TORBED

process
reactor
technology

Process Reactor
Technologies
from

The Torftech Group

Company Profile
Torftech
Torftech Group
Process Reactor Technology

Torftech Process Reactor Technologies are developed to provide novel, cost

effective means for processing many different materials. The technologies facilitate
rapid and accurate control of processes requiring gas -solid contact, often at higher
temperatures than those experienced in conventional equipment. In many
instances, this opens the door to the launch of products and processes unique in
their marketplace.

Our engineers have expertise in the processing of particulates in gas streams,

combustion systems, feed preparation, product post treatment and process control.

We have developed several world leading new technologies including:

TORBED Compact Bed reactors (‘CBR’)

TORBED Expanded Bed reactors (‘EBR’)
TORBED Transport Bed reactors (‘TBR’)
High temperature fuel injection systems
Fine powder process reactors

Torftech provides the following services:

Process modeling
Lab testing
Pilot plant development
Full scale implementation
Development project management

Torftech engineers have also been responsible for the development of several
remarkable new processes in the food, chemical, petroleum, mineral and
metallurgical industries. Commercial plants are operating around the world,
generating profits for our customers and licensees alike.
The development of new commercial applications
In order to minimise the risks of the development of a new application, a project
typically goes through several stages with clearly defined phases such as those
listed below.

Pre-feasibility Study

In this initial phase of the project the design constraints are established and the
relevant Torftech technology is chosen. This leads to an order of magnitude estimate
for the cost of the plant.

Feasibility Study

This study normally includes preliminary pilot studies. The results enable Torftech to
provide a ± 30% estimate for a full scale plant and, together with the client, an
assessment of the economics of the project. This study normally takes one to two
months to complete depending on the complexity of the process.

Engineering Design Study and Pilot Trials

If the feasibility study indicates viability, a series of pilot trials will be carried out.
These trials should not only give confidence that the chosen Torftech technology can
satisfy the process needs, but also provide the necessary process data, ancillary
plant design criteria and product information to allow prediction of scale up to
commercial operation. In some cases a dedicated pilot plant may then be used for
extensive trials development work.

Sufficient engineering work is carried out during this study to establish a design
basis and develop a cost estimate for the proposed plant to a level of accuracy of
10-15%. This is normally sufficiently accurate for further assessment of the
economics of the project.

Demonstration

A commercial scale plant is designed and built to optimise the full-scale process.
The economics of the project can be verified and, if required, further scale up
data can be obtained.

Commercialisation

If the process is to be marketed to third parties and all the previous steps have
been completed, a commercial partner (a suitable process plant contractor or
manufacturer) may be sought to take the developed process to their market
place under licence.
The TORBED* process reactor technologies are Australia who are also using TORBED reactors
novel but well proven generic gas/solid for thermal destruction of their cyanide and
contacting techniques used for processing carbon laden waste at a rate of 10,000 tonnes
materials and are protected by a portfolio of per year in their smelting plant on Boyne Island,
Patents and Trade Marks throughout the Australia.
industrialised economies of the world. They were
invented and developed as techniques to TORBED reactors are commercially in use and
revolutionise the processing of minerals, foods, continually being developed for:
chemicals and wastes.
• waste combustion
The TORBED reactors provide unique benefits in
• catalyst processing
precise, rapid, smaller scale and lower cost
solutions to industrial materials processing • high temperature calcination
problems with operating temperatures ranging • cocoa roasting
from cryogenic to greater than 1,600° C • vegetable bloating
(2,900° F). The reactors will handle almost any • sulphide ore roasting
shape of feed solids, including micron-sized
• soil, rock and sediment remediation
powders, sludges and slurries. The low pressure
drop across these new reactors facilitates easy • ash treatment
process gas recirculation allowing reducing, • chemical reactions
oxidising and neutral atmospheres to be • gasification/combustion of agricultural
maintained at high temperatures. residues
• combustion rice hulls
Installation of the first commercial prototypes
took place in 1986. Now TORBED reactors are in and many other novel processes.
commercial use with some 100 or more plants in
Europe, North America, South Africa, New Pilot plant facilities are available for test,
Zealand, Australia, China, India and Japan for development and demonstration purposes in
applications as diverse as fat free “frying” of Canada and Europe. Both these pilot plants are
snacks, toxic waste destruction and materials fully staffed with analytical facilities available.
recycling. These pilot plants utilise 400 mm diameter
TORBED reactors complete with feed and
The New Zealand Aluminium Smelter at Tiwai, product discharge arrangements.
South Island New Zealand, installed and
successfully commissioned the largest TORBED It is our policy to grant licences for exploitation of
reactor built to date at six metres (20ft) diameter the TORBED reactors to organisations that can
early in 1994. This prototype was successfully demonstrate a proven ability to address a
tested for dry scrubbing exhaust gases from the particular market or application. Descriptions of
smelting operations. The application was put into some of the non-confidential uses of the process
operation in 1996 with twelve 6 metre diameter are listed in the following brief application notes.
TORBED reactors installed at Tiwai scrubbing
1,000 m3/s of exhaust gases and a further six 6 *TORBED is a registered trade mark of Mortimer Technology
metre TORBED reactors were installed at Bell Holdings Ltd
Bay in Tasmania in 1997. These smelters are
part owned by Comalco Aluminium Ltd of
 Industrial Applications
Combustion

The ability of TORBED reactors to handle wide variations in feed shape, size and quality is being applied
to the controlled combustion of a variety of materials including carbon, shredded wood waste, organics
and hydrocarbons.

One such application that relies on the absolute precision of the

TORBED reactor is the processing of Spent Pot Lining (SPL)
from the aluminium smelting industry. The refractory lined "pots" in
which aluminium is smelted are removed from service when they
have reached the end of their useful life and the spent refractory
lining and carbon cathode are broken up and removed from the pot
as Spent Pot Lining (SPL) so that a new lining and carbon cathode
can be installed. The material that is removed is often classified as a
toxic waste.

