Hi,

We are studying organosolv pretreatment on a lignocellulosic biomass using various solvents.

Solvents considered vary in range, from methanol, acetone, diols, glycols, simple organic acids and so on.

The reactor is a Berghof digestec DAB-3 (standard autoclave reactor with PTFE liner) with a max temp of 250 C and pressure of 200 bar. The reactor can hold 210 mL, but I am looking to use about half only (100 to 110 mL).

Many of the solvents i will use have medium to low boiling points. I will test a variety of temperatures between 80 C and 220 C while mixing them in varying concentrations (diluted with water).

Many papers claim to use these solvents at these temperatures using various reactor types without any issues. My question is twofold.

1. What are the calculations to check beforehand that the pressure build up will be handled by the reactor walls.

2. What prevents low vapor pressure solvents such as methanol and Ethanol, in my reactor, from exploding when they are heated above their boiling points after they are gasses.

Please, any help would be good.

Thank you

Georgeio Semaan

PhD Candidate

University of Stavanger