# US 2017/0282149 A1 · Reactor and temperature control method thereof

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- Number: US 2017/0282149 A1
- Document ID: US20170282149A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 15/345,175
- Filed: 2016-11-07
- Published: 2017-10-05
- Earliest claimed: 2016-03-31
- Assignees: National Tsing Hua University
- Applicants: National Tsing Hua University
- Inventors: Fan-Gang Tseng; Chun Liu
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20170282149A1

## CPC

- B01J 19/249: {Plate-type reactors}
- B01J 8/0438: {the beds being placed next to each other}
- B01J 8/0496: {Heating or cooling the reactor}
- B01J 19/0013: {Controlling the temperature of the process}
- B01J 19/0093: {Microreactors, e.g. miniaturised or microfabricated reactors (laboratory containers with capillary fluid transport in microfabricated channels or chambers B01L3/5027)}
- C01B 3/326: characterised by the catalysts
- C01B 3/40: characterised by the catalyst
- C01B 17/00: Sulfur; Compounds thereof
- B01J 2208/025: Two or more types of catalyst
- B01J 2219/00063: of the reactants
- B01J 2219/00159: controlling multiple zones along the direction of flow, e.g. pre-heating and after-cooling
- B01J 2219/00788: Three-dimensional assemblies, i.e. the reactor comprising a form other than a stack of plates
- B01J 2219/00792: One or more tube-shaped elements
- B01J 2219/00795: Spiral-shaped
- B01J 2219/00835: Comprising catalytically active material
- B01J 2219/1923: square or square-derived
- C01B 2203/0233: the reforming step being a steam reforming step
- C01B 2203/0261: containing a catalytic partial oxidation step [CPO]
- C01B 2203/0883: by indirect heat exchange
- C01B 2203/1029: Catalysts in the form of a foam
- C01B 2203/1076: Copper or zinc-based catalysts
- C01B 2203/1223: Methanol
- C01B 2203/1247: Higher hydrocarbons
- C01B 2203/143: Three or more reforming, decomposition or partial oxidation steps in series
- C01B 2203/1614: Controlling the temperature
- Y02P 20/52: using catalysts, e.g. selective catalysts
- B01J: CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS
- C01B: NON-METALLIC ELEMENTS; COMPOUNDS THEREOF; {METALLOIDS OR COMPOUNDS THEREOF NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASS C01C}
- Y02P: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS

## Abstract

A reactor suitable for a reaction containing an exothermic reaction is provided. The reactor includes the following components. A reaction channel has an inlet and an outlet, and has a front-end reaction zone, middle-end reaction zones, and a back-end reaction zone from the inlet to the outlet. A front-end catalyst support and a front-end catalyst are located in the front-end reaction zone, a middle-end catalyst support and a middle-end catalyst are respectively located in the middle-end reaction zones, and a back-end catalyst support and a back-end catalyst are located in the back-end reaction zone. The concentration of the front-end catalyst is less than the concentration of the back-end catalyst, and the concentration of the middle-end catalyst is decided via a computer simulation of reaction parameters. The reaction parameters include size and geometric shape of the reaction channel.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A reactor suitable for a reaction containing an exothermic reaction, wherein the reactor comprises:
a reaction channel having an inlet and an outlet, and the reaction channel has a front-end reaction zone, middle-end reaction zones, and a back-end reaction zone from the inlet to the outlet;
a front-end catalyst support, a middle-end catalyst support, and a back-end catalyst support are respectively located in the front-end reaction zone, the middle-end reaction zones, and the back-end reaction zone; and
a front-end catalyst, a middle-end catalyst, and a back-end catalyst are respectively located on the front-end catalyst support, the middle-end catalyst support, and the back-end catalyst support, wherein
a concentration of the front-end catalyst in the front-end reaction zone is less than a concentration of the back-end catalyst in the back-end reaction zone, and a concentration of the middle-end catalyst in each of the middle-end reaction zones is decided by a computer simulation of reaction parameters, and the reaction parameters comprise a size and a geometric shape of the reaction channel.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The reactor of claim 1, wherein the exothermic reaction comprises an oxidative steam reforming of methanol, a methanol partial oxidation reaction, a sulfur dioxide oxidation reaction, or an ethylene partial oxidation reaction.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The reactor of claim 1, wherein the geometric shape of the reaction channel comprises spiral, bellow, a microreactor chamber array, or a parallel straight tube array.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The reactor of claim 1, wherein the front-end reaction zone, the middle-end reaction zones, and the back-end reaction zone are separately disposed from one another.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The reactor of claim 1, wherein materials of the front-end catalyst, the middle-end catalyst, and the back-end catalyst comprise copper-palladium-cerium-zinc catalyst, copper-manganese-zinc catalyst, vanadium pentoxide, or silver.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The reactor of claim 1, wherein materials of the front-end catalyst support, the middle-end catalyst support, and the back-end catalyst support comprise metal foam, ceramic foam, or ceramic particles.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The reactor of claim 1, wherein a specific surface area of the front-end catalyst support is less than or equal to a specific surface area of the back-end catalyst support.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The reactor of claim 1, wherein the reaction parameters further comprise at least one of a reaction heat of the exothermic reaction, concentrations and flow rates of reactants, a thermal conductivity and a specific surface area of the middle-end catalyst support, a thermal conductivity of the middle-end catalyst, and a thermal conductivity of the reaction channel.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The reactor of claim 1, wherein the concentration of the back-end catalyst is greater than the concentration of the middle-end catalyst, and the concentration of the middle-end catalyst is greater than the concentration of the front-end catalyst.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The reactor of claim 9, wherein a mode of change from the concentration of the middle-end catalyst closest to the inlet to the concentration of the middle-end catalyst closest to the outlet comprises monotonically increasing, monotonically decreasing, or a combination thereof.