SPL contains a mixture of refractory, carbon and other contaminants

including fluxes and cyanide. Comalco Aluminium Ltd of Australia
commenced a development programme in 1987 to process SPL to
1m diameter reactor used produce a waste stream that is non hazardous. In order to thermally
for SPL processing dissociate the cyanide in the
SPL, processing of the material
was attempted in various
calcination devices including a
rotary kiln, fluidised bed and transport reactor without success. A
TORBED reactor proved to be successful. In 1990, a plant capable of
processing 3,000 tonnes per year of SPL was commissioned. The
process has proved to be as effective as predicted and by the end of
1994, the plant capacity was increased to 10,000 tonnes per year.
This is a well-proven industrial application of the TORBED
technology.

The TORBED technology was identified as being one capable of

satisfying the need for the controlled combustion of shredded
wood waste. Pilot trials were successfully completed and two 5MWt
combustors were installed in 1999 in the Netherlands. These 1.5m diameter reactor for
reactors must also handle tramp feed materials including door wood waste combustion
handles, hinges, nails and other metal and incombustible materials.

Removal of volatiles from solids

In 1993, a pilot plant capable of processing 150 kg/h of

oil-contaminated solids was fully tested at BP’s Sunbury
laboratories. A consortium of oil and gas exploration
companies then funded the further development of the
TORBED reactor as a transportable de-oiling plant for
eventual off shore use. This plant demonstrated the
capability of stripping hydrocarbons from solids in a
controllable manner.

When recycling machine shop ("swarf") and other

metal wastes such as mill scale, it is a problem when
these contain cutting oil and a coolant since the wastes cannot be added directly to a remelting process
without serious disruption of the molten metal from the steam and explosive vapours that are generated.

Page 2
 Industrial Applications
Rotary kilns have been used in the past to evaporate the oil and water from these wastes providing a
clean feed stream to the remelting process.

Because the feed stream has a widely varying quantity of cutting oil and water, the process needs very
close control to prevent combustion of the oil in the drying process. A TORBED reactor has been
demonstrated to provide up to 8 times more throughput of clean dry metal per unit of energy input than
rotary kiln techniques. The quality of the metal was found to be consistent and of higher purity with
minimal oxidation.

The TORBED process has been in full-scale production since 1989 processing up to 3 tonnes per hour of
swarf containing anything up to 20% by weight cutting oil and water.

In the summer of 2000, a 1.8m diameter reactor was

commissioned for the devolatilisation of up to 20 t/h of
old asphalt coated road stone.

The plant was opened formally in September 2000. The

plant is designed to volatilise old asphalt (laden with
PAHs) so that the road stone can be recoated and reused.
The volatiles produced in the process are thermally
oxidised directly in the upper part of the TORBED reactor. 1.8m diameter reactor used to
devolatilise old road stone
Mineral Processing
The ability of the TORBED reactors to carry out precise calcination and heat/mass transfer processes has
allowed the development of unique process plants. The first mineral processing application was the
calcination of vermiculite.

Vermiculite is a naturally occurring mineral. When crushed, graded and fed into a hot furnace (1,200 oC
or 2,200° F), the vermiculite expands or exfoliates to produce a lightweight particle that is then used as an
insulating and fire retardant fill. The process requires a very rapid heat transfer to the particles to promote
as large an increase in particle size as possible to give low densities. Historically, vertical shaft and rotary
kilns have been used to exfoliate vermiculite.

The TORBED reactor has shown itself to have unique

capabilities in this application in producing higher quality,
lighter and more consistent product with lower energy
consumption. High heat and mass transfer and precision
of control with the TORBED reactors have provided
these advantages. Most important, the TORBED
process provides more saleable product per unit of raw
material fed i.e., a higher yield.

The TORBED process is in successful operation in 11

major production plants in Europe and Japan.
High temperature mineral processor Throughputs vary according to raw material grading but
typically range from 1-5 tonnes per hour.

The ability of TORBED reactors to carry out flash processing of fine powders with particle retention times
of often less than 50 milliseconds has led to the development of novel products and processes. This
ability has been developed at pilot scale (up to 300 kg/h) and was put into commercial operation during
1998.

A 1m diameter high temperature “fuel injected” TORBED reactor was commissioned in 1998 to calcine
industrial minerals at temperatures up to 1,600° C. The use of direct injection techniques whereby

Page 3
 Industrial Applications
natural gas is mixed and combusted directly in the process chamber base allows intense high
temperature calcination reactions to be undertaken.

Catalyst processing

Extrudates/pellets that support catalytic material need a high free

surface area. The higher the surface area, generally the more
effective is the catalyst. Most catalyst support materials are
calcined at high temperature to "fire" or "set" the support
structure. This calcination is a critical phase in the production
process.

The TORBED reactor has been demonstrated to produce

exceptionally high surface area and uniquely structured particles
when used to carry out the calcination process. Several pilot
trials have now been successfully concluded and commercial A pilot plant used for
plant has been in continuous operation for more than 4 years. catalyst processing

Gas scrubbing

The extract ductwork that draws fumes away from the

smelting pots in an aluminium smelting plant contains
levels of contaminants that need to be removed from the
exhaust before discharge to atmosphere. The TORBED
process is used as a reactor to contact alumina with the
exhaust gas stream to adsorb the pollutants prior to
discharge. A TORBED reactor can be employed in a single
or two-stage assembly providing unique adsorption
properties.

The low pressure drop across TORBED reactors is

important because the volumes of gases to be processed
are high at 200,000 nm3/h (117,500 acfm) per TORBED
reactor and the particle size range that is used in the reactor is small and substantially un-graded.

After construction of a 5000mm prototype in 1993, a 6000mm

(20 ft) diameter two-stage reactor was installed and
commissioned in early 1994. The results were sufficiently
favourable that New Zealand Aluminium Smelters Ltd decided
to proceed with an expenditure of NZ$94m (£30m) on a new
scrubbing plant based on thirteen 6000mm (20 ft) diameter
TORBED reactors. These were installed in 1995/6 and the plant
is achieving the best world standards. A further 6 such units
were commissioned at Comalco’s Bell Bay smelter in Tasmania
in 1997.

