Shock wave reactor for thermal cracking and heating

Abstract

In accordance with an embodiment, a shockwave device (100, 200) suitable for thermally heating a process fluid is disclosed, the shockwave device comprising an axially oriented inlet (101, 201) and outlet (102, 202) defining an axially enclosed volume along an axis, the device having a stage between the inlet (101, 201) and outlet (102, 202), the stage comprising: a first rotor (104, 206) comprising a first set of blades, the first set of blades comprising a second set of blades, a first set of blades distributed about the axis and configured to rotate in a first rotational direction; a second rotor (105, 207) comprising a second set of blades distributed about the axis and configured to rotate in a second direction of rotation opposite the first direction of rotation; no blade space exists; and whereby the stage is configured to force the process fluid to flow from the inlet (101, 201) to the outlet (102, 202) by rotating the first rotor (104, 206) and the second rotor (105, 207).

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of petroleum and petrochemical refining, in particular to a reactor for the thermal cracking of hydrocarbons and / or heteroatom containing compounds. BACKGROUND

[0002] Thermal catalytic cracking is a process of molecular decomposition into simpler, much lighter molecules by the application of heat, in the presence or absence of a catalyst. The rate of cracking and the final products depend on the temperature and the presence of a catalyst, but also on the pressure and the concentration of reactants.

[0003] One extreme of thermal cracking in terms of product range is named high temperature process called steam cracking, which produces valuable ethylene and other feedstocks for the petrochemical industry. Thermal cracking is the main industrial process for the production of lighter olefinic hydrocarbons (or generally olefins). In this process, temperatures of about 750-900°C or even higher are required.

[0004] Currently, these processes are carried out using fossil fuel fired furnaces. Therefore, steam cracking is considered a significant contributor to the world's greenhouse gas emissions, producing more than 300 million tons of CO2 per year, 75-90% of which can be directly attributed to fossil fuel combustion. With the expected growth of the global population and the improvement of living standards in countries like Russia, Brazil, India and China, the demand for olefins is expected to continue to grow in the near future. As a result, new plants should be built and / or old plants should be retrofitted, which will not only lead to a surge in production capacity, but also to a surge in greenhouse gas emissions.

[0005] Therefore, in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the implementation of renewable energy sources and the electrification of large-scale production processes, such as steam cracking in the chemical processing industry, are reasonable steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but are still in the stage of full development.

[0006] The first embodiment of electric heating is induction heating, which is defined as heating caused by the presence of an alternating magnetic field, which generates eddy currents that dissipate into heat in a ferromagnetic material. In document CN202226821U, a multi-stage combined electromagnetic heating tubular continuous cracking refining reactor is disclosed. It discloses a reactor design coated with an insulating material, over which an induction coil is wrapped to provide an alternating magnetic field. In document WO 2021180864A1, a mixed tubular reactor configuration for steam cracking is disclosed, which includes a traditional furnace design and a fossil fuel burner that allow the implementation of electric heating (such as induction heating, resistance heating, and direct heating). Therefore, the reactor design can cope with fluctuations in natural gas and electricity prices and availability. Based on the same principle, document DE102018210409A1 and document DE102015013071A1 compromise a hybrid design in which a burner and induction heating can be used simultaneously to heat a steam reforming reactor.

[0007] The second embodiment is resistive heating (also known as Joule heating or Ohmic heating), and is defined as the process in which the energy of an electric current is converted into heat when it flows through a resistor. The resistor can be the reactor tube itself, as disclosed in documents WO2015197181A, DE2362628A1, WO 2019228798A1, and US20140238523A1, or via a resistor sheet well-placed along the reactor tube, as disclosed in documents WO 2020002326A1 and WO 2021130107. Similar to induction heating methods, hybrid methods have been disclosed that combine resistive heating with hot combustion gases to manage price and availability fluctuations, such as in documents DE102015004121A1, US2016288074, and WO 2021180864A1.

