Patent ID: 8409521

Claim:
A tubular reactor having a tubular reactor inlet and a tubular reactor outlet downstream of the tubular reactor inlet, the tubular reactor comprising: a tube having a tube wall and an axis in a lengthwise direction of the tube, and an insert disposed within the tube, wherein the insert comprises: a plurality of cup-shaped structures consecutively arranged in the lengthwise direction of the tube, each of the plurality of cup-shaped structures having an upstream end, a downstream end, and a side wall enclosing a central space between the upstream end and the downstream end, wherein a supported catalyst is disposed within the central space of each of the plurality of cup-shaped structures, wherein the upstream end defines an inlet to the central space, wherein the central space is at least partially blocked at the downstream end, wherein the side wall defines a plurality of orifices suitable for forming jets of a fluid directed from the central space toward the tube wall, wherein for each of the plurality of cup-shaped structures, an outer space is formed between the side wall and the tube wall, the outer space extending from the upstream end to the downstream end of each of the plurality of cup-shaped structures, the outer space in fluid flow communication with the inlet of an adjacent downstream cup-shaped structure and/or the tubular reactor outlet; and wherein the cross-sectional area of the outer space in a first plane normal to the axis of the tube and passing through the downstream end of a first cup-shaped structure of the plurality of cup-shaped structures is greater than the cross-sectional area of the outer space in a second plane normal to the axis of the tube and passing through an orifice adjacent the upstream end of the first cup-shaped structure, said orifice belonging to the plurality of orifices defined by the side wall of the first cup-shaped structure.