QRCB Catalytic Reactors

The Catalytic Reactors, "QRCB" is an unit designed to perform the saccharose hydrolysis reaction in a continuous way by using catalytic fixed-bed reactors.

Saccharose hydrolysis is the industrial process to obtain glucose and frustose from saccharose. It is a reversible chemical reaction.

The "QRCB" unit is composed of three fixed-bed reactors. Two of them are fixed-bed reactors for chemical catalysis with the same chemical catalyst, called ionic exchange resin but with different grain size. The third reactor is a fixed-bed reactor for biological (enzymic) catalysis, with an immobilized enzyme. To start the hydrolysis process our product (saccharose) has to pass through this enzyme.

Saccharose hydrolysis is favoured with temperatures around 50 ºC – 60 ºC. For that end, the reactors have a jacket through which hot water will flow. The water temperature is controlled through the potentiometer of the thermostatic bath.

Feeding saccharose to our reactors is done through a peristaltic pump which allows the regulation of speed by using a potentiometer.

The resulting solution is pumped to the final-product flask. From this point on it will be analysed with a spectrophotometer.

As an optional supply, there is the possibility of acquiring the additional recommended element Flow Injection Analysis (FIA) Unit, "QRCB-IF". This unit is a Flow Injection Analysis system, which is used to measure the conversion degree of the reaction of the saccharose hydrolysis in a continuous way.