Radiant fired heaters used with reactors are described. The apparatus includes at least two sets of radiant fired heaters, the first set being at a second height less than the first height. Each set of radiant fired heaters comprises at least one radiant fired heater. Each radiant fired heater has at least one process coil disposed within the heater, burners, and a flue gas outlet. There is at least one inlet manifold having an inlet and multiple outlets, with each outlet of the inlet manifold in fluid communication with one process coil inlet. There is an outlet manifold having multiple inlets and an outlet, with the multiple inlets in fluid communication with the process coil outlets. A method of selecting a reforming apparatus arrangement is also described.

A hybrid vertical plug flow reactor is comprised of a bottom inlet and a top outlet having vertical tubular member disposed there between, wherein the bottom inlet has separate gas reactant inlet and separate liquid reactant inlet whereby the gas reactant is mixed with the liquid reactant and the outlet has an extraction port, the extraction port extending sufficiently to withdraw the liquid product from the reactor and maintain a gaseous head space within the tubular member of the reactor. The hybrid vertical bubble plug flow reactor is useful to react a gas reactant and liquid reactant that are reacted at a molar ratio of gas reactant/liquid reactant that is in excess of a stoichiometric requirement of gas reactant so that the gas reactant forms bubbles and the reactants react in the presence of a catalyst to form a reaction product.

The present invention describes a device for controlling cooling of a heat transfer solid supplying or withdrawing heat to or from a unit carrying out globally endothermic or exothermic reactions respectively. The exchange bundle of said device is in a triangular pattern.

A tubular reactor that produces maleic anhydride from a gas mixture containing n-butane and oxygen includes a first reaction zone including an inlet for the gas mixture and a second reaction zone including an outlet for a reaction gas mixture, a plurality of tubes extending in an axial direction through the first and second reaction zones, a temperature control system, configured for controlling a reaction temperature in each of the reaction zones independently, includes a heat transfer system for each of the reaction zones configured for controlling the temperature of a liquid coolant flowing through one of the reaction zones, and a circulation pumping system configured for controlling flow conditions of the liquid coolant flowing through the reactor and one of the heat transfer systems, and a preheating arrangement configured for preheating the gas mixture such that the gas mixture enters the first reaction zone at a predefined inlet temperature.

A gas-liquid-solid three-phase slurry bed industrial reactor capable of achieving continuous operation comprises an inlet gas distribution component composed of a false bottom and inlet gas distribution tubes, one or more layers of heat exchange tube components used for heating/cooling the bed, one or more layers of liquid-solid separator components capable of being cleaned automatically, an outlet gas-liquid-solid entrainment separation component located in the upper portion of the interior of the reactor and used for removing liquid foam and solid entrainments, a plurality of layers of solid concentration uniform distribution devices used for reducing the catalyst concentration gradient and the inlet-outlet temperature difference of the reactor, a flow guiding device located on a component support beam and used for preventing catalyst accumulation, and auxiliary systems including a filter-backflush system and a washing system. Compared with the prior art, the reactor is low in energy consumption and solves the problems of blockage, backflow and dead zones, the temperature and liquid level are well controlled, catalysts can be easily added and discharged online, and stable and continuous operation of the reactor is achieved. The reactor is suitable for being applied to the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis process on an industrial scale.

A reactor apparatus for dehydrogenating a carrier medium includes a reactor housing, an interior space which is enclosed by the reactor housing and includes a preliminary space, which has an inflow opening for inflow of loaded carrier medium into the preliminary space and at least one first connecting opening for outflow of the carrier medium from the preliminary space, and includes a reaction space connected via the at least one first connecting opening to the preliminary space. The reactor apparatus additionally has a heat transfer space which is arranged between the reactor housing and the reaction space and contains a heat transfer medium for transfer of heat from the heat transfer medium to the carrier medium.

A process and apparatus for fluidizing a catalyst cooler with fluidization gas fed to the cooler below the catalyst bed is disclosed. Fluidization headers extend through an outlet manifold and deliver fluidization gas through distributors protruding through an outlet tube sheet defining said outlet manifold. The outlet manifold collects heated water vapor from the catalyst cooler and discharges it from the catalyst cooler.

A process and apparatus is disclosed for gradually starting fluidization in a bed of particulate from the top down so as to avoid thrusting the entire mass of particulates upwardly in the bed at the same time which may damage internals in the bed. The particulate bed may comprise a catalyst cooler for an FCC unit containing internals such as cooling, fluidization and support equipment.

A process and apparatus for cooling catalyst in a catalyst cooler is disclosed. Nested tubes in the catalyst cooler have an undulating wall for improving heat transfer from the catalyst bed across the wall to the water inside the tubes. The outer tubes have an end wall at an inlet end opposed to an outlet end of a respective inner tube. The helical wall improves the efficiency of heat transfer to increase cooler duty for heavy feed stocks.

A method of operating a slurry phase apparatus includes feeding one or more gaseous reactants into a slurry body of solid particulate material suspended in a suspension liquid contained inside a vessel. The one or more gaseous reactants are fed into the slurry body through a gas distributor having downward facing gas outlets and are fed towards a fluid impermeable partition spanning across the vessel below the gas distributor. The partition divides the vessel into a slurry volume above the partition and a bottom volume below the partition. A differential pressure is maintained over the partition between predefined limits by manipulating or allowing changes in the pressure in the bottom volume by employing a pressure transfer passage establishing flow or pressure communication between the bottom volume and a head space above the slurry body.