How do you operate a hydrogenation reactor?

How do you operate a hydrogenation reactor?

I. Before starting the hydrogenation reactor

1. Check whether the reactor vessel, agitator, rotating parts, auxiliary equipment, indicating instruments, safety valves, pipelines, and valves meet safety requirements.

2. Check whether the water, electricity, and gas systems meet safety requirements.

II. Starting the Hydrogenation Reactor

1. Before adding materials, the agitator in the reactor must be turned on. Once it is running smoothly and quietly, proceed to add the materials into the reactor, ensuring that the amount added does not exceed the process requirements.

2. Before opening the steam valve, first open the reflux valve, then open the air inlet valve. Slowly open the steam valve to preheat the jacket, gradually increasing the pressure. The nickel pressure in the jacket must not exceed the specified value.

3. The steam valve and the cooling valve must not be opened simultaneously, and the steam pipe must not be struck or impacted when gas is flowing through it.

4. When opening the cooling water valve, first open the return water valve and then open the inlet water valve. The cooling water pressure must not be lower than 0.1 MPa, and the high-pressure side must not be lower than 0.2 MPa.

5. For a liquid-ring vacuum pump, start the pump before supplying water, and stop the pump before cutting off the water supply. Additionally, any water remaining inside the pump should be drained out.

6. Regularly check the operating condition of the reactor, and if any abnormalities are detected, stop the machine for maintenance.

7. When cleaning the titanium epoxy reactor (enamel-coated), do not use alkaline water to scrub the reactor. Be careful not to damage the enamel.

III. After the hydrogenation reactor is stopped

1. Stop stirring, disconnect the power supply, and close all valves.

2. When loading materials, disconnect the mixer’s power supply. Hang up a warning sign and assign a dedicated person to supervise.

3. The reaction vessel shall undergo regular technical inspections in accordance with the requirements for pressure vessels. Vessels that fail the inspection shall not be put into operation.

The specific process steps for the hydrogenation reactor are as follows:

(1) Ingredients: Use a sugar liquid pump to transfer 5 m³ of sugar liquid into the sugar liquid metering tank. Under static pressure, add the prepared 0.5 M catalyst into the catalyst metering tank. Then, transfer the sugar solution and catalyst into the feeding tank.

(2) Feeding: Sequentially open the reactor vent valve and the reactor feed valve, then open the discharge valve of the feed tank located on the second floor to feed material into the reactor. After feeding is complete, first close the reactor vent valve, then close the reactor feed valve, and finally close the discharge valve of the feed tank.

(3) Hydrogenation: After the feed materials have been added, turn on the reactor stirrer and simultaneously open the steam valve. When the temperature inside the reactor reaches 90°C, open the hydrogen inlet valve to prepare for hydrogenation. Once you observe that the reaction pressure curve has stopped changing, close the hydrogen inlet valve and prepare to discharge the product.

(4) Discharge: After the hydrogenation reaction is complete, open the reactor discharge valve to prepare for discharge. After discharge, the pressure inside the reactor typically ranges from 2.0 to 3.0 kPa; then close the reactor discharge valve.

(5) Hydrogen reflux: First, open the inlet valve of the hydrogen reflux storage tank, then open the reflux valve of the reactor to equalize the pressure between the reactor and the reflux storage tank. When the reactor pressure becomes equal to the pressure in the hydrogen reflux storage tank, close the reactor reflux valve and the hydrogen reflux storage tank inlet valve in sequence.

(6) Catalyst Treatment: After the supernatant from the settling tank has been processed, open the catalyst cleaning valve on the settling tank and flush the catalyst in the settling tank with purified water until the catalyst is transferred into the catalyst metering tank. Maintain the liquid level in the catalyst metering tank at 0.5 M.

(7) Preparing for the next hydrogenation reaction: After checking the feed liquid parameters and equipment conditions, prepare for the next hydrogenation reaction. This process features low feed pressure and minimal safety risks; it also saves on equipment costs, pump energy consumption, and maintenance expenses, delivering excellent results and significant economic benefits. Importantly, it reduces hydrogen loss by efficiently conserving and recovering hydrogen gas.