4 of the gas scrubbers at Tiwai

Page 4
 Industrial Applications
Food processing
In the snack food industry, most products available are either fried or "cooker extruded" before being
dusted with oil and flavours. A trend toward lower fat and healthier eating snacks has allowed the
development of new low fat products, particularly based on
expanded "half pellet" products.

The TORBED process has shown itself to have unique

capabilities in this application in producing higher quality,
lighter and more consistent product with lower energy
consumption. Indeed, some shapes of product can only be
air expanded in a TORBED reactor. High heat and mass
transfer and precision of control with the TORBED reactors
have provided these advantages. The installation is quiet
and compact.

The TORBED process is in successful operation in several

major production plants in Europe, Australasia, the
Americas and the Middle East. Throughputs vary but
typically range from 50-500 kg per hour.

Traditionally spices have been pasteurised by steam or

radiation. The former technique has limitations in terms of
product quality and ultimate levels of pasteurisation. It has
been found by extensive trials on a range of spices that
much lower residual contamination can be achieved using
the TORBED reactor with hot air as the process medium.
Spice pasteurisation plant
supplied by TORBED Services Ltd The TORBED process has shown itself to have unique
capabilities in these applications in producing higher
quality, more consistent product at low energy consumption with low residual contamination levels. The
process can rapidly be changed for different products and characteristics. The installation is quiet and
compact. Pilot trials have been successfully carried out and full-scale production plant is in operation
processing 300 - 400 kg/h of spices. Many other precision roasting, drying and bloating processes are in
commercial use.

For further information please contact

United Kingdom Canada

contact Martin Groszek contact Bob Laughlin
address Torftech Ltd address Torftech (Canada) Inc
92 New Greenham Park 2695 North Sheridan Way, Suite 110
Thatcham RG19 6HW Mississauga, Ontario L5K 2N6
United Kingdom Canada

tel +44 (0)1635 36900 tel +1 905 823 7182

fax +44 (0)1635 36470 fax +1 905 823 7187
email [email protected] email [email protected]

Page 5
TORBED* Process Reactor Technology
Torftech
Technology Description

TORBED COMPACT BED REACTOR (‘CBR’)

The TORBED Compact Bed Reactor (‘CBR’) transfers heat and mass between gases and solids
more quickly and efficiently than any comparable process. Heat and mass transfer rate is
dependent on the resistance to flow. This is determined by several factors, the most important of
which is the effect of a microscopically thin boundary layer of gas that surrounds each particle.
This boundary layer has an insulating effect, hence the more it is reduced in thickness, the less
the resistance and the more quickly heat and mass transfer can be achieved. This microscopic
boundary layer can be reduced in thickness by subjecting the particles to turbulent impact by the
process gas at high velocity.

Why a CBR achieves faster heat and mass transfer

In the CBR, the layer of moving

particles to be processed is held in
suspension by jets of the process gas.
These jets are created by passing the
process gas stream through the slots
between stationary angled "blades"
(similar to closely spaced stationery
turbine blades) so that the high
velocity energy generated as the
process gas passes through these
slots is dissipated on the base of a
shallow bed of particles. Where the
base of this bed is impacted by the
high velocity jets, a highly turbulent
area is created imparting both vertical
lift and horizontal motion to the bed.
(See Fig. 1)

A given bed mass can be supported Figure 1 TORBED Compact Bed Reactor
either by a large mass flow of process
gas at low velocity or by a smaller
mass flow of process gas at higher velocity. In a Compact TORBED reactor, the mass flows can
thus be chosen to optimise the process. The annular shape of the CBR creates a compact gently
rotating bed of material which describes a TORoidal BED circulation pattern above the blades.
Indeed, this motion led to the creation of the TORBED Process Reactor Trade Mark.

Although the process gas stream leaving the blades in a Compact TORBED reactor may exit at
speeds many times that which would entrain all particles, the high impact velocity is dissipated
against the base of the shallow bed while superficial gas velocity can remain low enough not to
carry away smaller particles.

*TORBED® is a registered Trade Mark of Mortimer Technology Holdings Ltd

 Major advantages of the CBR

The substantial de-coupling of hot gas mass

flow and 'fluidising' velocity
A high velocity drop or gradient through the bed
means that substantially ungraded material can
be processed
High impact velocities provide exceptional heat
and mass transfer
The bed shape presents a large surface area to
the blades in proportion to the bed volume,
particularly beneficial where the blades are at
high temperatures
A shallow bed (typically a few centimetres)
provides very small solids hold up and rapid
response to process control Process gas flow through fixed blades gives
toroidal particle motion. By producing an annular
A high specific throughput is achieved processing region with toroidal mixing, material is
continuously passed through the base of the bed
The static pressure loss through the process is where the high heat and mass transfer occurs. This
low, often an order of magnitude less than ensures uniformity of processing
conventional fluidised bed techniques. Process
gas recirculation at high temperatures is thus
more simple bringing energy savings

The TORBED CBR - already proven in many

industries

TORBED Compact Bed Reactors are being used with

great success in widely different industries, including
minerals, metals, chemicals and foods. Most
installations today are full size, not prototypes, and
have given tens of thousands of hours of totally
satisfactory operation. For all these reasons, the
Compact TORBED reactor is now well established as
an efficient, viable and more cost effective alternative
to many conventional fluidised bed and rotary kiln
processes.

Contact Details
United Kingdom Canada

contact Martin Groszek contact Bob Laughlin

address Torftech Ltd address Torftech (Canada) Inc
92 New Greenham Park 2695 North Sheridan Way, Suite 110
Thatcham RG19 6HW Mississauga, Ontario L5K 2N6
United Kingdom Canada

tel +44 (0)1635 36900 tel +1 905 823 7182

fax +44 (0)1635 36470 fax +1 905 823 7187
email [email protected] email [email protected]
TORBED* Process Reactor Technology
Torftech
Technology Description

TORBED EXPANDED BED REACTOR (‘EBR’)

What is a TORBED Expanded Bed Reactor (‘EBR’)

The TORBED Expanded Bed Reactor

(‘EBR’) has been specifically
developed to retain a diffuse bed of
solid particles in a toroidal circulation
pattern within a high velocity process
gas stream. The cyclonic motion
creates centrifugal forces that
separate the particles outwards. The
particles then recirculate back to the
base of the reactor to be re-entrained
in the process gas stream.

