Design of a Percolation Reactor for the Hydrolysis of Lignocellulosic Biomass

A Percolation reactor for the thermochemical pre-treatment of lignocellulosic biomass as a precursor for the production of biofuel such as bioethanol from complex organic polymers is developed by this study. The reactor is designed to hold 3 kg of pulverised biomass of 0.5≤ and ≥0.3 mm particle size for each hydrolysis run, while the mass of other biomass is determined on the basis of density. It consists of a perforated material holding basket which is 0.0261 m³ in volume, a circulation pump with a power rating of 1.83 W capacity and a heating chamber containing 3 kW heater. The reactor is designed to operate within the temperature range of 20°C - 180°C, pressure≤ 45 N·m^-2, and desired hydrolysis flow rate of 4.33 × 10^-4 m³·S^-1. The Percolation reactor produced high sugar yield with instant discharge of sugar products after each completed hydrolysis cycle, thus minimizing sugar decomposition. The efficiency of the percolation reactor was determined to be 64.4%