The pump can handle a liquid viscosity of max. 40 mPa.s at the upstream side. The maximum operating temperature is 70 °C. The temperature of the furnace that contains the reactor tube with small catalyst particles is much higher. The pressure at the reactor tube outlet has to remain at a high value. Beyond the outlet there is a cold trap for water or oil condensation, a back pressure controller with control valve that can handle pressure differences up to 400 bars and an exhaust to atmospheric pressure.
The pressure controller can handle gas and liquid in a very stable controlled flow. Especially at very small flow rates, this pressure controller has a much better control performance than a mechanical pressure reducer. The exhaust is used to remove gas that has been produced at the reaction.
The pump has three control modes:
- pressure
- volumetric (only the speed of the piston is controlled)
- and mass flow
The latter is a special feature that can be offered, and is convenient from a chemist’s point of view. As the flow can be controlled directly, the exact number of moles injected to the process is known.