Bronkhorst High-Tech B.V. is a global manufacturer of fluid handling equipment for a wide range of industries and research areas. In a recent Application Note, they highlighted the successful use of Equilibar’s dome-loaded back pressure regulator paired with a Bronkhorst pressure controller to provide reliable pressure control during catalysis research.
Catalysis research is used in a variety of fields including renewable energy and petroleum core analysis. The University of Michigan Department of Chemical Engineering describes catalysis as an “increasingly significant area,” and adds that “understanding chemical reactions, developing better catalysts, and engineering reacting systems is a core component of chemical engineering.”
One of the challenges of catalysis research is that high temperatures and pressures are often involved. These severe conditions often overwhelm traditional pressure devices that rely on springs and other moving parts that can introduce friction and hysteresis. Equilibar back pressure regulators rely on a unique dome-loaded technology that has a supple diaphragm as the only moving part. Because it is available in a variety of construction materials with a variety of diaphragms to meet the unique needs of a specific application, the Equilibar is capable of providing robust control even in difficult scenarios.
One of the unique advantages of Equilibar’s technology is its inherent ability to provide consistent control even for two-phase flow of both liquid and gas, as often occurs in catalysis research.
Unlike traditional control valves, a dome-loaded back pressure regulator with multiple orifices is capable of processing liquid and gas at the same time while maintaining highly stable pressure. The Equilibar does not rely on springs, but instead uses a direct 1:1 gas pressure on top of the diaphragm to maintain stability across even a wide range of flow. Because the design controls flow across multiple parallel orifices, certain orifices tend to be dominated by the gas phase while other orifices attract the liquid phase.
Bronkhorst’s Application Note includes more details and information about how the Equilibar works robustly in conjunction with Bronkhorst’s pressure controller. It can be read in its entirety here.
