The invention relates to an integrated method for thermal conversion and indirect combustion of a heavy hydrocarbon feedstock in a redox chemical loop for producing hydrocarbon streams. The heavy hydrocarbon feedstock (1) is brought into contact with inert particles (2) in a thermal conversion zone (100). Thermal conversion in the absence of hydrogen, water vapour and a catalyst produces a first gaseous effluent of hydrocarbon compounds (4) and coke, which effluent is deposited on the inert particles (5). The latter is then burned in a redox chemical loop (200) in the presence of oxygen-carrying solid particles (6). The inert particles thus flow between the thermal conversion zone (100) and a reduction zone (300) of the chemical loop while the oxygen-carrying solid particles flow between the oxidation (400) and reduction zones (300) of the chemical loop.

A feed system for a reactor, a reactor assembly comprising such a feed system, and a method of supplying a feed material to a reactor with a feed system are provided. The reactor may be a pyrolysis reactor, such as a fluidised bed pyrolysis reactor. A method of pyrolysing a feed material is also provided. The feed system may comprise a feed conduit extending from an inlet to an outlet, and may have a first section including the inlet and a second section including the outlet. The first section may accommodate an auger. The second section may comprise at least one plug forming zone in which feed material is compressed into a substantially gas-tight plug during operation. There may be a temperature regulator for controlling the temperature in the second section. The temperature regulator may comprise a cooling jacket.

The present invention relates to a fluidized bed reactor comprising a reaction chamber for particulate matter, the reaction chamber having at least one particulate matter inlet (3) for the particulate matter and at least one primary particulate matter outlet for the particulate matter, and a fluidizing grate having multiple openings for an operating fluid to fluidize particulate matter above the fluidizing grate.

A reactor system and control method. The method includes feeding solid fuel and oxygen containing gas to a first fluidized bed reactor to form a fluidized bed of particles and combusting a first portion of the fuel in the bed with the oxygen containing gas to generate hot bed particles and a first stream of hot flue gas, conveying the first stream to the flue gas channel, transferring hot bed particles including a second portion of the solid fuel at a predetermined hot particles transfer rate from the first reactor to a second fluidized bed reactor, feeding fluidizing gas to the second reactor to form a second fluidized bed, and transferring bed particles from the second reactor to the first. The method includes first and second operation modes. In the first, the fluidizing gas is oxygen containing gas and, in the second, the gas includes steam, CO.sub.2, or inert gas.

An external bed type double-fluidized bed system for preventing boiler contamination includes a fluidized bed combustion furnace, a cyclone separator, a coal ash distributor and a fluidized bed pyrolysis furnace. The fluidized bed combustion furnace is connected with the coal ash distributor, the coal ash distributor is connected with the coal ash inlet on a side wall of the fluidized bed combustion furnace through a return feeder with which the coal ash outlet of the fluidized bed pyrolysis furnace is also connected through an external bed, and the return feeder is connected with the fluidized bed combustion furnace. A fuel coal is pyrolyzed in the fluidized bed pyrolysis furnace at a temperature to volatize alkali chlorides into a pyrolysis gas, thereby reducing the content of the alkali chlorides contained in the coal in the fluidized bed combustion furnace and relieving the contamination to a convective heat-absorbing surface.

The invention relates to an improved method for chemical-looping combustion of a solid hydrocarbon-containing feed using a particular configuration of the reduction zone with: a first reaction zone R1 operating under dense fluidized bed conditions; a second reaction zone R2; a fast separation zone S3 for separation of the unburnt solid feed particles, of fly ashes and of the oxygen-carrying material particles within a mixture coming from zone R2; fumes dedusting S4; a particle stream division zone D7, part of the particles being directly recycled to first reaction zone R1, the other part being sent to an elutriation separation zone S5 in order to collect the ashes through a line 18 and to recycle the dense particles through a line 20 to first reaction zone R1. The invention also relates to a chemical-looping combustion plant allowing said method to be implemented.

The present invention demonstrates a solid fuel grade gasification-combustion dual bed poly-generation system, comprising a combustion system, a gasification system, a synthesized gas cooling and purifying system and a synthesized gas methanization system. The combustion system is connected with the gasification system through a circulating material return system. The gasification system mainly adapts the circulating fluidized-bed combustion mode. The gasification system adapts the fluidized-bed incomplete gasification method and the generated semi-coke is returned to the combustion system for re-utilization. The synthesized gas purifying and cooling unit adapts water cycling and combustible recycling. The by-products, CO.sub.2 and steam, in the methanization unit can be recovered, so the maximum utilization rate of energy in this system is realized.

The invention relates to a plant and to a method for chemical looping oxidation-reduction combustion of a gaseous hydrocarbon feed, for example natural gas essentially containing methane. According to the invention, catalytic pre-reforming of the feed is performed in a pre-reforming zone comprising a fixed reforming catalyst, while benefiting from a heat transfer between the reduction or oxidation zone of the chemical loop and the pre-reforming zone adjoining the reduction or oxidation zone. Pre-reforming zone (130) and oxidation zone (110) or pre-reforming zone (130) and reduction zone (120) are thus thermally integrated within the same reactor (100) while being separated by at least one thermally conductive separation wall (140).

A method is presented of thermal decomposition to crack ethane and/or higher alkane hydrocarbon feed or the mixture of any of these hydrocarbons to break down into component elements or simpler constituents using heat from a hot metal agent from a chemical looping combustion process.

The invention relates to an oxygen carrier solid, its preparation and its use in a method of combustion of a hydrocarbon feedstock by active mass chemical-looping oxidation-reduction, i.e. chemical-looping combustion (CLC). The solid, which is in the form of particles, comprises an oxidation-reduction active mass composed of metal oxide(s) dispersed in a ceramic matrix comprising at least one oxide with a melting point higher than 1500° C., such as alumina, and has, initially, a specific macroporous texture. The oxygen carrier solid is prepared from an aqueous suspension containing precursor oxide grains for the ceramic matrix that have a specific size, by a spray-drying technique.