Westinghouse Plasma Corporation

Alter Nrg Corp.

Richard Dale Bower

Shyam Vasant Dighe

Aleksandr Gorodetsky

Ivan A Martorell

Mark F Darr

Mark Anthony Montemurro

Shyam V Dighe

Pieter Van Nierop

A plasma gasification reactor vessel having a top section with a conical wall extending up from a bottom section, containing a carbonaceous bed into which plasma is injected by plasma torches, to a roof of the vessel is arranged in ways that can contribute to characteristics of gas flow and solids residence time that are favorable for thoroughness of reactions and yield of useful reactions products. In some cases, such a conical wall is combined in arrangements with other features such as one or more feed ports arranged to give more uniform distribution including examples with a feed port that has a distributive feed mechanism. The roof of the vessel, in some examples, has vertical outlet ports that include intrusions into the interior volume of the reactor proximate the conical wall of the top section. The configurations of outlet ports with intrusions and the configurations of feed ports for more uniform distribution of feed material are also applicable to reactor vessels with other geometries.

Plasma gasification reactor

A system and process for upgrading hydrocarbons such as heavy oils includes a high temperature plasma reactor apparatus, in one or more vessels, into which the oils are introduced along with water, such as steam, to produce lighter hydrocarbon fractions, along with carbon monoxide and hydrogen, that flows to an additional stage where more hydrocarbons and water are introduced for further fractionating reactions facilitated by reaction of carbon monoxide and water to produce carbon dioxide and nascent, or prompt, free radicals of hydrogen. Heavy hydrocarbons upgraded can include heavy oils in the form of tar sands, oil shale, and oil residuals. The vessel or vessels can each contain a carbonaceous bed facilitating the described reactions and example embodiments include one vessel with the reactions performed in a single bed and, also, two vessels with the reactions performed in a carbonaceous bed portion in each vessel.

System and process for upgrading heavy hydrocarbons

A system and process for upgrading hydrocarbons such as heavy oils includes high temperature plasma reactor apparatus, in one or more vessels, into which the oils are introduced along with water, such as steam, to produce lighter hydrocarbon fractions, along with carbon monoxide and hydrogen, that flows to an additional stage where more hydrocarbons and water are introduced for further fractionating reactions facilitated by reaction of carbon monoxide and water to produce carbon dioxide and nascent, or prompt, free radicals of hydrogen. Heavy hydrocarbons upgraded can include heavy oils in the form of tar sands, oil shale, and oil residuals. The vessel or vessels can each contain a carbonaceous bed facilitating the described reactions and example embodiments include one vessel with the reactions performed in a single bed and, also, two vessels with the reactions performed in a carbonaceous bed portion in each vessel.

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Calgary, Canada

Richard Dale Bower