IP Library Granted Patent US 12685989
Granted Patent B2
US 12685989 · App. 18/550,138 · Granted Jul 21, 2026

Temperature uniformized heat-exchange-type catalyst reactor

Inventors: Koichi Yokoyama (Tokyo, JP); Masashi Kiyosawa (Tokyo, JP); Shuji Tanigawa (Tokyo, JP)
Assignee: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES, LTD.
B01J19/2425B01J19/0013C07C1/12C07C29/152B01J35/30B01J2219/00099
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12685989
App. No.
18/550,138
Granted
Jul 21, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

A catalyst reactor device is provided with a reactor. The reactor includes: a reaction tube including a multilayer-structure tube which is formed from a cylindrical nonporous layer and a cylindrical porous layer layered on the inner side of the nonporous layer, has a fluid inflow port and a fluid outflow port, has a reaction tube lumen contiguous from the fluid inflow port through to the fluid outflow port, and has a distribution in the thickness of the porous layer in the range from the fluid inflow port side to the fluid outflow port side, and including a catalyst carried on the porous layer; and a heating medium tube which has a heating medium inflow port and a heating medium outflow port and has a heating medium tube lumen contiguous from the heating medium inflow port through to the heating medium outflow port.

Claims (29)

1 . A reaction tube comprising:

a multilayer structure tube that is composed of a tubular non-porous layer and a tubular porous layer laminated inside the tubular non-porous layer, has a fluid inlet, a fluid outlet, and a reaction tube inner cavity communicating from the fluid inlet to the fluid outlet, and has a distribution in a thickness of the porous layer in a range from the fluid inlet to the fluid outlet; and

a catalyst that is supported on the porous layer.

2 . The reaction tube according to claim 1 ,

wherein the thickness of the porous layer is larger on a fluid outlet side than on a fluid inlet side or is larger on the fluid inlet side than on the fluid outlet side.

3 . The reaction tube according to claim 1 , wherein a sum of the thickness of the porous layer and a thickness of the non-porous layer is substantially constant in the range from the fluid inlet to the fluid outlet.

4 . A reaction tube comprising:

two or more short reaction tubes,

wherein each of the short reaction tubes includes a multilayer structure tube that is composed of a tubular non-porous layer and a tubular porous layer laminated inside the tubular non-porous layer, has a fluid inlet, a fluid outlet, and a short reaction tube inner cavity communicating from the fluid inlet to the fluid outlet and a catalyst that is supported on the porous layer,

the fluid outlet of one short reaction tube is connected in series to the fluid inlet of another short reaction tube such that the short reaction tube inner cavities communicate with each other, and

a thickness of the porous layer of the one short reaction tube is substantially different from a thickness of the porous layer of another short reaction tube.

5 . The reaction tube according to claim 1 , further comprising:

a plate-shaped porous layer that is provided to protrude from an inner surface of the tubular porous layer toward the reaction tube inner cavity.

6 . A catalytic reaction device comprising:

a reactor including the reaction tube according to claim 1 and a heat transfer medium tube that has a heat transfer medium inlet, a heat transfer medium outlet, and a heat transfer medium tube inner cavity communicating from the heat transfer medium inlet to the heat transfer medium outlet,

wherein the reactor has a mechanism in which a fluid raw material flows into the reaction tube inner cavity through the fluid inlet, the fluid raw material is brought into contact with the catalyst and chemically reacts with the catalyst in the reaction tube inner cavity, and a fluid mixture including a fluid product obtained by the chemical reaction flows out from the reaction tube inner cavity through the fluid outlet, a mechanism in which the heat transfer medium flows into the heat transfer medium tube inner cavity through the heat transfer medium inlet and the heat transfer medium flows out from a first heat transfer medium tube inner cavity through the heat transfer medium outlet, and a mechanism in which the reaction tube is inserted into the heat transfer medium tube inner cavity and the heat transfer medium in the heat transfer medium tube inner cavity exchanges heat with the fluid material in the reaction tube inner cavity through a reaction tube wall.

7 . The catalytic reaction device according to claim 6 ,

wherein there are a plurality of the reaction tubes each of which has a plate fin provided to protrude outward from an outer surface of the multilayer structure tube, and

each of the reaction tubes is disposed parallel to a longitudinal direction of the heat transfer medium tube and is connected to another adjacent reaction tube through the plate fin.

8 . A method for obtaining a fluid product, the method comprising:

supplying the fluid raw material into the reaction tube inner cavity through the fluid inlet in the catalytic reaction device according to claim 6 ;

performing a chemical reaction while controlling a temperature of the fluid material in the reaction tube inner cavity by supplying the heat transfer medium into the heat transfer medium tube inner cavity through the heat transfer medium inlet, flowing the heat transfer medium through the heat transfer medium tube inner cavity, and discharging the heat transfer medium from the heat transfer medium tube inner cavity through the heat transfer medium outlet; and

discharging a fluid mixture including a fluid product obtained by the chemical reaction from the reaction tube inner cavity through the fluid outlet.

9 . The method according to claim 8 ,

wherein the fluid raw material includes hydrogen and carbon dioxide, and

the fluid product includes carbon monoxide, methanol, or methane.

10 . A method for manufacturing the reaction tube according to claim 1 , the method comprising:

obtaining a multilayer structure tube that is composed of a tubular non-porous layer and a tubular porous layer laminated inside the tubular non-porous layer and has a fluid inlet, a fluid outlet, and a reaction tube inner cavity communicating from the fluid inlet to the fluid outlet by repeatedly performing formation of a multilayer structure plate which is composed of an annular non-porous layer and an annular porous layer laminated inside the annular non-porous layer, the formation of the multilayer structure plate being performed by irradiating a spread material powder with a laser or an electron beam such that a portion corresponding to a non-porous layer is irradiated with a higher-energy laser or electron beam than a portion corresponding to a porous layer and by sintering the spread material powder; and

supporting a catalyst on the porous layer.