### Claim 11 (depends on 9)

The reactor of claim 9, wherein the concentrations of the middle-end catalyst in the middle-end reaction zones are the same.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

The reactor of claim 1, wherein the concentration of the front-end catalyst and the concentration of the back-end catalyst are decided by the computer simulation of the reaction parameters.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The reactor of claim 12, wherein the reaction parameters further comprise at least one of thermal conductivities and specific surface areas of the front-end catalyst support and the back-end catalyst support, thermal conductivities of the front-end catalyst and the back-end catalyst, and a thermal conductivity of the reaction channel.

### Claim 14

A reactor temperature control method, wherein the reactor comprises a reaction channel having an inlet and an outlet, the reactor temperature control method is suitable for a reaction containing an exothermic reaction, and comprises:
dividing the reaction channel into a front-end reaction zone, middle-end reaction zones, and a back-end reaction zone from the inlet to the outlet;
respectively disposing a front-end catalyst support, a middle-end catalyst support, a the back-end catalyst support in the front-end reaction zone, the middle-end reaction zones, and the back-end reaction zone;
performing a computer simulation step, in which a concentration of a middle-end catalyst in each of the middle-end reaction zones is calculated according to reaction parameters, and the reaction parameters comprise a size and a geometric shape of the reaction channel;
respectively forming a front-end catalyst and a back-end catalyst on the front-end catalyst support and the back-end catalyst support, wherein a concentration of the front-end catalyst in the front-end reaction zone is less than a concentration of the back-end catalyst in the back-end reaction zone; and
forming the middle-end catalyst on the middle-end catalyst support according to the concentration of the middle-end catalyst calculated by the computer simulation step.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The method of claim 14, wherein a method of respectively forming the front-end catalyst, the middle-end catalyst, and the back-end catalyst on the front-end catalyst support, the middle-end catalyst support, and the back-end catalyst support comprises an immersion method, a coprecipitation method, a precipitation method, a sol-gel method, a polyol method, a chemical vapor deposition method, or a combination thereof.

### Claim 16 (depends on 14)

The method of claim 14, wherein the reaction parameters further comprise at least one of a reaction heat of the exothermic reaction, concentrations and flow rates of reactants, a thermal conductivity and a specific surface area of the middle-end catalyst support, a thermal conductivity of the middle-end catalyst, and a thermal conductivity of the reaction channel.

### Claim 17 (depends on 14)

The method of claim 14, wherein the concentration of the back-end catalyst is greater than the concentration of the middle-end catalyst, and the concentration of the middle-end catalyst is greater than the concentration of the front-end catalyst.

### Claim 18 (depends on 17)

The method of claim 17, wherein a mode of change from the concentration of the middle-end catalyst closest to the inlet to the concentration of the middle-end catalyst closest to the outlet comprises monotonically increasing, monotonically decreasing, or a combination thereof.

### Claim 19 (depends on 17)

The method of claim 17, wherein the concentrations of the middle-end catalyst in the middle-end reaction zones are the same.

### Claim 20 (depends on 14)

The method of claim 14, wherein the computer simulation step further comprises calculating the concentration of the front-end catalyst and the concentration of the back-end catalyst according to the reaction parameters, and
in the step in which the front-end catalyst and the back-end catalyst are respectively formed on the front-end catalyst support and the back-end catalyst support, the concentration of the front-end catalyst and the concentration of the back-end catalyst are decided according to calculation results of the computer simulation step.

### Claim 21 (depends on 20)

The method of claim 20, wherein the reaction parameters further comprise at least one of thermal conductivities and specific surface areas of the front-end catalyst support and the back-end catalyst support, thermal conductivities of the front-end catalyst and the back-end catalyst, and a thermal conductivity of the reaction channel.