Other

Calderon Energy Company of Bowling Green, Inc.

Calderon Automation, Inc.

Dyna-Yacht, Inc.

Energy Independence of America Corp.

Calderon Syngas Company

Albert A Calderon

Terry James Laubis

Richard O McCarthy

Charles W Robinson

Matthew B Brown

Richard Owen McCarthy

The present invention is an improvement in a number of ways of two issued patents identified in the preamble of the Specification which follows. Such improvement will yield a more reliable process that uses coal and other hydrocarbons but avoids the discharge of hazardous pollutants into the atmosphere and lowers investment costs. This invention offers a unique and comprehensive solution that makes possible the prevention of the ill-effects to health and environment while at the same time would also prevent the closure of badly needed power generation facilities that still provide some 40% of the electricity generated in this country. The herein comprehensive solution converts six pollutants into valuable co-products while low-cost, efficient, electric power is generated to result in attracting industries that will help keep badly needed jobs. This invention is also applicable to other disciplines.

Method and apparatus for converting hydrocarbons into clean energy and co-producing valuable by-products, while preventing the discharge of pollutants into the atmosphere

An advanced method and facility for growing abundant crops for food together with a sustainable growth of biomass for energy within a farm setting measuring (by way of example) 600 acres and yielding some 180 bushels of corn per acre, amounting to a total farm yield of 108,000 bushels. By increasing the yield of 180 to 270 bushels per acre with drainage, irrigation, and a pond that accepts water in wet weather and dispenses water for irrigation in dry weather, and supplementing with fertilizer, the 108,000 bushels can be produced with only 400 acres, this freeing 200 acres for growing biomass to be harvested and delivered to a centralized processor (preferably in pellet form) and efficiently converts the biomass into a biofuel rich in Hfor transportation such as gasoline and a low-Btu biofuel to generate biopower while co-producing fertilizer to enhance growth of both crops and biomass.

Sustainable method inclusive of facilities to grow and process crops for food and biomass for energy in an environmentally acceptable manner

A carbonaceous-based metallizing method and apparatus wherein a metallic oxide is converted into a carbon-containing, metallized intermediate that is melted in an induction channel furnace to produce liquid metal from said metallic oxide. In the application of iron ore in the form of fines or concentrate, using low-cost coal will greatly reduce capital and operating costs by virtue of eliminating agglomeration of ore, cokemaking, and blast furnace operation. The liquid iron so produced is efficiently converted into steel in a steelmaking furnace such as a basic oxygen furnace (BOF), especially when it is physically integrated to the induction channel furnace wherein the liquid iron is directly poured into the integrated BOF by the induction channel furnace, producing low-cost steel, little heat loss, and minimum emissions.

Method for making liquid iron and steel

This method deals in recovering energy in-situ from an underground resource and upgrading such resource above ground. It consists of injecting a hot gas to pyrolyze it to produce gases and liquids with high hydrogen content and a residual hot char. The gases and liquids together with the injected hot gas form a mixture of gases and liquids that is brought above ground and treated into a clean mixture of gases and liquids rich in hydrogen and then used as a chemical feedstock and/or transportation fuel. Following the pyrolyzation of the resource, carbon dioxide and air are injected into the residual hot char to convert the COinto 2CO+N, which is brought above ground and treated into a clean lean gas. This lean gas is used to generate efficient electric power, heat the injected gas for pyrolysis, and convert the 2CO+Nas a feedstock into fertilizer.

Method for recovering energy in-situ from underground resources and upgrading such energy resources above ground

An advanced method for processing a solid feedstock such as coal and a liquid feedstock such as bitumen wherein gases produced from such fossil fuel feedstocks are divided in a way as to polygenerate various by-products which includes the conversion of a waste gas (flue gas) containing nitrogen (N) and carbon dioxide (CO) generated from the combustion of said gases to produce an intermediate made of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) in the form of cyanogen which in turn is converted to a fertilizer such as oxamide. This approach obviates the necessity of COcapture and storage in a geologic formation. Besides the making of a fertilizer from a waste gas containing Nand CO, the other by-products can be power in the form of electricity and/or steam from a lean gas and liquid transportation fuel like methanol/gasoline, or chemicals from a hydrogen rich gas. The method is applicable to utility as well as to industry. This approach provides a comprehensive solution with respect to the use of energy from fossil fuels in an efficient and environmentally acceptable manner.