[0008] Both resistance heating and induction heating offer the advantage of being relatively easy and inexpensive to implement in existing furnaces. This is because during overhauls, all the furnace tubes of a conventional steam cracking furnace are typically replaced. This offers the possibility of replacing these conventional tubes with resistance or induction support tubes (and, in some cases, side equipment) without completely changing the furnace design. As a result, existing cracking units can be electrified. However, the inherent disadvantages associated with prior art furnaces remain.

[0009] First, both induction and resistance heating rely on the fact that heat transfer occurs from the outside to the inside of the tubes. As a result, the tube surface is the hottest place in the reactor, while the tube center is the coldest place due to the endothermic reactions. Since coking is a thermally activated process, it is expected that high coking rates will occur where the temperature of the process gas / tube surface is the highest. Furthermore, the presence of coke indicates that the occurrence of secondary reactions greatly reduces the yield of olefins, which are the components of interest.

[0010] Second, coke does form an insulating layer that affects the conductive resistance against heat transfer from the tube surface to the process fluid. To overcome this growing resistance, and thus to maintain the same cracking severity, additional power must be supplied. For induction and resistance heating, this leads to higher power consumption, and thus to higher operating costs. Providing additional power to the tubes in turn will lead to higher tube metal temperatures that are limited by the metallurgy of the tubes themselves. Therefore, whenever the tube temperature or pressure drop becomes too high, production must be stopped periodically to decoke the reactor. This requires stopping production for up to forty-eight hours, which has a considerable negative impact on process economics.

[0011] In addition to the inherent problem of coking, the way heat is transferred from the furnace side to the process side also limits the achievable yield and ethylene selectivity. Heat must be transferred from the hot furnace side through the tube wall towards the process side, each side having its resistance against heat transfer. Therefore, there has been a recent trend to use advanced 3D reactor geometries to enhance the heat transfer from the hot tube wall to the process fluid, which brings some small advantages, but is still a limiting factor.

[0012] The third implementation is microwave heating, which uses molecular interactions of the mixture to heat the fluid from the inside, so there is no need for an intermediate hot material when used for fluids other than gases. However, for gas phases, a solid susceptor is needed to absorb the radiation and convert it into heat. For example, SiC is an excellent susceptor for microwave heating, which has both a raised dielectric constant and a loss factor for radiation. However, the presence of these susceptors leads to an intermediate hot surface from which heat is transferred to the gaseous process fluid.

[0013] Siauw et al. (Ng, Siauw et al. "Microwave-Assisted Conversion Of Ethane To Ethylene". Applied Petrochemical Research, vol. 3, no. 1-2, 2013, pp. 55-61) report a pilot-scale microwave reactor for steam cracking. From the experimental results it can be concluded that this newly developed steam cracking reactor achieves the product yields of a conventional furnace, but is expected to achieve a 30% energy savings compared to a conventional reactor.

[0014] A fourth embodiment is shock wave heating such as that achieved by a nozzle-type reactor. A nozzle-type reactor is a type of pyrolysis reactor that utilizes a hot carrier gas and the DeLaval nozzle principle to generate a supersonic hot carrier gas flow. Via a properly placed injection nozzle, the cracked raw material is injected into the supersonic carrier gas and transported to a mixing zone where intense mixing occurs between the hot carrier gas and the raw material. The reaction zone is placed adjacent to the mixing zone. As a result, the speed of the mixed flow changes from supersonic to subsonic within the reaction zone. At this transition point, a shock wave occurs, causing static pressure and temperature to rise instantaneously. The temperature increase within the mixed flow provides enough energy to satisfy the high energy requirements of the endothermic reaction that is occurring.

[0015] The high temperature carrier gas required in this type of reactor can be prepared via the ignition of fuel and oxidant. This ignition device can be a hot platinum wire, a spark plug or a component / mixture of automatic ignition, etc. Once ignited, due to the high temperature of the ignited mixture, the production of carrier gas is self-sustaining in most cases. According to document WO 2015077335A2, the combustion of hydrogen is considered to be most suitable for olefin production because it allows the formation of water vapor, which will dilute (and therefore reduce) the partial pressure of the hydrocarbon feed, and therefore improve light olefin yield. Different configurations are also disclosed, such as in documents US4136015A, EP0158863A3, US5300216A, WO 2006073521A2, US2009266741A1, WO 2014031288A1, WO2014031512A2 and WO 2015077335A2.

