Steady State High Temperature Reactor Thermal Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing high-temperature reactors used for converting hydrocarbon feedstock to valuable products, such as acetylene, have limited operational duration due to premature component failure and require excessive maintenance, as they cannot sustain high temperatures for extended periods.
Innovation Solution
A pyrolytic reactor design featuring a thermal barrier, cooling jacket, and binder, along with an impermeable outer reactor wall, which incorporates a cooling system to maintain high temperatures and includes zones for fuel injection, combustion, expansion, mixing, and quenching to efficiently produce acetylene from methane by controlling temperature and residence time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If high temperatures are maintained for extended periods to achieve high conversion and selectivity, then productivity and product value are improved, but reactor component reliability deteriorates due to premature failure
Solution Approach 1:
The reactor is divided into distinct functional zones (combustion zone, reaction zone, cooling zones) with different temperature requirements. This segmentation allows the high-temperature reaction zone to operate independently while other zones are maintained at lower temperatures, enabling continuous high-temperature operation without compromising overall reactor reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
A cooling jacket system acts as an intermediary between the high-temperature reaction zone and the reactor walls. This cooling intermediary removes heat from the reactor components, maintaining their integrity while allowing the reaction zone to sustain the high temperatures necessary for high conversion and selectivity.
2Manufacturing precision
If high temperatures are used to favor acetylene formation thermodynamically, then product selectivity is improved, but reactor stability deteriorates due to component degradation
Solution Approach 1:
Different regions of the reactor are assigned different thermal characteristics. The reaction zone maintains high temperatures (above 1500 K) to achieve favorable thermodynamics for acetylene formation, while the reactor walls and cooling zones are maintained at lower temperatures to ensure component stability and prevent degradation.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling jacket serves as a thermal intermediary that decouples the temperature requirements of the reaction zone from the structural requirements of the reactor walls, allowing high selectivity to be achieved without compromising reactor stability.
3Device complexity
If traditional reactor designs are used without active cooling, then device complexity is reduced, but operational duration is limited due to premature component failure
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling jacket enables continuous removal of heat from the reactor components during operation, allowing the reactor to maintain stable temperatures and operate continuously for extended periods. This continuous cooling action prevents the thermal accumulation that would otherwise lead to component failure and shutdowns.
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
Enables sustained, high-temperature, steady-state operation for prolonged periods, effectively converting methane to acetylene while minimizing decomposition, and can be adapted for other high-temperature processes like dehydrogenation and reforming.
Implementation Method 1
a cooling jacket inner wall and a binder disposed between the cooling jacket inner wall and the thermal barrier, and a cooling jacket outer wall, wherein the cooling jacket inner wall and the cooling jacket outer wall define a cooling channel
Implementation Method 2
wherein the cooling jacket inner wall and the cooling jacket outer wall define a cooling channel
Implementation Method 3
A reactor is disclosed, wherein the reactor comprises a thermal barrier surrounding a combustion zone
Implementation Method 4
a fuel injection zone, a combustion zone adjacent to said fuel injection zone
Implementation Method 5
The formation of acetylene from methane by thermal processing is difficult because of the relative free energies of formation of methane and acetylene
Data Source
AI summary
A reactor comprising a thermal barrier surrounding a combustion zone. The reactor further comprises a cooling jacket inner wall and a binder disposed between the cooling jacket inner wall and the thermal barrier, and a cooling jacket outer wall, wherein the cooling jacket inner wall and the cooling jacket outer wall define a cooling channel. The reactor further comprises an outer reactor wall disposed over the cooling jacket outer wall, wherein the outer reactor wall is impermeable and is configured to contain high pressure gas within the reactor.