Characterization of the WRI entrained-flow reactor

Abstract

The ultimate goal of the current research has been to obtain kinetic and stoichiometric data on the high-heating-rate pyrolysis of a western oil shale. To accomplish this, a reactor system had to be chosen that could attain the high heating rates observed in fluid beds, but avoid some of their limitations. one of the most favorable high-heating-rate systems for accurate reaction research is an entrained-flow reactor. With proper design, heating rates can equal and surpass those observed in fluid-bed reactors, and product recovery is simpler and more efficient. To obtain the larger amounts of solid and liquid products needed for detailed chemical and physical analyses, the system need only be run for a longer time. Western Research Institute has designed, constructed, and begun operating a high-heating-rate, pressurized, entrained-flow reactor system. This reactor system was developed to provide kinetic and stoichiometric data on the high-heating-rate pyrolysis of oil shale and to optimize operating conditions for the scale-up of a proprietary commercial process. This report describes the reactor system and its performance characteristics.