Removable Perforated Tube Distributor for Reaction Chamber Maintenance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing distributors in reaction chambers, particularly in petroleum refining processes like AlphaButol, require frequent cleaning due to clogging by by-products, necessitating shutdowns and increased production losses, and face mechanical and vibrational challenges, while also being susceptible to air and humidity ingress which are harmful in homogeneous catalysis processes.
Innovation Solution
A distributor system with a removable design, featuring a tube with perforations, reversible fixing means, support structures, and guide fins, allowing for easy insertion and removal through the reaction chamber inlet without requiring manholes, and maintaining the distributor in the service position to minimize mechanical stress and air exposure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the distributor is permanently fixed to the reactor wall, then mechanical stability is improved, but maintenance and cleaning become difficult requiring shutdowns
Solution Approach 1:
The distributor system is divided into separate components: the distributor body that can be removed and the reactor wall structure that remains. This segmentation allows the distributor to be detached for cleaning while the reactor remains intact, resolving the contradiction between mechanical stability and maintenance accessibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The distributor is designed with dynamic characteristics - it can be in a fixed position during operation for stability, but can be removed when maintenance is needed. This dynamic design allows the system to switch between stable operation and easy maintenance states.
2Ease of repair
If the distributor is made removable for easy cleaning, then maintenance accessibility is improved, but mechanical stability and positioning precision deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
Guide fins are installed on the distributor before operation to ensure precise positioning and centering during insertion. This preliminary action maintains positioning precision even though the distributor is removable, resolving the contradiction between cleaning accessibility and mechanical stability.
3Ease of operation
If the distributor section is reduced to pass through the inlet, then ease of installation is improved, but structural strength and flow distribution capability worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The distributor is designed to be inserted through the existing inlet opening like a nested structure. The guide fins fit within the inlet geometry, allowing the distributor to pass through the inlet while maintaining its structural integrity and flow distribution capability.
4Manufacturing precision
If guide fins are added to center the distributor, then positioning precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Guide fins are added to the distributor structure to provide centering capability in the radial dimension during insertion. This dimensional addition ensures precise positioning without requiring complex adjustment mechanisms, resolving the contradiction between positioning precision and device complexity.
Data Source
Figure 1~2.1
Figure 2.2~2.4
Figure 3.1~3.3
AI summary
A system for distributing a liquid and/or gaseous phase within a reaction vessel (1g), the reaction vessel (1g) comprising at least one inlet (1h) for injecting the liquid and/or gaseous phase, the system according to the invention comprising a distributor for distributing this phase by means of at least one tube (1d) comprising a plurality of perforations (2d), as well as means for detachably securing the distributor when it is arranged within the reaction vessel. According to the invention, the cross-section of the distributor is smaller than the cross-section of the inlet (1h) of the reaction vessel (1g), so as to allow the distributor to be inserted and/or removed through the inlet (1h) of the vessel (1g). Application to the field of petroleum refining, more particularly to the field of distributing a liquid and/or gaseous phase within a reaction vessel.