Electrically heated reactor

Abstract

Disclosed is an electrically heated reactor. The electrically heated reactor comprises: a reaction tube which has formed therein a passage through which a reactant passes, in the longitudinal direction, and receives power to generate heat; a power source configured to supply power to the reaction tube; and a pair of conductive sockets disposed at both ends of the reaction tube and connecting the power source and the reaction tube such that the power of the power source is supplied to the reaction tube, wherein the entire reaction tube is made of a same material having a same resistivity, and the thickness of the reaction tube can vary at least partially along the longitudinal direction.

Description

electric heating reactor

[0001] Cross-citation with related applications

[0002] This application claims the benefit of priority based on Korean Patent Application No. 10-2024-0139613 filed on October 14, 2024, and all contents disclosed in the document of said Korean patent application are incorporated herein as part of this specification.

[0003] The present invention relates to an electric heating reactor, and more specifically, to an electric heating reactor capable of controlling the amount of heat generated at different locations within the reaction tube by adjusting the thickness of the reaction tube.

[0004] In the chemical industry, fossil fuels (LNG, LPG, coal, etc.) are used to maintain high temperatures in various facilities (e.g., crackers, reformers, reactors, boilers, etc.) and to provide the heat required for reactions. However, heating by the combustion of fossil fuels is not only inefficient but also a major contributor to carbon emissions, as only a portion of the energy contained in the fuel can be utilized in high-temperature regions, requiring additional devices (e.g., steam recovery systems) to recover the remaining energy. Consequently, efforts to replace heating methods based on fossil fuel combustion with electric heating methods have recently begun.

[0005] Electric heating has traditionally utilized an indirect heating method in which electric heaters are placed around areas requiring heat (such as reactors), but recently, a direct electric heating method in which current is applied directly to the reactor has also been proposed. In the case of the direct electric heating method, current is applied to a tubular reactor with high resistivity to generate heat within the reactor itself. Compared to methods where heat from a flame generated by burning fossil fuels or heat from an electric heater is transferred to the reactor, the direct electric heating method generates heat within the reactor itself. Since the conventional process of heat transfer from the outside to the reactor is eliminated, the material inside the reactor can be heated more quickly and efficiently.

[0006] These heating methods provide the necessary heat to the reactants inside the reactor; however, since the amount of heat required for a chemical reaction varies depending on the progress of the reaction, the amount of heat to be delivered to each location within the reactor must also be adjusted accordingly. Conventionally, reactors were manufactured using the same material and had the same shape along their length, and the shape of the flame generated by the combustion of fossil fuels was controlled to ensure that different amounts of heat were delivered to each location within the reactor. In the case of direct electric heating, if the reactor is made of the same material and has the same shape, it generates the same amount of heat along its length. For the transition from conventional fossil fuels to electric heating to function, different amounts of heat must be delivered to each location even within the direct electric heating reactor.

[0007] The matters described in this background technology section are written to enhance understanding of the background of the invention and may include matters that are not prior art already known to those skilled in the art to which this technology belongs.

[0008] An embodiment of the present invention aims to provide an electric direct heating reactor capable of providing customized heat required for each location of the reaction tube by adjusting the thickness of the reaction tube to match the heat required for the reaction at each location.

[0009] An electric heating reactor according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises: a reaction tube having a passage formed longitudinally for a reactant to pass through inside and generating heat upon receiving power; a power source configured to supply power to the reaction tube; and a pair of conductive sockets each disposed at both ends of the reaction tube and connecting the power source and the reaction tube so that the power from the power source is supplied to the reaction tube, wherein the entire reaction tube is made of the same material having the same resistivity, and the thickness of the reaction tube may vary at least partially along the longitudinal direction.

[0010] In one aspect, the thickness of the reaction tube may be varied by a change in the inner diameter of the reaction tube in the longitudinal direction.

[0011] In another aspect, the thickness of the reaction tube may be varied by a change in the outer diameter of the reaction tube in the longitudinal direction.

[0012] In another aspect, the thickness of the reaction tube may be varied by changes in the inner and outer diameters of the reaction tube in the longitudinal direction.

