Patent GB-822475-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to a process and apparatus for the preparation of motor fuels by catalytic reforming
IPC: B01J8/02
Filed: 1957-11-20
Abstract: In a process which comprises catalytically reforming an hydrocarbon mixture boiling wholly or partly in the gasoline range (20-200 DEG C.) in the presence of an hydrogen-containing gas at elevated temperature and pressure (see Group IV (b)) using at least one reactor in which the catalyst is situated around a perforated pipe and inside a perforated jacket and through which catalyst the reactants are passed in a radial direction, the sum of the pressure drops across the pipe and jacket is equal to or greater than the pressure drop across the catalyst bed.  The pressure drop across the pipe and/or jacket may be realized by a suitable combination of the size and number of perforations. Preferably the pressure drop across the pipe alone exceeds that across the catalyst in which case the perforations in the jacket may be of any size small enough to retain the catalyst, but the high-pressure drop may also be across the pipe only or both members may contribute appreciably.  The perforations may be holes or slots and to achieve uniform distribution across the bed a large number of small perforations is preferred to a small number of large ones.  They are preferably of uniform size and regularly distributed, e.g. in a diamond or spiral pattern.  The perforated pipe may be surrounded by a jacket of metal gauze to prevent catalyst particles blocking the perforations.  When using a reaction vessel with a negligible pressure drop across the jacket the desired pressure drop across the pipe may generally be obtained when the total cross-section of the perforations in the pipe is not more than 4 (preferably 1.2) times the cross-section of the smallest reactor opening.  In an example the discharge pipe has inner and outer diameters of 7 cm. and 7.6 cm. and has 215 round perforations of diameter 0.75 cm. set in a diamond pattern of side 6.8 cm. and angles of 60 degrees and 120 degrees.  The pressure drop across the pipe is 0.125 kg./sq. cm., and that across the catalyst bed 0.035 kg./sq. cm.ALSO:Hydrocarbon mixtures boiling wholly or partly within the gasoline range (20 DEG  to 200 DEG  C.) are catalytically reformed in the presence of an hydrogen-containing gas in a reactor wherein the catalyst is situated around a perforated pipe and inside a perforated jacket and through which the reactants are passed in a radial direction so that the sum of the pressure drops across the pipe and jacket is equal to or greater than that across the catalyst bed (see Group III).  The hydrocarbon mixture may be derived from petroleum, the hydrogenation of coal, bituminous shale, other carbonaceous fuels or from the reaction of carbon monoxide with hydrogen.  The process may be operated in the vapour phase at 10 to 100, preferably 25 to 40 atmospheres; 400 to 600 DEG  C., preferably 460 DEG  to 520 DEG  C., and using a catalyst platinum, with or without fluorine or chlorine as a promoter on alumina or silica-alumina, or molybdenum oxide, with or without cobalt oxide, chromium oxide, palladium or rhodium on alumina.