Channel reactors

• US 10,544,371 B2
• Filed: 05/11/2018
• Issued: 01/28/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 05/11/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IntraMicron, Inc.
• Original Assignee: IntraMicron, Inc.
• Inventors: Yang, Hongyun, Barron, Troy, Tatarchuk, Bruce, Dimick, Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): Young, Natasha E
• Application Number:
  US15/977,642
• Publication Number:
  US 20190345395A1
• Time in Patent Office: 627 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 19/2485 Monolithic reactors
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2208/00194 Tubes
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2208/00884 Means for supporting the bed of particles, e.g. grids, bars, perforated plates
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2208/021 comprising a plurality of beds with flow of reactants in parallel
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2208/065 Heating or cooling the reactor
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/1923 square or square-derived
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/2406 Rectangular
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/243 Catalyst in granular form in the channels
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/2434 Metals or alloys
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/2438 Ceramics
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/2443 Assembling means of monolith modules
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/2445 Sizes
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 23/94 of catalysts comprising metals, oxides or hydroxides of the iron group metals or copper
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 38/10 using elemental hydrogen
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 8/067 Heating or cooling the reactor B01J8/062 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 8/24 according to "fluidised-bed" technique B01J8/20 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C07C 1/04 from carbon monoxide with hydrogen
• CPC Class Codes: C10G 2/343 according to the "moving-bed" method

Abstract

Described is an industrial scale chemical reactor or reactor containing a shell having an inner wall, and at least one channel inside the shell. The shell has a circular, square, or rectangular cross-sectional area. All of the internal dimensions of the channel are greater than 10 mm, and optionally less than 50 mm. The channel has a rectangular cross-sectional area, and contains a catalyst bed containing catalyst particles and/or pieces containing catalyst particles packed inside the channel. The reactor has improved shell volume utilization, catalyst loading capacities, heat exchange efficiency, process intensification, or combinations thereof, compared to currently existing reactors. Exothermic reactions, such as the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis can be performed inside the channels of the reactor. Also described are methods of making the reactor.

Claims

1. An industrial scale chemical reactor comprising:

a shell defined by one or more walls, wherein each wall comprises an inner surface;

two or more rectangular channels inside the shell, wherein each internal dimension of the channel is greater than 10 mm;

a catalyst bed inside the channel, wherein catalyst particles or pieces containing catalyst particles are packed in the bed;

a first gap between the channel and the inner surface of the wall; and

a second gap between adjacent channels.

2. The reactor of claim 1, wherein the shell has a circular or square cross-section.

3. The reactor of claim 1, wherein the total volume of the channel is more than 50% of the shell volume.

4. The reactor of claim 1, comprising two or more rectangular channels, and wherein the channels are aligned in the same direction.

5. The reactor of claim 1, wherein the channel is formed from a metal, metal alloy, or ceramic with a thermal conductivity between 10 W/m·

K and 4000 W/m·

K, inclusive.

6. The reactor of claim 1, wherein the channel has a first internal dimension and a second internal dimension, wherein the first internal dimension is the height of the channel, wherein the second internal dimension is the width of the channel, and wherein the second internal dimension is larger than the first internal dimension.

7. The reactor of claim 6, wherein the height of the channel is greater than 10 mm and less than 150 mm.

8. The reactor of claim 7, wherein the width of the channel is greater than 250 mm.

9. The reactor of claim 6, wherein the second internal dimension is between three and 400 times, inclusive, larger than the first internal dimension.

10. The reactor of claim 6, wherein the height of the channel is in the range of 60% to 80% of the diameter of a tube in a tubular reactor that has the same production rate, the same reactor length, the same volume as the channel, and is filled with the same catalyst.

11. The reactor of claim 1, wherein the second gap is smaller than the first gap.

12. The reactor of claim 1, wherein the second gap is at least 5 mm or at least 10 mm.

13. The reactor of claim 1, further comprising a heat exchange fluid flowing through the first gap and the second gap.

14. The reactor of claim 13, further comprising a fluid flowing through each of the two or more channels, wherein the heat exchange fluid and the fluid in the channel flow in a co-current pattern, a counter-current pattern, or a cross-current pattern, or a combination thereof.

15. The reactor of claim 1, further comprising a support structure between adjacent channels or between the channels and the walls of the shell, or both, wherein the support structure is located in the first gap or in the second gap.

16. The reactor of claim 15, wherein each support structure is independently selected from the group consisting of metal bars, plates, brackets, and rods.

17. The reactor of claim 1, wherein the bed is a packed bed and comprises catalyst in the form of extrudates, pellets, rings, powder, or grains, or a combination thereof.

18. The reactor of claim 1, wherein the bed comprises microfibrous entrapped catalysts, catalyst rings, metal foam, or ceramic foam, or a combination thereof.

19. The reactor of claim 1, wherein the shell is made from a material selected from the group consisting of metal, metal alloys, ceramics, and glass.

20. The reactor of claim 1, wherein the catalyst bed is packed with a secondary heat transfer structure with an effective thermal conductivity greater than 10, 20, or 50 W/m·

K.

21. The reactor of claim 1, wherein the bed comprises microfibrous entrapped catalysts.