The present invention provides an apparatus for regasifying gas hydrate pellets that includes: a cylinder; a piston coupled to an inside of the cylinder and configured to reciprocate up and down; a pellet providing part coupled to an one side of the cylinder in such a way that supply of gas hydrate pellets to the cylinder is adjusted by having one end thereof opened and closed by reciprocation of the piston; a pressure adjusting space having one end thereof coupled to a lower portion of the cylinder; a door formed in the pressure adjusting space and configured to define the pressure adjusting space; a transfer part having one end thereof coupled to the other end of the pressure adjusting space and configured to transfer the gas hydrate pellets; and a regasification part coupled to the other end of the transfer part and having heating water therein to allow regasification of the transferred gas hydrate pellets.

Disclosed are a hydrogen generator and a method of producing hydrogen gas therefrom. A fuel unit containing a fuel that releases hydrogen gas when heated is removably disposed in a cavity within a housing having a door. A heater assembly for heating the fuel unit is disposed in the hydrogen generator. A mechanism retracts the heater assembly from the fuel unit when the door is opened and extends the heater assembly to contact the fuel unit when the door is closed. When the heater assembly is retracted, more space is available into which the fuel unit can be inserted to prevent damage to the heater assembly and the fuel unit, and when the heater assembly is extended, good contact is provided between the heater assembly and the fuel unit for efficient heating. A cam bar can move the heater assembly normal to the lateral motion of the cam bar.

Disclosed are a hydrogen generator and a method of producing hydrogen gas therefrom. A fuel unit containing a fuel that releases hydrogen gas when heated is removably disposed in a cavity within a housing having a door. A heater assembly for heating the fuel unit is disposed in the hydrogen generator. A mechanism retracts the heater assembly from the fuel unit when the door is opened and extends the heater assembly to contact the fuel unit when the door is closed. When the heater assembly is retracted, more space is available into which the fuel unit can be inserted to prevent damage to the heater assembly and the fuel unit, and when the heater assembly is extended, good contact is provided between the heater assembly and the fuel unit for efficient heating. A cam bar can move the heater assembly normal to the lateral motion of the cam bar.

In a method for the continuous precipitation of lignin from black liquor black liquor is provided so as to flow as a pressurized flow in a reactor with a dwell time of less than 300 s. An acidifying agent selected from the group of carbon dioxide, acid and their combinations is led to the flow at one or more feeding sites to lower the pH of black liquor. The pH is allowed to decrease by the effect of the acidifying agent in the pressurized flow to the precipitation point of lignin, the pressure of the pressurized flow is abruptly released, and lignin particles are separated from black liquor.

This specification discloses an operational continuous process to convert lignin as found in ligno-cellulosic biomass before or after converting at least some of the carbohydrates. The continuous process has been demonstrated to create a slurry comprised of lignin, raise the slurry comprised of lignin to ultra-high pressure, deoxygenate the lignin in a lignin conversion reactor over a catalyst which is not a fixed bed without producing char. The conversion products of the carbohydrates or lignin can be further processed into polyester intermediates for use in polyester preforms and bottles.

Disclosed is a process for the integrated production of urea and melamine. A urea production zone produces a urea synthesis stream comprising urea, water and ammonium carbamate. This stream is subjected to processing, preferably involving stripping, so as to separate an aqueous urea stream from residual dissociated carbamate vapor comprising ammonia, carbon dioxide, and water. The urea is fed to a melamine synthesis zone and subjected to melamine forming conditions so as to form melamine and off-gas comprising carbon dioxide and ammonia. The dissociated carbamate vapor and the melamine off-gas are subjected to combined condensation so as to form a dilute melamine off-gas condensate.

A process and system are disclosed for producing lithium oxide from lithium nitrate. In the process and system, the lithium nitrate is thermally decomposed in a manner such that a fraction of the lithium nitrate forms lithium oxide, and such that a remaining fraction of the lithium nitrate does not decompose to lithium oxide. The thermal decomposition may be terminated after a determined time period to ensure that there is a remaining fraction of lithium nitrate and to thereby produce a lithium oxide in lithium nitrate product. The lithium oxide in lithium nitrate product may have one or more transition-metal oxides, hydroxides, carbonates or nitrates added thereto to form a battery electrode. The lithium oxide in lithium nitrate product may alternatively be subjected to carbothermal reduction to produce lithium metal.

A process and system are disclosed for producing lithium oxide from lithium nitrate. In the process and system, the lithium nitrate is thermally decomposed in a manner such that a fraction of the lithium nitrate forms lithium oxide, and such that a remaining fraction of the lithium nitrate does not decompose to lithium oxide. The thermal decomposition may be terminated after a determined time period to ensure that there is a remaining fraction of lithium nitrate and to thereby produce a lithium oxide in lithium nitrate product. The lithium oxide in lithium nitrate product may have one or more transition-metal oxides, hydroxides, carbonates or nitrates added thereto to form a battery electrode. The lithium oxide in lithium nitrate product may alternatively be subjected to carbothermal reduction to produce lithium metal.

A reactor for performing a gas/liquid biphasic high-pressure reaction with a foaming medium, comprising an interior formed by a cylindrical, vertically oriented elongate shell, a bottom and a cap, wherein the interior is divided by internals into a backmixed zone and a zone of limited backmixing, wherein the backmixed zone and the zone of limited backmixing are consecutively traversable by the reaction mixture, wherein the backmixed zone comprises means for introducing gas and liquid and a gas outlet and also comprises at least one mixing apparatus selected from a stirrer, a jet nozzle and means for injecting the gas, and the zone of limited backmixing comprises a reaction product outlet, a first cylindrical internal element which in the interior extends in the longitudinal direction of the reactor and which delimits the zone of limited backmixing from the backmixed zone, backmixing-preventing second internal elements in the form of random packings, structured packings or liquid-permeable trays arranged in the zone of limited backmixing and a riser tube whose lower end is arranged within the backmixed zone and whose upper end opens into the zone of limited backmixing so that liquid from the backmixed zone can ascend into the zone of limited backmixing via the riser tube, wherein flow into the zone of limited backmixing enters from below. The reactor is configured such that the high-pressure reaction space is optimally utilized and contamination of workup steps or subsequent reactions arranged downstream of the high-pressure reaction with foam is substantially avoided. The invention further relates to a process for performing a continuous gas/liquid biphasic high-pressure reaction in the reactor.

A steam autoclave process chamber in the form of an open metal tank fitted with the necessary technical means to fix the closing lid and to connect the necessary accessories characterised in that there is at least one heater (4) inside the tank walls (1,2,3), where the heater is integrally incorporated with the wall into a single inseparable element.

The method of producing a steam autoclave process chamber which consists in the making of an open metal tank with walls in the form of a single casting of any desired shape under a known casting method, followed by subsequent stages which involve mechanical machining of the casting and fitting it with necessary chamber accessories characterised in that before the casting is initiated, there is at least one pipe heater (4) placed in the casting mould so that it is found inside the cast wall of the tank, and that the ends (10) of the heater pipes extend outside the casting mould, whereupon the mould is filled with molten metal in which the pipe heater (4) gets sunk.