Patent ID: 8858221

Claim:
A reactor for carrying out reactions at high temperature, up to 1600° C., and high pressure, up to 100 bar, comprising: a reaction zone (Z) defined by an inner wall ( 4 ) and surrounded by an inner vessel (I); an inner vessel ( 1 ) defined by an inner metal surface ( 2 ) and the inner wall ( 4 ), said inner vessel (I) being constituted by a refractory material ( 3 ) positioned between said inner metal surface ( 2 ) and said inner wall ( 4 ), having an inlet ( 11 ) for a portion of the reagents, and an outlet pipe ( 5 ) for effluents which is substantially contiguous with a central pipe ( 10 ) of an exchanger (E), the porosity of said refractory material ( 3 ) being less than 50% by volume with a density of more than 1000 kg/m 3 , wherein thickness of said inner vessel with respect to the diameter of the reaction zone Z is in the range of 0.05 to 0.5; said reaction zone being in fluid communication with an inlet for another portion of the reagents; an outer vessel (II) comprised between an outer metal envelope ( 1 ) and the inner metal surface ( 2 ) of the inner vessel (I), said outer vessel (II) being filled with an insulating material ( 13 ), and enclosing said exchanger (E) allowing the reaction effluents to be cooled and the reagents to be pre-heated, said insulating material ( 13 ) having a thermal conductivity of less than 0.5 W/(m.K), and a density of less than 500 kg/m 3 ; said outer metal envelope ( 1 ), enclosing the outer vessel (II) and having at least two reagent inlet pipes, namely pipe ( 8 ) which communicates with said exchanger (E) and pipe ( 9 ) which is substantially contiguous with said inlet ( 11 ) for a portion of the reagents and which communicates with said reaction zone (Z), and at least one effluent outlet pipe ( 12 ); wherein said exchanger is a feed-effluent exchanger (E) contained inside the outer vessel (II), and which is connected to inlet pipe ( 8 ) for at least a portion of the reagents and to effluent outlet pipe ( 12 ), and said feed-effluent exchanger (E) communicates with the reaction zone (Z) by means of an inner pipe ( 7 ) connected to said inlet for another portion of the reagents; and a device for regulating the pressure difference between the inner vessel (I) and the outer vessel (II) so that the difference in pressure between inner vessel (I) and outer vessel (II) is in the range of 0.1 to 3 bars.