Patent ID: 7255845

Claim:
A process for conducting a water-gas shift reaction in a single stage process channel, comprising: flowing reactants comprising CO and H 2 O through the single stage process channel, the process channel being a microchannel, the process channel having an entrance where the reactants enter and an exit where a product exits, the process channel containing a water-gas shift reaction catalyst, the reactants contacting the catalyst as they flow through the process channel and undergoing an exothermic reaction resulting in the formation of the product, the product comprising H 2 and CO 2 ; and flowing a coolant fluid through a coolant channel in thermal contact with the process channel, the thermal contacting of the coolant fluid with the process channel resulting in the formation of a first reaction zone and a second reaction zone within the process channel, the first reaction zone being near the entrance to the process channel and the second reaction zone being near the exit to the process channel, the temperature within the first reaction zone being at least about 20° C. higher than the temperature within the second reaction zone, the rate of formation of the product being greater in the first reaction zone than in the second reaction zone, the conversion of CO increasing as reactants flow through the second reaction zone.