The invention pertains to a device for determination of a catalyst state in a chemical reactor and to a method for detecting a catalyst state under in situ reaction conditions. A reactor is provided with a solid catalyst provided in a reactor chamber. A fluid sample is taken from the reactor chamber and is transferred to a sample chamber. The temperature at the extraction site of the sample in the reactor chamber is determined and the temperature of the sample chamber is adjusted to the same temperature. A small amount of the catalyst provided in reactor chamber is provided in sample chamber and is contacted with the sample flow. Spectroscopic information is then obtained on the catalyst provided in sample cell, e.g. by an IR spectrometer.

An actuator is provided that includes a housing, a linear actuating shaft disposed within the housing, a piston coupled with the shaft, and a fluid barrier disposed on an end of the shaft and encircled by the piston. The piston is movable longitudinally between an extended configuration and a retracted configuration upon rotation of the shaft. The fluid barrier engages an inner surface of the piston preventing fluid communication across the fluid barrier. The fluid barrier has a shaft engaging side which receives the shaft and a fluid facing side. A cavity is formed between the piston and the fluid facing side and expands when the piston moves to the extended configuration and contracts when the piston moves to the retracted configuration. A port is disposed in the piston and extends from the cavity to external the piston thereby permitting fluid communication between the cavity and external the piston.

Disclosed is a system and method for wirelessly monitoring 5 process conditions within a reactor vessel. A plurality of sensor-enabled radio frequency identification (RFID) tags are disposed at unspecified or random locations throughout a catalyst bed of a vessel and are used to measure various conditions within the vessel. The sensor-enabled RFID tags are encoded with individual identification codes and are wirelessly linked to multiple 10 transceivers. The use of multiple transceivers allows for the application of triangulation methods to identify the location of each of the sensor-enabled RFID tags in three dimensional space and for the interrogation of each sensor-enabled RFID tag to receive responsive transponder signals that carry information representative of the sensed condition within the reactor.

A method and apparatus for controlling the atmosphere of a multizone calcination (firing) furnace for production of high-quality nickel-rich cathode material for lithium-ion and solid-state batteries. A high-quality oxygen-rich atmosphere is maintained to ensure the quality of the cathode material. An atmosphere control system continuously measures and analyzes the composition of the calcination furnace atmosphere in different zones and adjusts the flowrate of oxygen-rich atmosphere into the furnace to optimize the calcination process.

A method for fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) of petroleum oil feedstock includes reacting the petroleum oil feedstock with a catalyst mixture in a reaction zone of an FCC unit to obtain a product stream including desulfurized hydrocarbon product, unreacted petroleum oil feedstock, and spent catalyst. During the reacting a process control system develops a process model based on data collected during the reacting, the process model characterizing a relationship among the feed rate of the base cracking catalyst, the feed rate of the FCC additive, the operating conditions, the composition of the product stream, and emissions from the reaction; and one or more of (i) a target feed rate of the base cracking catalyst, (ii) a target feed rate of the FCC additive, and (iii) one or more target operating conditions of the reaction in the reaction zone to reduce the emissions from the FCC unit and to increase a yield of the desulfurized hydrocarbon product in the product stream are determined.

Assemblies and methods to enhance control of a fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) processing assembly associated with a refining operation, may include supplying a hydrocarbon feedstock to one or more first processing units associated with the refining operation. The assemblies and methods also may include conditioning a hydrocarbon feedstock and unit material samples, and analyzing the samples via one or more spectroscopic analyzers. The assemblies and methods further may include prescriptively controlling, via one or more FCC process controllers based at least in part on the hydrocarbon feedstock properties and the unit material properties, the FCC processing assembly, so that the prescriptively controlling results in enhancing accuracy of target content of materials produced by the FCC processing assembly, thereby to more responsively control the FCC processing assembly to achieve material outputs that more accurately and responsively converge on target properties.

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.

Methods for monitoring catalytic chemical reactions are provided. Such a method may comprise (a) exposing a solid surface to conditions to induce a chemical reaction of reactants at an interface formed between the solid surface and a liquid crystal, wherein the solid surface catalyzes the chemical reaction and the liquid crystal is characterized by an anchoring orientation that changes during the chemical reaction; and (b) measuring the anchoring orientation of the liquid crystal at one or more time points and at one or more locations on the solid surface during step (a). Systems for carrying out the methods are also provided.

A process for the catalytic cracking of hydrocarbon oils includes the step of contacting a hydrocarbon oil feedstock with a catalytic cracking catalyst in a reactor having one or more fast fluidized reaction zones for reaction. At least one of the fast fluidized reaction zones of the reactor is a full dense-phase reaction zone, and the axial solid fraction ε of the catalyst is controlled within a range of about 0.1 to about 0.2 throughout the full dense-phase reaction zone. When used for catalytic cracking of hydrocarbon oils, particularly heavy feedstock oils, the process, reactor and system show a high contact efficiency between oil and catalyst, a selectivity of the catalytic reaction, an effectively reduced yield of dry gas and coke, and an improved yield of high value-added products such as ethylene and propylene.

A system and method for oxidative dehydrogenation including a first reactor having a first ODH catalyst to dehydrogenate an alkane to a corresponding alkene at a first temperature and facilitate generation of steam, a second reactor having a second ODH catalyst to dehydrogenate alkane in a first-reactor effluent to the corresponding alkene at a second temperature that may be greater than the first temperature and facilitate generation of steam, and a third reactor having a third ODH catalyst to dehydrogenate alkane in a second-reactor effluent to the corresponding alkene at a third temperature that may be greater than the first temperature or the second temperature and facilitate generation of steam.