Disclosed is a method of producing an olefin using a circulating fluidized bed process, including: (a) supplying a hydrocarbon mixture including propane and a dehydrogenation catalyst to a riser which is in a state of a fast fluidization regime, and thus inducing a dehydrogenation reaction; (b) separating an effluent from the dehydrogenation reaction into the catalyst and a propylene mixture; (c) stripping, in which a residual hydrocarbon compound is removed from the catalyst separated in step (b); (d) mixing the catalyst stripped in step (c) with a gas containing oxygen and thus continuously regenerating the catalyst; (e) circulating the catalyst regenerated in step (d) to step (a) and thus resupplying the catalyst to the riser; and (f) cooling, compressing, and separating the propylene mixture, which is a reaction product separated in step (b), and thus producing a propylene product.

A method for facilitating the distribution of the flow of one or more streams within a bed vessel is provided. Disposed within the bed vessel are internal materials and structures including multiple operating zones. One type of operating zone can be a processing zone composed of one or more beds of solid processing material. Another type of operating zone can be a treating zone. Treating zones can facilitate the distribution of the one or more streams fed to processing zones. The distribution can facilitate contact between the feed streams and the processing materials contained in the processing zones.

A method for monitoring and controlling the polymerization in a polymerization vessel by using a camera viewing unit to (a) detect features of the polymer particles, or the particles' environment, (b) compare the features to pre-defined acceptable values of these features or the environment, and (c) if a variation from the pre-defined values is detected, act on process parameters to reduce or eliminate the variation.

A fixed bed reactor system for the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane, comprising a catalyst bed wherein the catalyst capacity profile increases along the length of catalyst bed from the upstream end to the downstream end. The catalyst bed may include one or more sections, across one or more fixed bed reactors, that are identified by a change in catalyst capacity. Catalyst capacity, or the ability to convert ethane into ethylene, may be altered by changing the dilution ratio, void fraction, and or the 35% conversion temperature. A method for loading a fixed bed reactor with an increasing catalyst capacity is also described.

The present specification discloses a membrane reactor comprising a reaction region; a permeate region; and a composite membrane disposed at a boundary of the reaction region and the permeate region, wherein the reaction region comprises a bed filled with a catalyst for dehydrogenation reaction, wherein the composite membrane comprises a support layer including a metal with a body-centered-cubic (BCC) crystal structure, and a catalyst layer including a palladium (Pd) or a palladium alloy formed onto the support layer, wherein ammonia (NH.sub.3) is supplied to the reaction region, the ammonia is converted into hydrogen (H.sub.2) by the dehydrogenation reaction in the presence of the catalyst for dehydrogenation reaction, and the hydrogen permeates the composite membrane and is emitted from the membrane reactor through the permeate region.

Disclosed is a method of producing an olefin using a circulating fluidized bed process, including: (a) supplying a hydrocarbon mixture including propane and a dehydrogenation catalyst to a riser which is in a state of a fast fluidization regime, and thus inducing a dehydrogenation reaction; (b) separating an effluent from the dehydrogenation reaction into the catalyst and a propylene mixture; (c) stripping, in which a residual hydrocarbon compound is removed from the catalyst separated in step (b); (d) mixing the catalyst stripped in step (c) with a gas containing oxygen and thus continuously regenerating the catalyst; (e) circulating the catalyst regenerated in step (d) to step (a) and thus resupplying the catalyst to the riser; and (f) cooling, compressing, and separating the propylene mixture, which is a reaction product separated in step (b), and thus producing a propylene product.

An apparatus for the production of solid dosage forms is presented, wherein the apparatus comprises a material processing chamber which is operable for manufacturing a product according to a pre-set product formation process path. The apparatus has at least one sensor for continuously monitoring formation of the product in the material processing chamber during the product formation process non-invasively in real time by sensing at least one product functional attribute value and a means for comparing each sensed product functional attribute value with a desirable product functional attribute value for that point on the product formation process path. A controller controls operation of the material processing chamber in response to the sensed product functional attribute value for maintaining the product on the product formation process path.

A method for processing a chemical stream includes contacting a feed stream with a catalyst in a reactor portion of a reactor system causing a reaction which forms a product stream. The method includes separating the product stream from the catalyst, passing the catalyst to a catalyst processing portion of the reactor system, processing the catalyst in the catalyst processing portion, and passing a portion of the catalyst from the catalyst processing portion of the reactor system into a catalyst withdrawal system that includes a catalyst withdrawal vessel and a transfer line coupling the catalyst withdrawal vessel to the catalyst processing portion. Each of the catalyst withdrawal vessel and the transfer line include an outer metallic shell and an inner refractory lining. The method further includes cooling the catalyst in the catalyst withdrawal vessel from greater than or equal to 680° C. to less than or equal to 350° C.

The present disclosure relates to a process for producing chlorosilanes in a fluidized bed reactor by reaction of a hydrogen and silicon tetrachloride-containing reaction gas with a particulate contact mass containing silicon and a catalyst. The chlorosilanes have the general formula H.sub.nSiCl.sub.4−n and/or H.sub.mCl.sub.6−mSi.sub.2. The reactor design is described by an index K1, the constitution of the contact mass is described by an index K2 and the reaction conditions are described by an index K3.

A method for monitoring and controlling the polymerization in a polymerization vessel by using a camera viewing unit to (a) detect features of the polymer particles, or the particles' environment, (b) compare the features to pre-defined acceptable values of these features or the environment, and (c) if a variation from the pre-defined values is detected, act on process parameters to reduce or eliminate the variation.