Chemical Reactor – Tanglian Chemistry

Frequently Asked Questions

Adding solids to a reactor is necessary for almost all procedures that use these containers.

Almost all glass-lined reactors and those made of other materials have a manway and several nozzles to allow access to the vessel’s interior.

These access points are used to load the vessel with materials and liquids and install accessories and instrumentation.

Solids come in a range of shapes and sizes (as well as toxicity, sensitivity, and other characteristics), so there are several ways to introduce them into a reactor. As a company with substantial experience in both glass-lined reactors and solids transfer, we are frequently questioned about solids charging best practices and practicality, particularly difficult-to-move materials.

When introducing solids to a chemical reactor, the following are some often asked questions and considerations.

While some of these responses are specific to our conveying equipment (for example, our Powder Pump system is designed to be mounted atop a vessel to charge particles into a reactor safely), many of these points are likely applicable to other solids and liquids mixing technologies.

What if I’m working with a caustic substance?

When solvents, solids, and their reactive products are used in glass-lined reactors, it usually indicates the solvents, solids, and their reactive products are exceedingly corrosive.

As a result, the solids transfer system’s Materials of Construction (MOC) must be compatible with your ingredients and product.

The following are some examples of everyday MOCs that can be used alone or in combination:

Glass Conductive PTFE or PFA Hastelloy C Borosilicate

What if solvent vapors condense in the solid’s addition nozzle, resulting in product buildup?

This phenomenon has the potential to generate problems in the process.

We have tackled this in the past in a couple of ways at Tanglian:

Heat tracing around the nozzle – This can assist keep the nozzle area above the solvents’ condensation temperatures.

This helps prevent the particles from being exposed to liquid solvent droplets before discharge via the nozzle.

Secondary isolation valve with spool piece that has been purged.

Only at the start and end of solids charging operations does the secondary valve open and close.

A continual supply of inert gas is delivered to the pipe spool between the isolation valve and the Powder Pump system while it is open.

The low-pressure gas flow assists in keeping solvent vapors away from the charging nozzle.

This solution is unique to our Powder Pump unit and may not apply to solutions from other manufacturers.

Please feel free to contact us directly for additional information.

Is there a method to distribute the material rather than drop considerable material slugs when charging?

Discharging a significant number of solids into the reactor can make it more difficult to homogenize the mixture before adding the next charge or put the agitator and mechanical seal assembly under stress.

To help with this, we offers a “dispersion cone.”

It’s a nozzle that slides into the reactor through the intake.

When the slug of powder collides with the cone, it helps to disseminate the substance more evenly in the liquid, making mixing easier.

What if there are solids or dust in my vent line?

Dust can accumulate in smaller diameter vent lines or when handling low bulk density items that don’t settle fast into the liquid.

We can supply a vent filter to prevent these specks of dust or solids from entering your vent line.

Process Systems has vast experience with both glass-lined reactors and pneumatic conveying systems, making us particularly suited to answer questions on this subject.

Hopefully, the material on this page has answered some of your questions about solids charging in chemical reactors.

While we can address any general solids charging questions, it’s crucial to keep in mind that every process is unusual and unique in some way, so don’t be shocked if you still have some unanswered queries. The majority of our systems are tailored to our customers’ requirements.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any more questions or would like to discuss your application further.