What Do I Need to Pay Attention to When Operating a Reactor?

Reactor is a commonly used equipment in chemical, pharmaceutical, food and other industries for carrying out various chemical reactions, mixing, dissolving and other processes. As its internal usually involves high temperature, high pressure, corrosive substances and other dangerous factors, so the operation of the reaction kettle need to pay extra attention to safety, strict compliance with operating procedures.

Preparation Before Operating the Reactor

1. Familiarise with the equipment: The operator must be professionally trained and familiar with the structure, performance, operating procedures and emergency measures of the reactor.
2. Check the equipment:
Check whether the reaction kettle body, stirrer, sealing device, instrument, valve, pipeline, etc. are intact, whether there is leakage, loose, corrosion and so on.
Check whether the pressure gauge, thermometer, liquid level gauge and other instruments work normally and whether the range meets the requirements.
Check whether safety valves, rupture discs and other safety accessories are intact and effective.
3. Prepare materials: Prepare raw materials, solvents, catalysts and so on according to the process requirements, and check whether their quality meets the requirements.
4. Clean the equipment: The reactor should be thoroughly cleaned before use to avoid residues affecting the reaction or causing pollution.
5. Nitrogen replacement: For flammable and explosive reaction, nitrogen is needed to replace the air in the reaction kettle to reduce the concentration of oxygen.

Precautions During Operation

1. Add materials:
Add materials sequentially according to the process requirements, pay attention to controlling the speed and sequence of adding materials.
For flammable and explosive, toxic and hazardous materials, appropriate protective measures should be taken, such as wearing protective gloves, masks and so on.
Observe the temperature and pressure changes in the reactor during the charging process.
2. Temperature and pressure rise:
Temperature and pressure rise should be carried out slowly to avoid rapid changes in temperature and pressure leading to equipment damage or accidents.
Strictly control the temperature and pressure, not to exceed the design value of the equipment.
Closely monitor the reaction process and adjust the process parameters in time.
3. Stirring:
Select the appropriate stirring speed and mode according to the process requirements.
Observe the operation of the stirrer and deal with any abnormalities in time.
4. Sampling and analysis: Regularly take samples to analyse the composition and concentration of the reaction materials to ensure that the reaction is carried out as expected.
5. Abnormal situation processing:
If abnormal conditions such as abnormal rise in temperature and pressure, leakage and abnormal noise are found, the operation should be stopped immediately to find out the reasons and take corresponding measures.
In case of fire, explosion and other emergencies, the emergency plan should be activated immediately, and the evacuation of personnel should be organised and the police should be called.

Precautions After Operation

1. Temperature and pressure reduction: After the end of the reaction, the temperature and pressure should be lowered slowly to avoid damage to the equipment due to sudden changes in temperature and pressure.
2. Unloading:
Before unloading, make sure that the temperature and pressure in the reactor have been reduced to a safe range.
During unloading, pay attention to prevent the material from spilling or leaking.
3. Cleaning equipment: The kettle should be cleaned in time after use to avoid residue corrosion of equipment or affect the next use.
4. Maintenance: Regular maintenance of the kettle, check the working condition of all parts of the equipment, and replace the damaged parts in time.

Other Precautions

1. Personal protection: The operator should wear good labour protection equipment, such as protective clothing, protective gloves, protective glasses.
2. Safety labelling: Obvious safety labels should be set up around the reactor, such as ‘high-pressure danger’, ‘flammable and explosive’ and so on.
3. Emergency plan: Make a perfect emergency plan, and organise regular drills to improve the operator’s emergency response capability.

In short, the operation of the reactor is a technical and dangerous work, we must strictly comply with the operating procedures, strengthen the safety awareness, in order to ensure safe production.