ABSTRACT
The adverse effects of using conventional fossil fuels have triggered an exponential increase in biofuel production from biomass. The process economics of biofuel production are greatly dependent upon the type of reactor used during the process. Different configurations of reactors have been developed over the years depending upon the type of gaseous biofuels, conversion technology, and the composition of feedstock used. The simplest design for the production of any biofuel is the batch reactor which requires less initial capital and infrastructure investment. It can accommodate different types of feedstock and does not require stringent operating conditions. However, it has various disadvantages such as low productivity, large downtime, variation in product quality, and intensive labor and energy requirements. To address these issues continuous flow systems have been developed, which result in consistent product quality and low capital and operating costs per unit of product. Other reactor configurations that have been developed for efficient gaseous biofuels production include packed bed reactors, fluidized bed reactors, and upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactors. In this chapter, a comprehensive overview of the various reactor configurations used for biofuel production is presented along with their potential advantages and disadvantages.
