Abstract: An air lance for removing pellets from tubes includes a conduit body having an inlet end and a bottommost discharge opening, and a poker fixed relative to the conduit body and projecting beyond the bottommost discharge opening to serve as a spacer and poker; wherein a rigid member extends along said conduit body, such that that a hammering force applied to said rigid member where it extends outside of the tube will be transmitted through said rigid member to said poker for dislodging and breaking pellets.

Abstract: A loading device for loading pellets into reactor tubes has a modular design, which can be taken apart, moved through a manway, and then reassembled simply by stacking one part on top of another. A reciprocating slide plate and a vibrator work together to meter pellets through the loading device and into the reactor tubes.

Abstract: An air lance for removing pellets from tubes includes a conduit body having an inlet end and a bottommost discharge opening, and a poker fixed relative to the conduit body and projecting beyond the bottommost discharge opening to serve as a spacer and poker; wherein a rigid member extends along said conduit body, such that that a hammering force applied to said rigid member where it extends outside of the tube will be transmitted through said rigid member to said poker for dislodging and breaking pellets.

Abstract: A system for detecting voids or imperfections such as holidays in a coating having fluorescent material therein comprises a camera having a digital image output for inspecting the coating wherein said camera's digital image output may include only the image produced by light in a color spectrum corresponding to a portion of the spectrum of light produced by fluorescent emission of the coating, thereby revealing the presence of any imperfections. Furthermore, an ultraviolet light source is provided to illuminate the coating and excite fluorescent emission therein. In one embodiment, the system is capable of distinguishing between an imperfection and the complete absence of a substrate surface. The system is also capable of revealing coating defects or imperfections in irregular surfaces.