Electric heating reactor

Abstract

An electrically heated reactor is disclosed. The electrically heated reactor includes: at least one reaction tube having a first channel through which a reactant passes and configured to heat the reactant passing through the first channel; a housing spaced apart from the reaction tubes, surrounding all the reaction tubes, having a second channel located between the housing and the reaction tubes for the reactant to pass through, and configured to heat the reactant passing through the second channel; a first power source configured to supply power to the reaction tube; and a second power source configured to supply power to the housing, in which the first power source and the second power source may be independently controlled.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0074915 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on June 12, 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0003] The present disclosure relates to an electrically heated reactor in which both the inside and the outside of a reaction tube can be used as a reaction zone by utilizing an electric heating technology. Background Art

[0004] In the chemical industry, natural gas is used as a fuel to keep various equipment (e.g., crackers, reformers, reactors, or boilers) at high temperatures. However, heating by burning natural gas is not only inefficient in terms of energy consumption, but is also a major cause of carbon emissions. Therefore, efforts are being made to replace the heating method by burning natural gas with an electric heating method.

[0005] The above information disclosed in this Description of Related Art section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the present disclosure and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art. Summary of the invention

[0006] Technical issues

[0007] The present disclosure attempts to provide an electrically heated reactor in which both the inside and the outside of a reaction tube can be used as a reaction zone by utilizing an electric heating technique.

[0008] Technical Solution

[0009] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, an electrically heated reactor includes: at least one reaction tube, the reaction tube having a first channel for reactants to pass through and configured to heat the reactants passing through the first channel; a shell, the shell is separated from the reaction tubes, surrounds all the reaction tubes, has a second channel for reactants to pass through located between the shell and the reaction tubes, and is configured to heat the reactants passing through the second channel; a first power supply, the first power supply is configured to supply power to the reaction tube; and a second power supply, the second power supply is configured to supply power to the shell.

[0010] The first power source and the second power source may be independently controlled.

[0011] The first channel may define a first reaction zone, and the second channel may define a second reaction zone.

[0012] The electrically heated reactor may also include: a first reactor inlet, which is connected to the first reaction zone to supply reactants to the first reaction zone; a first reactor outlet, which is connected to the first reaction zone to discharge reactants from the first reaction zone; a second reactor inlet, which is connected to the second reaction zone to supply reactants to the second reaction zone; and a second reactor outlet, which is connected to the second reaction zone to discharge reactants from the second reaction zone.

[0013] The first reaction zone and the second reaction zone may not be connected to each other inside the electrically heated reactor.

[0014] In one example, the first reaction region and the second reaction region may be controlled to have the same temperature, and the same reactant may be supplied to the first reaction region and the second reaction region to induce the same reaction.

[0015] In another example, the first reaction region and the second reaction region may be controlled to have the same temperature, and different reactants may be supplied to the first reaction region and the second reaction region to simultaneously cause different reactions.

[0016] In another example, the first reaction region and the second reaction region may be controlled to have different temperatures, and different reactants may be supplied to the first reaction region and the second reaction region to simultaneously cause different reactions.

[0017] The electrically heated reactor may further include: a connecting channel, through which the first reaction region and the second reaction region are connected to each other outside the electrically heated reactor.

[0018] In another example, the first reaction zone and the second reaction zone can be controlled to have different temperatures, the same reactant can be supplied to the first reaction zone and the second reaction zone, the reactant can be preheated in one of the first reaction zone and the second reaction zone, and the preheated reactant can be supplied to the other of the first reaction zone and the second reaction zone to cause a main reaction.

[0019] In another example, the first reaction region and the second reaction region can be controlled to have different temperatures, the first reactant can be supplied to one of the first reaction region and the second reaction region to cause a first reaction, the first reactant can be supplied to the other of the first reaction region and the second reaction region through a connecting channel, and the second reactant can additionally be supplied to the second reaction region to cause a second reaction between the first reactant and the second reactant.

[0020] The electrically heated reactor may further include: an insulator surrounding at least a portion of the housing to thermally insulate the housing.

[0021] Beneficial Effects

[0022] According to the present disclosure, by utilizing electric heating technology, the temperature inside the reactor can be maintained efficiently and uniformly.

[0023] In addition, not only the interior of the reaction tube can be utilized as the reaction area, but also the exterior of the reaction tube can be utilized as the reaction area, which can allow for a higher capacity within a reactor of the same size. Therefore, the energy efficiency of the reaction process can be improved.

[0024] Other effects that can be obtained or predicted by the embodiments of the present disclosure will be explicitly or implicitly described in the detailed description of the embodiments of the present disclosure. That is, various effects predicted according to the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in the following detailed description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Embodiments of the present disclosure may be better understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements.

[0026] Figure 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an electrically heated reactor according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0027] Figure 2 is a plan view illustrating a cross section of an electrically heated reactor according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0028] Figure 3 is a side view of a cross section of a portion of an electrically heated reactor according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0029] Figure 4 illustrates an example of using an electrically heated reactor according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0030] Figure 5 Another example of using an electrically heated reactor according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0031] It should be understood that the above-mentioned drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, but rather present a slightly simplified representation of various preferred features illustrating the basic principles of the present disclosure. The specific design features of the present disclosure as included herein, including, for example, specific dimensions, orientations, locations, and shapes, will be determined in part by the specific intended application and use environment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] The terms used herein are used to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. Unless the context clearly states otherwise, the singular form as used herein is also intended to include the plural form. It should also be understood that the terms "include" and / or "comprising" used in this specification indicate the presence of the features, integral bodies, steps, operations, elements and / or parts, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integral bodies, steps, operations, elements, parts and / or their combinations. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any combination or all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0033] In addition, it should be understood that one or more of the following methods or aspects thereof can be performed by at least one controller. The term "controller" can refer to a hardware device including a memory and a processor. The memory is configured to store program commands, and the processor is specially programmed to execute program commands to perform one or more processes described in more detail below. The controller can control the operation of the unit, module, component, device or the like as described herein. In addition, it should be understood that, as recognized by those skilled in the art, the following methods can be performed by a device including a controller and one or more other components.

[0034] In addition, the controller according to the present disclosure may be implemented as a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium including program commands that can be executed by a processor. Examples of computer-readable recording media may include read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), compact disk (CD) ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, flash drive, smart card, and optical data storage device, but the computer-readable recording medium is not limited thereto. The computer-readable recording medium may also be distributed on a computer network so that the program commands are stored and executed by a distributed method, such as a telematics server or a controller area network (CAN).

[0035] According to the present disclosure, the electric heating reactor includes: at least one reaction tube, the at least one reaction tube having a first channel for reactants to pass through, and configured to heat the reactants passing through the first channel; a shell, the shell is spaced apart from the reaction tube, surrounds all the reaction tubes, has a second channel between the shell and the reaction tube for reactants to pass through, and is configured to heat the reactants passing through the second channel; a first power supply, the first power supply is configured to supply power to the reaction tube; and a second power supply, the second power supply is configured to supply power to the shell. With this configuration, according to the present disclosure, by utilizing electric heating technology, the temperature inside the reactor can be effectively and uniformly maintained.

[0036] The first power source and the second power source can be independently controlled. That is, the power supply to the first reaction area defined by the first channel and the power supply to the second reaction area defined by the second channel can be independently controlled.

[0037] The first reaction zone and the second reaction zone can be controlled to have different temperatures.When the first reaction zone and the second reaction zone are controlled to have the same temperature, the reaction zone can be expanded by supplying the same reactant to the first reaction zone and the second reaction zone.By contrast, when the first reaction zone and the second reaction zone are controlled to have different temperatures, the first reactant can be supplied to the first reaction zone, and the second reactant can be supplied to the second reaction zone, thus allowing different reactions to occur in a reactor.In one example, reactant can be supplied to the second reaction zone with preheating reactant, and the preheating reactant can be supplied to the first reaction zone to cause main reaction.

[0038] The electrically heated reactor may further include an insulator surrounding the housing to thermally insulate the housing. Thus, energy efficiency may be improved by reducing unnecessary heat loss to the outside of the electrically heated reactor.

[0039] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0040] Figure 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an electrically heated reactor according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 2 is a plan view illustrating a cross section of an electrically heated reactor according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 3 is a side view of a cross-section of a portion of an electrically heated reactor according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0041] like Figures 1 to 3 As illustrated in FIG. 1 , the electrically heated reactor 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may be configured to receive electricity to generate heat and heat the reactants inside the electrically heated reactor 10 by using the heat. The electrically heated reactor 10 may include a reactor housing 11, at least one reaction tube 20, and a shell 30.

[0042] The reactor housing 11 may be formed in a generally cylindrical shape, and at least one reaction tube 20 and a housing 30 may be disposed inside the reactor housing 11. A first reactor inlet 12 may be formed on one side of the reactor housing 11, and a first reactor outlet 14 may be formed on the other side of the reactor housing 11. The first reactor inlet 12 and the first reactor outlet 14 may be in fluid communication with the reaction tube 20, with the result that a reactant introduced into the reactor housing 11 through the first reactor inlet 12 may pass through the reaction tube 20 and be electrically heated, and then be discharged from the reactor housing 11 through the first reactor outlet 14. Here, the reactant may be electrically heated within the reaction tube 20, and a target reaction may occur, and therefore, the region within the reaction tube 20 will be referred to as a first reaction region 24.

[0043] In addition, the second reactor inlet 16 may be formed on one side of the reactor shell 11, and the second reactor outlet 18 may be formed on the other side of the reactor shell 11. The second reactor inlet 16 and the second reactor outlet 18 may be in fluid communication with the outside of the reaction tube 20 and the inside of the shell 30, and the reactant introduced into the reactor shell 11 through the second reactor inlet 16 may pass through the outside of the reaction tube 20 and the inside of the shell 30, be electrically heated, and then be discharged from the reactor shell 11 through the second reactor outlet 18. Here, the reactant may be electrically heated outside the reaction tube 20 and inside the shell 30, and a target reaction may occur. Therefore, the area located outside the reaction tube 20 and inside the shell 30 will be referred to as the second reaction area 32.

[0044] Meanwhile, the first reaction region 24 and the second reaction region 32 may not be connected to each other inside the reactor shell 11, and may be connected to each other outside the reactor shell 11. More specifically, the reactant introduced into the first reaction region 24 through the first reactor inlet 12 may not be introduced into the second reaction region 32 inside the reactor shell 11, and may be discharged from the reactor shell 11 through the first reactor outlet 14. Similarly, the reactant introduced into the second reaction region 32 through the second reactor inlet 16 may not be introduced into the first reaction region 24 inside the reactor shell 11, and may be discharged from the reactor shell 11 through the second reactor outlet 18.

[0045] The reaction tube 20 may be made of a metal material having a high resistivity, and a first channel for the reactant to pass through may be formed in the interior of the reaction tube 20 along the length direction. For example, the reaction tube 20 may be formed in a ring tube shape, and the first channel may be formed in the interior of the reaction tube 20 along the length direction. When power is applied to the reaction tube 20, the reaction tube 20 may generate heat due to the high resistivity, and the heat may heat the reactant in the first channel. Therefore, the first channel may define a first reaction region 24 in which a reaction of the reactant occurs.

[0046] One end of the reaction tube 20 adjacent to the first reactor inlet 12 may define a tube inlet 21, and the other end of the reaction tube 20 adjacent to the first reactor outlet 14 may define a tube outlet 22. The reactant introduced into the reactor housing 11 through the first reactor inlet 12 may be introduced into the reaction tube 20 through the tube inlet 21, pass through the first reaction zone 24 defined by the first channel, and be electrically heated to cause a target reaction. The reactant reacted in the first reaction zone 24 may be discharged from the reactor housing 11 through the tube outlet 22 and the first reactor outlet 14.

[0047] The housing 30 may be made of a metal material having a high resistivity, and a second channel for the reactant to pass through may be formed outside the reaction tube 20 and inside the housing 30 along the length direction. For example, when power is applied to the housing 30, the housing 30 may generate heat due to the high resistivity, and the heat may heat the reactant in the second channel. Therefore, the second channel may define a second reaction region 32 in which the reaction of the reactant occurs.

[0048] The reactants introduced into the reactor shell 11 through the second reactor inlet 16 can pass through the second reaction zone 32 defined by the second channel and be electrically heated to cause the desired reaction. The reactants reacted in the second reaction zone 32 can be discharged from the reactor shell 11 through the second reactor outlet 18.

[0049] The first power source 40 may be configured to supply power to the reaction tubes 20. That is, the first power source 40 may be electrically connected to all the reaction tubes 20, and may supply the same amount of power to all the reaction tubes 20. The first power source 40 may be an alternating current (AC) power source or a direct current (DC) power source.

[0050] The second power source 42 may be configured to supply power to the housing 30. The first power source 40 and the second power source 42 may be independently controlled. In particular, the amount of power supplied to the housing 30 by the second power source 42 may be different from the amount of power supplied to the reaction tube 20 by the first power source 40. Therefore, the temperature of the first reaction region 24 and the temperature of the second reaction region 32 may be controlled differently from each other, and the reaction occurring in the first reaction region 24 and the reaction occurring in the second reaction region 32 may be different from each other. The second power source 42 may be an AC power source or a DC power source.

[0051] Sockets (not shown) may be installed at one end and the other end of the reaction tube 20, and the first power supply 40 may supply power to the reaction tube 20 through the sockets. Similarly, sockets (not shown) may be installed at one end and the other end of the housing 30, and the second power supply 42 may supply power to the housing 30 through the sockets. In addition, a cooling device is installed on each of the sockets to cool the socket.

[0052] The insulator 50 may surround at least a portion of the housing 30 to thermally insulate the housing 30. Figure 2 As illustrated in FIG. 1 , the insulator 50 may surround the entire housing 30, but is not limited thereto, and may surround only a portion of the housing 30. Since the insulator 50 may thermally insulate the housing 30 by surrounding the housing 30, unnecessary heat loss to the outside of the housing 30 may be reduced, so that energy efficiency may be improved, and the temperature inside the housing 30 may be effectively and uniformly maintained.

[0053] In addition, the insulator 50 may electrically isolate the housing 30 from the outside of the housing 30 , thereby preventing a safety accident that may occur due to a current that may flow in the housing 30 .

[0054] Figure 4 An example of using an electrically heated reactor according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated. Figure 4 The diagram shows a case where the first reaction region 24 (ie, the inside of the reaction tube 20 ) and the second reaction region 32 (ie, the outside of the reaction tube 20 and the inside of the housing 30 ) are controlled to have the same temperature.

[0055] like Figure 4 As illustrated in FIG. 1 , the first reactant 60 can be simultaneously supplied to the first reaction region 24 and the second reaction region 32. Since the first reactant 60 is supplied to the first reaction region 24 and the second reaction region 32, and the first reaction region 24 and the second reaction region 32 are controlled to have the same temperature, the first reactant 60 can undergo a desired reaction in both the first reaction region 24 and the second reaction region 32. Therefore, the reaction region where the same reaction occurs can be expanded.

[0056] Figure 5 Another example of using an electrically heated reactor according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated. Figure 5 The diagram shows a case where the first reaction region 24 (ie, the inside of the reaction tube 20 ) and the second reaction region 32 (ie, the outside of the reaction tube 20 and the inside of the housing 30 ) are controlled to have different temperatures.

[0057] like Figure 5 , the second reactant 62 may be supplied to the second reaction zone 32 through the second reactor inlet 16, undergo a desired reaction to become the first reactant 60, and be discharged from the second reaction zone 32 through the second reactor outlet 18. The second reactor outlet 18 may be connected to the first reactor inlet 12 through the connecting passage 34, and supplied to the first reaction zone 24 through the first reactor inlet 12. The first reactant 60 may undergo a desired reaction in the first reaction zone 24 and be discharged from the first reaction zone 24 through the first reactor outlet 14.

[0058] Figure 5 The diagram shows a case where the second reactant 62 reacts in the second reaction region 32 to become the first reactant 60 and the first reactant 60 undergoes a reaction in the first reaction region 24. However, Figure 5 The use example of the electrically heated reactor 10 is not limited to the illustrated example. In one example, the first reactant 60 can undergo a first reaction in the first reaction zone 24, and the second reactant 62 can undergo a second reaction in the second reaction zone 32, and the first reactant 60 and the second reactant 62 can be independent of each other in the reaction. In this case, the first reaction zone 24 and the second reaction zone 32 may not be connected to each other through the connecting channel 34. In another example, the first reactant 60 can be preheated in one of the first reaction zone 24 and the second reaction zone 32, and supplied to the other of the first reaction zone 24 and the second reaction zone 32 through the connecting channel 34, and the main reaction can occur in the other of the first reaction zone 24 and the second reaction zone 32. In another example, the first reactant 60 can undergo a first reaction (or be preheated) in one of the first reaction region 24 and the second reaction region 32 and be supplied to the other of the first reaction region 24 and the second reaction region 32 through the connecting channel 34, and the second reactant 62 can be supplied to the other of the first reaction region 24 and the second reaction region 32 together with the first reactant 60 to cause a reaction between the first reactant 60 and the second reactant 62 in the other of the first reaction region 24 and the second reaction region 32.

[0059] While the invention has been described in conjunction with what are presently considered to be practical embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. On the contrary, the invention is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. An electrically heated reactor, comprising: at least one reaction tube having a first passage through which reactants pass and configured to heat the reactants passing through the first passage; a shell, the shell being spaced apart from the reaction tubes, surrounding all the reaction tubes, having a second passage between the shell and the reaction tubes for reactants to pass through, and being configured to heat the reactants passing through the second passage; a first power source configured to supply power to the reaction tube; as well as A second power source is configured to supply power to the housing.

2. The electrically heated reactor according to claim 1, wherein: The first power source and the second power source are independently controlled.

3. The electrically heated reactor according to claim 1, wherein: The first channel defines a first reaction zone, and the second channel defines a second reaction zone, and The electrically heated reactor further comprises: a first reactor inlet communicating with the first reaction zone to supply reactants to the first reaction zone; a first reactor outlet, the first reactor outlet being in communication with the first reaction zone to discharge reactants from the first reaction zone; a second reactor inlet communicating with the second reaction zone to supply reactants to the second reaction zone; and A second reactor outlet is in communication with the second reaction zone to discharge reactants from the second reaction zone.

4. The electrically heated reactor according to claim 3, wherein: The first reaction zone and the second reaction zone are not connected to each other inside the electrically heated reactor.

5. The electrically heated reactor according to claim 3, wherein: The first reaction zone and the second reaction zone are controlled to have the same temperature, and The same reactant is supplied to the first reaction region and the second reaction region to cause the same reaction.

6. The electrically heated reactor according to claim 3, wherein: The first reaction zone and the second reaction zone are controlled to have the same temperature, and Different reactants are supplied to the first reaction region and the second reaction region to simultaneously cause different reactions.

7. The electrically heated reactor according to claim 3, wherein: The first reaction zone and the second reaction zone are controlled to have different temperatures, and Different reactants are supplied to the first reaction region and the second reaction region to simultaneously cause different reactions.

8. The electrically heated reactor according to claim 3, further comprising: a connecting channel, through which the first reaction zone and the second reaction zone are connected to each other outside the electrically heated reactor, wherein the first reaction area and the second reaction area are controlled to have different temperatures, The same reactants are supplied to the first reaction zone and the second reaction zone, and The reactant is preheated in one of the first reaction region and the second reaction region, and the preheated reactant is supplied to the other of the first reaction region and the second reaction region to cause a main reaction.

9. The electrically heated reactor according to claim 3, further comprising: a connecting channel, through which the first reaction zone and the second reaction zone are connected to each other outside the electrically heated reactor, wherein the first reaction region and the second reaction region are controlled to have different temperatures, and A first reactant is supplied to one of the first reaction region and the second reaction region to cause a first reaction, the first reactant is supplied to the other of the first reaction region and the second reaction region through the connecting channel, and a second reactant is additionally supplied to the second reaction region to cause a second reaction of the first reactant and the second reactant.

10. The electrically heated reactor according to claim 1, further comprising: An insulator surrounds at least a portion of the housing to thermally insulate the housing.

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