8-Parallel Temkin Reactors
A number of years ago, Clariant chose to significantly increase their capabilities in partial oxidation catalysts. As part of this initiative the decision was made to improve their Vinyl Acetate Monomer (VAM) catalyst technology.
The advanced Temkin reactor designed by ILS was an improvement upon the original Temkin reactor system developed at the University of Moscow in the 70’s.
ILS worked closely with Clariant on this project to develop a Temkin module design that was flexible, had minimal bypassing and excellent plug-flow characteristics. The plug-flow means that high conversion levels can be attained and high interstitial linear flow velocities result in excellent heat transfer and prevent film-diffusion effects from masking catalst performance. The unit has a downstream nitrogen purge system combined with a custom heated-valve oven, which prevents VAM condensation and self-polymerization, which can potentially lead to blockage of downstream tubing. Full integration of online GC-analytics as well as a total combustion reactor for reacting unconverted material to CO2 and water resulted in a complete, turn-key system.