[0016] Another application of shock wave heating is in reactors like turbomachinery, which use high-speed rotation to convert mechanical energy into thermal energy. Such reactors have an inlet and outlet with vaneless, spaced-apart ducts within which one or more stages are positioned. In this context, a stage is defined as a single rotating blade and two stationary blade cascades, where the blades are positioned side-by-side with the first cascade (stator), the second cascade (rotating blades), and the last cascade (diffuser).

[0017] This shockwave reactor relies on the following principle: a rotor accelerates the process fluid, providing the necessary kinetic energy to reach supersonic levels, which is then reduced in a subsequent diffuser grid. The subsonic fluid enters a vaneless space, where the residence time, turbulence, and temperature are sufficient for chemical reactions to occur. Following this vaneless space, another stage can be implemented, repeating the process. This repetitive combination of stages and vaneless spaces can continue until the desired conversion rate is achieved, before the fluid is discharged from the reactor outlet.

[0018] During its passage from inlet to outlet, the feedstock is conveyed through multiple sets of stators, rotors, diffuser blades, and the bladeless space. Each time the fluid passes through the blades, its kinetic energy increases, reaching supersonic levels, and heat is generated as the flow velocity (i.e., subsonic in the bladeless space) decreases. Specifically, this motion generates a stationary shock wave. In this intense shock wave, the flow decelerates from supersonic to subsonic speeds over a very small length, on the order of a few microns, where velocity is converted into enthalpy, resulting in extremely rapid heating times for the shock-heated gas, reaching nanoseconds.

[0019] In WO 2016001476A1, a rotary mechanical reactor suitable for pyrolyzing hydrocarbon feedstocks by means of shock waves is disclosed. In WO 2020074780A1, another rotary mechanical reactor for carrying out chemical reactions in a process fluid is disclosed, the rotary mechanical reactor comprising a mixing space configured to convert mechanical energy imparted to the process fluid by a rotor into internal energy of the process fluid and to establish conditions for at least one chemical reaction to occur in the process fluid. In WO 2019221726A1, another chemical reactor for cracking hydrocarbons in a process fluid by generating shock waves is disclosed. As a final example, in WO 2020060919A1, a turbomachinery chemical reactor for treating a process stream is disclosed, the reactor comprising an exhaust section arranged downstream of a stationary diffuser section, the exhaust section comprising a plurality of converging exhaust flow channels configured to provide back pressure so as to generate shock waves in the stationary diffuser section.

[0020] EP3164207A1 discloses a spiral path reactor comprising: a rotor having an axis and a disk provided with blades forming an axial-flow rotor blade grid; a stationary guide annular rim optionally provided with at least two stationary blade grids adjacent to the axial-flow rotor grid; and a housing. US2014243569 discloses a rotary mechanical reactor suitable for pyrolysis of hydrocarbon-containing feedstocks.

[0021] A disadvantage of shock wave reactors known in the art is that they are rather large, since the temperature increase per stage is limited. In order to reach a temperature suitable for the steam cracking process, a series of stages is therefore required.

[0022] It is therefore an object of the present invention to alleviate the above disadvantages and to provide an improved shock wave reactor for thermal cracking process fluids. Summary of the Invention

[0023] This object is achieved in a first aspect by a shock wave device according to claim 1, suitable for thermally heating a process fluid, the shock wave device comprising an axially oriented inlet and an outlet, the inlet and the outlet being defined by a set of rings, wherein the centers of the respective rings of the set coincide with the axis of the reactor, thereby defining an axially closed volume along the axis, the device having a stage between the inlet and the outlet, the stage comprising: a first rotor comprising a first set of blades distributed about the axis and along the annulus and configured to rotate about the axis in a first rotational direction; a second rotor comprising a second set of blades distributed about the axis and along the annulus and configured to rotate about the axis in a second rotational direction opposite to the first rotational direction; whereby the stage is configured to force the process fluid from the inlet to the outlet by rotating the first rotor and the second rotor; and whereby the first set of blades is configured to direct the process fluid from the inlet to the second set of blades, the second set of blades being configured to direct the process fluid to the bladeless space; and The stage is further configured to accelerate the process fluid to supersonic speeds at the second set of blades such that upon entering the bladeless space, the speed decreases to subsonic speeds, thereby generating a stationary shock wave for heating the process fluid.

