Patent ID: 7837954

Claim:
A set of prefabricated tube bundle reactor subassemblies to be assembled at a construction site to provide a tube bundle reactor for carrying out catalytic gas phase and/or liquid phase reactions, the tube bundle reactor comprising a bundle of vertical reactor tubes having their ends fastened pressure tightly in upper and lower tube sheets and being enclosed by a reactor shell which is connected pressure tightly to the tube sheets so that, together with the tube sheets, the reactor shell forms a pressure vessel, the tube sheets each being spanned by a respective reactor head, the reactor heads being connected to the reactor shell, and the reactor tubes being in fluid communication with the reactor heads, the subassembly set comprising: separate subassemblies (i) for the reactor shell and the reactor heads and (ii) for the tube bundle and the tube sheets; at least one shell/head subassembly, at least one head subassembly formed by a second reactor head; at least one tube bundle subassembly formed by the tube bundle together with the attached tube sheets; wherein, if the at least one shell/head subassembly comprises only one shell/head subassembly, the only one shell/head subassembly is formed by the reactor shell and one reactor head; wherein, if the at least one shell/head subassembly comprises two or more shell/head subassemblies, at least one shell/head subassembly is formed (i) by the reactor shell or (ii) by one reactor head or (iii) by parts thereof; wherein the at least one shell/head subassembly and/or the at least one head subassembly comprise supporting means for each tube bundle subassembly designed for vertical support of the tube bundle subassemblies without requiring heat treatment subsequent to their assembly; and wherein the at least one shell/head subassembly and/or the tube sheets comprise sealing means by which the reactor shell and the tube sheets, in the combined state of the subassemblies, are pressure tightly connectable to each other at respective sides remote from the reactor tubes and/or at respective peripheral edges without requiring subsequent heat treatment.