Patent ID: 8206597

Claim:
A method of conducting a chemical reaction in a reactor, the reactor comprising complex microchannels defined by at least one microchannel wall and a layer of aluminide disposed over the at least one microchannel wall, wherein the complex microchannel comprises a rectangular cross-section and wherein the thickness of the coating at a corner of the rectangle is within 25% of the coating thickness measured at the midpoint between two corners of the rectangle; wherein the reactor further comprises a layer of alumina disposed over the layer of aluminide; and a catalytic material disposed over the layer of alumina, and further wherein the reactor comprises a manifold that is connected to at least two complex microchannels, wherein the manifold comprises a manifold wall that is coated with an aluminide layer; the method comprising a step of passing a reactant into the complex microchannel and reacting the reactant in the complex microchannel to form at least one product.