[0024] The shockwave device can have a primarily cylindrical shape with an axis, whereby an inlet and an outlet are provided at the ends of the shockwave device, respectively. Furthermore, along the axis, there are a hub and a shroud. Alternatively, the shockwave device can be of a conical truncated shape, also having a hub and a shroud, and having an inlet and an outlet at each end. The radius of the circle defined by the inlet side can then be smaller than the radius of the circle defined by the outlet side, or vice versa, whereby the shockwave reactor tapers smoothly between the inlet and the outlet, or vice versa in some cases. Furthermore, this can also be accomplished in a gradual or cascading manner, rather than a smooth taper or convergence. The axis of rotation of the conical truncated shockwave reactor is then an imaginary line connecting the midpoints of the circles. Stated differently, both the hub and the shroud (i.e., the inner and outer circles, respectively) can contract and / or expand in any configuration. This means that the hub can contract or expand, the shroud can contract or expand, or both the hub and the shroud can contract and expand. Thus, the shock wave reactor (either cylindrical or in the shape of a conical truncated cone) is configured to allow the process fluid to flow from the inlet to the outlet via an axially arranged enclosed volume.

[0025] A series of first and second concentric circles can be defined around the axis, where the centers of these circles coincide with the axis of the shockwave reactor and have a first and second radius, respectively, whereby the first radius is larger than the second radius. The area between the circles, which is an annulus along the axis of the cylinder, defines an enclosed volume.

[0026] In case the shockwave reactor is cylindrical, the radius of the circles, and thus the radius of the annulus, is constant along the axis. In case the shockwave reactor is a conical frustum, the radius increases along the axis towards the outlet, or vice versa.

[0027] The set of vanes can further be distributed along the annulus along the axis.

[0028] A process fluid flows through the enclosed volume, whereby the shockwave reactor is configured to thermally crack said process fluid, which can be complex organic molecules or long chain hydrocarbons, for example, into simpler molecules, which can also be methane, ammonia, etc., or even hydrogen sulfide for the production of hydrogen, as will be further discussed.

[0029] To reach the temperatures required for this process, the shockwave reactor comprises one or more stages configured to heat the process fluid.

[0030] The stage is arranged between the inlet and the outlet and comprises, in a direction visible from the inlet to the outlet, a first rotor, a second rotor and a vaneless space. Optionally and according to an embodiment, a stator is positioned between the inlet and the first rotor.

[0031] The first and second rotor are pulsed. This is because the Euler turbomachinery equation states that the more the rotor turns, the higher the total enthalpy. Therefore, the rotor will provide mechanical energy to the process fluid.

[0032] The stator, when present, comprises a set of vanes arranged and distributed in a static manner around the axis. In other words, the set of vanes is a set of stationary vanes. The term "stator" thus indicates that this element is a static part of the reactor.

[0033] The stator is designed in such a way that the process fluid is accelerated and distributed, causing the process fluid to flow through the rotor. This ensures that the inflow incidence on the first rotor is within the optimal incidence range, which is essential for the optimal operation of the shockwave reactor.

[0034] The stage further comprises a first rotor comprising another set of vanes distributed around the axis. The term "rotor" indicates that this part of the reactor is configured to rotate around the axis of the shockwave reactor. In addition, the stage comprises a second rotor having another set of vanes also distributed around the axis.

[0035] After the second rotor seen along the axis in the direction between the inlet and outlet, there is a bladeless space. In this bladeless space, most of the thermal cracking process occurs, while part of the cracking reaction may also occur in the bladed section, as explained below.

