The present invention discloses systems and methods for supplying hot water for primary extraction in the oil sands bitumen extraction process. Direct contact process and method for producing hot water using mature fine tailings are provided by employing a double staged submerge arrangement with a thickener vessel containing a submerged fuel burner and a hot water vessel containing a submerged fuel burner, a flash submerged arrangement with a flash concentrator vessel containing or adjacent to a fuel burner and a hot water vessel containing a submerged fuel burner or a triple cascade arrangement with a flash concentrator vessel, a thickener vessel containing a submerged fuel burner and a hot water vessel containing a submerged fuel burner.

Pitch production systems utilizing coal tar or decant oil for coal or petroleum based pitch are disclosed. Total pitch production yields are increased by heat treating distillate fractions from the pitch production process. A heat treatment system and process are disclosed in embodiments. The heaviest distillates having the highest molecular weights are subjected to heat treatment, though other embodiments contemplate heat treating a variety of combined distillate fractions. The heat treatment systems require heat soaking the distillate(s) at elevated temperatures of 459-535° C. at a near-constant temperature with near-uniform flow. A fraction of the heat-treated distillate may be reintroduced to the pitch production system as part of a continuous process.

Methods are provided to prepare a low sulfur fuel from hydrocarbon sources, such as light tight oil and high sulfur fuel oil, often less desired by conventional refiners, who split crude into a wide range of differing products and may prefer presence of wide ranges (C3 or C5 to C20 or higher) of hydrocarbons. These fuels can be produced by separating feeds into untreated and treated streams, and then recombining them. Such fuels can also be formulated by combinations of light, middle and heavy range constituents in a selected manner as claimed. Not only low in sulfur, the fuels of this invention are also low in nitrogen and essentially metals free. Fuel use applications include on-board large marine transport vessels but also on-shore for large land based combustion gas turbines, boilers, fired heaters and transport vehicles and trains.

Methods and systems for producing mesophasic (between liquid and solid phases) carbon materials from plastic waste. The method and system includes a 2-stage pyrolysis reactor, including first and second pyrolysis stages where a carbon feedstock material is subjected to pyrolysis. The first pyrolysis stage may subject the carbon feedstock material to pyrolysis at a first temperature in a range of 500° C. to 700° C., and the second pyrolysis stage may operate at a second temperature in a range of 800° C. to 1000° C., providing secondary gas phase reactions (SGR). A residence time of the carbon feedstock material in the reactor may be no more than 10 seconds. After pyrolysis and SGR, a sparging and thermal treatment stage may convert pyrolysis tar products to an anisotropic pitch product suitable for use in production of carbon fiber or bulk graphite for use in fabrication of graphite electrodes.

Methods are provided to prepare a low sulfur fuel from hydrocarbon sources, such as light tight oil and high sulfur fuel oil, often less desired by conventional refiners, who split crude into a wide range of differing products and may prefer presence of wide ranges (C3 or C5 to C20 or higher) of hydrocarbons. These fuels can be produced by separating feeds into untreated and treated streams, and then recombining them. Such fuels can also be formulated by combinations of light, middle and heavy range constituents in a selected manner as claimed. Not only low in sulfur, the fuels of this invention are also low in nitrogen and essentially metals free. Fuel use applications include on-board large marine transport vessels but also on-shore for large land based combustion gas turbines, boilers, fired heaters and transport vehicles and trains.

Methods are provided to prepare a low sulfur fuel from hydrocarbon sources, such as light tight oil and high sulfur fuel oil, often less desired by conventional refiners, who split crude into a wide range of differing products and may prefer presence of wide ranges (C3 or C5 to C20 or higher) of hydrocarbons. These fuels can be produced by separating feeds into untreated and treated streams, and then recombining them. Such fuels can also be formulated by combinations of light, middle and heavy range constituents in a selected manner as claimed. Not only low in sulfur, the fuels of this invention are also low in nitrogen and essentially metals free. Fuel use applications include on-board large marine transport vessels but also on-shore for large land based combustion gas turbines, boilers, fired heaters and transport vehicles and trains.

Pitch production systems utilizing coal tar or decant oil for coal or petroleum based pitch are disclosed. Total pitch production yields are increased by heat treating distillate fractions from the pitch production process. A heat treatment system and process are disclosed in embodiments. The heaviest distillates having the highest molecular weights are subjected to heat treatment, though other embodiments contemplate heat treating a variety of combined distillate fractions. The heat treatment systems require heat soaking the distillate(s) at elevated temperatures of 459-535° C. at a near-constant temperature with near-uniform flow. A fraction of the heat-treated distillate may be reintroduced to the pitch production system as part of a continuous process.

Methods are provided to prepare a low sulfur fuel from hydrocarbon sources, such as light tight oil and high sulfur fuel oil, often less desired by conventional refiners, who split crude into a wide range of differing products and may prefer presence of wide ranges (C3 or C5 to C20 or higher) of hydrocarbons. These fuels can be produced by separating feeds into untreated and treated streams, and then recombining them. Such fuels can also be formulated by combinations of light, middle and heavy range constituents in a selected manner as claimed. Not only low in sulfur, the fuels of this invention are also low in nitrogen and essentially metals free. Fuel use applications include on-board large marine transport vessels but also on-shore for large land based combustion gas turbines, boilers, fired heaters and transport vehicles and trains.

A method of producing advanced carbon materials can include providing coal to a processing facility, beneficiating the coal to remove impurities from the coal, processing the beneficiated coal to produce a pitch, and treating the pitch to produce an advanced carbon material such as carbon fibers, carbon nanotubes, graphene, resins, polymers, biomaterials, or other carbon materials.

Producing mesophase pitch from liquid hydrocarbon feed comprising multi-ring aromatic compounds. In a first stage reactor feed is converted to isotropic pitch product contaminated with mesophase pitch. Contaminated isotropic pitch is charged to a second stage reactor where mesophase formation by self-assembly into spherical crystal clusters produces a mesophase pitch product. Water or steam added to the first stage reactor increases conversion of aromatic liquid feed, increases mesophase contamination of isotropic pitch product and reduces coke formation in the isotropic pitch reactor.