Gas-lift reactors for rapid reactions with appreciable gas consumption

Gas-lift reactors offer important advantages for a number of gas/liquid and gas/liquid/solid reactions. However, the design and operation of these rea ctors can be complex when there is a substantial change in the molar gas fl ow rate along the length of the reactor, e.g., when a gaseous reactant is c onverted into a liquid product. In this situation, there is a strong coupli ng between reactor hydrodynamics and reaction kinetics, which arises from t he fact char the rate of liquid circulation through the reactor and the lon gitudinal profile of gas holdup in the riser are mutually dependent. Severa l one-dimensional models have been developed to describe Kinetic/hydrodynam ic coupling in gas-lift reactors. These models offer useful insights into t he parameters that: affect reactor performance. The models can also be used to explore different approaches to scale-up.