The present invention provides a method (1) and system for the removal of tar from a synthesis gas (10) using a chemical loop (23). A first reactor (20, 55) is fed with mineral particles and the synthesis gas. The mineral particles catalyse the tar in the synthesis gas to produce a mixture comprising hydrogen and a mineral carbonate. A second reactor (15, 70) is fed with oxygen and the mineral carbonate. The oxygen reacts with the mineral carbonate to produce a flue gas (25) comprising carbon dioxide and mineral particles, which are then separated and the mineral particles are recycled to the first reactor.

Methods and systems for enhancing hydrocarbon processing in a fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit by introducing a renewable feedstock into the FCC unit at alternative locations of the FCC unit to increase residence time and promote a higher degree of FCC feedstock cracking. The renewable feedstock may include one or more of plastic-derived pyrolysis oil or plastic-derived hydrocarbons, biomass-derived pyrolysis oil, municipal waste-derived pyrolysis oil, vegetable based feedstock, animal fat feedstock, algae oil, sugar-derived hydrocarbons, or carbohydrate-derived hydrocarbons. The alternative locations of the FCC unit may include one or more of FCC reactor catalyst bed, an FCC catalyst stripper, at a nozzle located downstream of a gas oil injection point, or at a nozzle located upstream of the gas oil injection point.

The present disclosure includes a system for producing low carbon olefins and/or aromatics from raw material comprising naphtha. The system can include a reaction unit that includes a fast fluidized bed reactor, a stripping unit that includes a stripper, and a regeneration unit. The reactor unit is adapted to allow the catalytic cracking of naphtha and to output reaction unit effluent material (spent catalyst and product gas) into the stripping unit, which is adapted to output product gas. The stripping unit is connected to and in fluid communication with the regeneration unit such that the stripping unit supplies the spent catalyst from the reaction unit to regeneration unit. The regeneration unit is adapted to regenerate the spent catalyst to form regenerated catalyst. The regeneration unit is connected to and in fluid communication with the fast fluidized bed reactor such that, in operation, regenerated catalyst can be sent to the fast fluidized bed reactor of the reaction unit.

A process is presented for the management of sulfur on a catalyst. The catalyst is a dehydrogenation catalyst, and sulfur accumulates during the dehydrogenation process. Sulfur compounds are stripped from the spent catalyst and the catalyst is cooled before the regeneration process. The process includes controlling the amount of sulfur that needs to be removed from the catalyst before regeneration.

A process is presented for the management of sulfur on a catalyst. The catalyst is a dehydrogenation catalyst, and sulfur accumulates during the dehydrogenation process. Sulfur compounds are stripped from the spent catalyst and the catalyst is cooled before the regeneration process. The process includes controlling the amount of sulfur that needs to be removed from the catalyst before regeneration.

A process is disclosed for an improved catalyst stripping process. The stripping vessel is divided into two zones. The first zone is a stripping zone where a substantial portion of the volatile hydrocarbons is removed at higher severity conditions. After the catalyst is stripped, the stripped catalyst moves to the lower cooling zone to be cooled at lower severity conditions. The flow rates, temperatures, pressures and the stripping and cooling zones are designed to ensure there is minimal volatile hydrocarbons on the catalyst by the time it leaves the stripping vessel. This design enables efficient stripping of volatile hydrocarbons at high severity conditions and eliminates these components from being stripped off elsewhere in the unit causing process and equipment issues.

An FCC unit enables the normal regenerator to be eliminated by carrying out catalyst regeneration in the reactor section of the unit using air, oxygen-enriched air or even relatively pure oxygen as the stripping medium in the stripping section of the reactor while maintaining overall reducing conditions so that sulfur and nitrogen are produced in the form of hydrogen sulfide, ammonia and other reduced species. The combustion gases from the stripper are sent from the reactor with the cracking vapors to the FCC main fractionator, wet gas compressor and gas plant to process the by-products of the coke combustion along with the FCC reactor effluent. The principle is applicable to grass-roots FCC units with its potential for elimination of a major unit component but it also has potential for application to existing units to reduce the load on the regenerator or eliminate the need for the existing regenerator so that an existing regenerator may be converted to a parallel or auxiliary reactor system.

A whole crude oil desulfurization system and process includes a combination of an adsorption zone and a hydroprocessing zone. This combined process and system reduces the requisite throughput for the hydroprocessing unit, conventionally a very costly and process both in terms of energy expenditures and catalyst depletion. By first contacting the whole crude oil feedstock with an adsorbent for the sulfur-containing compounds, the adsorption effluent having a relatively lower sulfur content can be collected and provided to refiners without further treatment. The adsorbates, including adsorbed organosulfur compounds, are solvent desorbed resulting in a stream containing high levels of organosulfur compounds and a solvent. Following recovery of the solvent, the volume of the sulfur-containing feedstream that remains to be desulfurized in the hydroprocessing zone is substantially less than the original amount of whole crude oil feedstock.

Processes for cracking hydrocarbons include contacting hydrocarbon feedstocks with conditioned cracking catalyst in a riser reactor to recover an effluent. The effluent is separated to recover a cracked hydrocarbon stream and a spent catalyst. The spent catalyst is contacted with steam, stripping residual hydrocarbons from the spent catalyst, and the stripped catalyst is fed to a catalyst regenerator and regenerated via combustion of coke contained in the spent catalyst, forming a regenerated catalyst and combustion products. The regenerated catalyst, containing entrained combustion products (e.g., NOx, SOx, and COx) including nitrogen from the regenerator, is fed to a catalyst standpipe hopper. The regenerated catalyst containing entrained combustion products is conditioned in the catalyst standpipe hopper by contacting the regenerated catalyst with steam to recover the conditioned catalyst and a vapor stream comprising steam and the combustion products. The conditioned catalyst, depleted of combustion products, is then fed to the riser reactor.

There is provided a hydrocarbon producing apparatus according to the present invention for obtaining a product containing hydrocarbons from a raw material gas by a Fischer-Tropsch synthesis reaction using a reactor containing an FT reaction catalyst exhibiting activity in the FT synthesis reaction, the hydrocarbon producing apparatus including: a purge unit that executes an inert gas purge process that supplies a high-temperature inert gas to the reactor, maintains a temperature in the reactor in a temperature range during the FT synthesis reaction, and reduces a pressure in the reactor, when the FT synthesis reaction is terminated, so that the hydrocarbons adhering to the FT reaction catalyst are vaporized; and a recovery unit that is provided on a downstream side of the reactor, condenses the vaporized hydrocarbons, and recovers the condensed hydrocarbons in a liquid state.