Hydro Generation System

Jacketed reactors maintain the temperature of the reactants, products, and catalysts during a chemical reaction. A utility fluid (e.g., cooling water, steam) flows through the jacket that wraps around the vessel to cool or heat the contents of the reactor.

The nature of the reaction is a critical consideration in designing reactors. Heat may be released (exothermic reaction) or absorbed (endothermic reaction) during a chemical reaction. Cooling or heating is important to provide favorable conditions for the reaction, thus maximizing product conversion and increasing efficiency,... and to prevent uncontrolled increase or decrease in temperature during the reaction. Therefore, a jacketed reactor must be considered.
Packed bed reactors are cylindrical vessels that contain an immobilized bed of catalyst. The liquid or gaseous reactants flow from one side of the vessel, and the reaction takes place on the surface of the solid catalyst. Packed bed reactors provide high conversion per weight of catalyst and more contact area for the reactant and the catalyst. However, in these reactors, the cylindrical vessel must be able to support the weight of the catalyst bed.
Fluidized bed reactors also contain a bed of catalyst. In these reactors, the gaseous or liquid reactants pass through the bed at high velocities which suspend the solid catalyst inside the vessel and make it behave like a fluid. The fluidization of the catalyst allows thorough mixing of the reactants in all directions, resulting in attaining high reactant conversion and mass transfer rates, and uniform temperature across the reactor