Quadrex Hps Inc.

Other

Bioenergy International, L.c.

General Imaging Corporation

Health Physics Systems, Inc.

David E Fowler

Arie Ben-Bassat

Joseph A Capella

Philip G Horton

John D Cox

Charles R Witt

Connie J Silin

Eugene T McIlvaine

A method for the electrolytic production of hydrogen where radiation excited water from a spent fuel pool of a nuclear power plant is delivered to one or more electrolysers where DC current is applied to pairs of electrodes in the electrolysers to form hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen is collected. The collection of hydrogen can be carried out in a grid energy storage system to produce large quantities of hydrogen during low grid demand for electricity with little or no hydrogen during high grid electricity demand.

Electrolysis of spent fuel pool water for hydrogen generation

Novel plasmids comprising genes which code for the alcohol dehydrogenase and pyruvate decarboxylase are have been transformed with genes coding for alcohol dehydrogenase and pyruvate. By virtue of their transformation with these genes, the recombinant hosts are capable of producing significant amounts of ethanol as a fermentation product. Also disclosed are methods for increasing the growth of recombinant hosts and methods for reducing the accumulation of undesirable metabolic products in the growth medium of these hosts. Also disclosed are recombinant host capable of producing significant amounts of ethanol as a fermentation product of oligosaccharides and plasmids comprising genes encoding polysaccharases, in addition to the genes described above which code for the alcohol dehydrogenase and pyruvate decarboxylase. Further, methods are described for producing ethanol from oligomeric feedstock using the recombinant hosts described above. Also provided is a method for enhancing the production of functional proteins in a recombinant host comprising overexpressing an adhB gene in the host. Further provided are process designs for fermenting oligosaccharide-containing biomass to ethanol.

Ethanol production by recombinant hosts

Novel plasmids comprising genes which code for the alcohol dehydrogenase and pyruvate decarboxylase are described. Also described are recombinant hosts which have been transformed with genes coding for alcohol dehydrogenase and pyruvate. By virtue of their transformation with these genes, the recombinant hosts are capable of producing significant amounts of ethanol as a fermentation product. Also disclosed are methods for increasing the growth of recombinant hosts and methods for reducing the accumulation of undesirable metabolic products in the growth medium of these hosts. Also disclosed are recombinant host capable of producing significant amounts of ethanol as a fermentation product of oligosaccharides and plasmids comprising genes encoding polysaccharases, in addition to the genes described above which code for the alcohol dehydrogenase and pyruvate decarboxylase. Further, methods are described for producing ethanol from oligomeric feedstock using the recombinant hosts described above. Also provided is a method for enhancing the production of functional proteins in a recombinant host comprising overexpressing an adhB gene in the host. Further provided are process designs for fermenting oligosaccharide-containing biomass to ethanol.

A baseball pitching analyzer having a housing in the form of a cube with a forward face including an opening through which the baseball may pass. The periphery of this opening is angled inward to provide a funnel arrangement such that balls striking the front face will be deflected through the opening. Located within the housing is an open rectangular frame mounting a plurality of light emitters and associated light detectors, arranged to form an array or grid of intersecting light beams. The frame includes lenses spaced from the emitters and detectors to maintain a well collimated light beam. The emitters and detectors are alternated about the periphery of the frame, such that light emitters are located adjacent each of the light detectors. The associated beam for each detector is therefore less likely to impinge upon another detector, reducing crosstalk and permitting a closer grid spacing. The control system includes a timer which is started upon the blocking of a light beam and stopped upon the unblocking of a light beam. This time is used with the known diameter of a baseball to calculate the velocity of the pitch. Balls received within the device are conveyed to an elevated dispensing opening and passed out of the device, such that they may be easily received within a storage bag or pitchback device. The results of the location and speed of the pitch may be displayed by a printer and/or display unit.

Baseball pitching analyzer

A multisensor high-resolution camera splices together sub-images obtained from a plurality of fiber bundles and can play back these sub-images as a single composite image in real time. The camera can output the composite image as a single high-resolution analog video image or as a stream of digital data. The camera produces these composite images from the optical sub-images output by tapered or nontapered fiber bundles. A scan converter splices together video signals output from the plurality of video cameras or the multiport video camera/cameras each of which is optically coupled to one of the plurality of fiber bundles. The sensor arrays can also be driven directly. In this case each sensor array is coupled to one of the fiber bundles. The sensor arrays are either multiple single port integrated circuit (IC) sensor arrays such as CCD arrays or multiport (IC) arrays.

Multisensor high-resolution camera

Disclosed is a process for removing polychlorinated biphenyls from electrical apparatus, particularly transformers, to achieve concentration levels of 50 ppm or less as required by the EPA. A dielectric fluid having a relatively low boiling point as compared to polychlorinated biphenyls and other contaminants and in which PCB's are soluble is selected. There is an external cooling loop through which the dielectric fluid is circulated maintaining the temperature and pressure of the transformer within its design limits. There is an external distillation loop where the liquid removed from the transformer is heated to boiling point of the selected dielectric fluid thereby vaporizing the dielectric fluid and leaving the polychlorinated biphenyls in liquid phase in the distillation vessel. The dielectric fluid vapor is then condensed and returned to solubilize remaining PCB's in the transformer.

