A process is described for the production of formaldehyde, comprising (a) subjecting methanol to oxidation with air in a formaldehyde production unit thereby producing a formaldehyde-containing stream; (b) separating said formaldehyde-containing stream into a formaldehyde product stream and a formaldehyde vent gas stream; wherein the vent gas stream, optionally after treatment in a vent gas treatment unit, is passed to one or more stages of: (i) synthesis gas generation, (ii) carbon dioxide removal, (iii) methanol synthesis or (iv) urea synthesis.

An industrial high temperature reformer and the reforming method in which a temperature of the reforming furnace is maintained at 1000 C. or higher by burning the coke, and a temperature of at least an upper half of the reforming furnace is maintained at 1200 C. or higher by burning the syngas, thereby producing syngas at a capacity of 500 m.sup.3/hour or more by reforming all carbonaceous feedstock which is supplied to the reforming furnace.

A method is provided for thermally processing waste to produce steam and generate energy while minimizing air pollutants in a staged thermal reactor. The method includes gasifying the waste to convert the waste to a fuel gas and a substantially carbon free, inert, granulated, sintered mineral ash and reforming the fuel gas auto-thermally to minimize creation of nitrogen oxide when the fuel gas is combusted. The method further includes burning the reformed fuel gas to minimize creation of nitrogen oxide in a flame region of a fuel gas burner and recirculating cooled flue gas to control oxygen content and temperature during the reforming operation and the burning operation. In one example, reforming the fuel gas converts non-molecular nitrogen species into molecular nitrogen in an auto-thermal non-catalytic reformer unit by decomposition reactions promoted by a prevailing reducing gas atmosphere.

An industrial high temperature reformer and the reforming method in which a temperature of the reforming furnace is maintained at 1000 C. or higher by burning the coke, and a temperature of at least an upper half of the reforming furnace is maintained at 1200 C. or higher by burning the syngas, thereby producing syngas at a capacity of 500 m.sup.3/hour or more by reforming all carbonaceous feedstock which is supplied to the reforming furnace.

An apparatus is provided that receives waste and generates electrical power or thermal energy with minimal NOx emissions. A gasifier is provided that receives the waste and air to produce fuel gas for delivery to a fluidly coupled reformer. The reformer receives the fuel gas, recycled flue gas, and air to auto-thermally produce a reformed fuel gas and destroy fuel gas pollutants at a first temperature without a catalyst. A burner is fluidly coupled to the reformer and receives recycled flue gas and air to oxidize the reformed fuel gas at a second temperature that prevents nitrogen oxide formation, the second temperature being lower than the first temperature. A quench chamber is fluidly coupled to the burner and receives flue gas from the burner for quenching with recycled flue gas. A heat recovery system is fluidly coupled to the reformer, burner, and quench chamber to extract usable energy.

A combined generation system according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises: a natural gas synthesizing apparatus for receiving coal and oxygen, generating synthetic gas by a gasifier, and permitting the synthetic gas to pass through a methanation reactor so as to synthesize methane; a fuel cell apparatus for receiving fuel that contains methane from the natural gas synthesizing apparatus and generating electrical energy; and a generating apparatus for producing electrical energy using the fluid discharged from the fuel cell apparatus.

It is provided a process for increasing production of carbon monoxide (CO) and recycling carbon dioxide when treating synthesis gas using a carbon dioxide-to-carbon monoxide conversion unit, such as a Reverse Water Gas Shift (RWGS) reactor, converting excess CO.sub.2 from the produced syngas to additional CO, using an external source of green, renewable or low carbon intensity hydrogen.

A process is described for the production of formaldehyde, comprising (a) subjecting methanol to oxidation with air in a formaldehyde production unit thereby producing a formaldehyde-containing stream; (b) separating said formaldehyde-containing stream into a formaldehyde product stream and a formaldehyde vent gas stream; wherein the vent gas stream, optionally after treatment in a vent gas treatment unit, is passed to one or more stages of: (i) synthesis gas generation, (ii) carbon dioxide removal, (iii) methanol synthesis or (iv) urea synthesis.

A process is described for the production of formaldehyde, comprising (a) subjecting methanol to oxidation with air in a formaldehyde production unit thereby producing a formaldehyde-containing stream; (b) separating said formaldehyde-containing stream into a formaldehyde product stream and a formaldehyde vent gas stream; wherein the vent gas stream, optionally after treatment in a vent gas treatment unit, is passed to one or more stages of: (i) synthesis gas generation, (ii) carbon dioxide removal, (iii) methanol synthesis or (iv) urea synthesis.

Processes are disclosed that utilize beneficial reactions downstream of carbonaceous feed (e.g., biomass) oxidative conversion technologies, and advantageously under conditions (e.g., high temperatures) and/or with the syngas effluent quality (e.g., having particulates and/or other impurities) characteristic of raw syngas exiting such technologies (e.g., prior to, or upstream of, certain syngas purification operations). Such conversion technologies utilize an oxygen-containing feed or, more broadly, an oxidant-containing feed. The beneficial reactions may be carried out by the introduction of hydrogen for performing the reverse water-gas shift (RWGS) reaction and/or by the introduction of one or more hydrocarbons (e.g., methane, ethane, and/or propane) for performing the dry reforming reaction. These and other reactions can advantageously adjust the composition of the syngas obtained (e.g., as the raw syngas from an oxidative conversion technology) in a manner benefitting its subsequent use in providing value-added products such as liquid hydrocarbons.