The structure of PP reaction vessels comes in two types: vertical and horizontal. The vertical stainless steel reaction vessel consists of an upper and lower seal, a cylindrical body, a jacket, a stirrer, and a power source. The central part of the vessel head is open to allow the main shaft to pass through; adjacent to this opening are arranged various functional components such as a feed inlet, a spare port, an observation window, and an inspection well—all designed for feeding materials, monitoring reaction conditions, and facilitating inspection and maintenance operations. The PP reaction vessel features only one stirrer, whose diameter is slightly smaller than that of the inner cylindrical body. As it rotates, the stirrer ensures uniform mixing of all materials within the vessel. The advantage of the vertical stainless steel reaction vessel is that it allows for clean material handling; however, it requires a high-power motor and, when used for batch production, demands a factory with considerable height. Now, let’s take a closer look at the structure and operating principle of the PP reaction vessel!

　　The PP reactor consists of left and right seals, a cylindrical body, a stirrer, and a power source. The left and right seals can also be designed as flat plates; however, if there are pressure requirements, they should be sealed. At the upper end of the cylindrical body of the horizontal reactor, there is a main shaft hole. To allow the main shaft to pass through, several stirrers are typically arranged inside the reactor to perform simultaneous stirring. Due to its horizontal design, large-capacity horizontal stainless steel reactors are relatively inexpensive, and factories have low requirements for height. The fact that raw materials tend to remain in the horizontal stainless steel reactor is also determined by its horizontal structure.

　　An electromagnetic valve is connected in series to the heat source pipe at the top of the PP reactor. The reactor is equipped with a built-in temperature sensor, and a cooling water pipe is installed on the reactor. An outlet hole is provided on the back side of the pipe. The annular cooling water pipe is connected via an electromagnetic valve to either tap water or a backup water supply line. A water collection cylinder is positioned at the lower part of the reactor, with a temperature sensor mounted on one side of the cylinder’s bottom. An outlet pipe is connected to the middle of the cylinder’s bottom through another electromagnetic valve. This design addresses the current drawback of relying on manual labor and high physical exertion for temperature control in reactors. By using just two temperature sensors and three electromagnetic valves, automatic temperature control can be achieved, significantly reducing the workload for operators, making the process convenient and effortless, and simplifying the production procedure.

　　Heating Principle of PP Reactors: Stainless steel reactors offer two heating methods: electric heating and circulating heating. In an electrically heated stainless steel reactor, the reactor vessel is equipped with electric heating rods and a jacket designed to hold thermal oil. Under the control of an electrical control panel, the electric heating rods convert electrical energy into heat, raising the temperature of the thermal oil. The thermal oil then transfers this heat to the material inside the inner vessel until the desired temperature is reached. In a circulating-heating stainless steel reactor, the jacket features flow-guiding plates. After being heated, the high-temperature thermal oil or steam flows along these plates into the jacket, releasing heat in the process. Once it returns to the boiler, it absorbs more heat again and, driven by a high-temperature pump, is sent once more into the jacket of the stainless steel reactor to release heat once more.

　　Therefore, when cooling a PP reactor, one should not focus solely on the reaction rate while neglecting the influence of other factors—doing so will only lead to poor cooling performance. At the same time, before starting the reactor cooling process, selecting a more appropriate cooling method based on the reactor’s specific operating conditions will significantly improve the cooling effect.

　　The above is an introduction to the structure and operating principle of the PP reactor. If you’d like to learn more, feel free to contact us anytime!