Multi-tubular reactor and multi-tubular reactor design and fabrication method

A multi-tubular reactor comprising a cylindrical shell, a plurality of reaction tubes located in the shell, and a disk-and-doughnut type baffle,

• wherein the reaction tubes are arranged so as to be in a triangular zigzag arrangement having units, each of which has three neighboring reaction tubes as one single unit, wherein the central axes of these three reaction tubes are located at three summits of a virtual equilateral triangle, respectively,
• one or more of the reaction tubes is/are a temperature-measuring reaction tube(s) provided with a thermometer,
• a heat transfer medium flows in the cylindrical shell and comes into contact with the reaction tubes,
• a line through a central axis of the temperature-measuring reaction tube and a central axis of the shell forms an angle from 0 to 15 degree with a line through the central axis of the temperature-measuring reaction tube and a central axis of at least one adjacent reaction tube next to the temperature-measuring reaction tube, in a cross section of the reactor perpendicular to the central axis of the shell,
• condition in the shell is controlled by utilizing temperature data measured by the thermometer provided to the temperature-measuring reaction tube to prevent formation of hot spot or cold spot, and
• the reactor is a fixed bed multi-tubular reactor to be used for a gas-solid heterogeneous reaction.

A production method of a multi-tubular reactor comprising a cylindrical shell, a plurality of reaction tubes located in the shell, and a disk-and-doughnut type baffle, comprising:

• arranging the reaction tubes so as to be in a triangular zigzag arrangement having units, each of which has three neighboring reaction tubes as one single unit, wherein the central axes of these three reaction tubes are located at three summits of a virtual equilateral triangle, respectively,
• providing a thermometer to one or more of the reaction tube(s) to form a temperature-measuring reaction tube(s),
• wherein a heat transfer medium flows in the cylindrical shell and comes into contact with the reaction tubes,
• a line through a central axis of the temperature-measuring reaction tube and a central axis of the shell forms an angle from 0 to 15 degree with a line through the central axis of the temperature-measuring reaction tube and a central axis of at least one adjacent reaction tube next to the temperature-measuring reaction tube, in a cross section of the reactor perpendicular to the central axis of the shell,
• condition in the shell is controlled by utilizing temperature data measured by the thermometer provided to the temperature-measuring reaction tube to prevent formation of hot spot or cold spot, and
• the reactor is a fixed bed multi-tubular reactor to be used for a gas-solid heterogeneous reaction.