Have spiral tubular reactors been used? How is the catalyst loaded?

The coiled tubular reactor can accommodate both radial and axial flow patterns in terms of structure, making it suitable for applications with high requirements regarding reactor pressure drop. Its catalyst can be easily installed and removed, and its heat transfer capacity is more than 50% higher than that of tubular fixed-bed reactors. By adjusting the temperature of the medium surrounding the tube, a gradient distribution can be achieved, enabling precise control over the reaction temperature. Based on this design method, we optimized the arrangement pattern of the tube bundles in the coiled heat exchanger. Through simulation calculations, arrangements such as different layouts within the same layer and staggered arrangements across layers were adopted, resulting in a more rational distribution of the various media inside the heat exchanger and more efficient use of heat. This led to an improvement in heat transfer efficiency of about 15% compared to conventional multi-stream coiled tube heat exchangers. It is understood that the coiled tubular reactor designed using this achievement has been applied in various pilot-scale units, including reactors for the synthesis of ethylene glycol and olefin-based products. Changing the reactor design allows for more stringent control of pressure drops and higher heat transfer efficiency based on the existing operating procedures, effectively addressing the issues of equipment size limitations and manufacturing challenges that arise during the scaling up of the facility. At the same time, the coiled-tube heat exchangers designed using this method have been widely applied in low-temperature methanol washing units, natural gas extraction, purification, storage, and transportation systems, as well as in fine chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities. They have achieved significant energy-saving and consumption-reduction effects, meeting the equipment requirements associated with larger-scale units as well as compact, portable systems.