A process for producing transport fuel blendstocks comprises providing a first feedstock comprising butane and propane and a second feedstock comprising benzene and dehydrogenating the first feedstock in a first reactor to produce a C4 product comprising butane and butene and a C3 product comprising propane and propylene. The process also comprises oligomerizing the C4 product in a second reactor to produce a first transport fuel blendstock and alkylating the C3 product with the second feedstock in a third reactor to produce a second transport fuel blendstock.

A treatment system for remediating some forms of sulfur, CO.sub.2, and other contaminants/impurities from a gas stream includes at least one of a process vessel and a treatment coil. Each of the vessel and treatment coil have internals, different in design from each other, which promote intimate mixing and extended contact time between a treatment composition and a gas being treated. The vessel, which additionally facilitates vapor/liquid separation, operates about one-half to two-thirds full of liquid treatment composition. In some embodiments, the treatment coil is a serpentine arrangement of piping, into which the atomized treatment composition is injected on a continuous basis.

The invention provides a method for generating a solid wood-based material and a hemicellulose-derived material from a wood raw material, said method comprising; i) treating the wood raw material under aqueous conditions at elevated temperature and pressure whereby to generate a hemicellulose-containing fluid component and a solid component; ii) separating said fluid component from said solid component; iii) processing at least a part of said solid component into a solid wood-based material; and iv) processing said liquid component into a hemicellulose-derived material. The invention also provides for a wood-derived fuel with a low ash content.

A treatment system for remediating some forms of sulfur, CO.sub.2, and other contaminants/impurities from a gas stream includes at least one of a process vessel and a treatment coil. Each of the vessel and treatment coil have internals, different in design from each other, which promote intimate mixing and extended contact time between a treatment composition and a gas being treated. The vessel, which additionally facilitates vapor/liquid separation, operates about one-half to two-thirds full of liquid treatment composition. In some embodiments, the treatment coil is a serpentine arrangement of piping, into which the atomized treatment composition is injected on a continuous basis.

A treatment system for remediating some forms of sulfur, CO.sub.2, and other contaminants/impurities from a gas stream includes at least one of a process vessel and a treatment coil. Each of the vessel and treatment coil have internals, different in design from each other, which promote intimate mixing and extended contact time between a treatment composition and a gas being treated. The vessel, which additionally facilitates vapor/liquid separation, operates about one-half to two-thirds full of liquid treatment composition. In some embodiments, the treatment coil is a serpentine arrangement of piping, into which the atomized treatment composition is injected on a continuous basis.

A system for the hydrothermal carbonization of a flowable biomass comprises a pump, a heat exchanger and a tubular reactor. The pump is connected to the heat exchanger via a delivery conduit for the flowable biomass, and the heat exchanger is connected to the tubular reactor via a connecting conduit. The heat exchanger contains an insert element and the tubular reactor contains no insert element.

A combustible pellet drying system includes a valveless pulse combustor and a drying column. The drying column includes a first drying region and optionally a second drying region. The first drying region receives heated drying gas from the pulse combustor to dry a quantity of moist pellets flowing downwardly through the drying column. Moisture-laden exhaust gas from the first drying region is processed by a condenser to remove water and recover thermal energy therefrom, and to produce a cooled dried exhaust gas which may be reheated by passing through a jacket around the pulse combustor. The reheated dry gas is introduced into the second drying region to further dry the pellets. The second drying region is preferably a downwardly expanding cone configuration. The drying column includes a plurality of temperature sensors. Adjacent temperature sensors may be used to determine a level of pellets within the drying column. The combustible pellets are preferably coal pellets.

The invention relates to a method for the treatment of natural gas containing carbon dioxide, methane and paraffins. The method comprising: a step of extracting the paraffins from the natural gas in a paraffin-removal column, and a step of separating the carbon dioxide and the methane in a distillation column. The operation of the two columns being provided by means of the thermal coupling of said two columns using a thermal coupling heat exchanger.

The purpose is to produce inactivated coal in a short time while preventing spontaneous combustion. A coal inactivation processing apparatus for inactivating coal with an oxygen-containing process gas, wherein the coal inactivation processing apparatus comprises a kiln assembly (103) for passing coal (4) from the base-end side to the distal-end side therein, base-end-side process gas supply means (121-125) for supplying a process gas (13) to the base-end side of the interior of the kiln assembly (103), distal-end-side process gas supply means (131-135) for supplying a process gas (14) to the distal-end side of the interior of the kiln assembly (103), process gas oxygen concentration adjusting means (124a, 134a, 135, 136a) for adjusting the oxygen concentration of the process gases (13, 14) supplied into the kiln assembly (103), and a cooling device (160) for cooling the coal (4) inside the kiln assembly (103).

Provided is a carbon fuel pneumatic dryer in which synthesis gas generated in a reactor is fed and cooled, including: a feeding part formed as a narrow pipe, via which synthesis gas and carbon fuel are fed; a drying part formed as a pipe having a larger diameter than the feeding part, in which the hot synthesis gas fed via the feeding part is cooled and the moisture content of the carbon fuel is lowered; and a conveying part formed as a pipe having a smaller diameter than the drying part such that the flow velocity of the synthesis gas and the carbon fuel having passed the drying part is increased, wherein the conveying part includes a bend so that the flow direction of the synthesis gas and the carbon fuel is changed.