Internal recycle reactor for catalytic inerting

An internal recycle reactor for catalytic inerting comprising:

• an ejector comprising:
• a motive fluid duct;
• a suction chamber having a suction chamber inlet;
• a mixing region configured to receive gaseous fluids from the motive fluid duct and the suction chamber inlet and to produce a gaseous mixture;
• a reactor section positioned to receive the gaseous mixture from the mixing region and configured to react with the gaseous mixture to form an exhaust gas;
• and
• an outlet configured to deliver an exhaust gas from the reactor section;
• and
• a plurality of recycle passages fluidly connecting the outlet to the suction chamber and configured to deliver a portion of the exhaust gas to the suction chamber through the suction chamber inlet.

A method of catalytic inerting comprising:

• flowing a reactant gas to a first inlet of an ejector;
• flowing a portion of an exhaust gas from an ejector outlet to a second inlet of the ejector;
• mixing the reactant gas with the exhaust gas to produce a gaseous mixture;
• flowing the gaseous mixture through a catalyst disposed in the ejector, wherein the catalyst is disposed in a reactor section of the ejector located between a mixing chamber and the ejector outlet and wherein the catalyst fills a cross-sectional area of the reactor section such that the gaseous mixture is directed through the catalyst;
• reacting the gaseous mixture with the catalyst to produce an exhaust gas comprising an inert gas;
• and
• flowing the exhaust gas from the catalyst through a plurality of recycle passages, wherein the recycle passages fluidly connect the ejector outlet to the second inlet of the ejector and wherein the reactant gas provides a motive flow that drives the flow of the exhaust gas into the second inlet by suction.