Systems and methods are provided for improving thermal management and/or efficiency of reaction systems including a reverse flow reactor for performance of at least one endothermic reaction and at least one supplemental exothermic reaction. The supplemental exothermic reaction can be performed in the recuperation zone of the reverse flow reactor system. By integrating the supplemental exothermic reaction into the recuperation zone, the heat generated from the supplemental exothermic reaction can be absorbed by heat transfer surfaces in the recuperation zone. The adsorbed heat can then be used to heat at least one of the fuel and the oxidant for the combustion reaction performed during regeneration, thus reducing the amount of combustion that is needed to achieve a desired temperature profile at the end of the regeneration step.

Equipment for producing ethylene and/or acetylene from hydrocarbons, including the reaction chamber (13), burner (11), common or separate fuel gas inlets (12) and oxygen inlets (18), preheating tubes (14), a gas distributor (15), cracking gas inlets (16), and a reaction product outlet (17); the gas distributor (15), which has multiple gas inlets and gas outlets, is arranged on the cross section of the reaction chamber (13), where the gas inlet is connected to the cracking gas inlet (16), and the gas outlet is connected to the preheating tube (14). The cracking gas is uniformly distributed through the gas distributor (15) and passed through the preheating tubes (14), which are hollow tubes; the opening at the other end of the hollow tube is close to or inserted into the combustion area of the gaseous fuel and oxygen.

A method and an apparatus for detailed continuous monitoring of the thermal environment for a tube or a plurality of tubes and calculation and prediction of remaining lifetime of said tubes.

Embodiments of the disclosure provide a method and system for upgrading heavy hydrocarbons. A heavy hydrocarbon feed and a non-saline water feed are introduced to a first stage reactor. The first stage reactor is operated under supercritical water conditions to produce an effluent stream. The effluent stream and a saline water feed are combined to produce a mixed stream, where the saline water feed includes an alkali or alkaline earth metal compound. The mixed stream is introduced to a second stage reactor. The second stage reactor is operated under supercritical water conditions to produce a product stream including upgrading hydrocarbons. The second stage reactor is operated at a temperature less than that of the first stage reactor.

A method for producing a vapor stream from waste plastic comprises providing a waste plastic feedstock into a reactor containing one or more residues produced from a previously heated source of waste plastic, and heating the waste plastic feedstock in the reactor to a temperature from about 125° C. to 500° C. to generate a vapor containing one or more hydrocarbons. The waste plastic feedstock can have a calcium to sodium mass ratio from about 0.0001 to 400 as measured by inductively-coupled plasma (ICP) spectrometry. The catalytic activity in the reactor may be provided through one or more constituent elements in the waste plastic feedstock or the one or more residues produced from the previously heated source of waste plastic.

The invention discloses a method for producing bio-fuel (BF) from a high-viscosity biomass using thermo-chemical conversion of the biomass in a production line (10) with pumping means (PM), heating means (HM) and cooling means (CM). The method has the steps of 1) operating the pumping means, the heating means and the cooling means so that the production line is under supercritical fluid conditions (SCF) to induce biomass conversion in a conversion zone (CZ) within the production line, and 2) operating the pumping means so that at least part of the production line is in an oscillatory flow (OF) mode. The invention is advantageous for providing an improved method for producing biofuel from a high-viscosity biomass. This is performed by an advantageous combination of two operating modes: supercritical fluid (SCF) conditions and oscillatory flow (OF).

Methods and systems for temperature-controlled, on-site generation of peracids, namely peroxycarboxylic acids and peroxycarboxylic acid forming compositions are disclosed. In particular, methods for using an adjustable biocide formulator or generator system overcome the limitations of temperature on the kinetics of the peracid generation and/or peracid decomposition inside an adjustable biocide formulator or generator system. The methods include the controlling of the temperature of at least one raw starting material, namely water, to improve upon methods of on-site generation of peracids. The methods allow for the generation of user-selected chemistry without regard to the ambient temperatures of the raw starting materials and/or the biocide formulator or generator system.

The invention relates to a reactor 1 for supercritical hydrothermal gasification of aqueous multicomponent mixtures in the absence of oxygen. It is also an object of the invention to provide a system for operating the reactor 1, a method for operating the reactor 1, and the use of the reactor 1. The reactor 1 according to the invention is compatible with many existing systems, is compact, can be provided on a turnkey basis, and can be manufactured and operated at low cost. The reactor 1 according to the invention thus enables, for the first time, a diverse commercial use of hydrothermal gasification of biomass, sewage sludge and other organic wastes in supercritical water.

Systems and methods are provided for improving the operation of groups of reverse flow reactors by operating reactors in a regeneration portion of the reaction cycle to have improved flue gas management. The flue gas from reactor(s) at a later portion of the regeneration step can be selectively used for recycle back to the reactors as a diluent/heat transport fluid. The flue gas from a reactor earlier in a regeneration step can be preferentially used as the gas vented from the system to maintain the desired volume of gas within the system. This results in preferential use of higher temperature flue gas for recycle and lower temperature flue gas for venting from the system. This improved use of flue gas within a reaction system including reverse flow reactors can allow for improved reaction performance while reducing or minimizing heat losses during the regeneration portion of the reaction cycle.

The disclosure describes a system for generating hydrogen gas from a hydrocarbon through pyrolysis with reduced soot formation and increased carbon loading. The system includes a pyrolysis reactor configured to generate the hydrogen gas from the hydrocarbon through pyrolysis. The pyrolysis reactor includes one or more fibrous substrates configured to provide a deposition surface for carbon generated from the pyrolysis of the hydrocarbon. Each fibrous substrate has an effective void fraction between 40% and 95%, and includes a plurality of fibers configured to maintain chemical and structural stability between about 850° C. and about 1300° C. The one or more fibrous substrates may have a relatively high surface area to fiber volume of the plurality of fibers.