| A helical coil reactor to thermally crack heavy hydrocarbons was designed and constructed according to the criteria of: varying feed properties (including bitumen); large volumes of liquid product produced; gas and liquid phase cracking; varying residence times; using either steam or inert gas during the experiment; minimizing the axial dispersion; and full characterization of the heat transfer effects inside the reactor. The system was designed to process flowrates from 240 mL/hr to 6820 mL/hr, with pressures up to 10000 kPa. The reactor was constructed using a two-zone design, with the smaller tube able to attain heating rates of 1400 K/m and 495 K/m for the larger diameter. Products collected from experiments completed in the 435--700°C range agree well with the data by Dong [104], except for the runs completed at temperatures >550°C. The four-lump kinetic model developed by Dong [104] was used to confirm the operation of the reactor. |
