Abstract: The invention relates to a process for manufacturing ethylene oxide by the catalytic oxidation reaction of ethylene with molecular oxygen. The process comprises contacting a reactive gas mixture current comprising ethylene and molecular oxygen with a silver-based catalyst in the form of particles arranged as a fixed bed in reaction tubes combined as a bundle in a tube reactor. The process is characterized in that the reactive gas mixture current flowing through the reaction tubes is contacted with the catalyst particles diluted with particles of an inert solid in a proportion increasing in the flow direction of said current. Preferably, the dilution of the catalyst particles with those of the inert solid is performed over a portion of the catalyst particles arranged in a zone of the reaction tubes located towards the outlet of said tubes and more particularly extending up to the outlet of said tubes, in the flow direction of the reactive gas mixture current.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a process for manufacturing ethylene oxide by the catalytic oxidation reaction of ethylene by molecular oxygen in a tube reactor. The reactor comprises a bundle of reaction tubes (5) which are immersed in a heat exchange fluid and filled with a solid silver-based catalyst (8) and which are traversed by a reactive gas current containing ethylene and molecular oxygen, which in contact with the catalyst forms the ethylene oxide. The area of the internal cross-section of the reaction tubes (5) decreases between the inlet (1) and the outlet (3) of the tubes over at least a portion of the length of the tubes and remains constant over any remaining portion. The process makes it possible to increase the selectivity of the reaction to ethylene oxide for a given production of ethylene oxide.