Advanced method for processing fuels

A method and apparatus for gasifying a solid fuel within a pressurized gasifier without a lockhopper, a slurry or pulverization comprising the feeding of said fuel into a charging chamber having a first section equipped with a ram through which a mandrel is disposed, and a second section within which an impervious seal is formed from the solid fuel by the compressive forces generated by said ram and a third section into which the seal is advanced while said ram forms a successive seal in said second section. The seal from said third section is reduced in size and charged into the pressurized gasifier where it is gasified without loss of pressure. The gases produced are utilized to polygenerate products such as transport fuels and electric power, and a fertilizer from waste gas resulting from the combustion of one of the produced gases.

Method and apparatus for gasifying solid fuels

A method for co-producing electric power and urea from carbonaceous fuels such as coal, by pyrolizing the coal with oxygen to produce a raw rich gas and a hot char which is gasified with air to produce a raw lean gas. Subsequent to the cleaning of the two gases, the cleaned rich gas is made up of CO and 2H, and the clean lean gas is made up of N+CO. The CO in the rich gas is separated from the 2Hand is added to the lean gas to enrich it with CO to become a lean fuel gas which fuels a gas turbine and is part of a combined cycle system which efficiently generates electric power while exhausting an off-gas (flue gas) made up of N+CO. The 2Hseparated from the CO, and the N+COof the exhausted flue gas are together synthesized to produce urea &#x2014;CO(NH). To augment the 2Hin order to make the process more efficient, steam is extracted from the power generation system, mixed with the 2H, and electrolyzed in a high-temperature electrolysis system prior to the synthesis step with the electrical energy required for the electrolysis being derived from the combined cycle power generation source. This approach will consume the COin a beneficial manner by co-producing an added-value, useful by-product while at the same time obviating the necessity of collecting COand sequestering it, which is an inefficient way of mitigating the effect of global warming caused by CO.

Method for co-producing electric power and urea from carbonaceous material

The present invention consists of an improved method and apparatus to upgrade bitumen in various forms which comprises four main components; namely, a fractionator equipped with a condenser, a heavy gas oil catalytic treater, a catalyst regenerator/gasifier and a gas cleanup assembly. In operation, the bitumen in liquid form is fed to the fractionator for initial separation of fractions with the bulk of the bitumen leaving the bottom of the fractionator in the form of a heavy gas oil which is pumped to the catalytic treater and sprayed on a hot catalyst to crack the heavy gas oil (an endothermic reaction) to release lighter hydrocarbons in the form of Hrich volatile matter while depositing carbon on the catalyst. The volatile matter from the treater is directed to the fractionator where the condensable fractions are separated from the non-condensable Hrich gas, a valuable primary gas. The carbon containing catalyst from the treater is recycled to the regenerator/gasifier, and the catalyst after being regenerated (an exothermic reaction) is fed hot to the treater. Various fractions are removed from the fractionator as intermediates in the form of light napthas and light oils. The off-gas from the regenerator/gasifier is directed to a gas cleanup system to produce a valuable secondary gas. Both the primary gas and the secondary gas may be further utilized in the processing of the intermediates produced by the method, the primary gas being a source of Hand the secondary gas being a source of thermal energy.

Method and apparatus for upgrading bituminous material

A method for producing clean energy from coal by feeding the coal in a reactor which is sealed to the atmosphere and moving the coal in the reactor while injecting oxygen to combust a portion of the coal in a substoichiometric mode to devolatilize the coal and yield a pressurized hydrogen rich raw gas which contains coal-derived cancer causing distillates and hydrocarbons together with a hot char. The distillates and the hydrocarbons are cracked to result in a cracked gas of essentially 2Hand 1CO which after desulfurization becomes an ideal synthesis gas that can be synthesized to a liquid fuel for heating and transportation as an alternate to petroleum. The hot char is gasified in an air blown gasifier to produce a fuel gas and a molten slag which are jointly directed out of the gasifier through a common port which is maintained open for the free flow of both. The fuel gas and the molten slag separate from each other by flowing both gas and slag through a molten bath in a submerged manner in order to effectively scrub the fuel gas in the molten bath while it bubbles out of the bath. After separation the fuel gas is treated for sulfur removal and is in condition for use as an efficient gas turbine fuel for power generation by virtue of its mass, while producing very low NOemissions when combusted. This fuel gas can also be used for raising steam and for clean burning in industrial heating. The method is capable of making coke and/or activated carbon.

