One or more embodiments of the present disclosure include methods of improving the activity of an at least partially non-active Fischer-Tropsch (FT) catalyst in a tubular FT reactor, which includes heating a heat transfer fluid (HTF) to a vapor state, using the heated HTF in the vapor state to achieve and maintain the at least partially non-active FT catalyst at a predetermined stage temperature; and exposing the at least partially non-active FT catalyst to at least one stage FT catalyst activity-related gas for a stage duration of time to increase the activity of the FT catalyst to a desired level. Other methods, systems and apparatuses are also disclosed.

The Fischer-Tropsch process can be used for the conversion of hydrocarbonaceous feed stocks into normally liquid and/or solid hydrocarbons. The feed stock (e.g. natural gas, associated gas and/or coal-bed methane, coal) is converted in a first step into a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide (this mixture is often referred to as synthesis gas or syngas). The synthesis gas (or syngas) is then converted in one or more steps over a suitable catalyst at elevated temperature and pressure into paraffinic compounds ranging from methane to high molecular weight molecules comprising up to 200 carbon atoms, or, under particular circumstances, even more. The present invention relates to a catalyst, a method for manufacturing said catalyst. The present invention further relates to a catalyst obtainable by said method. The present invention further relates to a multi tubular reactor comprising said catalyst.

The invention relates to a method for start-up and operation of a Fischer-Tropsch reactor comprising the steps of: (a) providing a reactor with a fixed bed of reduced Fischer-Tropsch catalyst that comprises cobalt as catalytically active metal; (b) supplying a gaseous feed stream comprising carbon monoxide and hydrogen to the reactor, wherein the gaseous feed stream initially comprises a nitrogen-containing compound other than molecular nitrogen in an initial concentration in the range of from 0.1 to 50 ppmv based on the volume of the gaseous feed stream; (c) converting carbon monoxide and hydrogen supplied with the gaseous feed stream to the reactor into hydrocarbons at an initial reaction temperature, wherein the initial reaction temperature is set at a value of at least 200 C. and hydrocarbons are produced at a first yield; (d) maintaining the initial reaction temperature at the set value and maintaining the first yield by decreasing the concentration of the nitrogen-containing compound in the gaseous feed stream supplied to the reactor; (e) optionally increasing the reaction temperature after the concentration of the nitrogen-containing compound in the gaseous feed stream has decreased to a value below 100 ppbv.

Herein disclosed is a system for producing an organic, the system including at least one high shear mixing device having at least one rotor and at least one stator separated by a shear gap, wherein the shear gap is the minimum distance between the at least one rotor and the at least one stator; a pump configured for delivering a fluid stream comprising liquid medium and light gas to the at least one high shear mixing device, wherein the at least one high shear mixing device is configured to form a dispersion of the light gas in the liquid medium; and a reactor comprising at least one inlet and at least one outlet, wherein the at least one inlet of the reactor is fluidly connected to the at least one high shear mixing device, and wherein the at least one outlet is configured for extracting the organic therefrom.

A heat transfer insert configured to fin within FT reactor is disclosed. The insert includes a fin structure that defines a longitudinal void along a longitudinal central axis of the fin structure or insert. The fin structure defines a plurality of catalytic reaction zones and a space configured to receive a thermocouple. The central longitudinal axis of the insert, which is also the centerline of the longitudinal void, is not colinear with the longitudinal axis of the thermocouple space. An FT reactor may include the heat transfer insert and an FT system may include one or more FT reactors. Configurations herein allow for catalytic reaction temperatures to be measured within the reactor at a place other than the centerline of the FT reactor.

A process for facilitating the unloading of a fixed bed of cobalt/metal oxide catalyst particles from a reactor tube by (i) feeding a gas comprising 10 to 30 (vol/vol) percent of oxygen to the reactor tube with a GHSV for oxygen of 0.5 to 50 Nl/l/hr, and (ii) removing the catalyst particles from the reactor tube. In the fixed bed of catalyst particles to which the oxygen comprising gas is fed in step (i) at most 10 mole % of the element cobalt is present in Co3O4 and/or CoO, calculated on the total amount of moles of cobalt in the catalyst particles.

In a first processing chamber, a feedstock may be combined with plasma from, for example, three plasma torches to form a first fluid mixture. Each torch may have a working gas including water vapor, oxygen, and carbon dioxide. The first fluid mixture may be cooled and may contact a first heat exchange device. The output fluid from the first heat exchange device may be separated into one or more components. A syngas may be derived from the one or more components and have a ratio of carbon monoxide to hydrogen of about 1:2. The syngas may be transferred to a catalyst bed to be converted into one or more fluid fuels.

A portable gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant includes a reforming reactor and a Fischer-Tropsch (FT) reactor. The reforming reactor forms syngas from an oxidizer stream and a gaseous hydrocarbon feed. The FT reactor forms a hydrocarbon outlet stream from the syngas. The hydrocarbon outlet stream includes carbon compounds having about eight to about 20 carbons.

It is provided a system and process for producing a recycled cracked naphtha product slate comprising gasifying in a gasifier waste material to obtain a crude syngas, the waste material comprising carbon and hydrogen in a molar ratio H:C; cleaning the crude syngas in a cleaning unit to obtain a clean syngas comprising H.sub.2 and CO in a molar ratio H.sub.2:CO of between 0.5:1 and 5:1; and reacting the clean syngas in a reactor in the presence of a catalyst comprising a mixture of transition metal oxides to obtain the recycled cracked naphtha product slate, wherein the molar ratio H:C is less than 2.5.