Patent ID: 7108838

Claim:
A reactor suitable for mixing and reacting a fuel and an oxidant, comprising: a reactor body having a longitudinal axis; a pressure relief device in fluid communication with said reactor body; an inlet chamber comprising a reactant inlet; a lower end connected to said reactor body; and an upper end connected to said pressure relief device, said inlet chamber having a longitudinal axis aligned with the longitudinal axis of said reactor body; and a mixing section connected to said inlet chamber at said reactant inlet, said mixing section having a longitudinal axis at an angle of less than 90° to the longitudinal axis of said inlet chamber, wherein said mixing section comprises: an oxidant inlet adapted to inject a stream of oxidant into said mixing section along the longitudinal axis of the mixing-section; and a fuel inlet adapted to inject a stream of fuel into said mixing section such that the stream of fuel flows tangentially to the stream of oxidant and mixes with said oxidant stream as the streams travel downstream in said mixing section to form a reactant stream, wherein the angle between the longitudinal axis of the mixing section and the longitudinal axis of the inlet chamber is such that the reactant stream which exits the mixing section and enters the inlet chamber at the reactant inlet flows towards the lower end of said inlet chamber.