The invention relates to a chemical reactor comprising at least one catalyst support system and anti-blocking means arranged around and above a reactor opening, which prevents catalyst or other reactor parts to enter or exit a reactor opening.

The invention relates to a chemical reactor comprising at least one catalyst support system and anti-blocking means arranged around and above a reactor opening, which prevents catalyst or other reactor parts to enter or exit a reactor opening.

At least one method to efficiently produce alkylene oxide from partial oxidation of hydrocarbons using a high efficiency heterogeneous catalyst in a fixed bed enclosed within a reaction vessel, and a reaction vessel constructed to facilitate the same.

An oxidative methane coupling (OCM) reactor has a reactor vessel that defines a reactor vessel interior. The reactor vessel having opposite ends and a central longitudinal axis that extends between the opposite ends. A catalyst bed assembly is positioned within the reactor vessel interior having a catalyst bed containing a layer of OCM catalyst of a uniform thickness. The catalyst bed assembly divides the reactor vessel interior into an upstream zone and a downstream zone. The catalyst bed has an upstream face for receiving the one or more flowing feed gases of methane and oxygen gas as a flowing mixture from the upstream zone. The upstream face of the catalyst bed is configured to have a total area that exceeds the largest transverse cross-sectional area of the interior of the reactor vessel that is perpendicular to the central longitudinal axis of the reactor vessel. The catalyst bed assembly is configured so that any portion of the flowing mixture passes from the upstream zone to the downstream zone through a single catalyst bed of the catalyst bed assembly.