Liquid silicate products derived from processed organic plant matter (112), such as rice hulls, have improved purity and properties for use in the production of higher purity amorphous silica compositions (180). The liquid silicate can be optically clear, can have a controlled ratio of silica to metal earth oxide components, and can have lower concentrations of undesirable contaminants such as aluminum, chloride, iron, sulfate, and titanium.

A catalytic microscale reactor with spiral reactor geometry may have a high surface area to volume ratio, high catalytic surface area, high heat transfer surface area, long residence time, and high single pass conversion. The catalytic surface may be treated with microsphere spacer particles which serve to maintain the space between them at an engineered distance without the need for precise manufacturing techniques. The design of the reactor may allow for a catalyst surface to be removed, uncoiled, refurbished, and recoiled in an automated continuous process. An automated continuous process may be suitable both for initially preparing a new catalytic surface as well as refurbishing a fouled catalytic surface and may the time and cost to prepare a new surface.

Design, fabrication, and usage of a reactor are presented for synthesis of structured materials from a liquid-phase precursor by heating. The structured materials are particles, membranes or films of micro-porous molecular sieve crystals such as zeolite and meso-porous materials. The precursor solution and structured materials in the reactor are uniformly heated by a planar heater with characteristic heat transfer dimension in the range of 3 mm to 10 cm. A planar heater having width and length at least three times of the characteristic heat transfer dimension provides at least one surface of uniform temperature distribution for heating purposes. Heating is conducted over a temperature range of 20 to 300 C. The planar heater can be heated by electrical power of by thermal fluid.

An apparatus 100 for conducting chemical reactions in a process fluid is provided, comprising a central shaft 1 with a number of axial-radial rotors 3 mounted thereon, a plurality of stationary vanes 2 disposed upstream the rotor and a mixing space 4 disposed downstream of the rotor, wherein the mixing space is configured to convert mechanical energy imparted to the process fluid by the rotor into internal energy of said process fluid and to establish conditions for an at least one chemical reaction in the process fluid to occur. Related arrangement, method and uses of the apparatus are further provided.

Dehydrogenative coupling can be achieved in nearly quantitative conversions and yields using a membrane reactor.

Design, fabrication, and usage of a reactor are presented for synthesis of structured materials from a liquid-phase precursor by heating. The structured materials are particles, membranes or films of micro-porous molecular sieve crystals such as zeolite and meso-porous materials. The precursor solution and structured materials in the reactor are uniformly heated by a planar heater with characteristic heat transfer dimension in the range of 3 mm to 10 cm. A planar heater having width and length at least three times of the characteristic heat transfer dimension provides at least one surface of uniform temperature distribution for heating purposes. Heating is conducted over a temperature range of 20 to 300 C. The planar heater can be heated by electrical power of by thermal fluid.

In an apparatus producing hydrogen gas by the decomposition reaction of water using photocatalyst, its miniaturization is achieved while suppressing the decrease of production efficiency of hydrogen gas as low as possible or improving the efficiency. The apparatus 1 comprises a container portion 2 receiving water W; a photocatalyst member 3 immersed in the water, having photocatalyst which generates excited electrons and positive holes when irradiated with light, causes a decomposition reaction of the water and generates hydrogen gas; a light source 4 emitting the light irradiated to the photocatalyst member; and a heat exchange device 7 conducting waste heat of the light source to the water in the container portion; wherein the water to be decomposed on the photocatalyst member in the container portion is warmed by the waste heat of the light source by the heat exchange device.

Dehydrogenative coupling can be achieved in nearly quantitative conversions and yields using a membrane reactor.

Compositions are provided that can include nanoscale particles including metal cations such as cerium having an average particle size of less than 10 nm. The nanoscale particles can include cerium and oxygen. Methods for forming nanoparticles are provided. The methods can include exposing a metal cation within a solution to radiation to form metal nanoparticles that can include metal cations. The methods can include exposing a cerium salt solution to radiation to form the nanoparticles. The methods can include exposing solvated metal cations to radiation to precipitate nanoparticles that include metal cations such as Ce. The methods can include exposing the homogeneous solution to radiation to precipitate nanoparticles. The methods can include: providing an aqueous solution comprising metal cations; and increasing the pH of the aqueous solution with radiation to form nanoparticles that include metal cations. Nanoparticle generators are provided. The generators can include: a reactant reservoir comprising a metal cation in solution; a fluid cell in fluid communication with the reactant reservoir; a radiation source operatively aligned with the fluid cell; and a product reservoir in fluid communication with the fluid cell.

A device for treating crude oil or heavy fuel oil with a method that can lower the pour point to at least 0 C. Crude oil or heavy fuel oil treated thusly maintains this property for at least one year. The device for lowering the pour point of crude oil or heavy fuel oil uses a specific ionization method. The method is conducted by passing a heated medium through the main ionization device which is grounded and which includes three parallelly connected segments whereby each segment includes a protective copper tube inside which a protective insulating shell is situated, inside which a copper housing is situated. In each copper housing there is one cylindrical-shaped external core in which an internal core is placed, and the external core and internal core are manufactured as two different alloys by composition. Also described is a process for casting the external core and internal core.