An EBR provides faster, more cost

effective and efficient gas/solid
contacting over a Circulating
Fluidised Bed (CFB) and provides
the following advantages:

An equivalent particle retention

time to a CFB is easily obtained in
a smaller EBR since the horizontal
component of the motion provides
a longer contact path

The cyclonic effect within the EBR allows for the separation and direct recirculation of
particles in the expanded toroidal bed without the need for cyclones for separation and
subsequent re-injection

The EBR can readily be "fuel injected" (see separate Technology Description for Fuel
Injection) to generate process gas temperatures in excess of 1,600°C.

High gas flow rates with low pressure drop are possible in this new type of reactor.
The higher the fluid flows, the better the retention of the smallest particles within the
reactor.

*TORBED® is a registered Trade Mark of Mortimer Technology Holdings Ltd

 Ideal for use in dry gas scrubbing
In gas scrubbing, the more turbulent the contact between reagent particle and gas to be
scrubbed, the more effective the process. The EBR is ideal for this application for several
reasons:

lower gas pressure drop than competing

systems better fine particle retention

faster reaction kinetics due to improved

mixing and turbulence attrition of the
surface of reagent particles providing
more complete reagent utilisation

selective capture of differing particle

sizes (which may have different
characteristics). A bank of 5m diameter TORBED EBR dry gas
scrubbers in New Zealand

Ideal for use in combustion

When applied to combustion applications, the violent circulation of
the particles within an EBR continually presents combustible surface
area. Ash particles are retained within the EBR until they have been
reduced to a small enough size such that they are carried out in the
exhaust gas stream from the reactor. This unique capability allows
temperature sensitive processes to be accurately controlled for
commercial applications that in some cases were not possible
before. The EBR is ideally suited to this application for the following
reasons:
ability to retain wide particle size ranges
precise control of particle process conditions
One of two 5MWth wood
high specific throughput per unit volume combustors

Contact Details
United Kingdom Canada

contact Martin Groszek contact Bob Laughlin

address Torftech Ltd address Torftech (Canada) Inc
92 New Greenham Park 2695 North Sheridan Way, Suite 110
Thatcham RG19 6HW Mississauga, Ontario L5K 2N6
United Kingdom Canada

tel +44 (0)1635 36900 tel +1 905 823 7182

fax +44 (0)1635 36470 fax +1 905 823 7187
email [email protected] email [email protected]
TORBED* Process Reactor Technology
Torftech
Technology Description

FINE POWDER PROCESSING

Background

Efficient gas/solid contacting where fine particles are involved can be a technically
challenging assignment. Although reduced size usually makes the material more reactive,
keeping it in the reactive environment for a sufficient amount of time can be difficult to
achieve. Conventional unit operations are often completely unsuitable for this task. By
employing a re-circulation strategy, circulating fluid beds overcome the retention time issue
but at the expense of simplicity and cost. As such, the viability of these units is restricted to
high value added and/or very large throughput applications. An enhancement to the basic
TORBED reactor concept overcomes both these issues.

The fine powder

injection process
In this mode of operation, the
reaction zone of the TORBED
unit is occupied by suitable
inert material which act to
form a "resident" bed. The
fine powders are injected into
the reactor just above the
distributor where they then
become entrained in the bed
above. The resident bed not
only ensures good mixing
between the gas and the
powder, it also creates a
torturous path for the particles
thus extending their residence
time. In addition, the resident material improves the quality of heat transfer by providing
thermal inertia and greater surface area for heat transfer.

Extra gas-solid contact time can be provided in the freeboard above the bed. Particles
leaving the bed follow a spiral path out of the reactor, forming bands on the upper wall. When
the mass of these bands exceed the carrying capacity of the air, they collapse, returning
material to the bed thus creating an internal solids recycle loop.

The net effect is enhanced transfer properties and extended residence time without the need
for a large and complicated reactor.

*TORBED® is a registered Trade Mark of Mortimer Technology Holdings Ltd

 Major benefits

In comparison with conventional techniques, the benefits associated with the TORBED
Powder Injection system are:
Extended particle residence time in the gas stream
Independently adjustable solids and gas retention times
Enhanced interparticulate and interphase heat and mass transfer
Isothermal reaction environment
Accurate temperature control with near adiabatic conditions possible
Smaller, simpler reactor
Low pressure drop
Potential to de-bottleneck existing plant by treating fine unreacted material that by-
passes the main reactor
Because processing under such conditions has not been previously possible, the results can
be unexpected and defy "conventional" wisdom. For example, the specific surface area of
many solids increase dramatically upon processing. This is due to the formation of fissures,
and the effect can lead to increased activity of the solid in downstream operations.

Applications

This technology tends to be most applicable to materials with a diameter less than 100
microns. Typical feed stocks include:
Process filter cakes (wet or dried)
Industrial minerals
Mineral concentrates
Because of its small size, the TORBED reactor has also been retrofitted to existing plant to
address the issue of unreacted fines by-passing the main processor.

Contact Details
United Kingdom Canada

contact Martin Groszek contact Bob Laughlin

address Torftech Ltd address Torftech (Canada) Inc
92 New Greenham Park 2695 North Sheridan Way, Suite 110
Thatcham RG19 6HW Mississauga, Ontario L5K 2N6
United Kingdom Canada

tel +44 (0)1635 36900 tel +1 905 823 7182

fax +44 (0)1635 36470 fax +1 905 823 7187
email [email protected] email [email protected]
TORBED* Process Reactor Technology
Torftech
Technology Description

FUEL INJECTION

Background

In many gas-solid reaction systems, there are genuine benefits in being able to process at
elevated temperatures. Unfortunately the optimum processing temperature often exceeds
those permissible by the available materials of construction. The resulting compromise in
processing conditions can lead to sub-optimal performance. A simple reactor system capable
of overcoming materials based temperature limitations was therefore required.

