Reactor Scheme in the Andrussow Process

Abstract

A method for producing hydrogen cyanide comprising: feeding a reaction mixture feed comprising gaseous ammonia, methane and oxygen to a plurality of main reactors each comprising a platinum-containing catalyst bed; determining the whether the percent yield of hydrogen cyanide in any one of the plurality of primary reactors is at or below a threshold; when the percent yield of hydrogen cyanide in any one of the plurality of primary reactors is at or below at said threshold, identifying one or more suboptimal reactors among said plurality of primary reactors; and when said one or more suboptimal reactors are identified, supplementing said reaction mixture feed Feed to one or more supplementary reactors, wherein each of the one or more supplementary reactors includes a platinum-containing catalyst bed. The supplemental feeding may be performed in place of the feed of the reaction mixture to the one or more suboptimal reactors, or in addition to the feed of the reaction mixture to the one or more suboptimal reactors In addition to the feed, the supplementary feed is also carried out. The overall process is sufficient to maintain the total measured hydrogen cyanide production rate in the one or more supplementary reactors and the main reactor within a desired total hydrogen cyanide production rate range.

Description

[0001] Cross References to Related Applications [0002] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 61 / 738,884, entitled "REACTOR SCHEME IN ANDRUSSOW PROCESS," filed December 18, 2012, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference is incorporated herein in its entirety. technical field [0003] The present disclosure relates to a reactor scheme for the Andrussow process for the production of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) from methane, ammonia and oxygen. Background technique [0004] The Andrussow process is used for the gas phase production of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) from methane, ammonia and oxygen over a platinum or platinum alloy catalyst. Filtered ammonia, natural gas, and air are fed into the reactor and heated to about 800°C to about 2,500°C in the presence of a catalyst comprising platinum or a platinum alloy. Methane can be provided by natural gas, which can be further purified. Hydrocarbons with two carbons, three carbons o...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

In addition, changes in the concentrations or flow rates of reagents in an oxygen-enriched or oxygen Andrussow process can lead to larger differences in the overall efficiency of the process compared to the air Andrussow process.

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