prospects.

After a series of explorations and technical improvements, the first set of external circulation pilot plant realized the interception of solid particles above 6.82μm, and the cleaning liquid treatment capacity was up to 3m3/h (internal circulating slurry bed can retain more than 59μm of the same kind of particles, treatment The amount is only 0.9m3/h), and the running effect is as shown in the figure below. For the reactor, the researchers carried out detailed research on fluid dynamics, mass transfer performance and solid distribution law, and the related results laid a solid foundation for its industrial application. Important results have been published in the chemical journal Chemical Engineering Science. This type of reactor has applied for an international PCT patent (PCT/CN2019/107424) and obtained a domestic invention patent (ZL201610974776.2).

The research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21878318), the Chinese Academy of Sciences Pilot A (XDA21060400), and the 2018 China Petroleum-Dalian Chemical Institute Energy and Chemical Joint R&D Center project.