[0036] The stages are configured to force the process fluid from an inlet to an outlet due to the shape and configuration of the different sets of blades and the driving force generated when the rotor rotates.

[0037] The process fluid enters the stage through the inlet, reaches the first set of blades, reaches the second set of blades, reaches the bladeless space, and finally reaches the outlet. When a stator is present, the process fluid also enters the stage through the inlet, then reaches the third set of blades, reaches the first set of blades, reaches the second set of blades, reaches the bladeless space, and finally reaches the outlet.

[0038] The blades are further configured to increase the velocity of the flowing process fluid as the rotors rotate. This is performed by two counter-rotating rotors. That is, the first rotor rotates in one direction (e.g., clockwise), causing the second rotor to rotate in the other direction (so, in this case, counterclockwise). It should be clear that this can also be reversed, as long as the rotors rotate in opposite directions. The second set of blades can be further configured to reduce the process velocity when entering a bladeless space.

[0039] The shape of the blades may be varied in each stage to adapt to the best possible conditions along the central axis of the shock wave reactor.

[0040] Furthermore, the rotors are rotated at a rotational speed such that the process fluid is accelerated to a supersonic speed, and therefore above the speed of sound, at least at the set of blades of the second rotor. Then, upon entering the bladeless space, the process fluid enters the volume of the bladeless space and is reduced in speed from a supersonic speed to a subsonic speed, and therefore below the speed of sound.

[0041] The choice of material depends largely on the conditions under which the shockwave device will be used, and therefore on the thermal and mechanical stresses that will be imposed on the material. Furthermore, the shockwave device can be constructed from different materials. For example, a rotor with high mechanical stresses can be constructed from a material with a high nickel / cobalt content (e.g., INCONEL 718) and the bladeless space can be constructed from a material with a lower nickel content (e.g., a 35Cr / 45Ni alloy) to achieve reduced catalytic coke deposition while still providing sufficient resistance to carburization and thermal stresses.

[0042] When changing from supersonic to subsonic, stationary shock waves are generated at the interface of this transition within the process fluid. These generated shock waves then nominally generate heat or produce heat, which means that the process fluid is heated. When the heating is high enough, the thermal cracking process can partially occur in the bladed section and mostly in its bladeless space.

[0043] Within the bladeless space, the residence time of the process fluid should preferably be less than 100 ms, even more preferably less than 50 ms, and most preferably less than 25 ms. The upper limit of this residence time is 100 ms, determined by the limit of a conventional cracking reactor, while the lower limit is 25 ms or less, determined by the thermodynamic and kinetic properties in the system, and thus depending on the feedstock and the desired conversion rate.

[0044] The residence time can also be defined relative to the speed of sound of the process fluid, which is known to depend on the gas composition and temperature, instead of specifying the residence time in absolute terms. In the shock wave device disclosed herein, the flow of the process fluid will be higher than the corresponding speed of sound for generating the shock wave. According to embodiments, the gas particles of the process fluid will flow at an oblique angle through the blades at a Mach number of more than 1.5, or even up to 3. It should be noted that the projection of this velocity in the axial direction is very important for understanding the residence time of the process fluid within the device. Furthermore, the length of the device also needs to be taken into account when defining the residence time in absolute terms expressed in seconds. Therefore, the important parameters for defining the residence time are the axial Mach number, which is the ratio of the axial velocity of the gas to the speed of sound of the gas. Thus, the residence time in the device is the axial length of the device at the axial Mach number multiplied by the speed of sound of the gas. The first and last parameters of this formula depend specifically on the size of the device and the choice of the gas, respectively. The axial Mach number depends on the design and is preferably higher than 0.3 but less than 1, and more preferably in the range between 0.4 and 0.8, depending on the radial position.

[0045] An advantage with respect to reactors known in the art is that by using counter-rotating rotors, the enthalpy increase achievable per stage is at least doubled without the need to build a reactor that is twice as large, resulting in a more compact design. Thus, the disclosed shock wave reactor according to the present invention is smaller and more flexible compared to shock wave reactors known in the art. Furthermore, since both rotational speeds can be varied, while reactors known in the art only have one rotational speed that is varied, it is easier to cope with feedstock variations, but also with variations along the axial direction of the reactor.

[0046] Furthermore, the thermal heating step will be much faster than shock wave devices known in the art. The average time from the leading edge of the first rotor to the trailing edge of the second rotor will be on the order of 0.2 ms. According to an embodiment, the time from the leading edge of the first rotor to the trailing edge of the second rotor will be on the order of 0.2 ms to achieve a static temperature increase of 150°C.

[0047] According to embodiments, the bladeless space may include one or more catalytic elements and / or catalytic voids and / or coatings. Thus, a catalytic bed (whether fixed or not) may be present in the bladeless space. Similarly, a catalytic coating may be present on the blades and bladeless space. This inhibits coke and / or scale formation and further enhances the ability to perform catalytic chemical reactions.

[0048] According to an embodiment, the catalytic element and / or the catalytic void is formed by or provided with a ceramic or metal substrate or a support carrier.

[0049] The bladeless space will have a variable axial length to enclose the most desirable operating conditions for chemical reactions to occur. For example, for steam cracking, a rapid initial temperature increase is desired, and therefore the initial bladeless space must be as short as possible. Furthermore, in addition to directing flow between stages, the bladeless space also provides time and space to partially convert potential pressure and velocity energy into internal energy through an increase in entropy.

[0050] The bladeless space may require different objects (e.g., turbulator grids, 3D dimples at the hub and shroud) to further increase the entropy of the flow.

[0051] The vaneless space may also be vaned. Therefore, and according to an embodiment, the stage may further include a stationary diffuser positioned between the second rotor and the vaneless space, the stationary diffuser including a fourth set of vanes distributed about the axis; and whereby the second set of vanes is further configured to direct the process fluid to the fourth set of vanes, the fourth set of vanes being configured to reduce the velocity of the process fluid upon entering the vaneless space.

[0052] Therefore, when a diffuser and a stator are present, the average time required for the thermal heating step from the leading edge of the stator to the trailing edge of the diffuser will be in the order of 1 ms.

[0053] The diffuser is placed downstream of the second rotor to help reduce the velocity by diffusion and shock wave generation in order to increase the static enthalpy as much as possible. The diffuser can be further configured to generate turbulence of the process fluid in the bladeless space according to an embodiment.

[0054] According to an embodiment, the shock wave reactor further includes a drive train configured to drive the first rotor and the second rotor. The drive train may include an electric motor configured such that the rotors can rotate in opposite directions of rotation. The drive train may be further configured such that the rotors can rotate independently (e.g., by two electric motors or motors, or by a single motor and a suitably designed planetary gear system).

[0055] According to an embodiment, the shock wave reactor may comprise a set of stages arranged sequentially along an axis.

[0056] According to a second aspect, a method of thermally cracking a process fluid by using a shock wave reactor according to the first aspect of the invention is disclosed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be further illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0057] Figure 1 An orthogonal view of a cylindrical shock wave reactor having a stage including an inlet, an outlet, a stator, and two counter-rotating rotors is shown;

[0058] Figure 2 An orthogonal view of a conical truncated shock wave reactor having a stage including an inlet, an outlet, a stator, and two counter-rotating rotors is shown;

[0059] Figure 3 shows a perspective view of a shock wave reactor having two stages and a bladeless space between the stages; and

[0060] Figure 4 An orthogonal view of a shock wave reactor with multiple stages is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0061] The present invention will be described with respect to certain embodiments and with reference to certain drawings, but the invention is not limited thereto and is limited only by the claims. The drawings described are merely illustrative and non-limiting. In the drawings, the size of some elements may be exaggerated and not drawn to scale for illustrative purposes. Dimensions and relative sizes do not necessarily correspond to actual application embodiments of the present invention.

