US 7,683,143 B2 · Reactor with optimized internal tray design

Abstract

A system for processing large quantities of a reaction medium while maintaining the reaction medium in sheets. The system includes a reactor having a plurality of vertically-spaced downwardly-sloped trays over which the reaction medium flows while it is subjected to reaction conditions. The slope of the trays increases downwardly to accommodate for the increased viscosity of the reaction medium while the reaction medium flows downwardly through the reactor. An upper portion of the trays have a uni-directional configuration, while a lower portion of the trays have a bi-directional configuration. Further, the orientation of flow across the uni-directional trays is rotated by 90 degrees in at least one location as the reaction medium flows down the uni-directional trays.

Claims33

Dependent claims

A polymerization process comprising:

(a) introducing a reaction medium into a polymerization reactor comprising a plurality of vertically-spaced sloped trays;
(b) causing said reaction medium to flow downwardly in said polymerization reactor over said vertically-spaced trays, wherein the average thickness of said reaction medium flowing on said vertically-spaced trays is maintained at about 2.5 inches or more;
and (c) withdrawing said reaction medium from said polymerization reactor, wherein the degree of polymerization (DP) of said reaction medium withdrawn from said polymerization reactor is at least about 25 percent greater than the DP of said reaction medium introduced into said polymerization reactor, and wherein said vertically-spaced trays include a plurality of uni-directional trays and at least a portion of said reaction medium simultaneously flows over two generally opposite ends of at least one of said uni-directional trays.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Reactor with optimized internal tray design

Life of this patent

Reactor with optimized internal tray design

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims33