High-gravity High-shear Multiphase Reactors
This research line focuses on the development of catalytic and non-catalytic multiphase reactor systems that use rotation to create high gravity and high shear conditions. These conditions lead to excellent interphase mass transfer, excellent intra-phase mixing, and excellent fluid-to-wall heat transfer. Applications are especially in (exothermic) fast reactions that are interphase mass transfer limited, are mixing limited, or are heat transfer limited. Additionally, in a high gravity field two phases with different density can be contacted countercurrently, which opens up possibilities for separation processes. Thus, distillation (gas-liquid), extraction (liquid-liquid), and crystallization (liquid-solid) become feasible. The two main reactor concepts that our research focuses on are the ‘spinning disc reactor’ and the ‘rotating packed bed reactor’.
This research line focuses on the development of catalytic and non-catalytic multiphase reactor systems that use rotation to create high gravity and high shear conditions. These conditions lead to excellent interphase mass transfer, excellent intra-phase mixing, and excellent fluid-to-wall heat transfer. Applications are especially in (exothermic) fast reactions that are interphase mass transfer limited, are mixing limited, or are heat transfer limited. Additionally, in a high gravity field two phases with different density can be contacted countercurrently, which opens up possibilities for separation processes. Thus, distillation (gas-liquid), extraction (liquid-liquid), and crystallization (liquid-solid) become feasible. The two main reactor concepts that our research focuses on are the ‘spinning disc reactor’ and the ‘rotating packed bed reactor’.