[0062] Additionally, the terms "first," "second," "third," etc., are used in the description and claims to distinguish similar elements and not necessarily to describe a sequential or chronological order. These terms are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances, and embodiments of the present invention may be used in sequences other than those described or illustrated herein.

[0063] Furthermore, the terms "top," "bottom," "above," "below," etc., in the description and claims are used for descriptive purposes and not necessarily to describe relative positions. The terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances, and the embodiments of the invention described herein can be used in orientations other than those described or illustrated herein.

[0064] Further, although referred to as "preferred embodiments," the various embodiments should be construed as exemplary embodiments in which the invention may be practiced, and not as limitations on the scope of the invention.

[0065] The term "comprising" used in the claims should not be interpreted as being limited to the devices or steps set forth below; the term does not exclude other elements or steps. The term should be interpreted as specifying the presence of the named features, elements, steps, or components, but does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, steps, or components, or groups thereof. Thus, the scope of the expression "a device comprising devices A and B" should not be limited to the device consisting of only components A and B. What is meant is that with respect to the present invention, only components A and B of the device are listed, and the claims are further interpreted to include equivalents of these components.

[0066] Figure 1 An orthogonal view 100 of a cylindrical shock wave reactor having a stage including an inlet 101 , an outlet 102 , a stator 103 and two counter-rotating rotors 104 and 105 is shown.

[0067] The rotors 104 and 105 are driven using a planetary gear system that allows them to rotate in opposite directions. A drive shaft is torqued by a motor (e.g., an electric motor), causing a flanged sun gear mounted on the drive shaft to rotate the planetary gear assembly counterclockwise. The planetary gears, in turn, rotate the structural support inner housing counterclockwise. This mechanism causes the first rotor 104, attached to the drive shaft, to rotate in the opposite direction to the second rotor 105, attached to the inner housing, or vice versa.

[0068] The rotation and counter-rotation of the rotors 104 and 105 can be controlled separately by adjusting the gear ratio of the planetary gear system. In addition, the rotation direction of the shaft used in the above illustration does not need to be clockwise, but can also be adapted to rotate counterclockwise, which in turn will cause the planetary gear system to rotate in a clockwise direction.

[0069] The above illustration of how the rotors 104 and 105 are mechanically driven also applies to the devices as illustrated in the other figures.

[0070] Reference again Figure 1, the process fluid will enter the shockwave device through inlet 100. The inlet is defined as an annulus having an inner circle with a diameter 111 and an outer circle with a diameter 110. Thus, outer circle 110 represents the boundary of the shroud, and inner circle 111 represents the boundary of the hub. In this illustration, a stator 103 is present, and furthermore, a first rotor 104 and a second rotor 105 are present, as well as an outlet 102. The process fluid is accelerated by the rotation of the first rotor 104 and the rotation of the second rotor 105 in opposite directions, as already explained above.

[0071] Figure 1 The device 100 has a cylindrical shape, and Figure 2 In FIG, another device 200 is shown having a conical truncated shape. The inlet is defined between the shroud (represented by line 210) and the hub (represented by lines 203 and 204). In this configuration, the hub diameter 203 near the inlet 201 is larger than the hub diameter 204 near the outlet 202. Therefore, the flow area near the inlet 201 is smaller, and therefore the hydraulic inlet diameter is also smaller. It should be noted that this can also be designed in the opposite way. The device 200 is designed with Figure 1 In a similar manner, there is further a stator 205 , a first rotor 206 and a second rotor 207 .

[0072] Figure 3 A perspective view of a shock wave reactor 300 is shown having two stages 301 and 302 and a bladeless space 303 between the two stages 301 and 302. The stages 301, 302 are similar to those of Figure 1 and Figure 2 The shock wave reactor 300 further includes turbulators for converting the laminar boundary layer into a turbulent boundary layer. The turbulators are located at both the hub and the shroud, but it is also possible that they are only located on the hub or the shroud. The turbulators are shown by concentric circles at the bladeless space 303. The device 300 further has an inlet 310 and an outlet 311.

