Patent ID: 9669372
Date: 2017-06-06
CPC Classifications: B01J,B65G

Claim:
1. A process for loading ceramic spheres having a diameter ranging from 6 mm to 25 mm into a vertical reactor having a top and a bottom and an internal diameter of at least 0.5 m, which comprises: introducing into the reactor along a height thereof a feeding pipe having a top and a bottom that is opened to form a lower exit, so that a distance (d) between the lower exit of the feeding pipe and the bottom of the reactor or a top of a bed of ceramic spheres, in the case of a partially loaded reactor, is at most 2 m, said feeding pipe being vertical or having an angle of inclination with regard to vertical of at most 15 degrees; inducing an up flow of air and/or nitrogen into said feeding pipe from the bottom opening to the top thereof by sucking air from the top of the feeding pipe using a vacuum system; and pouring said ceramic spheres into the pipe at the upper part thereof in such a way that said spheres fall downwardly counter currently to said up flow of air and/or nitrogen, wherein no physical device or air-supplying conduit is present inside the feeding pipe.