Method for producing clean energy from coal

An energy efficient, coal-based method and apparatus that are environmentally friendly which produce under pressure metallized/carbon product and molten metal directly from abundant coal or other carbonaceous material, and low cost fines (or ore concentrate) wherein the metal is devoid of gangue material and possesses the inherent advantage of retaining the heat for subsequent processing. This method and apparatus which are modular and highly integrated significantly reduce capital and operating costs; they also provide the capability selective placement of the reductant for the delivery of high levels of thermal energy input which leads to ease of desulflurization and high productivity. The technology herein disclosed is entirely closed and is applicable to various ores including ferrous and non-ferrous.

Method and apparatus for practicing carbonaceous-based metallurgy

This invention relates to making steel directly from ore concentrate and non-coking coal to which flux material is added. The method eliminates numerous steps by reducing the ore with the coal in a sealed chamber and under pressure termed &ldquo;carbotreating&rdquo; to make a fluxed iron/carbon product which after crushing, is injected while hot into a melting furnace. The hot product is melted with oxygen under reducing conditions using excess carbon from the coal to make a carburized molten iron and a slag low in FeO termed &ldquo;oxymelting&rdquo;. After the tapping of the slag, the carburized molten iron to which flux material is added, is blown with oxygen to make steel, CO, and a slag high in FeO termed &ldquo;decarburizing&rdquo;. The steel is tapped while the slag is retained in the furnace. All of the above steps are carried out in an efficient and environmentally sound manner which render the art of steelmaking significantly more economical than conventionally practiced.

Method for direct steelmaking

The present invention deals with a method to produce uniform quality coke for a blast furnace by quenching coke at a pre-determined rate to produce coke with essentially uniform moisture; further, this invention possesses specific features to produce coke of uniform stability (strength) by equilibrating the temperature of the coke prior to its being quenched. Uniform moisture and uniform stability are very important factors that contribute to the efficient operation of the blast furnace to result in lowering the cost of making a ton of iron. This method is carried out under pressure, in a closed system, and in an environmentally acceptable manner with minimum formation of CO.sub.2. Further, the method possesses additional features which lead to the production of coke of higher stability than obtained conventionally.

Method for producing uniform quality coke

An apparatus for the carbonization of materials, such as coal, comprising an elongated coking retort defined by an annulus which constitutes the coking chamber within which the coal is carbonized indirectly by conduction. In order to provide an efficient mechanism for transferring thermal energy to the coal by conduction, highly conductive tiles equipped with flues and adapted to transport hot flue gas makes up the walls of the annulus within which the coal is carbonized. The raw gas (discharged from carbonization) and the cooled flue gas (discharged from the flues) are collected and separately treated to prevent polluting emissions.

Apparatus for carbonizing material

This invention discloses a new method for the production of coke from coals. In the present invention, coke is continuously produced by heating a moving charge of coal inside the annular space between two tubes. The coking chamber, which includes a large tube and a smaller tube, is force-fed with a coal such as a metallurgical coal. The coal is bi-directionally heated along a controlled temperature gradient between the outer wall of the small tube and the inner wall of the large tube. The coal is transformed to coke as it travels through the annulus of the coking chamber. Coke is discharged from the chamber at the end opposite to which it was charged and is cooled before being exposed to the atmosphere. Gases generated during the coking process are collected and treated. All of these operations are accomplished in a closed system to prevent pollution.

Method for coking coal

A method for the co-production of fuel and iron from coal and from iron ore respectively, which is comprised of heating the coal in the absence of oxygen to make a raw coal gas and a residual coke, and of increasing the content of free hydrogen in the coal gas through the cracking against a desulfurizing hot reagent, of the hydrocarbons contained in the gas in order to yield a hydrogen rich, desulfurized, hot reducing synthetic gas. This synthetic gas which is highly reactive, is fed through a bed of iron ore in order to directly reduce the ore to metallized iron. The off-gas exiting from the bed of ore is divided into three parts:-a first part is mixed with the raw coal gas, and is recycled for further use; a second part is used to provide the thermal energy required for the heating of the coal to make the raw gas and the coke; and a third part which is purged to maintain the process in balance, is utilized for other thermal needs. The coke when made from metallurgical coal can be used as fuel for making iron in a blast furnace; the coke when made from non-metallurgical coal is gasified to make an additional gas which can be used as a fuel for generating electricity. Other carbonaceous materials may be added to the coal.

Growing community of inventors

La Jolla, CA, United States of America

Albert A Calderon