氣舉式反應槽的原理是利用氣體作為攪拌動力的方式,在氣、液、固三相中提供了簡單有效率的攪拌混合方式。氣舉式反應器構造極為簡單,沒有複雜的零組件,在攪拌混合過程中有著極佳的氣體吸收、熱傳及快速混合的特性,同時就電力與儀表控制上亦有著省能源與操作低成本之優勢,故在化工技術和醱酵科技上有很廣泛的應用。本研究依據美國國家標準American Society of Mechanical Engineers(ASME)規範設計,符合壓力容器安全規範的50噸工業量產級氣舉式生物反應器的機械設計。此氣舉式反應器之胴底可依內環流式或氣液雙噴射式之不同需求而進行噴氣槽底結構之轉換,同時提供傳統機械攪拌醱酵槽改裝為氣舉式醱酵槽之設計圖例。
The operational principles of air-lift reactor (ALR) are based on the injected air as the power source for the effective stirring within gas, liquid and solid phases. ALR possesses simple structure without complex assembling units. There are excellent gas absorption, heat transfer and mixing characteristic in the ALR. Besides, ALR has advantages in the low cost of automatic instrumentation and energy consumption. Therefore, ALR has wide applications in the chemical and fermentation industries. In this study a 50 kilotons industrial-scale ALR has been designed based on the safety criteria of high-pressure tank regulations in the handbook of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). The mechanical design in the bottom part of ALR has a switching device for the alternative requirement of central draft tube/disc for the internal-loop circulation or jet for the gas-liquid double stream injection. We also proposed a mechanical design method for the transformation from the traditional stirring tank to the ALR.