Theoretical and experimental basics of the formation of optimal catalyst layers in tubular reactors

Results from research on the structure of a catalyst’s granular bed are presented. The influence on catalytic reactions is estimated and the industrial use of the obtained results in tubular reactors of natural gas steam conversion is demonstrated. The influence of methods for loading catalyst particles on the spatial distribution of the porosity and filterable flow in a fixed bed of a tubular reactor tube is proved theoretically and experimentally. The possibility of the method of loading influencing the process technological parameters is demonstrated via the example of the commercially important reaction of natural gas conversion by steam. It was shown in particular that the correct loading of a bed can lower the temperature of the external walls of steam conversion reactor tubes by several tens of degrees. This ensures a longer service life for tubes operating at 700–1000°C. A loading device was designed on the basis of the obtained results and has been used to load Russia’s largest reactors for the conversion of natural gas by steam in M-750 units of methanol production in Tomsk and Gubakha.