Reactor/separator elements for performing the generation and/or separation of hydrogen gas with improved efficiency have a central core and a separation layer that, in combination, define at least one spiral gas flow channel extending from one end of the central core to the opposite end of the central core. In use, the reactor/separator element may be placed in a housing which constrains gas on the outside of the reactor/separator element into the spiral channel defined by the outside of the separation layer.

The application provides a catalyst for producing ethylene and propylene from methanol and/or dimethyl ether, and a preparation and application thereof. In the present application, a molecular sieve catalyst co-modified by rare earth metals and silanization is utilized. First, the material containing methanol and/or dimethyl ether reacts on the catalyst to generate hydrocarbons. The hydrocarbons are separated into a C.sub.1-C.sub.5 component and a C.sub.6.sup.+ component. Then the C.sub.6.sup.+ component is recycled to the feeding port and fed into the reactor after mixing with methanol and/or dimethyl ether. The above steps are repeated, to finally generate C.sub.1-C.sub.5 products, in which the selectivity for ethylene and propylene can reach more than 90 wt % in the C.sub.1-C.sub.5 component, so that the maximal yield can be achieved in the production of ethylene and propylene from methanol and/or dimethyl ether.

A method for producing a hydroisomerization catalyst includes a first step of preparing a support precursor by heating a mixture containing an ion-exchanged zeolite and a binder, the ion-exchanged zeolite being prepared by ion-exchanging an organic template-containing zeolite which contains an organic template and has a one-dimensional pore structure including a 10-membered ring in a solution containing ammonium ions and/or protons, at a temperature of 250 to 350° C. under N.sub.2 atmosphere, and a second step of preparing a hydroisomerization catalyst, which is prepared by calcining a catalyst precursor, the catalyst precursor being prepared based on the support precursor containing a platinum salt and/or a palladium salt, at a temperature of 350 to 400° C. in an atmosphere containing molecular oxygen, the hydroisomerization catalyst containing a support which includes a zeolite and carries platinum and/or palladium.

The invention provides a process for preparing an olefin, comprising: (a) reacting an oxygenate, in a reaction zone in the presence of a molecular sieve catalyst, at a temperature from 350 to 1000° C., to produce a effluent stream, comprising at least oxygenate, olefin, water and acidic by-products; (b) cooling the reaction effluent stream by an indirect heat exchange to a temperature greater than the dew point temperature of effluent stream; (c) further rapidly cooling the effluent stream to a temperature lower than the dew point temperature of the effluent stream by direct injection of an aqueous liquid into the effluent stream, to form a quench effluent stream; and (d) passing the quench effluent stream into a quench tower and contacting the quench effluent stream with a second aqueous liquid in the presence of at least one set of internals, to produce a quench tower gaseous stream comprising the olefin.

A process for the acid-catalyzed dehydration of ethanol, the process comprising the steps of distilling an ethanol feedstock (101) comprising at least one nitrogen-containing contaminant to form an overhead stream (102) and a bottom stream comprising ethanol (103), wherein the distillation has a reflux ratio of at least 20:1; and reacting the bottom stream in the presence of an acid catalyst to form a product stream comprising ethylene.

The present disclosure relates to a material preferably used in a guard bed, and having an increased capacity to adsorb catalyst poisons, as measured by collidine update at 200° C. The material is made by a method in which it is treated by being dried with a drying gas, preferably, at a temperature greater than about 200° C. The treated material may be used to remove impurities from untreated feed streams to, for example, aromatic alkylation and transalkylation processes, where such impurities act as catalyst poisons that cause deactivation of the acidic molecular sieve-based catalysts used, thereby increasing the cycle length of such catalysts.

The invention relates to a method for producing limonene comprising or consisting of the following steps: (a) providing beta-pinene or a beta-pinene containing starting material; (b) admixing the starting material with a catalytically effective amount of a MWW-type zeolite; (C) heating the reaction mixture to a temperature in the range of between 60 and 100° C.; and optionally (d) separating the limonene or a limonene-enriched fraction from the sump.

Process for the preparation of a catalyst and a catalyst comprising the use of more than one silica source is provided herein. Thus, in one embodiment, the invention provides a particulate FCC catalyst comprising about 5 to about 60 wt % one or more zeolites, about 15 to about 35 wt % quasicrystalline boehmite (QCB), about 0 to about 35 wt % microcrystalline boehmite (MCB), greater than about 0 to about 15 wt % silica from sodium stabilized basic colloidal silica, greater than about 0 to about 30 wt % silica from acidic colloidal silica or polysilicic acid, and the balance clay and the process for making the same. This process results in attrition resistant catalysts with a good accessibility.

A process for aromatizing hydrocarbons comprises: converting at least a portion of highly branched hydrocarbons in a feed stream into selectively convertible components, and aromatizing the selectively convertible components to produce an aromatization reactor effluent. The aromatization reactor effluent comprises an aromatic product. Converting at least the portion of the highly branched hydrocarbons into the selectively convertible components may include contacting the feed stream with an isomerization catalyst in an isomerization reaction system under isomerization reaction conditions; and isomerizing the portion of the highly branched hydrocarbons in the feed stream into the selectively convertible components.

In a process and system for treatment of feed stocks comprising alkylating agent and metal salts, the metal salts are removed from the feedstock by an efficient combination of separations processes. The processes may take place in one or more stages, each stage taking place in one or more vessels. Such treatment processes may remove 99.9% or more of metal salts from a feedstock, while recovering 99.9% or more of the alkylating agent from the feedstock for use in an alkylation reaction, especially of aromatics such as toluene and benzene. Preferred alkylating agents include methanol and mixtures of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, for methylation of toluene and/or benzene. The methylation proceeds over an aluminosilicate catalyst and preferably yields para-xylene with 75% or greater selectivity.