BERRUTI, Franco
Professor of Chemical
Engineering
Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
P.Eng.
Dott. Ing. (Politecnico
di Torino, Italy) 1982
M.A.Sc. (Waterloo) 1983
Ph.D. (Waterloo) 1986
DR BERRUTI'S research interests lie in the general area of chemical reaction and reactor engineering
for multi-phase systems. The main field of expertise is gas-solid fluidized bed reaction and reactor technologies.
Dr. Berruti has been contributing for many years to the development of predictive hydrodynamic models for
gas-solid fast fluidized beds, including Circulating Fluidized Bed risers (upflow) and downers (downflow), turbulent fluidized beds, spouted beds and spout-fluid beds. His research group is involved in significant experimental work dealing with the hydrodynamic features of fast fluidized bed reactors, and has developed and patented a novel reactor configuration, called Internally Circulating Fluidized Bed. Other contributions include the technical development of new solids feeders, capable of accurately adjusting and controlling the feeding rates of small solid particles.
The fast gas-solid reactor theories and technologies are being applied to a number of processes involving both catalytic and non-catalytic solid particles. Very significant contributions in this field include the development of
hydrodynamic and chemical simulators of chemical processes of industrial interest, such as the coupling of predictive
hydrodynamic models for fast gas-solid reactors to the kinetics of
partial oxidation reactions, of Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC), and of
thermal cracking processes (coking reactions, pyrolysis and ultrapyrolysis of various carbonaceus feedstocks: biomass, heavy oils and bitumens and plastic wastes). A major present undertaking deals with studies relevant to the hydrodynamic characterization of coker reactors, kinetic studies of coking technologies for
heavy oil upgrading, thermal cracking of biomass and other solid wastes for the
production of bio-oil and bio-oil upgrading.
Dr. Berruti’s research activities in this area have significantly expanded to include the investigation on the
injection of a variety of gaseous, liquid and solid feeds into fluidized beds. The fundamental characterization of the behavior of gas and two-phase (gas-liquid) sprays or jets is being studied both experimentally and theoretically. Typical applications of interest include the injection of raw materials into fluidized bed thermal or catalytic cracking processes for upgrading.
In addition, his research interests and activities include studies of indoor and outdoor air quality in urban areas, the development of economically acceptable technologies for the recovery and disposal of greenhouse gases, circulating fluidized bed coal combustion processes with sulfur capture, thermal cracking of plastic wastes (tertiary recycling of plastics), biosorption of heavy metals, automotive air bag technologies and failures, and remediation of contaminated sites.
KEYWORDS: gas-solid fluidized beds; chemical reactor engineering; heavy oil upgrading; cracking and coking reactions; thermal cracking of biomass and solid wastes; bio-oil; hydrodynamic modeling; gas-liquid feed jets
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Contact Info
Western Engineering
Spencer Engineering Building,
Room number 2008
Telephone: 519-661-2128
Fax: 519-850-2399
E-mail: Berruti@eng.uwo.ca
