Reactor to perform chemical reactions with a disintegrating disc

Claim 1

Apparatus for reacting a solution of cellulosic pulp material under intimate and turbulent contact with a chemical composition while simultaneously subjecting the pulp material to a disintegrating treatment, said apparatus comprising: (a) a stationary pressure-sealed substantially spherical reactor vessel in which the pulp material is received and treated under conditions of elevated pressure and temperature, said reactor vessel having a top portion and a bottom portion for admitting the material to be treated and for discharging the treated material, respectively; (b) a rotor member mounted to rotate within said reactor vessel adjacent said bottom portion, about a substantially vertical axis; (c) a stator disc in said bottom portion spaced from and facing said rotor member to define a disintegrating area therebetween; (d) a helico-centrifugal pump connected with said rotor member for conducting said pulp material axially into said disintegrating area by the aspirational effect generated by the rotation of said rotor and simultaneously generating an impeller action effective to eject the pulp material radially outwards from said disintegrating area and thence in a generally upward direction in turbulent flow within the confines of the walls of said spherical reactor vessel with consequent enhancement of the disintegrating action; (e) means for injecting said chemical composition into said disintegrating area; and (f) baffle elements extending along the walls of said reactor vessel for indirectly heating said pulp material while it is being treated in said reactor vessel.