The present invention relates to a catalytic system for the preparation of light olefins through the dehydration of alcohols, including at least one catalyst and at least one co-catalyst, wherein the catalyst is selected from among catalysts for the catalytic dehydration of ethanol and with the co-catalyst selected from among oxy-ketonization reaction catalysts, wherein the catalyst:co-catalyst mass ratio is within a range of 0.5:0.125 to 2:10, and preferably within a range of 1:0.25 to 1:5.

A system for processing a stream including fuel oil includes an atmospheric flash column for receiving the stream as feedstock and separate the stream into an atmospheric flash distillate stream and an atmospheric flash residue stream. The system includes a vacuum flash column for receiving the atmospheric flash residue stream and separating the atmospheric flash residue stream into a vacuum flash distillate stream, a vacuum flash residue stream, and a vacuum gas oil stream. The system includes a first hydrocracking unit for receiving and processing at least a portion of the vacuum flash residue stream to produce an intermediate stream and a slurry. The system includes a second hydrocracking unit for receiving and processing the vacuum gas oil stream and the intermediate stream to produce a naphtha product and a light ends product. The system includes a pelletization unit for receiving and processing the slurry to produce a pelletized product.

A process by which the raw material, a gas comprising mainly hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, is introduced into a first reactor together with a catalyst, in which one or more reactions take place that produce methanol or dimethyl ether or both, which are then introduced into a second reactor adding oxygen and a catalyst and producing formaldehyde and a minority of dimethyl ether, and where there may be an excess of water, such water being extracted from the process and the remaining products being introduced into the third reactor with, optionally, an additive, and such raw material is exposed to catalysts and under an atmosphere at medium temperature and pressure, in order to produce three or four groups of chemical reactions that, after extracting most of the water that is generated as a residue during the process, produces as a result a liquid multifunctional product that can be used as a solvent, a foaming agent or an oxygenated fuel; said product, normally a fluid, comprises polyoxymethylene dimethyl ethers with molecular formula CH3O(CH2O)nCH3 wherein n has a value between 1 and 7.

Systems and methods useful in determining the superficial gas velocity in fluidized bed reactors may utilize a pressure drop across a portion of the system but not associated with a flowmeter. For example, method may comprise: obtaining a pressure for each of two different locations within a fluidized bed reactor system that comprises a reactor capable of containing a fluidized bed and a cycle gas loop, wherein one or both of the two different locations is not at a flowmeter; calculating a pressure drop based on the two pressures; calculating a first superficial gas velocity (SGV.sub.alt) for the fluidized bed based on the pressure drop; and operating the fluidized bed reactor system based at least in part on the SGV.sub.alt.

The present invention provides an improved process for removing heat from an exothermic reaction. In particular, the present invention provides a process wherein heat can be removed from multiple reaction trains using a common coolant system.

An addition system for introducing particulate material into an industrial process is disclosed. The addition system comprises a vessel for holding the particulate material, a weighing device, piping, a controller, and a frame to support the piping. The piping comprises a first valve for transferring the particulate material to the industrial process, and a second valve for transferring a first stream of pressurized gas from a source of pressurized gas to the vessel. The vessel comprises a filling nozzle located on the top of the vessel.

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.

The present invention provides an improved process for removing heat from an exothermic reaction. In particular, the present invention provides a process wherein heat can be removed from multiple reaction trains using a common coolant system.

A system and method for efficiently treating metal catalyst resident in a reactor vessel comprises a sulfiding module, a sulfur source, an ammonia source, and/or a coking source, a hydrogen sulfide detection module, a hydrogen gas detection module, a pH detection module, an ammonia gas detection module and a remote computer all arranged and configured to communicate wirelessly and to allow remote control and monitoring of the modules and process so that catalyst may be sulfided, passivated and/or soft-coked in situ.

The invention relates to a process and to a unit for chemical looping oxidation-reduction combustion of a hydrocarbon feed, wherein heat exchanges are controlled through a level variation of a dense fluidized bed of active mass particles in an external heat exchanger (E1, E2), positioned on a transport line carrying particles circulating between a reduction zone (210) and an oxidation zone (200) for the particles in the chemical loop. The bed level variation is allowed through controlled application of a pressure drop on a fluidization gas outlet in the heat exchanger, said pressure drop being compensated by the level variation of an active mass particle bed in a reservoir zone provided on the particle circuit in the chemical loop.