The direct fuel injection process

Solids processed in the Torbed reactor form a compact

bed just above the gas which is ideal for direct fuel
injection. Using a proprietary technique, fuel is metered
directly into the bed where it undergoes spontaneous
combustion. The resulting flame envelopes the entire bed
producing a high temperature, isothermal processing
environment. Control is both straightforward and
accurate. Localised temperatures approaching the actual
flame temperature (>1,500°C/2,730°F) of the fuel being
injected are possible. Because the elevated Combustion picture in a 1.5m
temperatures only exist within the compact bed zone diameter fuel injected CBR
suspended in the reactor chamber, the need for exotic
construction materials is reduced.

Major benefits

The primary advantage of this technique is that it enables solids to be processed at elevated
temperatures on a commercial scale. Given this is now a viable processing option, a number
of application dependant benefits previously unattainable become possible including:
Higher single pass conversion
Rapid heating
Capability to create controlled oxygen processing environments
Ability to create a reducing reaction environment
Option to employ short time-high temperature (flash) processing strategies to increase
throughput and/or enhance product quality
Lower specific energy consumption

*TORBED® is a registered Trade Mark of Mortimer Technology Holdings Ltd

Because processing under such conditions has not been previously possible, the results can
be unexpected and defy "conventional" wisdom. For example, the specific surface area of
many solids increase dramatically upon processing. This is due to the formation of fissures,
and the effect can lead to increased activity of the solid in downstream operations.

Application

Developed for a proprietary application, gas

injection technology has since been
successfully applied to a number of other
duties including:
limestone calcination
reduction of metal ores
high temperature mineral calcination
flash processing of powders
sintering of clay prills
A 1.5m diameter fuel injected powder
processor

Contact Details
United Kingdom Canada

contact Martin Groszek contact Bob Laughlin

address Torftech Ltd address Torftech (Canada) Inc
92 New Greenham Park 2695 North Sheridan Way, Suite 110
Thatcham RG19 6HW Mississauga, Ontario L5K 2N6
United Kingdom Canada

tel +44 (0)1635 36900 tel +1 905 823 7182

fax +44 (0)1635 36470 fax +1 905 823 7187
email [email protected] email [email protected]
TORBED* Process Reactor Technology
Application Description Torftech
December 2005

CATALYST & ZEOLITE PROCESSING

The ability of the TORBED reactors to carry out precise calcination and heat/mass transfer
processes has allowed the development of unique process plants. The ability to control strong
exothermic reactions allowed the regeneration and recovery of catalysts and zeolites to be
carried out faster and with greater precision. The precise temperature control achieved in
endothermic calcination of catalyst substrates produces higher surface area support structures
and more reactive catalysts.

There are several application areas where TORBED reactors are already utilised including:

• Catalyst manufacture
• Catalyst regeneration
• Catalyst recovery
• Zeolite regeneration

Catalyst Manufacture

The ability to dry and precision calcine the catalyst substrate presents exciting opportunities,
particularly in the generation of higher surface area support structures. TORBED reactors
have been in commercial use since 2001. In the production of mineral based substrates, an
increase in particle surface area of 10 times has been routinely achieved. Torftech has also
provided their technology to aid users for the development of new catalysts.

Catalyst & Zeolite - Regeneration & Recovery

The removal or stripping of Volatile Organic

Compounds (‘VOCs’) from catalyst and the
control of the combustion of surface carbon
and sulphur is best achieved in a TORBED
reactor. The precise temperature control,
and gentle physical handling afforded by the
TORBED concept allows greater precision
in processing. This close process control
minimizes damage to the catalyst due to
uncontrolled combustion.

TORBED reactors have been in commercial

use for catalyst regeneration since 1997.
The surface area, shape and reactivity of
the catalyst are retained but with higher
throughputs than was possible previously.
Catalyst Processor During Assembly

*TORBED® is a registered trademark of Mortimer Technology Holdings Ltd

Catalyst recovery, is applied to catalysts no longer regenerable
due to physical or chemical degradation. These are processed in
multi-stage TORBED Reactors to remove carbon and volatiles
prior to hydrometallurgical or pyrometallurgical metals recovery
processes A TORBED reactor has been in use since 2000
preparing spent catalyst for a leach recovery process. As the
prices for metals used in catalyst manufacturing continue to rise,
recovery will become an increasingly attractive commercial
opportunity.

The removal of VOCs from mineral matter, particularly where

there is a large exotherm potential, is well controlled and precise
utilizing a TORBED Reactor. This precision enables faster and
less energy intensive commercial operation to be achieved.

A TORBED CBR has also been used for removal of water from
zeolites used in drying of slurries. A Catalyst Processor is
hoisted into position
TORBED Reactors are co-current heat transfer devices that have
similar characteristics to fluidised beds. However, their very low pressure drop compared with
fluidised beds allows multistage operation creating near plug flow processes. TORBED
Reactors are smaller, cheaper and are usually factory assembled and tested.

For further information please contact

United Kingdom Canada

contact Martin Groszek contact Bob Laughlin
address Torftech Ltd address Torftech (Canada) Inc
92 New Greenham Park 2695 North Sheridan Way, Suite 110
Thatcham RG19 6HW Mississauga, Ontario L5K 2N6
United Kingdom Canada

tel +44 (0)1635 36900 tel +1 905 823 7182

fax +44 (0)1635 36470 fax +1 905 823 7187
email [email protected] email [email protected]
TORBED* Process Reactor Technology
Application Description Torftech
November 1997

DRY GAS SCRUBBING

Why aluminium smelters have to clean up their act

Aluminium smelting companies all over the world are facing increasingly stringent
regulations governing the emission of acid vapours. Basic dry scrubbing methods have
been used since the 1960s in an effort to clean up the exhaust gases from these smelters
but these techniques are often too inefficient to economically meet the requirements of
current air emission legislation.

The use of venturi reactors, fluidised beds and reactant recycling systems have been
explored, but these methods usually lead to increased processing time and/or significant
pressure drops across the system which waste considerable amounts of energy. In some
instances, up to 20 times more reactant is needed to scrub the exhaust gases. These
technologies also call for large ancillary processing plants with additional capital
investment.

