Systems and methods for heating material through cogeneration of thermal and electrical energy can include a heat source and an electric generator configured to produce hot exhaust gas and electricity. One or more heating conduits can carry the hot exhaust gas to one or more bodies of material. The electric generator can at least partially power one or more electric heaters configured to reheat the hot exhaust gas after a portion of heat has been transferred from the hot exhaust gas to the one or more bodies of material.

Embodiments of the present invention include a novel continuous or semi-continuous process which results in the partial or total improvement of heavy oil. The improvement of the heavy oil is a result of thermally heating the oil at an interval where visbreaking occurs, thereby reducing a viscosity of the heavy oil. The core of the heating step occurs through a heating apparatus of the packed bed type including superparamagnetic, paramagnetic, and/or magnetic materials.

An apparatus and process for desulfurization of hydrocarbon feeds is disclosed in which pure nitrous oxide, or a mixture of nitrous oxide and oxygen or air, is used as a gaseous oxidant. Organosulfur compounds are converted to their corresponding oxides sulfones and/or sulfoxides in an oxidation reactor, and oxides are subsequently removed from the oxidation reactor effluent to recover a reduced sulfur-content hydrocarbon product.

Methods and systems for converting inactive chemicals into active chemicals in-situ for treating oil and gas pipelines, other industrial systems, or sanitizing surfaces. Also, methods of treating an oil and gas pipeline including feeding an inactive additive through a first conduit and into a second conduit, the second conduit is in fluid communication with the first conduit and the oil and gas pipeline. The inactive additive is converted into an active additive within the second conduit and introduced into the oil and gas pipeline.

The present invention provides methods, reactor systems and catalysts for converting biomass and biomass-derived feedstocks to C.sub.8+ hydrocarbons using heterogenous catalysts. The product stream may be separated and further processed for use in chemical applications, or as a neat fuel or a blending component in jet fuel and diesel fuel, or as heavy oils for lubricant and/or fuel oil applications.

Methods for regenerating a spent catalyst are disclosed. Such methods may employ a step of chlorinating the spent catalyst in the gas phase, followed by decoking the chlorinated spent catalyst, and then fluorinating the de-coked catalyst in a fluorine-containing solution of a fluorine-containing compound.

A process for the generation of energy and/or hydrocarbons and other products utilizing carbonaceous materials. In a first process stage (P1) the carbonaceous materials are supplied and are pyrolysed, wherein pyrolysis coke (M21) and pyrolysis gas (M22) are formed. In a second process stage (P2), the pyrolysis coke (M21) from the first process stage (P1) is gasified, wherein synthesis gas (M24) is formed, and slag and other residues (M91, M92, M93, M94) are removed. In a third process stage (P3), the synthesis gas (M24) from the second process stage (P2) is converted into hydrocarbons and/or other solid, liquid, and/or gaseous products (M60), which are discharged. The three process stages (P1, P2, P3) form a closed cycle. Surplus gas (M25) from the third process stage (P3) is passed as recycle gas into the first process stage (P1), and/or the second process stage (P2), and pyrolysis gas (M22) from the first process stage (P1) is passed into the second process stage (P2), and/or the third process stage (P3).

A method of monitoring renewable carbon in fuel streams in a refinery or blend facility while co-processing a bio-feedstock with a fossil feedstock or blending a renewable product with a fossil product wherein the method provides for quantification of renewable C14 carbon content to adjust the total renewable content to a targeted renewable content in situ while lowering the limit of detection.

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.

Assemblies and methods to enhance hydrotreating and fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) processes associated with a refining operation, during the processes, may include supplying a hydrocarbon feedstock to a cat feed hydrotreater (CFH) processing unit to produce CFH unit materials. The assemblies and methods also may include conditioning 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 material properties, a FCC processing assembly, so that the prescriptively controlling results in causing the processes to produce CFH materials, intermediate materials, the unit materials, and/or the downstream materials having properties within selected ranges of target properties, thereby to cause the processes to achieve material outputs that more accurately and responsively converge on one or more of the target properties.