Reactor with shaft cooling

A reactor for recovering or recycling of hydrocarbon products from hydrocarbon-containing materials, comprising:

• a cylindrical reactor housing extending axially between a rear end wall and a front end wall;
• a rotor rotatably arranged in the reactor housing and driven in rotation by means of a motor and a rotor shaft coaxially aligned with the reactor housing, wherein the rotor has rotor arms extending radially from the rotor shaft, wherein each rotor arm comprises a hammer pivotally journaled in an outer end of the rotor arm, wherein the rotor shaft is journalled in a reactor stand and extending cantilevered through the rear end wall of the cylindrical reactor housing with no support from the front end wall of the reactor housing;
• an inlet to the reactor housing through which process material is fed radially or axially into the reactor housing;
• a reactor gas outlet opening out centrally in the front end wall through which gasified hydrocarbon products are discharged axially from the reactor housing;
• and
• a residual material outlet opening out peripherally in the reactor housing through which residual solid process material is discharged from the reactor housing,
• wherein between a periphery of the rotor and an inside of the reactor housing there is a radial play of 2 to 8 cm, and
• wherein at least a portion of the rotor shaft between the motor and the rotor is formed with channels running in the longitudinal direction of the rotor shaft, said channels being in flow communication with a coolant, via inflow and return flow channels running in parallel in the rotor shaft, the channels being individually in flow communication with a coolant supply and a coolant drainage, respectively, arranged in a swivel that is rotatably mounted in a free end of the rotor shaft.

A method for recovering or recycling of hydrocarbon products from hydrocarbon-containing materials using a reactor for recovering or recycling of hydrocarbon products from hydrocarbon-containing materials, comprising:

• a cylindrical reactor housing extending axially between a rear end wall and a front end wall;
• a rotor rotatably arranged in the reactor housing and driven in rotation by means of a motor and a rotor shaft coaxially aligned with the reactor housing, wherein the rotor has rotor arms extending radially from the rotor shaft, wherein each rotor arm comprises a hammer pivotally journaled in an outer end of the rotor arm, wherein the rotor shaft is journalled in a reactor stand and extending cantilevered through the rear end wall of the cylindrical reactor housing with no support from the front end wall of the reactor housing;
• an inlet to the reactor housing through which process material is fed radially or axially into the reactor housing;
• a reactor gas outlet opening out centrally in the front end wall through which gasified hydrocarbon products are discharged axially from the reactor housing;
• and
• a residual material outlet opening out peripherally in the reactor housing through which residual solid process material is discharged from the reactor housing,
• wherein between the periphery of the rotor and the inside of the reactor housing there is formed a radial play of 2 to 8 cm,
• wherein at least a portion of the rotor shaft between the motor and the rotor is formed with channels running in the longitudinal direction of the rotor shaft, said channels being in flow communication with a coolant, via inflow and return flow channels running in parallel in the rotor shaft, the channels being individually in flow communication with a coolant supply and a coolant drainage, respectively, arranged in a swivel that is rotatably mounted in a free end of the rotor shaft, and
• wherein said method comprises:
• generating and maintaining an agitated layer of non-fluidized finely ground material surrounding the reactor rotor, said layer having a radial extension of at least 2 to 8 cm between the rotor and the inside of the reactor housing.