• 专利附录
  • 专利说明
  • 权利要求
  • 类似技术
  • 同族专利
  • 引用文献
  • 法律状态
  • 优先权
    • 专利摘要:
    The present disclosure relates to a chemical reactor with enhanced adaptation to operate with exothermal processes by means of only covering a portion of the reaction enclosure with a cooling medium enclosure and optionally insulating the remaining part of the reaction enclosure.
    公开号:DK201700031A1
    申请号:DKP201700031
    申请日:2017-01-13
    公开日:2017-11-13
    发明作者:Bjarke Thomas Dalslet；Jeremy Neil Burn
    申请人:Haldor Topsøe As；
    IPC主号:
    专利说明:

    Short gasket reactor
    The invention relates to a fluid cooled chemical reactor comprising catalyst. More particular, the invention relates to a fluid cooled chemical reactor comprising catalyst for exothermal reactions, where only a part of the chemical reactors reaction enclosure is cooled by fluid (a "gasket") and the remaining part of the reaction enclosure is not cooled and may be thermally insulated.
    In exothermal processes a fluid cooled reactor is often a relevant option since such a reactor can ensure optimum reaction conditions by providing a substantially constant cooling medium temperature. This is favorable where the process is limited by an exothermal reaction. The typical design of the reactor involves a cooling medium enclosure with pressurized cooling fluid such as water, oil or other cooling media with a boiling point appropriate for the catalytic process. The pressure in the cooling medium enclosure controls the boiling temperature of the cooling medium, which may act as a heat sink at substantially constant temperature when operating at the boiling point, to the extent that liquid cooling media is present in the reactor .
    Known art as disclosed in US2004254402 describes a method for formaldehyde production through catalytic oxidation of methanol, comprising the steps of feeding to a first oxidation catalytic bed a gas flow comprising methanol and oxygen at a predetermined crossing linear flow rate, obtaining at the outlet of said first catalytic bed a flow of gaseous reaction products comprising unreacted methanol, and feeding the flow of gaseous products to a second oxidation catalytic bed is distinguished by the fact that the flow of gaseous reaction products comprising unreacted methanol is fed to the second catalytic bed with a crossing linear flow rate substantially egual to said predetermined first catalytic bed feeding flow rate.
    The cooling of the catalyst in the reactor is crucial for exothermal reactions. If the temperature is not optimal, it may reduce performance, the life-time of the equipment and the lifetime of the catalyst. When the lifetime of the catalyst is reduced, not only the cost for catalyst is increased, but also the down-time of the reactor. It is therefore a problem with heavy impact on the process profitability and life-time of the catalyst and equipment to ensure the optimum cooling and suitable operation temperature of the catalyst in the reaction enclosure of the chemical reactor. This problem is solved by the invention as described in the following and according to the claims.
    The chemical reactor according to the invention ensures efficient heat exchange in a fluid cooled reactor comprising catalyst in the up-stream part of the reaction enclosure, where the process is strongly exothermal, while keeping the down-stream part of the reaction chamber without cooling. This ensures that the reaction rate in the down-stream part of the reaction enclosure where a part of the process gas is reacted is kept at a reasonable level. According to the invention only a part of the outer surface of the reaction enclosure is in thermal contact with a cooling medium enclosure, i.e. the cooling medium enclosure "gasket" in contact with the reaction enclosure is shortened.
    An embodiment of the invention comprises a chemical reactor for an exothermal reaction with at least one reaction enclosure. The reaction enclosure typically comprises a catalyst and though the following disclosure explains the invention with the basis in a single reaction disclosure, it is to be understood that the reactor may comprise a plurality of similar reaction enclosures and that the invention may also cover a number of reactors i.e. in serial or parallel connection.
    To cope with the heat generated from the exothermal reaction, the chemical reactor further comprises at least one primary cooling medium enclosure. The cooling medium may be either liquid or gaseous or a combination of both. The cooling medium enclosure is configured to hold the fluid cooling medium under pressure at its boiling point for the given fluid. It is to be understood that the boiling point and thus to some extent the operating temperature for the chemical process can be modified by controlling the pressure and thus optimize the chemical process.
