Engineering development of slurry bubble column reactor (SBCR) technology. Quarterly report, October 1--December 31, 1997

The major technical objectives of this program are threefold: (1) to develop the design tools and a fundamental understanding of the fluid dynamics of a slurry bubble column reactor to maximize reactor productivity, (2) to develop the mathematical reactor design models and gain an understanding of the hydrodynamic fundamentals under industrially relevant process conditions, and (3) to develop an understanding of the hydrodynamics and their interaction with the chemistries occurring in the bubble column reactor. Progress is summarized for the following tasks: Task 2 -- Component diagnostics development; Task 3 -- Model selection and development; Task 4 -- SBCR experimental program; and Task 6 -- Data processing