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US 7,096,931 B2Granted
Increased heat exchange in two or three phase slurry
AssigneeExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company
InventorsMin Chang, Richard Frank Bauman
Life of this patent
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AssigneeExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company
InventorsMin Chang, Richard Frank Bauman
Estimating the term…
Ribbed heat exchange tubes in which the aspect ratio of the ribs is less than 5, provide greater indirect heat exchange than conventional heat exchange tubes with or without fins, when used in a slurry comprising a liquid phase, in which is dispersed flowing gas bubbles or particulate solids and flowing gas bubbles. The ribs, and typically also the longitudinal axis of the heat exchange tubes, are aligned in a direction parallel to, or spirally along the gas bubble flow direction. This is useful to increase either (i) the productivity of a slurry Fischer-Tropsch hydrocarbon synthesis reactor without an increase in the temperature in the reactor or (ii) increasing the production of higher molecular weight hydrocarbons by reducing the reaction temperature at a given feed conversion.
A process for adding or removing heat to or from a slurry comprising a liquid phase and at least one of (i) flowing gas bubbles and (ii) a flowing gas bubbles and particulate solids, by indirect heat exchange with means located in the slurry, wherein said means comprises one or more hollow conduits containing a heat exchange fluid flowing within, in indirect heat exchange relationship with said surrounding slurry, with each of said one or more conduits having a plurality of ribs attached to and extending outward from its exterior and wherein said ribs have an aspect ration of less than five.
A process for increasing the production of higher molecular weight hydrocarbon products from a hydrocarbon synthesis reaction in a slurry hydrocarbon synthesis reactor in which said slurry comprises a particulate catalyst and flowing gas bubbles in a slurry hydrocarbon liquid, said process comprising reducing the reaction temperature without reducing the conversion of the CO feed passed into said reactor, by increasing indirect heat exchange in said slurry using heat conductive heat exchange means in said slurry, said means comprising one or more hollow conduits containing a heat exchange fluid flowing within, in indirect heat exchange relationship with said surrounding slurry, with each of said one or more conduits having a plurality of ribs attached to and extending outward from its exterior surface wherein said ribs have an aspect ration of less than five, and wherein at least a portion of said synthesized hydrocarbons are upgraded by one or more upgrading operations.
A process for increasing theproduction of hydrocarbon products from a hydrocarbon synthesis reaction in a slurry hydrocarbon synthesis reactor, in which said slurry comprises a particulate catalyst and flowing gas bubbles in a slurry hydrocarbon liquid, said process comprising increasing the conversion of the CO feed passed into said reactor at a given temperature, by increasing indirect heat exchange in said slurry which comprises one or more vertical, hollow conduits containing a heat exchange fluid flowing within, in indirect heat exchange relationship with said surrounding slurry, with each of said one or more conduits having a plurality of ribs attached to and extending outward from its exterior wherein said ribs have an aspect ration of less than five, and wherein at least a portion of said synthesized hydrocarbons are upgraded by one or more upgrading operations.
A slurry hydrocarbon synthesis process comprises the steps of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.