PFR – Plug Flow Reactor
PFR application
The plug-flow reactor (PFR) is suitable for the treatment of biomass with high dry matter content. The reactor is not equipped with a continuous mixing system, but with an equipment made up of paddles or screws.
They allow to move the biomass through the reactor and let the biogas move upwards into the heated environment before being collected and treated. This reactor can be coupled with several upstream and downstream systems properly designed to treat the raw biomass or the digestate produced by the process.
How the PFR technology works
In the PFR, the digester looks like a construction made of reinforced concrete, steel or fiberglass completely similar to a tunnel.
The presence of paddles inside the reactor avoids back-mixing processes, allowing the biomass to move towards the screw or pump installed at the reactor outlet. At the end of the process, the outgoing digestate has a very high dry matter content, and is generally sent to a composting systems.
The PFR technology advantages:
- It is suitable for BIOMASSES WITH COMPLEX DIGESTION;
- It is suitable for reduces digestion volumes and HIGHLY FIBROUS BIOMASSES;
- It ensured the REDUCTION OF DIGESTATE QUANTITIES;
- It SEQUENTIALLY SEPARATES THE STAGES OF ANAEROBIC DIGESTION within the reactor, thus having greater control of each of them.