A reactor cartridge includes a plurality of spaced-apart monoliths, formed
along a tube or other mandrel. Each monolith is formed of a pair of flat
and corrugated metal strips, spirally wound around the tube. These strips
could be made of solid or screen material. The corrugations are skewed,
such that the monolith imparts a swirl to gases flowing through it. The
corrugations of the strips in adjacent monoliths are oriented
differently, so that successive monoliths impart different swirls to the
gases, so as to promote mixing of gases and better heat transfer from the
exterior to the interior of the cartridge. An insertion and removal tool
simplifies the procedure for stacking such cartridges in a long pipe, or
for removing cartridges from the pipe. The all-metal construction
facilitates heat transfer through the entire reactor, and avoids the
problems associated with packed ceramic beds.