PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING REACTION TEMPERATURES
A reactor arrangement and process for indirectly contacting a reactant stream (A) with a heat exchange stream (B) uses an arrangement of corrugated heat exchange plates (10) to control temperature conditions by varying the number and/or the arrangement of the corrugations (13) along the plates (10). The reactor arrangement and process of this invention may be used to operate a reactor under isothermal or other controlled temperature conditions. The variation in corrugation arrangements within a single heat exchange section is highly useful in maintaining a desired temperature profile in an arrangement having a cross-flow of heat exchange medium relative to reactants. The corrugations arrangement eliminates or minimizes the typical step-wise approach to isothermal conditions.