A New Concept of Stirred Multiphase Reactor Using a Stationary Catalytic Foam

• Main Authors: Nassima Benamara, Didier Assoua, Louis Jaffeux, Laurent Vanoye, Florica Simescu-Lazar, Marie-Line Zanota, Frédéric Bornette, Valérie Meille, Isabelle Pitault
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2018-08-01
• Series: Processes
• Subjects: foam; structured reactors; mass transfer; basket reactor
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/2227-9717/6/8/117

Developing new stirred gas–liquid–solid reactors with high mass transfer capabilities is still a challenge. In this publication, we present a new concept of multiphase reactor using a stationary catalytic foam and a gas-inducing impeller. The gas–liquid (GL) and liquid–solid (LS) mass transfer rates in this reactor were compared to a stirred reactor with basket filled with beads. Batch absorption of hydrogen and measurement of α-methylstyrene hydrogenation rate on Pd/Al2O3 catalyst were used to evaluate kGLaGL coefficients and kLS coefficients, respectively. With similar LS transfer rates to the basket-reactor and much higher GL transfer rates, the new reactor reveals a very promising tool for intrinsic kinetics investigations.