AM Technology have published a new technical note summarising results from a recent internal study to investigate high weight % slurry handling within the Coflore® ACR.
The Coflore® Agitated Cell Reactor (ACR) is a multipurpose flow reactor designed for laboratory and small-scale manufacturing duties. The ACR is actively mixed and multi-stage with efficient plug flow characteristics. Mixing efficiency and plug flow performance are independent of residence time, facilitating reaction times ranging from a few seconds to many hours. A key feature of the ACR is its suitability for multiphasic reactions such as solid-liquid reactions.
When assessing the suitability of solid-liquid reactions in flow, the characteristics of the solid have a large impact on the reaction set up required. In particular, the settling characteristics of a solid has a significant impact, with fast-settling solids behaving very differently to slow-settling solids in flow.
Calcium carbonate is an ideal solid to work with due to its non-hazardous properties and insolubility in water. Calcium carbonate has a density of 2.71 g/mL and is relatively slow settling in water. This latest internal testing at AM Technology investigated the ability of an ACR to handle a >60%w/v suspension of calcium carbonate, at 1-minute, 2-minute and 5-minute residence times and over extended run times.
At all three residence times investigated, Samples were regularly taken from both the feed vessel and the ACR outlet to allow monitoring of the slurry concentration. No accumulation of solids within the ACR cell block was observed, showcasing its ability to handle high weight % slurries at a range of residence times. The total run time for the testing was 120 h which equated to thousands of reactor volumes of slurry passing through the ACR without fouling or blocking.
You can download this latest technical note (AMT-TN03) from our publications and case studies section, here.