Patent ID: 7523603

Claim:
A method of reacting reactants in the presence of diluent, the method comprising: configuring a reactor comprising a reaction chamber with an outlet; the reaction chamber having a streamwise curvilinear primary flow direction and a first and a second transverse directions mutually distinct and transverse to the primary flow direction, the first and second transverse directions defining a surface through a reaction chamber location; configuring a reactant delivery system and delivering a reactant fluid comprising reactant to the reaction chamber; configuring a co-reactant delivery system and delivering a co-reactant fluid comprising an oxidizing co-reactant to the reaction chamber; controlling a spatial delivery distribution of the reactant fluid into the reaction chamber, wherein controlling a spatial transverse reactant distribution in the surface along the first transverse direction; configuring a diluent delivery system and delivering a diluent fluid comprising diluent into one of reactant fluid, co-reactant fluid, and product fluid, upstream of the reactor outlet; controlling a spatial distribution of the diluent fluid comprising diluent upstream of the reactor outlet, wherein controlling a spatial transverse diluent distribution in the surface along the first transverse direction; reacting reactant with co-reactant to form a reaction product, and mixing diluent with at least one of reactant, co-reactant and reaction product upstream of the reactor outlet, and delivering to the reactor outlet a product fluid comprising reaction product, diluent and a residual component comprising one of reactant and co-reactant; and wherein controlling the spatial distribution of each of the reactant fluid and the diluent fluid in the first transverse directions controls a spatial transverse distribution of one of the composition, temperature, pressure, and streamwise velocity of the product fluid, at a plurality of outlet locations along an outlet transverse direction through an outlet location near the reactor outlet, to one of: greater than a plurality of prescribed lower limits, and less than a plurality of prescribed upper limits at the respective outlet locations.