Biofuel research reactor

Parr Instrument Company manufactures non-stirred vessels for the decomposition of biomass in ammonia and steam. Parr stirred reactors, including a new horizontal reactor technology, have been designed for research processes that include hydrogenation, isomerization, and metathesis reactions. In addition, fully customizable continuous-flow tubular reactor systems have been developed with continuous reactant feed and product handling capabilities. The custom Biofuels System photo shown above illustrates a complete pilot scale plant used for hydrogenating feedstock that originates from a proprietary fermentation process. The system is used to develop and optimize the process conditions necessary for a much larger demonstration-scale system, ultimately leading to full-scale production of renewable fuels. The system is comprised of five major subsystems: a gas and liquid feed system, the jacketed tubular reactor module including a reactant pre-heater and circulating bath, product recovery and back pressure control, an auto-sampler and a Parr 4871 Control System (not pictured). The system is completely automated and includes an auto-sampling subsystem that periodically samples the reactor output stream in order to accurately monitor product quality.