Method of conducting catalytically promoted gas-phase reactions

DETAILED DESCRIPTION What is claimed is: 1.
A method for carrying out a catalytically promoted gas phase reaction comprising passing gaseous reactants through and in contact with a plurality of unobstructed parallel flowthrough paths of a plurality of separate segments of honeycomb catalyst in series, discharging gaseous reaction products and unconverted reactants from each segment of said honeycomb catalyst into an unobstructed mixing zone comprising an open space between adjacent segments which is free from catalyst and packing material and having an unobstructed cross-sectional area which, normal to the general direction of gas flow through said catalyst segments, is substantially equal to the cross-sectional area of the segment of honeycomb catalyst immediately preceding the mixing zone in the direction of gas flow, commingling the reaction products and unconverted reactants within said mixing zone, and supplying the resulting mixture of gaseous reaction products and unconverted reactants from said mixing zone to the next succeeding segment of said catalyst in the direction of gas flow, each segment of said honeycomb type catalyst being spaced from each adjacent segment by a distance at least equal to the flowthrough path channel length of the immediately upstream catalyst segment whereby the effect on the treated gases of variations in catalytic activity among the flow paths of the segments of said honeycomb-type catalyst is minimized by the commingling in said mixing zone, and discharging the resulting gaseous products of reaction from the last of said segments of honeycomb-type catalyst in the direction of gas flow.
2.
A method according to claim 1 in which the catalytically promoted gas phase reaction is oxidation of a gaseous material susceptible of catalytic oxidation with free oxygen.
3.
A method according to claim 1 in which the catalytically promoted gas phase reaction is hydrogenation of a gaseous material susceptible to catalytic hydrogenation with free hydrogen.
4.
A method according to claim 1 wherein each of said segments of honeycomb catalyst has a length within the range of 0