Patent ID: 7807116

Claim:
A shell-and-tube reactor comprising: a cylindrical housing closed off at lower and upper ends by lower and upper end caps, respectively; contact tubes disposed within the housing, the contact tubes being secured to tube plates, wherein the cylindrical housing and contact tubes are adapted to receive a gas phase and a liquid phase via at least one feed opening in the lower end cap, the gas and liquid phase being discharged via the upper end cap; and a distributor device comprising: a horizontal plate arranged to back up the gas phase to form a gas cushion; and vertical elements adapted to conduct the liquid phase, the vertical elements being arranged on the horizontal plate, open in the upstream direction, and project outward in the direction of the feed opening through the gas cushion, wherein at least one first opening is included on the circumference of the vertical elements for the gas phase and at least one second opening is included on the vertical elements for the liquid phase, and wherein the distributor device is further configured so that the horizontal plate serves as the tube plates and the vertical elements are configured as extensions of the contact tubes.