Patent ID: 7935734

Claim:
A process for conducting a chemical reaction between at least one liquid reactant and at least one gaseous reactant, or between gaseous reactants that react to form a liquid, in a process microchannel containing at least one catalyst, the process microchannel having a length in the range from about 0.2 to about 10 meters, the catalyst comprising a solid phase catalyst in the form of particulate solids the process microchannel comprising a processing zone containing one or more internal obstructions and a reaction zone containing the catalyst, the process comprising: forming a reactant mixture comprising the at least one liquid reactant and the at least one gaseous reactant, or the gaseous reactants; flowing the reactant mixture in the processing zone in contact with the one or more internal obstructions to increase the local velocity of the reactant mixture; flowing the reactant mixture in the reaction zone, the superficial velocity of the at least one gaseous reactant or the gaseous reactants in the reaction zone being at least about 0.1 m/s, the reactant mixture contacting the catalyst; and reacting the at least one liquid reactant with the at least one gaseous reactant, or reacting the gaseous reactants, to form at least one product.