How does the reactor work exactly?

Direct liquefaction of biomass is a combination of a multitude of chemical reactions that involves inter alia hydrolysis, de-oxygenation and polymerization to create heavier chemical molecules by combining smaller ones. This is achieved catalytically at moderate temperatures and pressures for algae biomass. Thus, in essence, the liquefaction reactor brings together the biomass and catalyst/s under the desired reaction conditions. In our particular case, we have tried to maximize the contact between biomass and catalyst, while trying to minimize energy input by both the way in which we have designed the reactor, and in selecting a suitable catalyst. (Unfortunately we cannot give more details at present regarding the latter - exact reactor design and catalyst due to pending patent applications).