초록

In an expanded bed reactor, the expansion of the bed is automatically controlled by automatically changing the rate of speed of a recycle pump for the reactor. The bed is preferably provided with both high and low level bed detectors, and a further detector for determining abnormally high levels.

대표청구항 ▼

In a hydrogenation process wherein a fluid is recycled from an upper portion of a reactor to a portion of the reactor below an expanded bed of catalyst by a recycle pump, the improvement comprising: automatically controlling the expansion of the expanded bed of catalyst by automatically increasing t

In a hydrogenation process wherein a fluid is recycled from an upper portion of a reactor to a portion of the reactor below an expanded bed of catalyst by a recycle pump, the improvement comprising: automatically controlling the expansion of the expanded bed of catalyst by automatically increasing the rate of speed of the recycle pump when the expanded bed is below a first level in the reactor until the bed reaches the first level; thereafter automatically maintaining a substantially constant speed for the pump until the expanded bed of catalyst reaches a second level in the reactor which is higher than the first level; automatically decreasing the rate of speed of the recycle pump until the expanded bed falls below the second level; and thereafter maintaining a substantially constant rate of speed of the recycle pump until the expanded bed falls below the first level.