Patent ID: 7850928

Claim:
A process for packing a fixed-bed shell-and-tube reactor with a solid particulate material, with the fixed-bed shell-and-tube reactor having a plurality of reaction tubes, with the process comprising the step of packing two or more production lots of said solid particulate material into said plurality of reaction tubes such that: a) each of said plurality of reaction tubes will have a pressure drop caused by the packing therein of said solid particulate material, wherein said pressure drop of each of said plurality of reaction tubes is in a range of 85 to 115% of an average pressure drop of said plurality of reaction tubes; and b) said solid particulate material packed in each of said plurality of reaction tubes will have a packed layer length being in a range of 90 to 110% of an average packed layer length of said solid particulate material packed in said plurality of reaction tubes; c) wherein said process further comprises the steps of: i) weighing out a predefined weight of said solid particulate material to be packed in each reaction tube of said fixed-bed shell-and-tube reactor such that said solid particulate material will have a uniform volume in each reaction tube of said fixed-bed shell-and-tube reactor, wherein said predefined weight of said solid particulate material to be packed in each reaction tube of said fixed-bed shell-and-tube reactor is determined by: determining a density of each of said production lots of said solid particulate material; carrying out a packing test using a reaction tube whose inner diameter and length are the same as those of the reaction tube of said fixed-bed shell-and-tube reactor to obtain a packing amount; and considering said packing amount and a difference between a density of a production lot of said solid particulate material as used in said packing test and a density of each of other production lots of said solid particulate material; and ii) packing said weighed-out predefined weight of said solid particulate material into each of said plurality of reaction tubes of said fixed-bed shell-and-tube reactor.