Exxonmobil Technology and Engineering Company

Exxonmobil Research and Engineering Company

Herbert W Barry

Brian Michael Weiss

Ajit Bhaskar Dandekar

Walter Weissman

Randall David Partridge

John Frances Brody

Tilman W Beutel

Benjamin A McCool

Changmin Chun

Kanmi Mao

Sophie Liu

Shamel Merchant

Gerardo J Majano Sanchez

Michael R Harper, Jr

Barrington S Goldson

Brian M P Weiss

Justin R Johnson

Faria Nusrat

Systems and methods are provided for using a reverse flow reactor (or another reactor with flows in opposing directions at different parts of a process cycle) for pyrolysis of hydrocarbons. The systems and methods can include a reactor that includes a combustion catalyst to initiate and/or maintain combustion within the reactor in a controlled manner during the heating and/or regeneration portion(s) of the reaction cycle. A fuel can also be used that has a greater resistance to auto-combustion, such as a fuel that is composed primarily of methane and/or other hydrocarbons. During operation, the temperature in at least an initial portion of the reactor can be maintained at a temperature so that auto-ignition of the auto-combustion resistant fuel injected during the heating step(s) is reduced or minimized. This can allow combustion to be initiated when the auto-combustion resistant fuel comes into contact with the catalyst. Additionally, the amount and positioning of the catalyst within the reactor can be controlled so that combustion of the fuel takes place over a substantially longer period of time than combustion during a conventional reactor heating step. Because the fuel is moving within the reactor during combustion, extending the combustion time results in a substantial expansion of the volume where combustion occurs. Optionally in combination with an improved reaction cycle, this can expand the portion of the reactor that is directly heated by combustion, allowing for an improved temperature distribution within the reactor during the pyrolysis step.

Heat source for pyrolysis process

Sulfur-tolerant reforming catalysts that include bulk alumina in the catalyst support are provided. The sulfur-tolerant reforming catalysts can include a sulfur-tolerant catalytic metal to facilitate reforming. The catalyst can further include a support material that includes at least some alumina as bulk alumina and/or octahedrally coordinated alumina. The sulfur-tolerant reforming catalysts can be regenerated, such as periodically regenerated, under relatively mild conditions that allow the catalysts to maintain reforming activity in the presence of 1 vppm to 1000 vppm of sulfur in the feed for reforming.

Reforming using sulfur-tolerant reforming catalyst

Systems and methods are provided for performing selective catalytic reduction on engine exhaust using ethanol from the engine fuel as the reducing agent. Fuel from a fuel tank or other fuel source can be passed through a separation module to produce a fuel stream with a reduced ethanol content and an ethanol-enriched fraction. After combustion of fuel under lean conditions, the combustion exhaust can be exposed to a catalyst system in the presence of the ethanol-enriched fraction.

Treatment of combustion exhaust

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Yardville, NJ, United States of America

Herbert W Barry