Wireless monitoring and profiling of reactor conditions using plurality of sensor-enabled RFID tags having known locations

A system for wirelessly monitoring and profiling process conditions within a reactor vessel, wherein the system comprises:

• the reactor vessel that defines a reaction zone, wherein within the reaction zone is a catalyst bed comprising catalyst particles having a metal component;
• a plurality of sensor-enabled RFID tags that are disposed at known locations within the catalyst bed and surrounded by the catalyst particles wherein each sensor-enabled RFID tag of the plurality is encoded with an unique non-variable identification code, and wherein each sensor-enabled RFID tag of the plurality is configured to sense a reactor condition within the reaction zone, to receive an interrogation signal, and, in response to the interrogation signal, to transmit an RFID transponder signal that includes information representative of the unique non-variable identification code and of the reactor condition that is associated with the sensor-enabled RFID tag;
• and
• an RFID reader antenna that is wirelessly linked to each sensor-enabled RFID tag of the plurality and that is configured to transmit the interrogation signal and to receive the RFID transponder signals that are transmitted by each sensor-enabled RFID tag of the plurality in response to the interrogation signal;
• whereby the process conditions at specific locations throughout the reaction zone are determined and profiled.