For continuous pyrolysis reaction, we need a continuous flow of nitrogen to remove the evolved pyrolysis vapours and condense them simultaneously. How can we calculate the required flow rate? Is there any standard procedure?
Dear Gopikrishnan Kailas,
There is no standard procedure for this, and it depends a lot on the reactor design. First, to have an idea of the range of inert gas flow in your reactor, I suggest: (1) for the highest flow, you can use the one where your material starts to be dragged. (2) for the lowest flow, you can use the minimal one you need to make the scrubbing system bubble. You can select any flow within this range.
Second, you can base your inert gas flow on the vapor residence time you want. For fast pyrolysis (what I think you are doing), the vapor residence time is usually between 0.5-10 s. Once you select the vapor residence time, you determine the inert gas flow depending on your reactor volume using the formula: inert flow = reactor volume/residence time. You must select a residence time that gives you a flow within the limits I suggested to you in the first paragraph.
Technically, you should inject the inert gas before you do the experiment to ensure there is no oxygen in the atmosphere. So, you can fix your inert gas flow to fill the reactor volume in a reasonable time. However, later a different inert gas flow can be used for the experiment.
Commercial Partial Oxidation (Fixed or Fluidized Bed) reactors do not require any inerts.
Yamid Gomez Rueda Thank you so much for your valuable suggestion
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