Comalco tests out TORBED reactors

In 1990, Comalco Aluminium Ltd were exploring methods of removing hydrogen fluoride
from the exhaust gases of their aluminium smelter in New Zealand by using the incoming
feed material for the aluminium pots as the scrubbing medium. Their main aims were:
to save energy by reducing the pressure drop across the reactor
to eliminate alumina wastage
to achieve world standards for the emission of fluoride and particulates.
The company had been introduced to the TORBED Expanded Bed Reactor (‘EBR’)
concept two years previously, and were impressed by its ability to achieve far greater slip
velocity between solids and gases than is possible with other technologies. A pilot
TORBED EBR based plant was therefore designed and set up in New Zealand. This
study proved beyond doubt that the TORBED EBR was capable of scrubbing the gases to
the required degree, simply by passing the alumina once through the exhaust gases.

Refining the design

A TORBED reactor 5 metres in diameter was then built so that any problems regarding
bed stability and aerodynamic behaviour of the feed material could be identified and
solved. After this stage had been completed, a full-scale prototype TORBED reactor was
built. Its design was based on two chambers, each 6 metres in diameter, which were

*TORBED® is a registered Trade Mark of Mortimer Technology Holdings Ltd

configured so that they could operate either as a single stage reactor or as a two-stage
counter-current operation.

Three times more efficient than expected

Before the prototype had been installed,
Comalco envisaged that at least 30 TORBED
reactors would be needed to clean up the
exhaust gases. The refinements incorporated
in the developmental stages, however, meant
that the reactors were more than three times
as efficient as had been anticipated. As a
result, only 13 dry scrubbing units, each with a
single stage TORBED reactor, were needed as
part of the $NZ94 million (US$60m) gas
emission project. Subsequently, Comalco have 4 of 13 gas scrubbers at New Zealand
Aluminium Smelters
also equipped their Bell Bay Smelter with a
further 6 TORBED reactor units

Reactor processing power

each TORBED reactor treats a gas flow-rate of 380,000 m3/h in a single pass
system for both the gas stream and the alumina particles
emission levels for both gaseous hydrogen fluoride and particulates are
approximately 1 mg/Nm3, which is comparable to the best performance figures for
any dry gas scrubbing systems, anywhere in the world
despite the outstanding processing efficiency, no extra power was required as the
TORBED reactor creates only a low pressure drop across the system. As a result,
the dry scrubbing units could continue to use the six existing 1 MW exhaust fans,
whereas the use of alternative systems would have meant upgrading existing fans.

Contact Details
United Kingdom Canada

contact Martin Groszek contact Bob Laughlin

address Torftech Ltd address Torftech (Canada) Inc
92 New Greenham Park 2695 North Sheridan Way, Suite 110
Thatcham RG19 6HW Mississauga, Ontario L5K 2N6
United Kingdom Canada

tel +44 (0)1635 36900 tel +1 905 823 7182

fax +44 (0)1635 36470 fax +1 905 823 7187
email [email protected] email [email protected]
TORBED* Process Reactor Technology
Application Description Torftech
August 2002

MINERAL, CATALYST & CHEMICAL PROCESSING

The ability of the TORBED reactors to carry out precise calcination and heat/mass transfer
processes has allowed the development of unique process plants. The first mineral processing
application was the exfoliation of vermiculite.

Vermiculite is a naturally occurring mineral. When crushed, graded and fed into a hot furnace
(1,200ºC or 2,200° F), the vermiculite expands or exfoliates to produce a lightweight particle
that is then used as an insulating and fire retardant fill. The process requires a very rapid heat
transfer to the particles to promote as large an increase in particle size as possible to give low
densities. Historically, vertical shaft and rotary kilns have been used to exfoliate vermiculite.

The TORBED reactor has shown itself to have unique capabilities in this application in
producing higher quality, lighter and more consistent product with lower energy consumption.
High heat and mass transfer and precision of control with the TORBED reactors have
provided these advantages. Most important, the TORBED process provides more saleable
product per unit of raw material fed i.e., a higher yield.

The TORBED process is in successful operation in 11 major production plants in Europe and
Japan. Throughputs vary according to raw material grading but typically range from 1-5 tonnes
per hour. The UK Department of the Environment Energy Efficiency Office, Best Practice
Programme, published their Case Study 216 describing the use of the TORBED Reactor for
this application with several significant benefits identified.

A 1m diameter high temperature “fuel

injected” TORBED reactor was
commissioned in 1998 to calcine industrial
minerals at temperatures up to 1,600° C.
The use of direct injection techniques
whereby natural gas is mixed and
combusted directly in the process chamber
base allows intense high temperature
calcination reactions to be undertaken.

The ability of TORBED reactors to carry out

flash processing of fine powders with
particle retention times of often less than 50
milliseconds has led to the development of
novel products and processes. This ability High Temperature Mineral Calciner
was developed at pilot scale (up to 300
kg/h) and a 1.5m diameter TORBED Reactor was successfully commissioned in 1999 for the
flash processing of sub 5 micron ore. This reactor uses the same direct gas injection
technique described above.

*TORBED® is a registered trademark of Mortimer Technology Holdings Ltd

 Multiple dense phase conveying
injectors are used to distribute the raw
material feed around and into the
TORBED Reactor process chamber.
The finished product is carried out of the
TORBED Reactor in the exhaust gas
stream and collected in a bag house
after gas and solid cooling.

The ability to heat the fine particulate

feed from ambient to more than 1,000ºC
in milliseconds provides a process
environment where high surface area
products are routinely produced. It is not
uncommon for a tenfold increase in
Flash Processor for Fine Ore particle surface area to be achieved.

The roasting of sulphide ores with the TORBED Reactor has also produced high surface area,
more leachable materials.

Catalysts and Zeolites are commercially processed in

TORBED Reactors to remove carbon and volatiles prior to
metals recovery or impregnate/form the substrates
required. The precision of the process environment usually
creates unique, higher surface area materials that can
revolutionize total processes.

