Packed Bed Reactor

        Continuous packed bed reactors are the most widely used reactors for immobilized enzymes and immobilized microbial cells. In these systems, it is necessary to consider the pressure drop across the packed bed or column, and the effect of the column dimensions on the reaction rate. There are three substrate flow possibilities in a packed bed and they are illustrated below:
  1. Downward flow method
  2. Upward flow method
  3. Recycling method

        The recycling method is advantageous when the linear velocity of the substrate solution affects the reaction flow rate. This is because the recycling method allows the substrate solution to be passed through the column at a desired velocity.

        For industrial applications, upward flow is generally preferred over downward flow because it does not compress the beds in enzyme columns as downward flow does. When gas is produced during an enzyme reaction, upward flow is preferred.

        A continuous packed bed reactor has the following advantages over a batch packed bed reactor:

  1. Easy, automatic control and operation
  2. Reduction of labor costs
  3. Stabilization of operating conditions
  4. Easy quality control of products

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