LOADING OF CATALYST PARTICLES IN REACTION TUBES

摘要

A method for the uniform loading of one or more catalyst tubes in a heat exchange reactor, in which the one or more catalyst tubes consist of an inner tube arranged substantially coaxially with an outer tube and in which the walls of the inner and outer tube define an annular space adapted to receive solid catalyst particles, the method comprising the stage of : (a) introducing a loading hose into the annular space of the tube to be filled with catalyst so that the distance from the discharging end of the loading hose to the bottom of the tube defines a first initial drop height, and filling in one or more steps the annular space of the tube with catalyst up to a loaded height, the level of said loaded height corresponding to the discharging end of the loading hose or below, whilst at the same time maintaining said first initial drop height constant by raising the loading hose after each catalyst filling step; (b) raising the loading hose so that the distance from the discharging end of the loading hose to the catalyst surface defines a subsequent initial drop height which is higher or lower than the initial drop height of the previous stage, and filling in one or more steps the annular space of the tube with catalyst up to a subsequent loaded height, said subsequent loaded height having a value greater than the loaded height of the previous stage but not above the total length of the catalyst tube, the level of said loaded height corresponding to the level of the discharging end of the loading hose or below, whilst at the same time maintaining said subsequent initial drop height constant by raising the loading hose after each filling step; in which said stage (b) is conducted at least once.