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Updated: Oct 10, 2026

Ammonia Synthesis at Low Pressure
Published on: August 23, 2017
Pressure-drops control strategy in a fixed-bed reactor
F Thalasso1, E Razo-Flores, R Ancia
1Unit of Bioengineering, Catholic University of Louvain, Place Croix du Sud 2/19, B-1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. thalasso@mail.cinvestav.mx
Abstract:
This paper presents a strategy to control pressure-drops (head loss) in a biofilter designed according to the "Mist-Foam" concept. This concept is based on the mixing of the gaseous substrate and a liquid nutrient solution with an atomization nozzle to generate a mist passing subsequently through a synthetic polyurethane foam. In this type of bioreactor, the microbial growth reduces progressively the empty bed volume of the biofilter and causes an increase in the pressure-drops. This phenomenon can result in a complete clogging of the biofilter. The strategy of pressure-drops control presented here consists of successive interruption of the liquid flow, automatically controlled, resulting in a drying effect of the biomass. Tested during a 160 days experiment, this system has permitted to reduce and stabilize the pressure-drops in a biofilter in which the carrier exhibited a high likelihood of clogging.
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