Reactor

A reactor is a piece of process equipment in which chemical, biological or physico-chemical processes are specifically controlled. It serves to convert raw materials into products with specific properties under defined operating conditions – such as temperature, pressure, residence time, composition and energy input. The aim is to achieve controlled, scalable and safe process control with reproducible results.

Reactors come in numerous designs, such as stirred tanks, tubular reactors, fixed-bed and fluidised-bed reactors, vacuum mixing dryers, synthesis reactors or combined mixing and reaction units. Their design depends on the nature and kinetics of the reaction, the physical state of the substances involved, and the requirements for heat and mass transfer, process safety and cleaning.

In addition to classic chemical reactions, processes such as polymerisation, crystallisation, coating, agglomeration, drying or thermal treatments are also carried out in reactors. In process engineering for powders, granulates and bulk materials, reactors can combine the functions of mixing, material conversion and product refinement in a single unit.