Thermosiphon Reactors

The temperature inside the tube is difficult to measure, and with a single string of catalyst one has to be satisfied with measuring it at the end of the bed. This can be accomplished by using a thermocouple inserted from the bottom. This thermocouple can also serve as the catalyst retainer, or bed 

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Although fluidized sand or alumina can also be used in the jacket of these somewhat larger reactors, the size makes the jacket design a problem in itself, hence these reactors are seldom used. An advantage of the jacketed reactor is that several—usually four—parallel tubes can be placed in the same jacket. These must be operated at the same temperature, but otherwise all four tubes can have different conditions if needed. This type of arrangement saves time and space in long-lasting catalyst life studies. Jacketed tubular reactors come close, but still cannot reproduce industrial conditions as needed for reliable scale-up. Thermosiphon reactors can be used on all but the most exothermic and fast reactions. 

Figure 2.2.4 (Berty 1983) shows a tubular reactor that has a thermosiphon temperature control system. The reaction is conducted in the vertical stainless steel tube that can have various diameters, 1/2 in. being the preferred size. If used for fixed bed catalytic studies, it can be charged with a single string of catalytic particles just a bit smaller than the tube, e.g., 5/16 particles in a l/2 O.D. tube. With a smaller catalyst, a tube with an inside diameter of up to three to four particle diameters can be used. With such catalyst charges and a reasonably high Reynolds number— above 500, based on particle diameter—this reactor...

Recirculation of non-boiling liquids can be achieved by bubbling inert gas through the liquid in the reactor jacket. This is less practical for fluids with significant vapor pressure, because the jacket still must be under pressure, and a large condenser must be installed to condense the liquid from the vapor-saturated gas at the jacket temperature. It is more useful with molten metals and salts. For the design details of the reactor tube s inside, the same considerations apply as for a thermosiphon-controlled reactor. 

Basak, A., Dulera, I.V., Vijayan, P.K., 2011. Design of high temperature heat pipes and thermosiphons for compact high temperature reactor (CHTR). In Proceedings of the 21st National 10th ISHMT-ASME Heat and Mass Transfer Conference, December 27—30, IIT Madras, India. 

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