    According to this embodiment, the primary cooling medium enclosure partly encompasses said reaction enclosure and the reaction enclosure comprises an outer surface configured to be in thermal contact with the cooling medium. Hence, a part of the outer surface of the reaction enclosure is in thermal contact with the cooling medium to provide heat exchange between the reaction enclosure and the cooling medium. The reaction enclosure comprises a reaction enclosure inlet and a reaction enclosure outlet to provide for a stream of process fluid through the reaction enclosure where it may react with the catalyst within the reaction enclosure. Furthermore, the primary cooling medium enclosure comprises a cooling medium inlet and a cooling medium outlet to facilitate a flow of cooling medium through the cooling medium enclosure for removal of the heat exchanged from the reaction to the cooling medium, to keep a constant operating temperature.
    According to the invention, the reaction enclosure comprises a portion of its outer surface which is not in contact with the cooling medium enclosure. As described in the foregoing, the part of the reaction enclosure which is not cooled by thermal contact with the cooling medium may be the process gas down-stream part of the reaction enclosure, which may be the lower part of the reaction enclosure. The part of the reaction enclosure which is not in contact with the cooling medium enclosure may vary according to the process gas composition, the process parameters such as flow, pressure and temperature and according to the dimensions of the reactor components, to mention just some of the parameters .
    In a further embodiment of the invention, the portion of the reaction enclosure which is not in contact with the cooling medium enclosure is thermally insulated, in order to lower the heat loss from said part of the reaction enclosure and therefore be able to keep a higher process temperature in this part of the reaction enclosure.
    In an embodiment of the invention, the cooling medium enclosure comprises a cylindrical inner wall. This inner wall is at least partially in thermal contact with the reaction enclosure to provide an optimum balance between construction strength, material consumption, external dimensions and heat exchange of the reactor. However according to the invention, other shapes of cooling medium enclosures and reaction enclosure may be chosen if beneficial for instance for production of the equipment.
    In a further embodiment, the cooling medium enclosure and the reaction enclosure are arranged concentric. Thus, the reaction enclosure is arranged in the middle of the reactor along the center line and can have a cylindrical shape and the cooling medium enclosure is arranged around the reaction enclosure for instance in a doughnut shape to create a large heat exchange area relative to the reaction enclosure volume. As mentioned, the reactor may operate with both gas and liquid or both as a cooling medium. In one embodiment the cooling medium is oil and the cooling medium enclosure is adapted to operate with oil.
    In a further embodiment of the invention, the reaction enclosure is adapted to operate with a formaldehyde catalyst within the reaction enclosure. The present invention is especially advantageous for this application, since this reaction is highly exothermal and requires efficient heat exchange to remove the excess heat generated.
    In a further embodiment of the invention, the portion of the reaction enclosures outer surface which is in contact with the cooling medium enclosure is at least 50% of the total reaction enclosure outer surface. As mentioned in the foregoing, the optimum part of the reaction enclosure which is cooled is dependent of various process parameters. In yet another embodiment of the invention, at least 80% of the total reaction enclosure outer surface is in contact with the cooling medium enclosure.
    In an embodiment of the invention, the reaction enclosure comprises a catalytically active material in at least 50% to 80% of its volume and in a further embodiment, the chemical reactor of the invention is adapted to operate at a temperature of 250°C to 500°C.
    Features of the invention 1. A chemical reactor for an exothermal reaction comprising at least one reaction enclosure and at least one cooling medium enclosure configured to hold a cooling medium under pressure at the boiling point of said cooling medium, the cooling medium enclosure at least partly encompasses said reaction enclosure, said reaction enclosure comprises an outer surface configured to be in thermal contact with the cooling medium, said reaction enclosure comprises a reaction enclosure inlet and a reaction enclosure outlet and said cooling medium enclosure comprises a cooling medium inlet and a cooling medium outlet, wherein said reaction enclosure comprises a portion of its outer surface which is not in contact with the cooling medium enclosure. 2. A chemical reactor according to feature 1, wherein said portion of the reaction enclosure which is not in contact with the cooling medium enclosure is thermally insulated. 3. A chemical reactor according to any of the preceding features, wherein the cooling medium enclosure is cylindrical . 4. A chemical reactor according to any of the preceding features, wherein the reaction enclosure is cylindrical. 5. A chemical reactor according to any of the preceding features, wherein the cooling medium enclosure and the reaction enclosure are concentric. 6. A chemical reactor according to any of the preceding features, wherein the cooling medium enclosure is adapted to operate with oil as cooling medium. 7. A chemical reactor according to any of the preceding features, wherein the reaction enclosure is adapted to operate with a formaldehyde catalyst. 8. A chemical reactor according to any of the preceding features, wherein the portion of the reaction enclosures outer surface which is in contact with the cooling medium enclosure is at least 50% of the total reaction enclosure outer surface 9. A chemical reactor according to any of the preceding features, wherein the portion of the reaction enclosures outer surface which is in contact with the cooling medium enclosure is at least 80% of the total reaction enclosure outer surface. 10. A chemical reactor according to any of the preceding features, further comprising a catalytically active material inside at least 50% or 80% of the volume of the reaction enclosure. 11. A chemical reactor according to any of the preceding features adapted to operate at a temperature of 250°C to 500 °C.
