Compact reactor for enzymatic treatment

1. A reactor for enzymatic hydrolysis of a material comprising in sequence:

a first heat exchanger (HEX 1 ) adapted to heat raw material to be supplied to the reactor to a first temperature within a range favouring enzymatic hydrolysis;

a reactor comprising a plurality of serially connected reactor chambers (R 1 -R 6 ) separated by closable airtight valves (V 1 -V 5 ), the reactor chambers being positioned at different vertical levels relative to one another;

a second heat exchanger (HEX 2 ) adapted to heat a reaction mixture to a temperature higher than the first temperature,

wherein a first reactor chamber (R 1 ) is positioned vertically above the other reactor chambers, and a last reactor chamber (R 6 ) is positioned vertically below the other reactor chambers and at least one of the reactor chambers is adapted to be stirred with a through-flowing inert gas introduced via a supply conduit ( 10 ), and wherein a return conduit ( 14 ) is configured to recycle the inert gas.

2. The reactor of claim 1 , wherein each reactor chamber has uniform size and shape and lies symmetric about a vertical axis.

3. The reactor of claim 1 , wherein said reactor chambers are tubular and inclined and connected so that the assembly is symmetrical about a vertical axis.

4. The reactor of claim 1 , wherein all of the reactor chambers are (R 1 -R 6 ) adapted to be stirred with through-flowing inert gas being supplied near a downstream end of the respective reactor chambers and discharged near the upstream end of the respective reactor chambers.

5. The reactor of claim 1 , wherein the reactor chambers (R 1 -R 6 ) are curved and assembled relative to one another to form a helix.

6. The reactor of claim 3 , wherein at least one of the first heat exchanger (HEX 1 ) and the second heat exchanger (HEX 2 ) is arranged along the vertical axis of the reactor.

7. The reactor of claim 3 , wherein the first heat exchanger (HEX 1 ) and a second heat exchanger (HEX 2 ) are arranged above each other along the vertical axis of the reactor.

8. The reactor of claim 5 , wherein the first heat exchanger (HEX 1 ) and the second heat exchanger (HEX 2 ) are arranged one above the other, concentrically within the helix.

9. The reactor of claim 1 , wherein at least one pasteurizing chamber (P 1 -P 3 ) is positioned downstream of the second heat exchanger (HEX 2 ).

10. The reactor of claim 9 , wherein the at least one pasteurizing chamber (P 1 -P 3 ) is a tubular chamber of substantially the same shape as reaction chambers (R 1 -R 6 ).

11. The reactor of claim 3 , further comprising an outer housing enclosing the reactor chambers and both heat exchangers.

12. The reactor of claim 1 , wherein the inert gas is adapted for recirculation and reuse.

13. The reactor of claim 3 , wherein the reactor chambers (R 1 -R 6 ) have an vertical/horizontal inclination of at least about 1/10.

14. The reactor of claim 1 , wherein each reactor chamber (R 101 - R 107 ) has the shape of a container having a simple, regular shape, and the reactor chambers are arranged vertically above each other with a first reactor chamber (R 101 ) vertically above the other reactor chambers and a last reactor chamber (R 107 ) vertically below the other reactor chambers.

15. The reactor of claim 14 , wherein each reactor chamber (R 101 -R 107 ) has a lowest point at a discharge point for the material in the reactor chamber.

16. The reactor of claim 14 , comprising a plurality of pasteurizing chambers (P 101 - P 103 ), wherein each pasteurizing chamber has the shape of a container with a regular shape and is arranged vertically above one other with a first pasteurizing chamber (P 101 ) being vertically above the other pasteurizing chambers and a last pasteurizing chamber (P 103 ) being vertically below the other pasteurizing chambers.

17. The reactor of claim 14 , comprising a plurality of pasteurizing chambers (P 101 - P 103 ), wherein a first heat exchanger (HEX 101 ) is connected upstream of the first reactor chamber (R 101 ) and wherein a second heat exchanger (HEX 102 ) is connected downstream of the last reactor chamber (R 107 ) and upstream of a first pasteurizing chamber (P 101 ).

18. The reactor of claim 14 , comprising a plurality of pasteurizing chambers (P 101 - P 103 ), wherein the reactor is grouped into four groups which are arranged independently of each other laterally adjacent to each other, the first heat exchanger (HEX 101 ) forming the first group, reactor chambers (R 101 -R 107 ) forming a second group, the second heat exchanger (HEX 102 ) forming the third group while the pasteurizing chambers (P 101 -P 103 ) form the fourth group.

19. The reactor of claim 1 , wherein each reactor chamber (Ri) is arranged for periodically being discharged via a supply of inert gas at an overpressure to each reactor chamber (Ri) and opening of downstream closable valve (Vi).

20. The reactor of claim 1 , wherein said first heat exchanger (HEX 1 , HEX 101 ) is configured to heat the material mixture to a temperature of about 50° C. and the second heat exchanger (HEX 2 , HEX 102 ) is configured to heat the material mixture to a temperature of at least about 90° C.

21. The reactor of claim 1 , wherein the reactor comprises or is adapted to be connected to a feed device ( 54 ) adapted to dispense a certain, adjustable amount of enzyme with a certain amount of raw material for hydrolysis.

22. The reactor of claim 1 , wherein the reactor is adapted to be stirred with nitrogen as inert gas.