Radial flow reactor

Claim 1

REACTOR APPARATUS FOR EFFECTING CONTACT BETWEEN A REACTANT STREAM AND SUBDIVIDED SOLID CONTACT MATERIAL, WHICH COMPRISES IN COMBINATION, AN ELONGATED OUTER HOUSING CONTAINING AN INLET CHAMBER AND A REACTION CHAMBER, SAID INLET CHAMBER BEING ADJACENT A FIRST END OF SAID HOUSING, INLET MEANS WITHIN SAID INLET CHAMBER FOR THE REACTANT STREAM, ELONGATED FLUID CONDUIT MEANS DISPOSED LONGITUDINALLY IN SAID HOUSING FROM SAID FIRST END OF SAID HOUSING AND THROUGH SAID INLET CHAMBER TO A POINT IN SAID REACTION CHAMBER NEAR THE SECOND END OF SAID HOUSING, THE END OF SAID CONDUIT MEANS AT SAID FIRST END OF SAID HOUSING BEING OPEN TO THE EXTERIOR OF SAID HOUSING AND FORMING AN OUTLET FOR REACTION PRODUCTS AND THE OTHER END OF SAID CONDUIT MEANS BEING CLOSED, SAID CONDUIT MEANS WITHIN SAID REACTION CHAMBER BEING LIBERALLY PERFORATED FOR A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF ITS LENGTH, PARTICLE-RETAINING SCREENING WITHIN SAID REACTION CHAMBER DISPOSED ADJACENT TO AND SPACED APART FROM THE INNER WALLS OF SAID HOUSING AND AT LEAST COEXTENSIVE WITH THE LENGTH OF THE LIBERALLY PERFORATED CONDUIT PORTION TO FORM WITH SAID INNER WALLS A SUBSTANTIALLY UNOBSTRUCTED LONGITUDINAL FLUID FLOW PATH ADJACENT TO SAID INNER WALLS, MEANS FOR SUPPORTING A MASS OF SUBDIVIDED SOLID CONTACT MATERIAL IN THE SPACE BETWEEN SAID FLUID CONDUIT MEANS AND SAID SCREENING, BAFFLE MEANS EXTENDING ACROSS SAID HOUSING FROM SAID INNER WALLS TO A POINT ADJACENT SAID CONDUIT MEANS, SAID BAFFLE SEPARATING SAID INLET CHAMBER FROM SAID REACTION CHAMBER, AND A PERFORATION IN THE PORTION OF SAID CONDUIT MEANS WITHIN SAID INLET CHAMBER ADJACENT THE POINT AT WHICH SAID CONDUIT MEANS IS OPEN TO THE EXTERIOR OF SAID HOUSING.