Pneumatic system for dense loading of catalyst into bayonet tubes for a steam reforming exchanger-reactor using an auxiliary tube for introducing solid particles

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9452399-B2
Application number	US-201314435480-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 24, 2013
Priority date	Oct 17, 2012
Publication date	Sep 27, 2016
Grant date	Sep 27, 2016

Abstract

The present invention describes a device and a method for dense and homogeneous loading of catalyst into the annular space 4 of bayonet tubes defined by an external tube 6 and an internal tube 5 used in a steam reforming reactor, said device using a rigid auxiliary tube 7 for introducing solid particles into said annular zone 4.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for loading catalyst using a pneumatic device for densely filling catalyst into a steam reforming exchanger-reactor consisting of a plurality of bayonet tubes enclosed in a shell, the catalyst being constituted by particles occupying at least part of the annular space ( 4 ) included between an internal tube ( 5 ) and an external tube ( 6 ), the assembly of these two tubes constituting a bayonet tube, the width of said annular space being in the range 30 mm to 80 mm, and its height being in the range 10 to 20 meters, the catalyst particles being in the form of cylinders with an approximate height of 10 mm to 20 mm and with an approximate diameter of 5 mm to 20 mm, the device consisting of:
at least one rigid auxiliary tube ( 7 ) penetrating inside the annular zone ( 4 ) and maintained at a distance from the surface of the bed being formed which is in the range 50 mm to 150 mm, with a diameter in the range 0.5 to 0.9 times the width of the annular space ( 4 ), said rigid auxiliary tube ( 7 ) allowing the introduction of solid particles to be loaded into the annular zone ( 4 ) and being traversed by a counter-current flow of gas introduced via the internal tube ( 5 );
said rigid auxiliary tube ( 7 ) being divided into a plurality of sections with a length in the range 50 cm to 200 cm, which are placed end to end at the start of loading, then gradually withdrawn as and when the bed of particles is formed so as to maintain the desired distance with respect to the surface of the bed, and the particles of catalyst being contained in:
a central feed hopper ( 1 ) for delivering the articles to a shaker conveyor or a conveyor belt ( 2 ) supplying the auxiliary tube ( 7 ) via:
a funnel ( 3 ), via which the particles flow into the interior of the annular space ( 4 ); wherein said method comprises:
the rigid auxiliary tube ( 7 ) is initially dismantled into sections and is outside the bayonet tube, the feed hopper ( 1 ) being filled with solid;
the rigid auxiliary tube ( 7 ) is gradually introduced into the annular zone ( 4 ) by placing the necessary number of sections end to end so that its lower end is positioned at a distance in the range 50 cm to 100 cm with respect to the bottom of the annular zone ( 4 );
a suitable flow of gas is introduced in its entirety into the internal tube ( 5 );
the conveyor belt or the shaker conveyor ( 2 ) is started up so as to provide a flow of solid in the range 150 kg/h to 500 kg/h, preferably in the range 250 kg/h to 500 kg/h, said solid particles being introduced into the annular zone ( 4 ) via the rigid auxiliary tube ( 7 );
as and when the annular zone ( 4 ) is filled, the rigid auxiliary tube ( 7 ) is raised from the annular zone ( 4 ) by removing sections with the aid of an external winding system ( 10 ) so as to keep the distance with respect to the surface of the bed which is gradually being formed constant, said distance always being in the range 50 cm to 150 cm;
the rigid auxiliary tube ( 7 ) is withdrawn at a speed equivalent to the speed of loading of the tube in the range 0.1 m/min to 0.4 m/min, preferably in the range 0.2 to 0.4 m/min;
once the bayonet tube has been loaded and the loading system has been withdrawn, the rigid auxiliary tube ( 7 ) is displaced in order to load the next tube.

2. The catalyst loading method according to claim 1 , in which the gas used is air or nitrogen.

Assignees

• Ifp Energies Now

Inventors

• Sanz Elena
• Beaumont Robert
• Boyer Christophe

Classifications

• B01J8/0025 Primary

  by an ascending fluid · CPC title

• B01J8/06 Primary

  in tube reactors; the solid particles being arranged in tubes · CPC title

• B01J2208/00778

  Kinetic energy reducing devices in the flow channel · CPC title

• B01J8/003

  in a downward flow · CPC title

• B01J2208/00752

  Feeding · CPC title