Patent ID: 7767357

Claim:
A reactor comprising: a single or a plurality of sheet bodies which contain at least ceramic and in which chemical reactions occur, and a plurality of support members for supporting the single or the plurality of sheet bodies, each support member having a plane portion, and a frame portion provided along the entire perimeter of the plane portion and thicker than the plane portion, the reactor being configured such that the single or the plurality of sheet bodies and the plurality of support members are stacked in alternating layers, each of the sheet bodies is held between an upper support member, which is the support member adjacent to and located above the sheet body, and a lower support member, which is the support member adjacent to and located below the sheet body, in such a manner that a perimetric portion of the sheet body is sandwiched between the frame portion of the upper support member and the frame portion of the lower support member, whereby a lower surface of the plane portion of the upper support member, an inner wall surface of the frame portion of the upper support member, and an upper surface of the sheet body define a first space through which a first gas flows and whereby an upper surface of the plane portion of the lower support member, an inner wall surface of the frame portion of the lower support member, and a lower surface of the sheet body define a second space through which a second gas flows, and a flow control portion is formed on the lower surface of the plane portion of the upper support member in such a manner as to project downward from the lower surface for controlling a flow channel extending between an inlet through which the first gas flows into the first space, and an outlet through which the first gas flows out from the first space, wherein the flow control portion provides a first flow path for the first gas which meanders in a serpentine manner along the flow control portion from the inlet to the outlet and a second flow path for the first gas between the flow control portion and the upper surface of the sheet body which is unobstructed by the flow control portion from the inlet to the outlet, and wherein, with respect to a direction perpendicular to a planar direction of the sheet body, a first distance (T 1 ), which is a distance between the upper surface of the sheet body and the lower surface of the plane portion of the upper support member, and a second distance (T 2 ), which is a distance between the upper surface of the sheet body and a projecting end of the flow control portion, are such that the ratio (T 2 /T 1 ) of the second distance (T 2 ) to the first distance (T 1 ) falls within a range of 2% to 50% inclusive.