    Brief description of the drawings
    Embodiments of the present invention are explained, by way of example, and with reference to the accompanying drawing. It is to be noted that the appended drawings illustrate only an example of an embodiment of this invention and it is therefore not to be considered limiting of the scope of the invention, for the invention may admit to other effective embodiments.
    Fig. 1 shows a cross sectional side view of a partly cooled reactor according to an embodiment of the invention.
    Position numbers 01. Chemical reactor 02. Reaction enclosure 03. Cooling medium enclosure 04. Reaction enclosure outer surface 05. Cooling medium 06. Catalyst 07. Insulation 08. Cylindrical inner wall of the cooling medium en closure
    Description of the drawings
    An embodiment of the invention is seen on Fig. 1. where the chemical reactor 01 is seen in a schematic cross sectional side view. Within the reactor is a reaction enclosure 02 which serves to hold a catalyst 06. When process fluid is provided to the reaction enclosure at proper conditions such as temperature and pressure, the catalyst enhances the chemical reaction in the reaction chamber. The process fluid enters the reaction enclosure through a reaction enclosure inlet (not shown) and exits through a reaction enclosure outlet (not shown).
    The reactor according to invention is well suited for exothermal reactions because of the effective cooling of the reaction enclosure. A cooling medium enclosure 03 encompasses the reaction enclosure in the main part of the reaction enclosure length. The cylindrical inner wall of the cooling medium enclosure 08 is also the reaction enclosure outer surface 04. Hence, the main part of the reaction enclosure is in thermal contact with the cooling medium 05 comprised in the cooling medium enclosure to provide an efficient heat exchange between the reaction enclosure and the primary cooling medium enclosure. The cooling medium enters the cooling medium enclosure via a cooling medium inlet (not shown) and exits the cooling medium enclosure via a cooling medium outlet (not shown).
    According to the invention and as shown on Fig. 1, a portion of the outer surface of the reaction enclosure is not in contact with the cooling medium enclosure. In the embodiment shown, the lower portion, which is also the process gas down-stream portion of the reaction enclosure is not in contact with the cooling medium enclosure. On the contrary, this lower portion of the reaction enclosure is insulated 07 to ensure the operation temperature is kept at suitable high level in this down-stream part of the reaction enclosure where the process is less exothermal than in the upstream part of the reaction enclosure where less of the process gas has reacted.
    The reactor is adapted to operate with a cooling medium under pressure. This involves selection of appropriate material, design of the shapes and material thickness among other parameters as known in the art. In an embodiment the cooling medium may be oil. In Fig. 1 a typical operation situation is shown where the cooling medium is boiling, bubbles of gas phase of the cooling medium is shown. As mentioned, the operating temperature may be controlled by varying the pressure of the cooling medium and by selecting a cooling medium with an appropriate boiling temperature. The ability to operate with a two-phase cooling medium enhances the stability of the operation temperature, since the phase shift from liquid to gas requires a surplus of energy in addition to the energy required to raise the temperature. Thus, the reactor according to the invention is well suited for even strongly exothermal reactions, such as reactions with a formaldehyde catalyst. The design and shape of the reaction and cooling medium enclosures may vary as best suited for a specific situation.
    Example. A study has been made in which a the "gasket" length, i.e. the length of the cooling medium enclosure which encompasses the reaction enclosure has been reduced relative to the total length of the reaction enclosure, when seen in the process gas flow direction (downwards) in a process with an FK formaldehyde catalyst in the reaction enclosure.
