Patent ID: 6620389
Filing Date: 2003-09-16
Classification: B01F,B01J,C01B

Abstract:
A mixing station for mixing a source of oxygen with a hydrocarbon fuel stream so as to form an intimate mixture of oxygen and fuel reactants which mixture is suitable for admission into a catalytic steam reformer catalyst bed, said mixing station comprising:a) a first manifold for receiving a stream of one of said oxygen or fuel reactants; b) a second manifold for receiving a stream of the other of said oxygen or fuel reactants; c) at least one reactant mixing tube having an interior bore for receiving an axially flowing stream of one of said reactants from said mixing tube opening into the catalyst bed; d) at least two sets of tangential openings interconnecting said first manifold with said mixing tube bore; and e) said at least two sets of tangential openings spaced apart from each other axially along said mixing tube, one set of tangential openings being operable to create a clockwise swirling oxygen and fuel reactant mixture in said mixing tube bore, and another set of tangential openings being operable to create a counter-clockwise swirling oxygen and fuel reactant mixture, said clockwise and counter-clockwise swirls being operable to null each other out by the time the oxygen and fuel reactant mixture reaches said catalyst bed.