Catalyst arrangement with optimized void fraction for the production of phthalic acid anhydride

• Main Authors: Schulz, Felix, Schinke, Peter, Marx, Robert, Mestl, Gerhard, Pitschi, Werner, Richter, Oliver, Lesser, David, Fromm, Nadine
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 18.12.2018
• Subjects: ACYCLIC OR CARBOCYCLIC COMPOUNDS; CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOIDCHEMISTRY; CHEMISTRY; COMPOUNDS CONTAINING METALS NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSESC01D OR C01F; HETEROCYCLIC COMPOUNDS; INORGANIC CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY; ORGANIC CHEMISTRY; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS; TRANSPORTING

The invention relates to a catalyst arrangement for preparing phthalic anhydride by gas-phase oxidation of aromatic hydrocarbons, which comprises a reactor having a gas inlet end for a feed gas and a gas outlet end for a product gas and also a first catalyst zone made up of catalyst bodies and at least one second catalyst zone made up of catalyst bodies, where the first catalyst zone is arranged at the gas inlet end and the second catalyst zone is arranged downstream of the first catalyst zone in the gas flow direction and the length of the first catalyst zone in the gas flow direction is less than the length of the second catalyst zone in the gas flow direction, characterized in that the first catalyst zone has a higher gap content compared to the second catalyst zone.