Circulating reaction zones in a packed-bed loop reactor

Abstract

A novel unsteady reactor concept called a circulation loop reactor is presented. It is based on the principle of travelling reaction zones. Thus the reactor, consisting of a co-current heat exchanger and a fixed-bed loop (both filled with catalyst), is well suited for weakly exothermic and equilibrium limited reactions. Experimental studies on ethene oxidation are discussed regarding wave phenomena and nonlinear behaviour as a function of inlet concentration and flow rate. Simple as well as complex periodic and chaotic attractors have been observed. A subcritical Hopf-bifurcation marks the transition between stable ignited steady states and an unstable limit cycle which turns by cyclic fold bifurcation into a complex stable periodic attractor.