Proposed is a process for producing methanol from synthesis gas by means of multi-stage, for example two-stage, heterogeneously catalyzed methanol synthesis, wherein the methanol product formed in every synthesis stage is separated by condensation and the remaining residual gas is supplied to the downstream synthesis stage or after separation of a purge stream recycled to the first synthesis stage as a recycle stream. According to the invention after each synthesis stage the residual gas streams have separated from them a respective purge stream, from which, using one or more hydrogen recovery apparatuses, hydrogen is separated and recycled to the first synthesis stage. The ratio of the individual purge streams and their total molar flow may optionally be varied to allow better control of the reaction in the individual synthesis stages and to allow reaction to the advancing deactivation of the catalysts present therein.

A reactor vessel for high temperature catalytic reactions is provided, in which the inlet portion has a particular design. A plant comprising this reactor vessel is also provided.

The present invention provides a blended fuel and methods for producing the blended fuel, wherein a low carbon fuel derived from a renewable resource such as biomass, is blended with a traditional, petroleum derived fuel. A blended fuel which includes greater than 10% by volume of low carbon fuel has an overall improved lifecycle greenhouse gas content of about 5% or more compared to the petroleum derived fuel. Also, blending of the low carbon fuel to the traditional, petroleum fuel improves various engine performance characteristics of the traditional fuel.

A process for producing light alkanes and creating a flexible distribution system for those alkanes and related systems are disclosed. The process can include supplying a butane feed stream to a butane conversion unit to produce a light alkane output stream including at least methane, ethane, propane, and hydrogen, separating at least part of the light alkane output stream into separate streams of methane, ethane, and propane and distributing the separated streams as desired. The distribution of the separated streams can include sending the separated ethane and propane streams to downstream processing units which use them as feedstock. The butane containing feed and/or unreacted butane feed can include isobutane, which can be converted to n-butane and then further processed.

What has been achieved by this invention is a method and design of providing high temperature heat for an endothermic gasifier without combustion using electrical resistance immersion heating element technology. Further, these elements could be heated by three phase electrical power; thus, minimizing the number of electrical leads emerging from the top of the heating elements.

This invention solves the difficulty of designing the steam/CO.sub.2 reforming reactor with a large number of densely packed heating elements and the syngas heat recuperator into one reactor. This is done to avoid the extremely hot syngas leaving the reactor from melting the downstream metal fittings carrying the reactor product gases to the downstream piping process.

A method for generating a gas-product includes: a) providing a first part of a feed stream; b) providing a second part of a feed stream; c) combining the first part of the feed stream with the second part of the feed stream into the feed stream; d) heating at least one of: the first part of the feed stream, the second part of the feed stream before step c, the feed stream after step c; e) conducting the feed stream into a reactor; f) reacting the feed stream into the gas-product. To reduce investment and in particular the footprint of the machine step d) is at least partly performed by compressing the respective stream by a supersonic compressor such that the respective stream is heated.

A method and to a device for producing a synthesis gas, which contains carbon monoxide and hydrogen, wherein natural gas having a first carbon dioxide partial pressure (CO.sub.2 pressure) is provided and is processed inter alia by means of a pressure increase to form a natural gas input for a thermochemical conversion, in which a synthesis raw gas having a second CO.sub.2 pressure greater than the first CO.sub.2 pressure is produced, from which synthesis raw gas at least carbon dioxide is subsequently separated in order to obtain the synthesis gas and carbon dioxide, at least some of which is returned and is used in the thermochemical conversion of the natural gas input. To separate carbon dioxide, the synthesis raw gas is conducted across the one membrane on the retentate side, which membrane is permeable to carbon dioxide and is flushed on the permeate side by the provided natural gas.

A system optionally including a carbon oxide reactor. A method for carbon oxide reactor control, optionally including selecting carbon oxide reactor aspects based on a desired output composition, running a carbon oxide reactor under controlled process conditions to produce a desired output composition, and/or altering the process conditions to alter the output composition.

A bi-reforming catalyst that includes treated black powder (primarily hematite), and a method of treating black powder (e.g., from a natural gas pipeline) to give the treated black powder. A bi-reformer having the treated black powder as reforming catalyst, and a method of producing syngas with the bi-reformer.

A methanol synthesis plant comprising: a feed pretreating section operable to pretreat a feed stream; a synthesis gas (syngas) generation section comprising one or more reactors operable to produce a syngas synthesis product stream comprising synthesis gas from the feed stream; a methanol synthesis section comprising one or more methanol synthesis reactors operable to produce a synthesis product comprising methanol; and/or a methanol purification section operable to remove at least one component from the synthesis product to provide a purified methanol product; wherein the methanol synthesis plant is configured such that, relative to a conventional methanol synthesis plant, more of the net energy required by the methanol synthesis plant, the feed pretreating section, the syngas generation section, the methanol synthesis section, the methanol purification section, or a combination thereof, is provided by a non-carbon based energy source, a renewable energy source, and/or electricity.