Process for heating and cooling gases and apparatus therefor

Claim 1

A METHOD FOR CARRYING OUT A GAS-PHASE REACTION INVOLVING SEQUENTIAL RAPID HEATING AND RAPID COOLING OF A GASEOUS REACTIONMASS, WHCIH METHOD COMPRISES: (A) SIMULTANEOUSLY INTRODUCING PULSES OF PRESSURIZED DRIVER GAS INTO OPPOSITE ENDS OF A CONFINED COLUMN OF SAID GASEOUS REACTION MASS, THEREBY GENERATING A PAIR OF SHOCK WAVES WHICH COME TOGETHER AT AN INTERMEDIATE SECTION OF SAID COLUMN AND THEN LEAVE SAIDINTERMEDIATE SECTION, MOVING TOWARD OPPOSITE ENDS OF SAID COLUMN; (B) SUBSEQUENTLY (TO INTRODUCTING SAID PULSES OF PRESSURIZED DRIVER GAS) INTRODUCING A PAIR OF EXPANSION OF WAVES INTO OPPOSITE ENDS OF SAID COLUMN, SAID EXPANSION WAVES BEING INTRODUCED SUFFICIENTLY LATER THAN SAID SHOCK WAVES THAT SAID EXPANSION WAVES DO NOT EOVERTAKE SAID SHOCK WAVES BEFORE THE SHOCK WAVES HAVE COME TOGETHER AT THE INTERMEDIATE SECTION OF SAID COLUMN; AND (C) ALLOWING SAID SHOCK WAVES TO LEAVE THE OPPOSITE ENDS OF SAID COLUMN WITHOUT REFLECTION BACK INTO SAID COLUMN.

Claim 2

AN APPARATUS FOR CONTINUOUSLY CARRYING OUT A GAS PHASE REACTION INVOLVING SEQUENTIAL RAPID HEATING AND RAPID COOLING OF A GASEOUS REACTION MASS WHICH COMPRISES A CYLINDRICAL REACTOR ROTATABLE ABOUT ITS AXIS OF SYMMETRY AND HAVING A PLURALITY OF LONGITUDINALLY LOCATED TUBULAR MEMBERS ARRANGED ABOUT THE PERIPHERY THEREOF, A REACTANT GAS INLET POSITIONED AT ONE END OF SAID REACTOR, A PAIR OF DRIVER GAS INLETS LOCATED AT OPPOSITE ENDS OF SAID REACTOR AND IN A LINE PARALLEL TO THE AXIS OF ROTATION OF SAID REACTOR, A PAIR OF DRIVER GAS INLETS LOCATED AT OPPOSITE ENDS OF SAID REACTOR AND IN LINE PARALLEL TO THE AXIS OF ROTATION OF SAID REACTOR, AND A REACTION GAS PRODUCT GAS OUTLET LOCATED AT LEAST ONE END OF SAID REACTOR, SAID GAS OUTLET LOCATED BEING ADAPTED TO BE TRAVERSED BY THE ENDS OF SAID TUBULAR MEMBERS DURING ROTATION OF SAID REACTOR, AND BEING ARRAANGED TO BE TRAVERSED IN THE SEQUENCE NAMED HEREIN.