Heterogenous catalytic reactors

Heterogenous catalytic reactors are among the most commonly utilized chemical reactors in
the chemical engineering industry.

Types of reactors

Heterogenous catalytic reactors are commonly classified by the relative motion of the catalyst
particles.

Reactors with insignificant motion of catalyst particles

Fixed bed reactors

A fixed bed reactor is a cylindrical tube filled with catalyst pellets with reactants flowing through
the bed and being converted into products. The catalyst may have multiple configuration
including: one large bed, several horizontal beds, several parallel packed tubes, multiple beds in
their own shells. The various configurations may be adapted depending on the need to maintain
temperature control within the system. The pellets may be spherical, cylindrical, or randomly
shaped pellets. They range from 0.25 cm to 1.0 cm in diameter. The flow of a fixed bed reactor is
typically downward. Packed bed reactor.
Trickle-bed reactors

A trickle-bed reactor (TBR) is a chemical reactor that uses the downward movement of a liquid
and the downward (co-current) or upward (counter-current) movement of gas over a packed bed
of (catalyst) particles. It is considered to be the simplest reactor type for performing catalytic
reactions where a gas and liquid (normally both reagents) are present in the reactor and
accordingly it is extensively used in processing plants. Typical examples are liquid-
phase hydrogenation, hydrodesulfurization
Moving bed reactors

Moving bed reactors are reactors in which the catalytic material flows along with the reactants
and is then separated from the exit stream and recycled. Moving bed reactors are less frequently
used than the above two reactors.

Rotating bed reactors

A rotating bed reactor (RBR) holds a packed bed fixed within a basket with a central hole. When
the basket is spinning immersed in a fluid phase, the inertia forces created by the spinning
motion forces the fluid outwards, thereby creating a circulating flow through the rotating packed
bed. The rotating bed reactor is a rather new invention that shows high rates of mass transfer and
good fluid mixing. RBR type reactors have mostly been applied in biocatalysis reactions or
decoloration applications.

Reactors with significant motion of catalyst particles

Fluidized bed reactors

A fluidized bed reactor suspends small particles of catalyst by the upward motion of the fluid to
be reacted. The fluid is typically a gas with a flow rate high enough to mix the particles without
carrying them out of the reactor. The particles are much smaller than those for the above
reactors. Typically on the scale of 10-300 microns. One key advantage of using a fluidized bed
reactor is the ability to achieve a highly uniform temperature in the reactor.
Slurry reactors

Slurry reactors are three-phase reactors, meaning they can be used to react solids, liquids, and
gases simultaneously. They usually consist of a catalyst (solid) suspended in a liquid, through
which a gas is bubbled. They can operate in either semi-batch or continuous mode.

A slurry reactor contains the catalyst in a powdered or granular form. This reactor is typically
used when one reactant is a gas and the other a liquid while the catalyst is a solid. The reactant
gas is put through the liquid and dissolved. It then diffuses onto the catalyst surface. Slurry
reactors can use very fine particles and this can lead to problems of separation of catalyst from
the liquid. Trickle-bed reactors don't have this problem and this is a big advantage of trickle-bed
reactor. Unfortunately these large particles in trickle bed means much lower reaction rate.
Overall, the trickle bed is simpler, the slurry reactors usually has a high reaction rate and the
fluidized bed is somewhat in-between.