Carbon monoxide conversion process and reactor

Reaction unit comprising a reactor with a reactor shell;

• within a reactor shell one or more reactor tubes adapted to hold a fixed bed of a shift conversion catalyst and to exchange heat by indirect heat contact with a cooling agent in a falling film along shell side of the reactor tube, the upper end of the reactor tubes on the shell side being provided with a cooling agent distributor in form of a perforated sleeve being arranged on shell side concentrically and spaced apart from the wall of the tubes, and dosing means in form of a sleeve with a conical outlet end concentrically with the tube wall;
• a hydrogen permeable membrane tube concentric arranged within the reactor tube with a permeation zone on shell side of the membrane tube being in contact with the catalyst bed and a permeate zone on tube side of the membrane tube;
• on the reactor shell inlet means for a carbon monoxide containing feed gas connected to inlet of the catalyst bed and outlet means for carbon monoxide depleted feed gas connected to outlet of the catalyst bed;
• outlet means for hydrogen containing permeate connected to the permeate zone of the membrane tube;
• inlet and outlet means for the cooling agent, the inlet means being adapted to introduce the cooling agent to shell side of the reactor tubes.