Pressure vessel incorporating rapid, toolless assembly and disassembly

A pressure vessel comprising:

• a chamber configured for processing a material in a chamber volume under a chamber pressure selected from greater than 1 bar to about 5000 bar, wherein said chamber is a cylindrical collection tube having a cylinder axis;
• a first end cap disposed at one end of said pressure chamber;
• a first interior seal plate disposed between said first end cap and said chamber volume;
• and
• a plurality of first pressure-vessel keys disposed between (a) said first end cap and (b) a first key ring configured to hold said first pressure-vessel keys in place, wherein each interface between each of said plurality of said first pressure-vessel keys and said first key ring has a first ring surface and a first top key surface, and wherein each interface between each of said plurality of said first pressure-vessel keys and said first end cap has a first bottom key surface and a first cap surface,
• wherein each of said first pressure-vessel keys are individually removable from said pressure vessel;
• wherein at a chamber pressure greater than atmospheric pressure, said first end cap passively exerts contiguous forces against each of said first pressure-vessel keys and said first key ring to automatically and reversibly actuate a first pressure-vessel seal by reducing clearance between said first end cap and each of said first pressure-vessel keys, wherein, for each of said plurality of first pressure-vessel keys, (a) said first ring surface, (b) said first top key surface, (c) said first bottom key surface, and (d) said first cap surface are all parallel to each other and are all disposed at an angle, neither parallel nor perpendicular, with respect to said cylinder axis;
• and
• wherein at a chamber pressure of atmospheric pressure or less, said first pressure-vessel keys are individually removable from said first key ring, whereby said first end cap is consequently removable,
• wherein said first pressure-vessel keys are removable without tooling;
• wherein said first end cap is removable without tooling;
• wherein said first interior seal plate is removable without tooling;
• wherein at said chamber pressure of atmospheric pressure or less, the clearance between said first pressure-vessel keys and (a) said first end cap and/or (b) said first key ring is at least 0.015 inch;
• wherein said pressure vessel further comprises a first seal-plate piston seal disposed on the outside diameter of said first interior seal plate;
• wherein said pressure vessel further comprises a first end-cap piston seal disposed on the outside diameter of said first end cap;
• wherein said first end cap and said first interior seal plate form an integrated piece;
• wherein said pressure vessel further comprises one or more first fittings disposed within said first interior seal plate;
• and wherein said pressure vessel is contained within a system configured for reaction and/or extraction of a biomass feedstock utilizing supercritical carbon dioxide.