Method and reactor for conversion of hydrocarbons

A reactor system for the conversion of hydrocarbons comprising:

• a reactor vessel having a reactor wall that defines a reaction chamber;
• a reactor inlet assembly having a diverging conduit with a circumferential wall that surrounds a central longitudinal axis and extends from opposite upstream and downstream ends of the diverging conduit, the circumferential wall expanding in width from the downstream to the upstream ends of the diverging conduit, the downstream end of the diverging conduit being in fluid communication with the reaction chamber of the reactor, the upstream end of the diverging conduit forming an inlet of the reactor inlet assembly;
• a feed assembly in fluid communication with the inlet of the reactor inlet assembly, with the central axis passing through the feed assembly, the feed assembly comprising:
• a downstream feed assembly wall that extends circumferentially around and joins the upstream end of the reactor inlet assembly;
• an upstream feed assembly wall that is axially spaced upstream from the downstream feed assembly wall along the central axis, the downstream feed assembly wall and the upstream feed assembly wall together defining in part a mixing chamber for mixing two or more feed streams;
• an upstream gas partition wall and a downstream gas partition wall that are each axially spaced between the downstream and upstream feed assembly walls and are axially spaced from one another, each upstream gas partition wall and downstream gas partition wall having a central opening that surrounds the central axis of the diverging conduit, an upstream annular hydrocarbon feed inlet flow space being defined between the upstream feed assembly wall and the upstream partition wall, an annular steam inlet flow space being defined between the downstream feed assembly wall and the downstream gas partition wall, and an annular fuel gas inlet flow space being defined between the downstream gas partition wall and the upstream gas partition wall;
• and wherein
• the annular fuel gas inlet flow space is further partitioned by a fuel gas partition wall, the fuel gas partition wall being axially spaced between the downstream gas partition wall and the upstream gas partition wall to define first and second annular fuel gas inlet flow spaces, the fuel gas partition wall having a central opening that surrounds the central axis of the diverging conduit, and wherein the periphery of the central opening of the fuel gas partition wall is spaced radially outward from the central openings of the upstream gas partition wall and the downstream gas partition wall, the area spaced radially inward from the central opening of the fuel gas partition wall between the upstream and downstream gas partition walls defining an annular combustion zone where heated combustion gases are formed;
• wherein
• said annular inlet flow spaces causing introduced feeds to flow in an inwardly swirling fluid flow pattern within said flow spaces about the central axis of the diverging conduit;
• and wherein the area extending from the central openings of the upstream and downstream partition walls to the inlet of the reactor inlet assembly define a mixing chamber of the feed assembly, with the heated combustion gases from the fuel gas inlet flow space and hydrocarbon feed from the upstream hydrocarbon feed inlet flow space being discharged into the mixing chamber so that hydrocarbon feed and heated combustion gases are mixed together and form a swirling gas mixture within the mixing chamber, the swirling gas mixture passing through the diverging conduit to the reaction chamber, and further wherein at least one of the inlet flow spaces causes its respective feed stream to enter the reactor in a direction that is not perpendicular to the central axis.