    As a reference this example includes two "standard" cases, case Ai and case A2 where the gasket, the oil cooling mantle (cooling medium enclosure) encompasses the reaction enclosure in its entire length as known in the art. In case Ai, the temperature of the cooling boiling oil bath is 265°C, in case A2 the cooling oil bath temperature is 250°C.
    These two standard cases are compared with two cases according to the invention with shortened gaskets, both with a cooling boiling oil bath temperature of 250°C, but one with a gasket length of 60 cm and one with a gasket length of 80 cm. In all the cases, the inner diameter of the reaction enclosure is 22 mm and the outer diameter of the reaction enclosure is 26 mm.
    In the above table, the yield, selectivities and conversion is tabulated for each case. The yield is slightly increased in case A2 relative to case Ai due to a substantial increase in selectivity.
    The "Gasket length = 60 cm" -case has a higher yield than either of the A -cases due to a very high conversion rate.
    The "Gasket length = 80 cm" -case has a higher yield than any of the other cases due to a nice compromise between conversion and selectivity.
    Contour plots of the temperatures and gas concentrations through the reaction enclosure in the four cases show that case A2 with the cooling oil bath temperature of 265°C has a high temperature hot spot which ensures a high conversion early, up-stream in the reaction enclosure at the cost of a large production of CO.
    The three other cases have a much lower temperature hot spot which limits CO production, while limiting also the conversion in the part of the reaction enclosure in contact with the cooling media (the part covered by the "gasket").
    The "Gasket length = 60 cm" case has a temperature increase when leaving the oil cooled area which boosts its conversion at cost of producing extra CO. It manages to just outperform case A2 with oil cooling bath temperature of 250°C, while both stay ahead of case Ai with oil cooling bath temperature of 265°C in terms of yield.
    The "Gasket length = 80 cm" case is a nice compromise. It manages to get a decent conversion increase, while not producing much extra CO.
    The study shows that with a small decrease of the oil cooling bath temperature it is possible to get a large benefit from insulating the down-stream part of the reaction enclosure. The advantage comes from the possibility of compensating for a lower temperature in the hot spot by having a higher temperature downstream due to the insulation
    权利要求:
    Claims (11)
    [1] Claims :
    1. A chemical reactor for an exothermal reaction comprising at least one reaction enclosure and at least one cooling medium enclosure configured to hold a cooling medium under pressure at the boiling point of said cooling medium, the cooling medium enclosure at least partly encompasses said reaction enclosure, said reaction enclosure comprises an outer surface configured to be in thermal contact with the cooling medium, said reaction enclosure comprises a reaction enclosure inlet and a reaction enclosure outlet and said cooling medium enclosure comprises a cooling medium inlet and a cooling medium outlet, wherein said reaction enclosure comprises a portion of its outer surface which is not in contact with the cooling medium enclosure.
    [2] 2. A chemical reactor according to claim 1, wherein said portion of the reaction enclosure which is not in contact with the cooling medium enclosure is thermally insulated.
    [3] 3. A chemical reactor according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the cooling medium enclosure is cylindrical .
    [4] 4. A chemical reactor according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the reaction enclosure is cylindrical.
    [5] 5. A chemical reactor according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the cooling medium enclosure and the reaction enclosure are concentric.
    [6] 6. A chemical reactor according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the cooling medium enclosure is adapted to operate with oil as cooling medium.
    [7] 7. A chemical reactor according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the reaction enclosure is adapted to operate with a formaldehyde catalyst.
    [8] 8. A chemical reactor according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the portion of the reaction enclosures outer surface which is in contact with the cooling medium enclosure is at least 50% of the total reaction enclosure outer surface
    [9] 9. A chemical reactor according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the portion of the reaction enclosures outer surface which is in contact with the cooling medium enclosure is at least 80% of the total reaction enclosure outer surface.
    [10] 10. A chemical reactor according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising a catalytically active material inside at least 50% or 80% of the volume of the reaction enclosure .
    [11] 11. A chemical reactor according to any of the preceding claims adapted to operate at a temperature of 250°C to 500 °C.
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    同族专利:
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    引用文献:
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    法律状态:
    2018-05-07| PHB| Application deemed withdrawn due to non-payment or other reasons|Effective date: 20180409 |
    优先权:
    申请号 | 申请日 | 专利标题
    DKPA201600567|2016-09-27|
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