US 6,143,943 A · Process using plate exchanger with high thermal density heat transfer fluid and simultaneous reaction

Abstract

A channel reactor arrangement and a process uses a heat exchange fluid with a high thermal density to indirectly heat or cool the reactants by indirect heat exchange. The system brings the efficiency of plate reactor arrangements to the effectiveness of high heat capacity heat exchange fluids such as molten salts and liquid metals. The channel reactor arrangement maintains a limited temperature gradient through the channels at all points to improve process selectivity. This type of arrangement is of a particular advantage where the reaction zone uses a heterogeneous catalyst system within a heat exchanging reaction section. The plate and channel heat transfer arrangement is particularly beneficial because of its high surface area provided per unit volume of channels. The high surface area of plates is particularly beneficial for heat transfer fluids having a high thermal density since the mass flow of the fluid, for lower thermal density fluids, will often end up being the limiting heat input variable where the approach temperature between the heat exchange channels and reaction channels is limited. Highly exothermic processes such as oxidation reactions or endothermic processes such as dehydrogenation achieve the most benefit from this invention.

Claims22

Dependent claims

A process for thermally sensitive reactions that contacts the reactants at high temperature and low pressure with a catalyst in a reaction zone and indirectly heating or cooling the reactants by contact with a heat exchange liquid having a high thermal density, the process comprising:

a) passing a reactant stream through a plurality of narrow reaction channels defined by principal spaced apart plates at a reaction pressure that does not exceed 200 psig while chemically reacting the reactant stream at constant or varying temperature conditions of at least 600.degree. F. in at least a reaction portion of the narrow reaction channels to produce a reacted stream;
b) passing a liquid phase heat exchange fluid through a plurality of narrow heat exchange channels defined by principal spaced apart plates and indirectly exchanging heat with the reactant stream across the plates in said reaction portion of the reaction channels while maintaining the local pressure in any portion of the heat exchange channels at least within 100 psi of the local pressure in any portion of reaction channel bordered by a common plate and while maintaining the local temperature in any portion of the heat exchange channels at least within 50.degree. F. of the local temperature in any portion of reaction channel bordered by a common plate wherein the heat exchange fluid is substantially non-reactive with the reactant stream, has a thermal density of at least 10 BTU/.degree. F.-ft.sup.3 at the reaction pressure and has a viscosity of less than 1.5 centipoise;
c) recovering the reacted stream from the reaction channels.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Process using plate exchanger with high thermal density heat transfer fluid and simultaneous reaction

Life of this patent

Process using plate exchanger with high thermal density heat transfer fluid and simultaneous reaction

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims22