Gasification reactor comprising a pressure absorbing compliant structure

Abstract

A reactor for gasification of feedstocks for gasification, adapted to handle feedstocks for gasification comprising organic and inorganic compounds, wherein said compounds during gasification in the presence of oxygen and/or air at a gasification temperature, wherein the melting temperatures of the constituent inorganic compounds is at least 100° C. lower than the gasification temperature, are converted to a hot reducing gas above 950° C. but below 1300° C. and comprising CO, CO 2 , ¾ and H 2 O (g), and a salt melt, wherein said reactor ( 100 ) comprises an outer reactor shell ( 7 ) and an inner refractory lining ( 2, 3, 4 ), wherein a compliant structure ( 5 ) is placed in a ring-shaped coaxial expansion space ( 6 ) between said outer reactor shell ( 7 ) and said inner refractory lining ( 2, 3, 4 ), wherein said compliant structure has a resilience and comprises a plurality of substantially parallel arranged metal profiles ( 12 ), adapted to distribute the compressive load between said reactor shell ( 7 ) and the inner refractory lining ( 2, 3, 4 ) in that the metal profiles ( 12 ) are positioned such that they form substantially parallel, pressure-absorbing bridges, wherein said profiles ( 12 ) are elastically deformed in a first compression interval (ΔY1) and plastically deformed in a second compression interval (ΔY2).

1 - 19 . (canceled) 
     
     
         20 . A reactor for gasification of feedstocks for gasification, adapted to handle feedstocks for gasification comprising organic and inorganic compounds, wherein said compounds during gasification in the presence of oxygen and/or air at a gasification temperature, wherein the melting temperatures of the constituent inorganic compounds is at least 100° C. lower than the gasification temperature, are converted to a hot reducing gas above 950° C. but below 1300° C. and comprising CO, CO 2 , H 2  and ¾0 (g), and a salt melt, wherein said reactor comprises an outer reactor shell and an inner refractory lining, wherein a compliant structure is placed in a ring-shaped coaxial expansion space between said outer reactor shell and said inner refractory lining, wherein said compliant structure has a resilience and comprises a plurality of substantially parallel arranged metal profiles, adapted to distribute the compressive load between said reactor shell and the inner refractory lining in that the metal profiles are positioned such that they form substantially parallel, pressure-absorbing bridges, wherein said profiles are elastically deformed in a first compression interval (ΔY1) and plastically deformed in a second compression interval (ΔY2). 
     
     
         21 . The reactor according to  claim 20 , wherein there are gap areas in between said pressure-absorbing bridges. 
     
     
         22 . The reactor according to  claim 20 , wherein ΔY2>ΔY1, preferably ΔY2>3ΔY1 and more preferred ΔY2>5ΔY1. 
     
     
         23 . The reactor according to  claim 20 , wherein said profiles have a profile height (y) which substantially corresponds to the thickness of the compliant structure. 
     
     
         24 . The reactor according to  claim 20 , wherein the counter-pressure (P) in the second compression interval (ΔY2) is substantially constant, and that a variation of said counter-pressure is less than P±15%, more preferably less than ±10%. 
     
     
         25 . The reactor according to  claim 20 , wherein said compliant structure is adapted to be compressed and deformed, in the radial direction of the reactor shell, by at least 60% of the original height (y) of said metal profile at a normal pressure of preferably no more than 2 MPa, more preferably in the range of 0.5-1.5 MPa. 
     
     
         26 . The reactor according to  claim 20 , wherein said metal profiles have a resilience of preferably at least 2-5% of the original height (y) of said metal profiles, more preferably of 3-4%, during depressurization from operating pressure to atmospheric pressure. 
     
     
         27 . The reactor according to  claim 20 , wherein said compliant structure has a global porosity of at least 60% of the ring-shaped coaxial expansion space, preferably of at least 80%, more preferably of at least 90%. 
     
     
         28 . The reactor according to  claim 20 , wherein said compliant structure comprises one or several hollow metal profiles, preferably having a closed section, the cross-section of which exhibiting at least one symmetry axis (S), the extension of which intersects the central axis (C) of the reactor shell. 
     
     
         29 . The reactor according to  claim 20 , wherein the cross-section of said metal profiles forms a circle or a polygon. 
     
     
         30 . The reactor according to  claim 20 , wherein said metal profiles extend with the central axis in the longitudinal direction of the reactor and substantially in parallel with the central axis (C) of the reactor shell. 
     
     
         31 . The reactor according to  claim 20 , wherein said metal profiles are positioned with such a selected spacing (x′) between the outsides of the respective metal profiles that the distance (x) between the respective metal profiles is greater than zero when the metal profiles are deformed/compressed to a maximum. 
     
     
         32 . The reactor according to  claim 20 , wherein a barrier material, with such a good thermal insulation that the metal profiles in the compliant structure do not become hotter than about 400° C. during normal operation of the reactor, is placed between said lining and said compliant structure. 
     
     
         33 . The reactor according to  claim 20 , wherein a porous ceramic blanket, filling the free volume inside and between the metal profiles and thereby reducing the heat transport through the compliant structure due to both reduced gas convection and reduced heat radiation, is placed between and inside the metal profiles. 
     
     
         34 . The reactor according to  claim 20 , wherein some of the metal profiles are disposed with the central axes perpendicular to the central axis (C) of the reactor shell, between the inside of the reactor shell and the ceramic lining, in the form of coils, and the remaining portion of the inside is covered by metal profiles where the central axes are disposed substantially in parallel with the central axis (C) of the reactor shell, so that they together surround the entire inside of the reactor shell. 
     
     
         35 . The reactor according to  claim 20 , wherein said feedstock for gasification comprises spent liquors resulting from the production of paper pulp, such as black liquor or sulphite thick liquor. 
     
     
         36 . A method for manufacturing and disposing a compliant structure between a reactor shell and an inner refractory lining in a gasification reactor, characterized in that said compliant structure comprises one or several hollow metal profiles, said profile/profiles being fixed to a metal sweep, preferably having approximately the same plate thickness as said profile/profiles, whereby a section of profiles on a metal sweep is formed, and are joined, preferably welded together, into a continuous, compliant structure, wherein the profile side of the sections is pointed outwardly towards the reactor shell. 
     
     
         37 . The method according to  claim 36 , wherein said sections are finished to the correct radius of curvature for said reactor before the joining. 
     
     
         38 . The method according to  claim 37 , wherein a plurality of said profiles are fixed in parallel, centred in the middle by a longitudinal weld, with the central axis of the profiles extending substantially in parallel with the vertical central axis (C) of the reactor.