Radial flow catalytic reactor

Claim 1

AN IMPROVED RADIAL-FLOW CATALYTIC CONTACTING REACTOR COMPRISING IN COMBINATION, A PRESSURE-RETAINING OUTER CHAMBER OF GENERALLY CYLINDRICAL SHAPE HAVING AN AXIALLY POSITIONED FLUID-INLET OPENING AND AN AXIALLY POSITIONED FLUID-OUTLET OPENING AT OPPOSITE ENDS THEREOF, A FLUID-PERMEABLE, GENERALLY CYLINDRICAL OUTER CATALYST-RETAINING MEMBER SUPPORTED COAXIALLY WITHIN SAIDOUTER CHAMBER AND SPACED GENERALLY INWARDLY FROM THE SIDE-WALLS THEREOF SO AS TO PROVIDE A PERIPHERAL FEED DISTRIBUTING PATH OF UNIFORM CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA BETWEEN SAID OUTER CATALYSTRETAINING MEMBER AND SAID SIDE-WALLS AND EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY THE ENTIRE LENGTH OF SAID OUTER CATALYST-RETAINING MEMBER AND COMMUNICATING WITH SAID FLUID INLET OPENING AT THE END ADJACENT THERETO, A DEFLECTOR PLATE CLOSING THE END OF SAID OUTER CATALYST-RETAINING MEMBER NEAREST SAID FEED INLET OPENING AND ADAPTED TO DEFLECT FLUID FROM SAID FLUID INLET INTO SAID PERIPHERAL FEED-DISTRIBUTING PATH, A UNITARY CENTER-PIPE OF UNIFORM CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA SUPPORTED COAXIALLY WITHIN SAID OUTER CHAMBER AND EXTENDING LENGTHWISE SUBSTANTIALLY COEXTENSIVELY WITH SAID OUTER CATALYST-RETAINING MEMBER BUT SPACED SUBSTANTIALLY INWARDLY THEREFROM, SAID CENTER-PIPE TERMINATING AT ONE END NEAR SAID DEFLECTOR PLATE AND BEING SEALED AT THAT END, THE OPPOSITE END OF SAID CENTER-PIPE BEING OPEN AND COMMUNICATING COAXIALLY IN FLUID DELIVERY RELATIONSHIP WITH SAID FLUID-OUTLET OPENING, SAID CENTER-PIPE BEING FURTHER CHARACTERIZED BY CIRCUMFERENTIAL PERFORATIONS EXTENDING OVER SUBSTANTIALLY THE ENTIRE LENGTH THEREOF WHICH IS COEXTENSIVE WITH SAID OUTER CATALYST-RETAINING MEMBER, THE TOTAL AREA OF SAID PERFORATIONS PER UNIT LENGTH OF CENTERPIPE DECREASING INCREMENTALLY FROM ONE END OF SAID CENTERPIPE TO THE OTHER, AND A CYLINDRICAL INNER CATALYST-RETAINING SCREEN FITTING CLOSELY AROUND SAID CENTER-PIPE AND COVERING THE ENTIRE ZONE OF PERFORATIONS, SAID OUTER CATALYST-RETAINING MEMBER, SAID DEFLECTOR PLATE AND SAID INNER CATALYSTRETAINING SCREEN DEFINING AN OPEN, ELONGATED ANNULAR SPACE ADAPTED TO CONFINE A CONTINUOUS BED OF GRANULAR CATALYST.