The removal of VOCs from mineral matter, particularly

where there is a large exotherm potential, is well controlled
and precise utilizing a TORBED Reactor. This precision
enables faster and less energy intensive commercial
operation to be achieved.

TORBED Reactors are co-current heat transfer devices

that have similar characteristics to fluidised beds.
However, their very low pressure drop compared with
fluidised beds allows multistage operation creating near
plug flow processes. TORBED Reactors are smaller, A Catalyst Processor is
cheaper and are usually factory assembled and tested. hoisted into position

For further information please contact

United Kingdom Canada

contact Martin Groszek contact Bob Laughlin
address Torftech Ltd address Torftech (Canada) Inc
92 New Greenham Park 2695 North Sheridan Way, Suite 110
Thatcham RG19 6HW Mississauga, Ontario L5K 2N6
United Kingdom Canada

tel +44 (0)1635 36900 tel +1 905 823 7182

fax +44 (0)1635 36470 fax +1 905 823 7187
email [email protected] email [email protected]
 TORBED* Process Reactor Technology
Application Description Torftech
April 2006

ENERGY PRODUCTION FROM BIOMASS WASTES

Throughout the world, there are massive quantities of lignocellulosic wastes

generated as a result of manufacturing processes which turn trees and other
vegetative growth into lumber, paper and food products. These wastes that are
generated centrally during the manufacturing process, are more conveniently
used as an energy resource than are the wastes from harvesting that are
scattered, normally left in field or forest.

Since the alternative to

utilization of these wastes is
disposal to land where they will
slowly degrade and ultimately
generate carbon dioxide and
other greenhouse gases, there
is the potential for real savings
in greenhouse gas emissions if
these wastes are used to
generate energy to replace
energy generated from fossil
3.5 MWth TORBED wood waste gasifier
fuels.

Many of these potential energy resources are either small in particle size and
light and ‘fluffy’ (e.g. sawdust, rice husk, wheat chaff) or physically
heterogeneous in size range (e.g. mixed wood waste containing sawdust, bark
and off cuts). These physical characteristics often make them difficult to handle
effectively in conventional combustion equipment.

Some wastes contain potentially valuable inorganic ash. For example, with the
ash produced from rice husk, it is critical to maintain a very controlled combustion
or gasification temperature to avoid causing undesirable changes to the
morphology of the ash.

TORBED reactor technologies are ideally suited to combust or gasify coarse and
mixed size wood waste streams after a minimum degree of size reduction, e.g.
coarse shredding. TORBED reactors can handle the elongated product of
primary wood shredding simultaneously with sawdust. The temperature within a

*TORBED is a registered trade mark of Mortimer Technology holdings Ltd

TORBED reactor can be controlled precisely so that where there is sensitivity to
temperature for a potentially valuable inorganic ash by-product, adverse effects
are avoided.

TORBED reactors are operating commercially in Europe combusting mixed

urban wood waste to generate a hot gas stream that is used to dry manure for
use as a fertilizer product.

A TORBED reactor is being installed in India to combust up to 2 tonnes/hr of rice

husk to generate steam in an adjacent heat recovery boiler. The ash by-product
which constitutes some 18% of the husk will be recovered for sale as a
component to be used in the production of low-porosity, high-strength concrete.

Extensive pilot test work has been undertaken on the use of the TORBED
reactors for the gasification of agricultural residues and poultry house litter.

When applied to combustion and gasification, the unique properties of the

TORBED reactors include:

Ability to receive a wide range of particle sizes e.g., shredded,

chopped, milled, ground and mixed feeds

Close temperature control for production of more valuable ashes

Compact plant with a high throughput per unit volume thus occupying
a small foot print
Factory assembled to minimize site installation infrastructure and costs
Low NOx due to rapid and turbulent mixing in the process chamber
Low pressure drop to minimize electrical consumption

Contact Details
United Kingdom Canada

contact Martin Groszek contact Bob Laughlin

address Torftech Ltd address Torftech (Canada) Inc
92 New Greenham Park 2695 North Sheridan Way, Suite 110
Thatcham RG19 6HW Mississauga, Ontario L5K 2N6
United Kingdom Canada

tel +44 (0)1635 36900 tel +1 905 823 7182

fax +44 (0)1635 36470 fax +1 905 823 7187

email [email protected] email [email protected]

 TORBED* Process Reactor Technology
Application Description Torftech
August 2002

ENERGY & AMORPHOUS SILICA PRODUCTION FROM

RICE HUSK

Global production of rice, the majority of which is grown in Asia, is approximately 550
million tonnes/year. The milling of rice generates a waste material, which is the husk
surrounding the rice grain. This is generated at a rate of about 20% of the weight of
the product rice, or about 110 million tonnes/year globally. The husk in turn contains
between 15 and 20% of mineral matter the majority of which is amorphous silica.
There is a growing demand for finely divided amorphous silica in the production of
high strength, low permeability concrete, for use in bridges, marine environments, and
nuclear power plants. This market is currently filled by silica fume. Limited supply and
high demand has pushed the price of silica fume to as much as US$1,000/tonne. Rice
husk has the potential to generate 16.5 to 22 million tonnes of ash containing over
90% amorphous silica, which could be used as a substitute for silica fume. Assigning
a more realistic price of US$300/tonne would make the potential value of this ash
product world wide US$5-6.5 billion/year.

The husk has an energy content of about 13.5GJ/tonne, so that the energy potential
world wide would be about 1.5 billion GJ/year, which at US$5/GJ would have an
annual value of US$7.5 billion. This amount of energy is equivalent to over 1 billion
barrels of oil per year.

