The present invention is directed to a combination reactor system for exothermic reactions comprising a trickle-bed reactor and a shell-and-tube reactor. This combination allows the system to efficiently remove heat while also providing the ability to control both the temperature and/or reaction progression. The trickle-bed reactor removes heat efficiently from the system by utilizing latent heat and does not require the use of a cooling or heating medium. The shell-and-tube reactor is used to further progress the reaction and provides a heat exchanger in order to introduce fluid at the desired temperature in the shell-and-tube reactor. Also, additional reactant or reactants and/or other fluids may be introduced to the shell-and-tube section of the reactor under controlled temperature conditions.

Provided are a gas distribution system for an ammonia synthesis system, the gas distribution system comprising: three or more distribution plates disposed upstream from a catalyst bed disposed inside an ammonia synthesis reactor of the ammonia synthesis system; three or more distribution devices, each disposed upstream from a corresponding one of the distribution plates for distributing a mixed gas to the distribution plates; and three or more mixed gas supply lines, each arranged to supply the mixed gas to a respective one of the distribution devices, wherein the three or more distribution plates have different opening ratios.

The present specification relates to a method comprising: (A) mixing a ferrite-based catalyst molded article with diluent material particles; and (B) adding the mixture to a catalyst reactor, and a method for preparing butadiene using the same.

A reactor may have a catalyst bed for the catalytic treatment of a gas stream, with the catalyst bed extending substantially over a cross section of the reactor. Gas to be treated may axially fly through the catalyst bed. A carrier structure for the catalyst bed that is at least partly floatingly mounted in the reactor may include a sieve element and, radially outwardly, carrier elements fixedly joined to the reactor wall below the sieve element. The sieve element provides a resting surface for the catalyst bed. The sieve element terminates, radially outwardly, at a distance from the reactor wall. The carrier structure also includes support elements for the sieve element that are floatingly mounted in the reactor. An improved floating mounting is thus provided where not only the sieve element itself but also further parts of the carrier structure are mounted to prevent stresses due to thermal expansion.

A channel assembly for stacking with laminar heat exchange elements in a Fischer-Tropsch reactor comprises a corrugated sheet (1) lying against a plate (4/5) having an inner surface engaging the extremities of the corrugations of the sheet to define process microchannels between the corrugations, wherein the peaks and troughs of the corrugations are laterally offset from the central longitudinal axes of the channels, and taller than the outer edge plates (3). This ensures that pressure (arrows A) applied during manufacture to the corrugated sheet bows the walls of the process microchannels in the same direction, maintaining a substantially constant cross-section, rather than towards each other with would reduce the cross section and create differential flow rates through the adjacent microchannels, whilst also maintaining enhanced thermal contact between the corrugations and the plates.