[0013] At any position, the thickness of the reaction tube can be set according to the amount of heat required at that position of the reaction tube.

[0014] The above electric heating reactor may further include an insulator configured to wrap around and insulate a reaction tube and a pair of conductive sockets.

[0015] The above electric heating reactor may further include a pair of conductive sockets and a cooler configured to cool the connection points of the power supply and / or reaction tubes.

[0016] According to the present invention, the thickness of the reaction tube, etc., can be changed according to the amount of heat required at each location, so the temperature inside the reactor can be precisely controlled.

[0017] Furthermore, other effects that can be obtained or predicted by the embodiments of the present invention will be disclosed directly or implicitly in the detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention. That is, various effects predicted according to the embodiments of the present invention will be disclosed within the detailed description to be set forth below.

[0018] The embodiments of this specification may be better understood by referring to the following description in conjunction with the attached drawings, in which similar reference numerals refer to identical or functionally similar elements.

[0019] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an electric heating reactor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing a cross-section of the electric heating reactor of Figure 1.

[0021] FIG. 3 is a graph showing the amount of heat required according to the position of the reaction tube according to one example, and the electric heating reactor of FIG. 1 may be suitable to provide the amount of heat required in FIG. 3.

[0022] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating the connection between the reaction tube and the power source in an electric heating reactor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a cross-section of an electric heating reactor according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a cross-section of an electric heating reactor according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] The drawings referenced above are not necessarily drawn to scale and should be understood as presenting somewhat simplified representations of various preferred features illustrating the basic principles of the present disclosure. For example, specific design features of the present disclosure, including specific dimensions, orientations, positions, and shapes, will be partially determined by specific intended applications and usage environments.

[0026] The terms used herein are for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and are not intended to limit the invention. As used herein, singular forms are intended to include plural forms as well, unless explicitly otherwise indicated in the context. It will also be understood that the terms “include” and / or “include,” as used herein, specify the presence of the mentioned features, integers, steps, operations, components and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more of other features, integers, steps, operations, components, components and / or groups thereof. As used herein, the term “and / or” includes any one or all combinations of the associated items listed.

[0027] Additionally, it is understood that one or more of the methods or aspects thereof described below may be executed by at least one controller. The term “controller” may refer to a hardware device comprising memory and a processor. The memory is configured to store program instructions, and the processor is specifically programmed to execute program instructions to perform one or more processes described in more detail below. The controller may control the operation of units, modules, components, devices, or similar things as described herein. Furthermore, it is understood that the methods below may be executed by a device comprising a controller together with one or more other components, as recognized by those skilled in the art.

[0028] Additionally, the controller of the present disclosure may be implemented as a non-transient computer-readable recording medium comprising executable program instructions executed by a processor. Examples of computer-readable recording media include, but are not limited to, ROM, RAM, Compact Disc (CD) ROM, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, flash drives, smart cards, and optical data storage devices. The computer-readable recording medium may also be distributed across a computer network so that program instructions can be stored and executed in a distributed manner, such as, for example, a telematics server or a Controller Area Network (CAN).

[0029] According to the present invention, an electric heating reactor comprises a reaction tube having a longitudinal passage through which reactants pass and which generates heat upon receiving power, a power source configured to supply power to the reaction tube, and a pair of conductive sockets each disposed at both ends of the reaction tube and connecting the power source to the reaction tube so that the power from the power source is supplied to the reaction tube. The entire reaction tube is made of the same material having the same resistivity, and the thickness of the reaction tube may vary at least partially along the longitudinal direction. The resistance of the heating tube changes due to the change in the thickness of the reaction tube. When power is supplied to the reaction tube, the amount of heat generated at each location of the reaction tube is proportional to the resistance at that location. Accordingly, by providing the required amount of heat customized for each location of the reaction tube, the formation of cold spots or hot spots can be suppressed.

[0030] The thickness of the reaction tube can be controlled through various methods. In one example, the thickness of the reaction tube can be varied by a change in the inner diameter of the reaction tube along its length. In another example, the thickness of the reaction tube can be varied by a change in the outer diameter of the reaction tube along its length. In yet another example, the thickness of the reaction tube can be varied by a change in the outer diameter of the reaction tube along its length and by a change in the outer diameter.

