The invention is directed to the use of an upflow reactor for producing a dihydroxy compound, to a method for producing a dihydroxy compound, and to a method for manufacturing polycarbonate. The upflow reactor for producing a dihydroxy compound of the invention comprises: to a vessel; a catalyst bed disposed in said vessel; a distributor in fluid communication with an inlet through which reactants are introduced to said distributor, said distributor being disposed at a lower end of said vessel and comprising distributor perforation(s) disposed in said distributor, at least part of which distributor perforations are in a direction facing away from said catalyst bed; and a collector through which said product dihydroxy compound is removed, said collector being disposed at an upper end of said vessel.

A catalyst carrier for insertion in a reactor tube of a tubular reactor, said catalyst carrier comprising: a container for holding catalyst in use, said container having a bottom surface closing the container, and a top surface; a carrier outer wall extending from the bottom surface to the top surface; a seal extending from the container by a distance which extends beyond the carrier outer wall; said carrier outer wall having apertures located below the seal.

A system for post-processing carbon powders includes a fluidized-bed reactor having an interior containing a fluidized-bed region. The system may include a gas feed source, a gas inlet value, a gas-solid separator, and an energy source coupled to the fluidized-bed reactor. Carbon nano-particulates may be loaded, in powder form, into the fluidized-bed region prior to operation. The gas feed source may output a gas-phase mixture into the interior of the fluidized-bed reactor, and the energy source may electromagnetically excite the gas-phase mixture and generate a plasma-phase mixture formed in a plasma region positioned adjacent to or within the interior of the fluidized-bed reactor. The energy source may be positioned at one or more positions relative to the gas inlet valve.

In a catalyst carrier for insertion in a reactor tube of a tubular reactor, the catalyst carrier includes a container for holding catalyst in use. The container has a bottom surface closing the container, and a top surface. A carrier outer wall extends from the bottom surface to the top surface. A seal extends from the container by a distance which extends beyond the carrier outer wall. The carrier outer wall has apertures located below the seal.

Systems for dehydrogenating an alkane are provided. An exemplary system includes a furnace and further includes alkane heating chambers, regeneration mixture heating chambers, and two groups of reaction chambers, all located within the furnace. The alkane heating chambers and regeneration mixture heating chambers can preheat an alkane feed and a regeneration mixture feed, respectively. The two groups of reaction chambers can be switchably coupled to an alkane feed and a regeneration mixture feed such that an alkane can flow through one group of reaction chambers while a regeneration mixture flows through the other group of reaction chambers. Processes for dehydrogenating an alkane are also provided.

A baffle (i.e., tube support) for use in a shell-and-tube heat exchange reactor, such as, for example, an ethylene oxide (EO) reactor, is provided that accommodates reduced tube pitch, and thus more catalyst packed tubes can be inside the reactor. The baffle, which can be referred to herein as a corrugated grid support, includes a plurality of corrugated stainless steel strips which sit into each other and form a grid pattern having tube openings. Each tube opening is configured to permit a catalyst packed tube to be inserted therein, while allowing a sufficient open area along the shell side of the tube to permit coolant to flow through the reactor.

A reactor configured to release hydrogen from a hydrogen-bearing, liquid compound, having a reactor vessel which comprises at least one body with metallic support structure. A solid, highly porous coating is applied on said at least one body which comprises catalytically acting substances for the release of hydrogen from the liquid, hydrogen-bearing compound, wherein the at least one body with metallic support structure comprises at least one cutout with a volume that remains the same or becomes larger from along a cross-sectional dimension extending from bottom to top, based on the reactor vessel.

The present invention relates to a device for gently and uniformly filling a tube, in particular a tubular reactor, with particulate filling material, in particular catalyst particles; wherein the device comprises specially designed fall arrester elements and also comprises means which reduce the wear of the fall arrester elements; and method for filling a tube using these articles.

Some embodiments relate to an apparatus for holding a workpiece under tension while one or more operations are performed on the workpiece, the apparatus comprising: a frame; a first spindle rotatably coupled to the frame; a first coupler configured to couple the first spindle to a first end of the workpiece; a second spindle rotatably coupled to the frame; and a second coupler configured to couple the second spindle to a second end of the workpiece; wherein a distance between the first and second couplers is adjustable to hold the workpiece under tension between the couplers while the one or more operations are performed, and wherein the workpiece can be rotated with the couplers relative to the frame about a common axis of rotation extending between the couplers. Some embodiments relate to a system comprising a controller for controlling rotation of the workpiece. Embodiments also relate to processes comprising holding a workpiece under tension while performing one or more operations on the workpiece. Some of the processes, systems and apparatuses described may be particularly useful for cold spraying delicate workpieces such as 3D printed static mixers.

The invention provides a reactor comprising a reaction chamber having a catalytic surface in contact with reactants in said chamber, and a source for passing electrical current through said catalytic surface. The reactor can be used for dehydrohalogentation reactions, such as dehydrochlorination of HCFC-244bb to HFO-1234yf and for reactions where zero valent metals are employed for catalysis. The invention further provides a process to prepare HFO-1234yf from HCFC-244bb using an electrically heated reaction chamber.