Abstract: Less conventional sources of hydrocarbon feedstocks such as oil sands, tar sands and shale oils are being exploited. These feedstocks generate a larger amount of heavy oil, gas oil, asphaltene products and the like containing multiple fused aromatic ring compounds. These multiple fused aromatic ring compounds can be converted into feed for a hydrocarbon cracker by first hydrogenating at least one ring in the compounds and subjecting the resulting compound to a ring opening and cleavage reaction. The resulting product comprises lower paraffins suitable for feed to a cracker, higher paraffins suitable for example as a gasoline fraction and mono aromatic ring compounds (e.g. BTX) that may be further treated.

Abstract: A stainless steel comprising at least 20 weight % of chromium and at least 1.0 weight % of manganese is adapted to support an overcoating having a thickness from 1 to 10 microns of a spinel of the formula MnxCr3-xO4 wherein x is from 0.5 to 2. Preferably the overcoating is on chromia and has stability against chemical reaction at temperatures at least 25° C. higher than the uncoated chromia.

Abstract: In a radiant heating box there is a convection current which flows over the surface of tubes in the box. Adding ribs to the external surface of vertical tubes provides an enhancement to the heat transfer by convection and increases the heat transfer to the tubes.

Abstract: A stainless steel comprising at least 20 weight % of chromium and at least 1.0 weight % of manganese is adapted to support an overcoating having a thickness from 1 to 10 microns of a spinel of the formula MnxCr3-xO4 wherein x is from 0.5 to 2. Preferably the overcoating is on chromia and has stability against chemical reaction at temperatures at least 25° C. higher than the uncoated chromia.

Abstract: An aromatics/naphthalene rich stream obtained by processing heavy gas oil derived from tar sands and cycle oils derived from cracking heavy gas oil may optionally be blended and subjected to a hydrogenation process and a ring opening reaction typically in the presence of a zeolite, alumina, or silica alumina based catalyst which may contain noble metals and or copper or molybdenum to produce paraffinic feedstocks for further chemical processing.

Abstract: An outermost surface covering not less than 55% of stainless steel, said surface having a thickness from 0.1 to 15 microns and being a spinel of the formula MnxCr3-xO4 wherein x is from 0.5 to 2 is not prone to coking and is suitable for hydrocarbyl reactions such as furnace tubes for cracking.