[0031]

[0032] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

[0033] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an electric heating reactor according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a cross-section of the electric heating reactor of FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating the connection of a reaction tube and a power source in an electric heating reactor according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a cross-section of an electric heating reactor according to another embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a cross-section of an electric heating reactor according to yet another embodiment of the present invention.

[0034] As illustrated in FIG. 1, an electric heating reactor (10) according to an embodiment of the present invention is configured to generate heat by receiving power and to transfer heat to a reactant inside using the heat. The reactant uses the heat received from the electric heating reactor (10) to cause a target reaction and is converted into a product, and the product is discharged from the electric heating reactor (10). The electric heating reactor (10) includes a reaction tube (20), a power source (40), and a pair of conductive sockets (first and second conductive sockets (30a, 30b)).

[0035] The reaction tube (20) is made of an alloy material having high resistivity (e.g., Ni-Cr, Fe-Cr, Fe-Ni-Cr, Fe-Cr-Al, etc.), and a passage through which reactants pass is formed in the longitudinal direction inside it. For example, the reaction tube (20) may be formed in the shape of an annular pipe, and a passage through which reactants pass is formed in the longitudinal direction inside it. However, the shape of the reaction tube (20) is not limited to the shape of an annular pipe. Since the reaction tube (20) has high resistivity, when power is applied to the reaction tube (20), heat is generated in the reaction tube (20), and the heat can be transferred to the reactants in the passage.

[0036] The entire reaction tube (20) is made of the same material having the same resistivity, so that the resistance at any location of the reaction tube (20) can be determined according to the thickness of the reaction tube (20) at that location. For example, if the thickness at a specific location of the reaction tube (20) is relatively thick, the resistance of the reaction tube (20) at that location is relatively low, and if the thickness at a specific location of the reaction tube (20) is relatively thin, the resistance of the reaction tube (20) at that location may be relatively high. When the reaction tube (20) is electrically connected to the power source (40), the amount of heat generated at the location of the reaction tube (20) having relatively low resistance is relatively low, and the amount of heat generated at the location of the reaction tube (20) having relatively high resistance is relatively high.

[0037] An inlet (22) is formed at one end of the reaction tube (20), and reactants requiring reaction are introduced into the reaction tube (20) through the inlet (22). An outlet (24) is formed at the other end of the reaction tube (20), and products that have completed the reaction and / or unreacted materials that have not completed the reaction are discharged from the reaction tube (20) through the outlet (24). Additionally, the reaction tube (20) has an outer surface (26) and an inner surface (28), and the distance between the outer surface (26) and the inner surface (28) of the reaction tube (20) is defined as the thickness of the reaction tube (20).

[0038] As illustrated in FIG. 2, the thickness of the reaction tube (20) can be varied along the longitudinal direction. When the thickness of the reaction tube (20) is varied along the longitudinal direction, the resistance of the reaction tube (20) is also varied along the longitudinal direction, and the amount of heat generated in the reaction tube (20) per unit length is also varied to correspond to the resistance. Therefore, the thickness of the reaction tube (20) can be changed according to the amount of heat required at each location of the reaction tube (20) along the longitudinal direction.

[0039] In one example, as shown in FIG. 2, the thickness of the reaction tube (20) in the longitudinal direction can be varied by varying the outer diameter of the outer surface (26) of the reaction tube (20) in the longitudinal direction. In this case, the inner diameter of the inner surface (28) of the reaction tube (20) can be kept constant in the longitudinal direction.

[0040] In another example, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the thickness of the reaction tube (20) in the longitudinal direction can be varied by varying the inner diameter of the inner surface (28) of the reaction tube (20) in the longitudinal direction. In this case, the outer diameter of the outer surface (26) of the reaction tube (20) can be kept constant in the longitudinal direction.

[0041] In another example, as shown in FIG. 6, the thickness of the reaction tube (20) in the longitudinal direction can be varied by changing the outer diameter of the outer surface (26) and the inner diameter of the inner surface (28) of the reaction tube (20) in the longitudinal direction.

[0042] However, it should be understood that the method of changing the thickness of the reaction tube (20) in the longitudinal direction is not limited to the exemplified method, and various methods to change the thickness of the reaction tube (20) according to the amount of heat required at each position of the reaction tube (20) in the longitudinal direction may be used without limitation.

[0043] Referring to FIG. 4, the power source (40) is configured to supply power to the reaction tube (20). The power source (40) may be an AC power source or a DC power source. The reaction tube (20) may generate heat directly by receiving power from the power source (40).

[0044] A pair of conductive sockets (30a, 30b) electrically connect the power source (40) and the reaction tube (20). When the power source (40) supplies power to the reaction tube (20) through the pair of conductive sockets (30a, 30b), the reaction tube (20) generates heat. The heat is transferred to the reactants passing through the passage, and the reactants are heated. The first conductive socket (30a) is mounted on one end of the reaction tube (20) and electrically connects the power source (40) and one end of the reaction tube (20) through a wire (42). Additionally, the second conductive socket (30b) is mounted on the other end of the reaction tube (20) and electrically connects the power source (40) and the other end of the reaction tube (20) through a wire (42). Accordingly, power from the power source (40) is supplied to the reaction tube (20) through the first and second conductive sockets (30a, 30b), and the reaction tube (20) generates heat and transfers it to the reactants passing through the passage.

[0045] As explained above, the amount of heat generated per unit length in the reaction tube (20) at any position corresponds to the thickness of the reaction tube (20) at that position. Therefore, the thickness of the reaction tube (20) at a specific position can be set according to the amount of heat required at that position of the reaction tube (20). For example, FIG. 3 illustrates the amount of heat required according to the position of the reaction tube (20). Referring to FIG. 3, the amount of heat required at the inlet (22) of the reaction tube (20) is relatively low, gradually increases from the inlet (22) toward the center, reaches a maximum at position “A,” and gradually decreases from the center toward the outlet (24), becoming relatively low again at the outlet (24) of the reaction tube (20). According to the amount of heat required at each position of the reaction tube (20), the thickness of the reaction tube (20) is set in the longitudinal direction, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. That is, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the thickness is relatively thick at the inlet (22) of the reaction tube (20), gradually decreases from the inlet (22) toward the center to become minimum at position “A,” and gradually increases from the center toward the outlet (24) to become relatively thick again at the outlet (24) of the reaction tube (20).

[0046] The above electric heating reactor (10) may further include an insulator and a cooler.

[0047] The insulator can wrap around the reaction tube (20) and a pair of conductive sockets (30a, 30b) to insulate the reaction tube (20) from the outside.

[0048] The cooler may be configured to cool the connection points of a pair of conductive sockets (30a, 30b) and wires (42) and / or reaction tubes (20).

[0049]

[0050] Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments and includes all modifications within the scope recognized as equivalent that can be easily made by those skilled in the art from the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A reaction tube having a longitudinal passage for reactants to pass through it and generating heat upon receiving power; A power source configured to supply power to the above reaction tube; A pair of conductive sockets positioned at each end of the reaction tube and connecting the power source and the reaction tube so that power from the power source is supplied to the reaction tube; Includes, The entire reaction tube is made of the same material having the same resistivity, and The above reaction tube is an electric heating reactor in which the thickness varies at least partially along the longitudinal direction.

2. In Paragraph 1, An electric heating reactor in which the thickness of the reaction tube above changes by the change in the inner diameter of the reaction tube in the longitudinal direction.

3. In Paragraph 1, An electric heating reactor in which the thickness of the reaction tube above changes by the change in the outer diameter of the reaction tube in the longitudinal direction.

4. In Paragraph 1, The thickness of the above reaction tube is an electric heating reactor in which the inner and outer diameters of the reaction tube change in the longitudinal direction.

5. In any one of paragraphs 1 through 4, An electric heating reactor in which the thickness of the reaction tube at any position is set according to the amount of heat required at that position of the reaction tube.

6. In Paragraph 1, An electric heating reactor comprising an insulator configured to wrap around and insulate a reaction tube and a pair of conductive sockets.

7. In Paragraph 1, An electric heating reactor further comprising a pair of conductive sockets and a cooler configured to cool the connection points of the power supply and / or reaction tubes.

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