Abstract: Heavy hydrocarbon feedstocks, e.g. gas oils, are vaporized and subsequently gasified at high temperatures without pyrolytic degradation by first admixing the hydrocarbon with a hot gaseous reactant, e.g. product gas or steam, to bring the temperature of the mixture above that of the dew point of the hydrocarbon and thereafter raising the temperature of the mixture to above that at which pyrolysis of the hydrocarbon begins to be significant by admixture with further quantities of the reactant which are superheated thereby to bring the temperature of the resultant mixture to that required for effecting a catalytic gasification reaction.

Abstract: Hydrocarbon oils, particularly oils which have a high boiling temperature, are treated to remove organic sulphur compounds by subjecting a mixture of a hydrogenating gas, e.g. a gas containing at least 90% v/v hydrogen and is substantially free from carbon oxides, and partially vaporized oil to a hydrogenation reaction over a known hydrogenation catalyst and thereafter passing the resulting liquid/vapor mixture which also contains hydrogen sulphide over zinc oxide, thereby to remove the hydrogen sulphide.