Systems and methods are provided for production of carbon nanotubes and H.sub.2 using a reaction system configuration that is suitable for large scale production. In the reaction system, a substantial portion of the heat for the reaction can be provided by using a heated gas stream. Optionally, the heated gas stream can correspond to a heated H.sub.2 gas stream. By using a heated gas stream, when the catalyst precursors for the floating catalyst-chemical vapor deposition (FC-CVD) type catalyst are added to the gas stream, the gas stream can be at a temperature of 1000° C. or more. This can reduce or minimize loss of catalyst precursor material and/or deposition of coke on sidewalls of the reactor. Additionally, a downstream portion of the reactor can include a plurality of flow channels of reduced size that are passed through a heat exchanger environment, such as a shell and tube heat exchanger. This can provide cooling of the gas flow after catalyst formation to allow for carbon nanotube formation, while also reducing the Reynolds number of the flow sufficiently to provide laminar flow within the region where carbon nanotubes are formed.

Disclosed is a reactor and method for thermochemically degrading wet biomass without the need for prior drying, in particular microalga-rich substrates. The invention provides a vertical continuous multiphase reactor (VCMR) that simultaneously, progressively and continuously carries out the steps of evaporation, pyrolysis, gasification and combustion, in separate chambers, using indirect heating. The reactor operates at pressures below atmospheric pressure to increase thermal and productive efficiency, using a fraction of the same products as fuel to achieve thermal self-sufficiency. A system for instant evaporation at low temperature by means of adiabatic expansion is used. The reactor has high efficiency and high yield, requiring minimum space, and can be movable. The products obtained from the reactor are synthesis gas, biocarbon and bio-oils, with uses in energy, agriculture, cosmetics, health and construction. The invention also provides a method for obtaining hydrocarbons and energy from high-moisture biomass, wherein the steps are carried out continuously and the method does not need to be interrupted to add new wet biomass for conversion.

The present invention addresses to a catalyst, and the method for obtaining the same, for generating hydrogen and/or syngas. More specifically, the present invention describes a catalyst based on nickel, molybdenum and tungsten, for steam reforming processes of natural gas or other hydrocarbon streams (refinery gas, propane, butane, naphtha or any mixture thereof) that presents high resistance to deactivation by coke deposition. According to the present invention, the catalyst has NiMoW as its active phase, in bulk form and/or supported on an alumina oxide and other high surface area oxide supports, and may also contain other promoters. Furthermore, the present invention teaches the production of a catalyst whose active phase of NiMoW has high activity for hydrocarbon steam reforming reaction.

Systems and methods for processing waste plastics are provided. One method includes mixing, heating and compacting a supply of the waste plastic based feedstock having an appreciable amount of halide compounds or heteroatoms from one or more sources of contamination; providing an amendment comprising alkaline earth oxides and/or hydroxides, oxides of iron, and/or oxides of aluminum to be mixed, heated and compacted with the waste plastic based feedstock to form a densified melt of plastic material including the amendment; and pyrolyzing the densified melt of plastic material including the amendment within a pyrolysis reactor. Another method includes pyrolyzing a supply of the waste plastic feedstock within a pyrolysis reactor to generate a hydrocarbon gas stream and a solids residue stream; condensing out a tars product from the hydrocarbon gas stream output from the pyrolysis reactor with a quenching apparatus; and pyrolyzing the tars product within a supplemental pyrolysis reactor.

The invention relates to the use of a reactor, methods, and devices for the quantitative recovery of molecular hydrogen from solid, liquid, or gaseous substances which contain hydrogen and which have heteroatoms, as well as to reactors. In this case, the reactors have material containing chromium. The subject matter of the invention also includes the use of the reactor, the method, and the device for the compound-specific or component-specific measurement of the isotope ratio (δ.sup.2H) of hydrogen using online apparatuses.

A continuous pyrolysis system including a pyrolysis chamber, a heating chamber, a feeding chamber having a pressure input, an output coupled to the pyrolysis chamber, and a feeding opening opened to ambient atmosphere, a flame injector injecting ambient air and combustible material into the heating chamber, a pumping device with an input coupled to the heating chamber, and an output coupled to the pressure input of the feeding chamber, a O.sub.2 sensor within the heating chamber, and/or a pressure transducer within the feeding chamber, and a controller coupled to the O.sub.2 sensor, the pressure transducer, the flame injector, and the pumping device, for controlling the flame injector to inject ambient air and/or combustible material to maintain within the heating chamber O.sub.2 concentration between 8% and 10%, and/or for controlling the pumping device to maintain pressure in the feeding chamber above ambient pressure.

Provided are a method for producing an organic substance and a device for producing an organic substance that are capable of efficiently cooling a synthesis gas and of converting the synthesis gas to an organic substance at a high conversion efficiency using a microbial catalyst. A thermally decomposed gas purification/cooling device including a gasification furnace 10 that gasifies waste to generate a thermally decomposed gas, a cyclone 11 through which the thermally decomposed gas discharged from the gasification furnace 10 is passed to recover a dust component in the thermally decomposed gas, and a heat exchanger 20 through which the thermally decomposed gas that has passed through the cyclone 11 is passed to be cooled.

A method for producing a synthetic fuel from hydrogen and carbon dioxide comprises extracting hydrogen molecules from hydrogen compounds in a hydrogen feedstock to produce a hydrogen-containing fluid stream; extracting carbon dioxide molecules from a dilute gaseous mixture in a carbon dioxide feedstock to produce a carbon dioxide containing fluid stream; and processing the hydrogen and carbon dioxide containing fluid streams to produce a synthetic fuel. At least some thermal energy and/or material used for at least one of the steps of extracting hydrogen molecules, extracting carbon dioxide molecules, and processing the hydrogen and carbon dioxide containing fluid streams is obtained from thermal energy and/or material produced by another one of the steps of extracting hydrogen molecules, extracting carbon dioxide molecules, and processing the hydrogen and carbon dioxide containing fluid streams.

According to this disclosure, there is provided a pyrolysis reaction system and a direct non-oxidative methane coupling process using the same by which it is possible to reach the selectivity for good C.sub.≤10 hydrocarbons and at the same time to inhibit coke from being generated while a good methane conversion is maintained during direct conversion of methane into C.sub.2+ hydrocarbons through non-oxidative pyrolysis.

A nanoparticle cluster reduction method yields a new composition of matter including a large percentage (e.g., 75% or higher percentage) of primary nanoparticles in the new composition of matter. The particle reduction method reduces the size of nanoparticle clusters in material of the new composition of matter, allows particle reduction of specific nanoparticle cluster sizes, and allows particle reduction to primary nanoparticles. This new composition of matter can include a high permittivity and high resistivity dielectric compound. This new composition of matter, according to certain examples, has high permittivity, high resistivity, and low leakage current. In certain examples, the new composition of matter constitutes a dielectric energy storage device that is a battery with very high energy density, high operating voltage per cell, and an extended battery life cycle. An example method can include a controlled gas evolution reaction to reduce the size of nanoparticle clusters.