Gas-Permeable Cage Layout for Uniform Thermal Reactor Flow
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Solution Overview
Problem
Thermal reactors face issues such as gas dilution, non-uniform reactions, inefficient energy use, mechanical instability, heat leakage, and sub-optimal residence time distribution, leading to incomplete reactions and waste of energy.
Innovation Solution
A thermal reactor design featuring a gas permeable cage with offset and non-parallel hole arrangements, creating a pressure gradient to control gas flow and minimize turbulence, while reflecting heat and electromagnetic radiation back into the reaction zone, ensuring uniform gas distribution and efficient reaction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If a thermal reactor is designed to treat large volumes of gas, then the reactor volume and gas flow capacity increase, but the gas velocity through the catalyst bed decreases and channeling effects worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The catalyst bed is divided into multiple segments by inserting gas permeable cages that create multiple parallel flow paths. This segmentation allows the same gas flow capacity to be maintained while increasing the velocity through each individual path, preventing channeling effects and improving mass transfer efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The gas permeable cages extend vertically through the catalyst bed, creating a third dimension for flow distribution. This vertical segmentation divides the horizontal flow into multiple vertical channels, increasing effective gas velocity and improving contact between gas and catalyst particles without reducing overall reactor volume.
2Productivity
If gas permeable cages are inserted to increase gas velocity, then mass transfer efficiency improves, but pressure drop across the reactor increases
Solution Approach 1:
Gas permeable cages made of porous material are used to distribute gas flow through multiple paths. The porous structure allows gas to pass through the cage walls, creating numerous small flow channels that increase velocity and mass transfer efficiency while the distributed flow pattern prevents large pressure drops that would occur in single-channel configurations.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances reaction yield and energy efficiency by maintaining uniform gas flow, protecting the reactor walls, and optimizing residence time, reducing by-pass and heat loss, thus improving reaction completeness and energy utilization.
Implementation Method 1
a gas permeable cage (220) arranged inside the fluidised bed reactor (200)
Implementation Method 2
Gas is introduced at the base of the fluidised bed reactor (200) via a sparger (210)
Implementation Method 3
Gas permeable cages for use in a fluidised bed reactor
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4
AI summary
There is provided a thermal reactor (100) comprising: a vessel (101), said vessel comprising: a gas inlet (102), an outlet (103), a gas permeable cage (104) arranged in the vessel (101), and in fluid connection to the gas inlet (102), wherein the vessel (101) and the cage (104) are provided with a mutual gas outlet (103), and temperature generating means (105;105') arranged to create a thermal reaction zone (106) within the cage (104), wherein the cage (104) is provided with holes (107), and wherein a first subset of the holes (107') is arranged along at least a portion of a first circumferential surface (110) of the cage (104) and a second subset of the holes (107'') is arranged along at least a portion of a second circumferential surface (111) of the cage (104), wherein the first (110) and second (111) circumferential surfaces are offset and non-parallel, and the first subset of holes (107') and the second subset of holes (107'') are mutually distinct.