Laminated, leak-resistant chemical processors, methods of making, and methods of operating

A welded pressure-resistant substrate assembly, comprising:

• a plurality of channels that are sealed by welding;
• wherein the plurality of channels are process channels, wherein the assembly further comprises heat exchange channels wherein the plurality of process channels comprises Fischer-Tropsch catalyst particles;
• wherein all the channels are formed from metal;
• wherein the sealing is not the result of polymeric gaskets, brazing, or diffusion bonding;
• and having a leak rate of less than 10 sccm nitrogen when pressurized with nitrogen gas at 100 psig and room temperature.

A laminated chemical processor, comprising:

• a plurality of sheets in a stack;
• the stack having mutually perpendicular dimensions of height, width, length;
• wherein height is the stacking dimension;
• an open space within the stack and an inlet into the open space;
• for an open space within the stack, length is the longest dimension;
• width is perpendicular to length;
• wherein the stack comprises at least one interface between sheets wherein, during operation, an internal pressure is applied in an open space within the stack and at the interface, wherein the open space has a width of at least 0.07 m;
• wherein the laminated chemical processor is not diffusion bonded or brazed and does not have gaskets;
• and possessing leak resistance such that:
• when N2 gas is supplied through an inlet into the open space at said interface, and wherein an outlet is closed so that pressure increases at a rate of 30 to 50 kPa/min and pressure in the open space is increased to 790 kPa and held at that pressure for 15 minutes, then returned to ambient pressure by releasing the N2 gas, and then supplying water at a rate to sufficient to raise the pressure through the inlet at a rate of 300 to 400 kPa/min, and wherein the outlet is closed so that pressure increases and pressure in the open space is increased to about 3000 kPa and then continuing to increase the pressure at a rate of about 100 kPa/min to 6000 kPa, and then dropping the pressure at a rate of 250 to 300 kPa to below 5300 kPa and then continuing to drop pressure to ambient pressure and draining the water and drying the processor, and again supplying N2 gas through the inlet at a rate so that pressure increases at a rate of 30 to 50 kPa/min into the open space at said interface, and wherein the outlet is closed so that pressure increases and pressure in the open space is increased to 790 kPa and the inlet closed so that no more gas enters the open space, the processor leaks less than 100 kPa over the following 15 minutes.