[0073] exist Figure 4 , an orthogonal view of a shock wave reactor having multiple stages is shown. The reactor has an inlet 411 and an outlet 410, as well as a cylindrical shroud 413 and a cylindrical hub 412. The first stage 403 actually includes multiple stages as defined above. In particular, the first stage includes three stages, whereby the first stage thereof includes a stator 430, a rotor 431, a counter rotor 432 and a diffuser 433, and the subsequent stages have the same configuration. The other stages 402, 401 and 400 all have the same configuration, namely a stator, a rotor, a counter rotor and a diffuser. There are bladeless spaces 422, 421 and 420 between stages 403 and 402, 402 and 401, and 401 and 400, respectively. Catalytic beds are present in these bladeless spaces.

Claims

1. A shock wave device (100, 200) suitable for thermally heating a process fluid, said shock wave device comprising an axially oriented inlet (101, 201) and an outlet (102, 202), said inlet and said outlet being defined by a set of rings, wherein the centers of each of said rings coincide with the axis of a reactor, thereby defining an axially closed volume along said axis, said device having a stage between said inlet (101, 201) and said outlet (102, 202), said stage comprising: a first rotor (104, 206) comprising a first set of blades distributed about the axis and along the annulus and configured to rotate about the axis in a first rotational direction; a second rotor (105, 207) comprising a second set of blades distributed about the axis and along the annulus and configured to rotate about the axis in a second direction of rotation opposite to the first direction of rotation; whereby the stage is configured to force the process fluid from the inlet (101, 201) to the outlet (102, 202) by rotating the first rotor (104, 206) and the second rotor (105, 207); and whereby the first set of blades is configured to direct the process fluid from the inlet (101, 201) to the second set of blades, and the second set of blades is configured to direct the process fluid to a bladeless space; and The stage is further configured to accelerate the process fluid to a supersonic velocity at the second set of blades such that upon entering the bladeless space, the velocity decreases to a subsonic velocity, thereby generating a stationary shock wave for heating the process fluid.

2. The shock wave device (100, 200) of claim 1, wherein the stage further comprises: - a stator (103, 205) located between the inlet (101, 201) and the first rotor (104, 206), the stator comprising a third set of blades distributed around the axis; And wherein the third set of blades is configured to direct the process fluid from the inlet (101, 201) to the first set of blades.

3. The shock wave device (100, 200) of any one of the preceding claims, whereby the second set of blades is further configured to reduce the velocity of the process fluid upon entering the bladeless space.

4. The shock wave device (100, 200) according to any one of claims 1 or 2, wherein the stage further comprises: a stationary diffuser after said second rotor, said stationary diffuser comprising a fourth set of blades distributed around said axis; and The second set of blades is thereby further configured to direct the process fluid to the fourth set of blades, which are configured to reduce the velocity of the process fluid upon entering the bladeless space.

5. The shock wave device (100, 200) according to claim 4, wherein: The diffuser is further configured to generate turbulent flow of the process fluid within the vaneless space.

6. The shock wave device (100, 200) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein The set of blades is further distributed along an annulus along the axis.

7. The shock wave device (100, 200) according to claim 6, wherein The radii of the concentric circles of the annulus are constant along the axis.

8. The shock wave device (100, 200) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein The vaneless space includes one or more catalytic elements and / or catalytic voids and / or coatings.

9. The shock wave device (100, 200) according to claim 8, wherein The catalytic element and / or catalytic gap is formed by a ceramic or metal substrate or a support carrier or is provided with the ceramic or metal substrate or the support carrier.

10. The shock wave device (100, 200) of any preceding claim, further comprising a drive train configured to drive the first rotor and the second rotor.

11. The shock wave device (100, 200) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein The shock wave device comprises a set of stages arranged sequentially along the axis.

12. The shock wave device (100, 200) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein The device is cylindrical.

13. The shock wave device (100, 200) according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein: The device is in the shape of a conical truncated cone.

14. A method for thermally heating a process fluid by using a shock wave device (100, 200) according to any one of the preceding claims.

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