Rice husk is currently being used for energy production through direct combustion or
gasification in many areas of the world. Unfortunately, in almost all of these
installations, the ash produced is not suitable for use as a silica fume substitute.
Generally there are two shortcomings in the ash by-product from current rice husk to
energy technology: first, they contain unacceptably high concentrations of residual
carbon; and second a portion of the amorphous silica has been transformed into
crystalline silica, crystobalite. The second of these two problems is the more serious,
crystobalite does not have the same pozzolanic (cementitious) properties, as the
amorphous form, and in the particle size range at which it would be used in concrete,
it is recognized as a potential human carcinogen. The transformation to the crystalline
state takes place if the ash is exposed to high temperatures and becomes even more
likely if it is exposed to these high temperatures for extended time periods. Most of the
current energy generation technology does not control temperatures well and most
allow the ash to remain at high temperatures for a relatively long residence time.

TORBED rice husk combustion and gasification technology utilizes a unique reactor
configuration that completes the combustion or gasification of husk in a short

*TORBED® is a registered trademark of Mortimer Technology Holdings Ltd

residence time at precisely controlled temperatures. Pilot scale tests have shown that,
using the TORBED reactor technology, an ash can be produced at a moderate
temperature, which has zero, or at most minor trace quantities of, crystobalite and a
residual carbon content of 1-3%. The first commercial TORBED rice husk combustor
will be going into production in India in early 2003.

Because of the moderate temperatures used in the TORBED reactor there is a slight
reduction in the usable energy that can be recovered from a TORBED combustor. In
some instances this may be compensated for by achieving a much more complete
combustion of the available fuel.

The TORBED reactor can be

designed into a new facility to
combust rice husk for energy
production, or this combustor can
be retrofitted into an existing facility
to replace a current combustor that
is producing an unusable ash
waste. The capital investment in a
replacement combustor will
generate an attractive return on
investment (‘ROI’) based on the
benefits of turning a waste disposal
cost into a by-product credit.
Similarly, installation of new plant
for energy generation will produce
A Typical 1tonne/hr Rice Husk Combustor an attractive ROI based on both
energy and ash values.

Contact Details
United Kingdom Canada

contact Martin Groszek contact Bob Laughlin

address Torftech Ltd address Torftech (Canada) Inc
92 New Greenham Park 2695 North Sheridan Way, Suite 110
Thatcham RG19 6HW Mississauga, Ontario L5K 2N6
United Kingdom Canada

tel +44 (0)1635 36900 tel +1 905 823 7182

fax +44 (0)1635 36470 fax +1 905 823 7187

email [email protected] email [email protected]

TORBED* Process Reactor Technology
Application Description Torftech
November 2002

PILOT PLANT FACILITIES

While Torftech is not an R&D company, it undertakes

development and piloting of new processes in order to
understand the application of its technologies to new
applications. The most extensive TORBED pilot facility is
located at Process Research ORTECH in Mississauga,
Ontario, Canada and provides a world class capability for
the development of novel products and processes at a range
of temperatures up to over 1,500ºC.

The facilities include:

Two new reactors – the complete line up now includes a TORBED Compact Bed Reactor
(‘CBR’), a TORBED Expanded Bed Reactor (‘EBR’) and a Transport Bed Reactor (‘TBR’).
The original CBR is still used for a wide variety of applications including catalyst, fine chemical,
mineral and metallurgical applications
The new EBR has been developed to handle ashes, combust biomass, roast and calcine
materials, scrub gases and classify
The new TBR is providing flash processing of ultra-fine (down to submicron) materials at high
temperature and in controlled and modified atmospheres
Gas injection on the CBR to facilitate processing of materials at up to 1,600ºC
Venturi blower recycle to allow direct recycle of the process gas stream at elevated
temperatures (enhancing the capability of the reactors to operate in modified atmospheres for
gasification, reduction, hydrogenation and devolatilisation)
Computerized data logging of relevant parameters
Addition of new feeders and other relevant ancillary equipment

There are two refractory lined natural gas fired hot gas
generators onto which the TORBED reactors are placed.
Each is equipped with inlet points where steam, nitrogen,
oxygen or any other gases to be introduced to modify the
atmosphere within the reactor. An oxygen analyser is
available and can be connected to either reactor to
measure oxygen concentration in either the hot gas
generator or a reactor. More detailed online gas
monitoring equipment is available from Canadian
Environmental ORTECH for monitoring services. The
pilot facility includes a Hosokawa circular vibrating table
feeder, a low and high capacity screw feeder, a large
screw feeder and several vibrating pan feeders.

*TORBED® is a registered Trade Mark of Mortimer Technology Holdings Ltd

The exhaust gas handling system includes a
cyclone where the bulk of product samples are
collected. A quench tower/scrubber combination
can be incorporated into the exhaust train for
projects where large amounts of acid gases such
as SO2 are generated. A small baghouse can be
incorporated into the exhaust gas line on a slip
stream for sampling only (the full flow creates too
high a pressure drop. A general purpose
baghouse ensures that exhaust gases are
cleaned prior to exit from the building.

On site equipment includes various crushers,

mills, screens and drying ovens for feed
preparation. Laboratory facilities are available to
allow simple analytical tests to be undertaken such as screen size analysis, moisture content, loss on
ignition (LOI) and particle density and bulk density. Other analyses are contracted out to Bodycote
ORTECH that is located in adjoining facilities or samples can be returned to clients for their own in-
house analysis.

Current processes under development include novel combustion,

mineral calcination, catalyst, waste and chemical reaction
processes.

The addition of a 400mm electric food processor has also

expanded the capability of the pilot facilities to allow the precise
thermal processing of food products including fat free snacks,
breakfast cereals, spices and beans.

In Europe, the facilities include a transportable low and high

temperature 400mm diameter ceramic CBR complete with a post
combustion chamber, heat exchanger and venturi scrubber. There
are numerous ports for monitoring process parameters and the
process data can be automatically logged. This plant can be
transported to sites throughout Europe for long term trials.

Contact Details
United Kingdom Canada

contact Martin Groszek contact Bob Laughlin

address Torftech Ltd address Torftech (Canada) Inc
92 New Greenham Park 2695 North Sheridan Way, Suite 110
Thatcham RG19 6HW Mississauga, Ontario L5K 2N6
United Kingdom Canada

tel +44 (0)1635 36900 tel +1 905 823 7182

fax +44 (0)1635 36470 fax +1 905 823 7187
email [email protected] email [email protected]