Abstract: A whisker growing furnace having a plurality of removable reaction plates mounted therein. A whisker collecting apparatus removes the plates one at a time from the furnace without shutting down the furnace or stopping the whisker growing process. The whisker collection apparatus includes a whisker stripper for stripping the whiskers from the plate as the plate is removed from the furnace. The plate is then returned to the furnace for further processing as the plate is coated with fresh catalyst.

Abstract: A catalytic cracking process and apparatus operates with multiple feed injection points to a riser reactor with several enlarged regions. An elutriable catalyst mixture is used, comprising a conventionally sized cracking catalyst and a faster settling, shape selective additive cracking catalyst. Straight run naphtha, and a light, H.sub.2 -rich aliphatic stream are added to the base of a riser reactor. A resid feed is added higher up in the riser, with a gas oil and recycled heavy cycle oil and naphtha streams added even higher up in the riser. The riser has an elutriating base, and an elutriating upper portion, which increase residence time of the shape selective zeolite additive relative to the conventionally sized cracking catalyst.

Abstract: A reaction tube of a reaction apparatus includes a circular cylindrical inner tube and an intermediate tube disposed concentrically with the inner tube. A catalyst used in reforming reactions is charged in the gap between the inner and the intermediate tubes. The inner tube accommodates filler particles and is provided with a hollow member disposed therein in contact with the filler particles and capable of absorbing stress resulting from thermal expansion of the filler particles. By virtue of the provision of the hollow member which absorbs thermal stress of the filler particles that are caused to undergo thermal expansion by a high-temperature gas, such as a combustion gas, flowing through the inside of the inner tube, the apparatus is capable of preventing any deformation or breakage of the inner tube.

Abstract: An improved system for converting crude aqueous methanol feedstock or the like to olefinic hydrocarbons in contact with a medium pore shape selective crystalline acid zeolite catalyst, wherein the improvement comprises feedstock preparation means contacting the aqueous methanol feedstock with a liquid propane-rich hydrocarbon extractant under liquid extraction conditions, means for recovering an aqueous phase containing the major amount of water introduced with the feedstock, means for recovering an organic extract phase comprising the hydrocarbon extractant and a portion of methanol introduced in the feedstock, and reactor means for converting the extracted methanol at elevated temperature under catalytic reaction conditions to produce predominantly olefinic hydrocarbons.

Abstract: A regenerative bed incinerator 10 incorporates a dwell chamber 18 disposed between a pair of spaced regenerative heat exchange the beds 14A and 14B, one of which serves as a gas preheating bed and the other of which serves as a gas cooling bed. At periodic intervals, the direction of flow through the incinerator 10 is reversed so that the functions of the beds 14A and 14B is reversed. A hot gas vent duct 80 is provided for selectively bypassing a portion 7 of the hot, incinerated process exhaust gases 5 around the gas cooling bed into the gas exhaust duct 70 for venting to the atmosphere. A bypass damper 88, which is controlled by control means 86 in responsive to exit gas temperature measurements from thermocouple 90, is positioned in the hot gas vent duct 80 to control the amount of hot, incinerated process exhaust gases bypass around the gas cooling bed.

Abstract: The invention is directed to a flow tester for air wherein at least two different materials are accommodated in at least two supply chambers. A visible aerosol is formed when the materials are mixed. The flow tester is improved with respect to an optimal adjustment of the mixing ratio of the components as well as providing a reduction of the flow resistance. The flow tester includes at least two supply chambers which are connected in parallel with respect to the flow therethrough.

Abstract: This application is directed to a process and apparatus for regenerating an elutriable mixture of fluidized catalytic cracking (FCC) catalyst and a demetallizing additive. Deactivated catalyst and coke containing additive are added to a single dense bed regenerator. Within the regenerator, differences in settling velocity segregate the elutriable mixture into a lower dense bed containing most of the additive and a contiguous upper dense bed containing most of the FCC catalyst. Some regeneration gas is added to the lower dense bed to at least partially decoke the additive, while additional regeneration gas is added to the upper dense bed. Decoked additive and regenerated FCC catalyst are preferably withdrawn separately and charged to a riser reactor for demetallizing and catalytic cracking of heavy feed. Flue gas is withdrawn from the regenerator from a dilute phase vapor space above the single dense bed.

Abstract: A catalytic reactor system for cracking heavy oil in a FCC vertical reactor with lift gas. Olefinic light cracking gas separated from the FCC effluent is upgraded in a catalytic reactor to increase gasoline production. Byproduct light paraffinic gas from the second reactor is recycled to the FCC reactor as lift gas.

Abstract: An axial flow carbon black reactor for producing carbon black particles having a relatively narrow particle size distribution. Feedstock oil is introduced into the reactor by a spray nozzle located coaxial with the longitudinal center line of the reactor. The oil spray flows either in the countercurrent or the concurrent direction relative to the flow of hot gas through the reactor and produces an oil spray pattern covering either substantially the entire frontal area of the hot gas flow or substantially less than the frontal area. Countercurrent feedstock flow increases coverage of the gas flow area by the oil spray and narrows the particle size distribution of carbon black produced by the reactor, and concurrent feedstock flow produces the opposite result.

Abstract: An improved extraction and reactor system for reacting crude aqueous alcohol feedstock with iso-olefinic hydrocarbons to produce tertiary-alkyl ethers. This system is useful in extracting crude methanol in MTBE production.

Abstract: A method of culturing cells by providing a highly gassed media on a continuous basis to cells grown in a hollow fiber cartridge includes entraining the media with gas above the gas solubility level of the media. The media is then permitted to rest in a substantially quiescent state so that non-solubilized gas leaves the media. The media is then pressurized prior to delivery to the hollow fibers sufficiently so that the pressure drop and/or flow disturbance in the cell culturing device does not decrease the gas solubility level of the media below the media's gas saturation point.

