Improvements in the Vortex Reactor Design

Over the years, a variety of improvements have been incorporated into the vortex reactor that considerably increase its efficiency, durability, and operability. These improvements have included an internal rib to guide feed particles into a tight helix, an easily replaceable wear plate located at the vortex entry, a recycle loop that ensures complete pyrolysis of large feed particles,reorientation of the reactor from horizontal to vertical, better conservation of kinetic energy in the recycle loop with a new eductor design, and the ality to periodically remove inert particles from the reactor. A mathematical model that describes the vortex reactor was used to guide the design of a reactor with a nominal capacity of 32 dry tonnes of biomass/day. This reactor was fabricatedwith the internal spiral rib using large, but conventional , machining equipment. Other techniques of fabrication exist, but have not been proven. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory is interested in scaling up this technology in cooperation with industry.