Abstract: A rotating foam reactor(RFR) is a novel kind of stirrer tank reactor, which replaces the traditional agitator blade by donut-shaped foam block. This structure can improve effectively mass transfer process between phases. In addition, the foam block can be as support for catalyst deposition to reduce the consumption of catalysts in heterogeneous catalysis reaction. Therefore, RFR is a potential alternative to heterogeneous stirrer tank reactor or slurry reactors, and will have a broad application prospect. This study elaborates on the structure and characteristic of multiphase in an RFR. Research progress on the characteristic of multiphase flow and mass transfer performance are introduced. Besides, a comparison of mass transfer efficiency between RFRs and the general multiphase reactors are presented. In terms of application, the strengthening characteristic and advantages of adopting an RFR in heterogeneous reaction processes, such as hydrogenation of styrene and glucose oxidation are analyzed. The results indicate that an RFR can reduce energy consumption and improve utilization of raw materials in chemical processes. Some other reactors with porous agitator blades similar with RFR are introduced, and their advantages and characters are analyzed and compared. Finally, the insufficient of study and the development direction of RFRs are prospected.

Key words: rotating foam reactor, multiphase reactor, multiphase flow, mass transfer, catalysis

摘要： 旋转泡沫填料反应器是一种新型多相搅拌釜式反应器，其将传统的搅拌桨替换成圆环型泡沫填料，可有效强化反应器内多相间传质混合过程，且多孔填料可作为催化剂载体，能减小多相催化反应中固体催化剂的使用量，具有替换传统多相搅拌釜式反应器和浆态反应器的潜力，将有较好的应用前景。本文详细阐述了旋转泡沫填料反应器的结构和反应器内多相流动形式，着重介绍了反应器内多相流动特性的研究进展及反应器内传质性能的研究现状，并与传统的多相反应器传质性能进行比较；从应用方面分析了反应器用于葡萄糖催化氧化、苯乙烯催化加氢等多相过程的强化方式及优势，通过对比得出旋转泡沫填料反应器能有效降低化工过程中物耗、提高物料的利用率；介绍了与旋转泡沫填料反应器类似的其他多孔式搅拌桨反应器的研究进展，分析了这类反应器的优势，并对其性能进行对比；最后，对旋转泡沫填料反应器研究的不足及未来的发展进行了阐述和展望。

关键词: 旋转泡沫填料反应器, 多相反应器, 多相流, 传质, 催化