Abstract: Liquid and gaseous chemical reactants are admixed and reacted in a plurality of elongated reaction tubes, for example in the course of sulfonating and sulfating liquid organic compounds with sulfur trioxide gas. To keep the pressure uniform among the plural tubes, a minor proportion of inert gas is introduced into an annular space in which is also introduced the liquid reactant, this annular space surrounding the gaseous reactant introduction space at the mouth of each reaction tube. The inert pressure equalizing gas is fed to all the reaction tubes from a common chamber with which all the tubes communicate.

Abstract: A continuous method for sulphonating and sulphating liquid organic compounds with gaseous sulphur trioxide diluted with inert gas in a plurality of externally cooled, parallel reaction tubes with downward flow communicating at the injection nozzles of the liquid and gas reactants with a single chamber under uniform pressure, from which an additional inert gas flows into the several reaction tubes so as to equalize the pressures downstream of all of said injection nozzles in order to provide for a uniform distribution of the reactants to said reaction tubes, as seen in FIGS. 1-5.This method is applied to all the organic compounds susceptible to said reactions.