Abstract: Method of retrofitting catalyst coolers onto FCC regenerators and a cooler configuration specially suited for FCC regenerators uses a large manway or accessway commonly provided on the FCC regenerator to overcome the problems usually associated with finding a suitable space and clearance for the incorporation of a catalyst cooler. The catalyst cooler is added to the regenerator by removing the end cover from an existing manway on an FCC regenerator, extending the nozzle to provide a horizontal nozzle extension, attaching a vertical tube section of a catalyst cooler from the lower side of the nozzle extension and providing a new end closure at an opposite end of the nozzle extension. This method and the cooler apparatus minimizes the amount of welding and design work that must be done on the vessel and its associated piping when adding a catalyst cooler.

Abstract: A cell culturing apparatus and a cell culturing method are disclosed. A rack supporting apparatus includes a loop tracking and a plurality of culturing racks connected one after another in series. Each of the culturing racks accommodates culturing containers therein for cell culturing during their travel on the loop tracking. Each of the racks is accessible, through conveyors, to a container handling station where culture medium is filled in the culturing containers and cell inoculation is carried out. The culturing containers processed in the container handling station are automatically accommodated into the rack by an infeed station for starting cell culturing, and the culturing containers in which cell culturing have been performed in the rack are automatically discharged therefrom by a discharge station.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for treating a material with gas or vapour, especially a fumigant, comprises a sealable enclosure device, a pump which may have an inlet for the agent and a heat reservoir, and a long flexible hose to allow the enclosure to be evacuated after treatment and the effluent discharged outside the premises where the material is treated.

Abstract: A method of growing or maintaining mammalian cells comprises applying a culture of the cells to a surface of a porous inorganic membrane support. The support is preferably a transparent anodic aluminium oxide membrane. The support carrying cells (44) growing or being maintained thereon may comprise a short tube (30) and a disc (32) of the porous inorganic membrane, the disc being sealed round its periphery to the tube adjacent one end thereof.

Abstract: The invention relates to an improved sampling device for selectively collecting gaseous and aerosol pollutants contained in polluted air, said device being of the type comprising a cartridge provided with an inlet, an outlet and filtering means, a vacuum pump and means for connecting said pump to the outlet of the cartridge to cause some pulluted air to be drawn through said filtering means, the improvement wherein said filtering means consists of three successive filters and wherein: the first filter is made with a material of such a porosity that it collects aersol pollutants but is permeable to gas; the second filter is positioned downstream of the first filter and consists of a porous substrate impregnated with an effective amount of a chemical compound that reacts with one or more specific harmful or toxic gaseous pollutants to produce therefrom derivatives, said second filter being of such a porosity as to be permeable to air but not to said derivatives; and the third filter is positioned downstream of

Abstract: A static oxygenator for oxygenating a liquid, particularly a suspension culture of animal cells in a liquid culture medium, comprised of a bottom gassing portion comprised of generally concentric vertically oriented hollow cylinders of porous gas-permeable, liquid-impermeable material, and an upper degassing section comprised of vertical extensions of the concentric cylinders such that at least one liquid overflow weir is provided at the juncture between the bottom and upper sections. Gas directed into the bottom of the annular space between the concentric cylinders rises therein and, across the porous material, oxygenates liquid in contact therewith or in proximity thereto up to the point where the liquid overflows the weir, and the gas then continues up the annular space in the vertical extensions for degassing through the porous material above the liquid level.

Abstract: Cell electrofusion apparatus, for example for the production of hybridomas, comprises a flow-through capillary (14) surrounded by a water-cooled jacket (16) and through which a physiologically normal medium (such as a tissue culture fluid) containing cells is pulsed by a pump driven syringe (28), high voltage pulses being applied to electrodes (18) at opposite ends of the channel, which voltage pulses are of a magnitude and duration such that, taking into account the rate of fluid flow through the capillary and the extraction of heat by the cooling means, the temperature of the cell-containing medium is constrained to remain below the limit at which substantial cell damage occurs.

Abstract: A diffusion sampler includes a vessel which has at least one inlet opening exposed to the gas to be investigated and which has a moderating zone. In its interior, the vessel has a collecting region provided with a collecting medium as well as a conversion region for converting the gas into substances which can be taken up by the collecting medium. The diffusion sample is improved in that its detection sensitivity is increased and that the collecting region as well as the converting region are provided with large areas in a manner adapted to the geometry of the vessel so that a smaller and more manipulable configuration is obtained. In addition, long-term dosimetry is made possible. For this purpose, the moderating zone is configured as a permeable barrier from which the converting region as well as the collecting region extend and determine the diffusion path in the entire interior of the vessel with each region being applied to a carrier.

Abstract: The invention in one aspect provides a method of testing drilling mud in use which comprises periodically sampling the circulating mud and analyzing its aqueous filtrate at the rig site by ion chromatography for selected positive and negative ions; one or more other parameters of the sampled mud and/or mud filtrate (e.g. pH, temperature) may also be measured; preferably the composition of the mud filtrate thus monitored is interpreted to indicate downhole interactions, with the composition of the mud supplied to the hole being adjusted to or towards the optimum as drilling proceeds. The invention also provides a method in which the solids of the periodically sampled mud are analyzed at the rig site, e.g. for sorbed ions and/or for cation exchange capacity; the values so obtained are preferably combined with those for the mud filtrate analysis and used in the diagnosis of downhole conditions for adjustment of the composition of freshly supplied mud.