Process and apparatus for removing PCB's from electrical apparatus

Disclosed is a self-contained, portable apparatus for cleaning chemical and/or radioactively contaminated articles. A cleaning chamber is provided where contaminated articles are placed. Solvent from a solvent reservoir is sprayed onto the contaminated articles to dissolve the chemical contaminants and to dislodge the radioactive particulates. The solvent and contaminants drain through a short vertical duct connecting the cleaning chamber to the solvent reservoir. There is a cooling means present in the short vertical duct which serves to condense the solvent vaporized during the cleaning operation. A filter means is provided to filter particulate contaminants from the solvent before the solvent is delivered from the solvent reservoir to the cleaning chamber. A high efficiency particulate air filter and an adsorber are connected in series such that the initial atmosphere contained within the cleaning chamber is vented to atmosphere through the high efficiency particulate air filter in the absorber during the initial increase in pressure within the cleaning chamber when spraying of the solvent is commenced. As the cooling means condenses the solvent vapor, the pressure within the apparatus is reduced to subatmospheric pressure thus preventing the possibility of leak of contamination from the apparatus into the atmosphere.

Decontamination apparatus for chemically and/or radioactively

Disclosed is a method of and apparatus for removing chemical nerve agents such as tabun, sarin and soman and chemical blister agents such as mustard gas and lewisite from a cleaning solvent such that the solvent is rendered contaminant free and safely resuable in future cleaning operations. The solvent, trichlorotrifluoroethene and the contaminants are soluble in one another and are all of non-polar configuration. Removal is effected by preferential adsorption of the contaminants from the solvent. Effective adsorbents are Fuller's Earth, activated charcoal, activated alumina and silica gel.

Method of removing toxic agents for trichlorotrifluoroethane

Garments contaminated with radioactive, toxin, biological and/or chemical contaminants are deposited in a cleaning drum and the drum is agitated during a wash cycle. A dry cleaning solvent is added to the drum during the initial wash cycle and then drained to a distillation means. Within the distillation means, there is a neutralizing agent which deactivates the biological and toxin contaminants and chemically breaks down the chemical contaminants removed with the dry cleaning solvent from the cleaning drum. Dry cleaning solvent is then continuously added to the drum during the secondary wash cycle and continuously removed from the drum. After the dry cleaning solvent is removed from the drum, and before it is pumped back to the drum, the dry cleaning solvent is filtered to remove remaining trace particulate contaminants. The dry cleaning solvent is also passed through an absorber where remaining trace chemical contaminants dissolves in the dry cleaning solvent are removed. The garments are then rinsed by circulating contaminant free dry cleaning solvent through the drum. After rinsing, the garments are dried by circulating hot, unsaturated dry cleaning solvent vapor through the drum.

Method of and apparatus for cleaning garments and soft goods

Apparatus for removing PCB's from electrical apparatus

Garments contaminated with radioactive, toxin, biological and/or chemical contaminants are deposited in a cleaning drum and the drum is agitated during a wash cycle. A dry cleaning solvent is added to the drum during the initial wash cycle and then drained to a distillation means. Within the distillation means, there is a neutralizing agent which deactivates the biological and toxin contaminants and chemically breaks down the chemical contaminants removed with the dry cleaning solvent from the cleaning drum. Dry cleaning solvent is then continuously added to the drum during the secondary wash cycle and continuously removed from the drum. After the dry cleaning solvent is removed from the drum, and before it is pumped back to the drum, the dry cleaning solvent is filtered to remove remaining trace particulate contaminants. The dry cleaning solvent is also passed through an adsorber where remaining trace chemical contaminants dissolves in the dry cleaning solvent are removed. The garments are then rinsed by circulating contaminant free dry cleaning solvent through the drum. After rinsing, the garments are dried by circulating hot, unsaturated dry cleaning solvent vapor through the drum.

Apparatus for cleaning garments and soft goods contaminated with

Process for removing PCB's from electrical apparatus

Disclosed is a system and method for cleaning radioactively contaminated articles, including tools and like items of hardware. The system includes a cleaning chamber for receiving and sealing therein the contaminated articles, a high pressure spray gun disposed within the cleaning chamber for spraying the contaminated articles with a clean solvent to dislodge and dissolve the contaminants, and a system for decontaminating the solvent for reuse. The cleaning chamber includes a drain having the capacity to remove contaminated solvent at a rate at least as great as that at which the solvent is sprayed into the chamber, such that substantially no contaminated solvent collects in the cleaning chamber.

Tool decontamination apparatus

A pipe and hose decontamination apparatus is disclosed using freshly filtered high pressure Freon solvent in an integrated closed loop to remove radioactive particles or other contaminants from items having a long cylindrical geometry such as hoses, pipes, cables and the like. The pipe and hose decontamination apparatus comprises a chamber capable of accomodating a long cylindrical work piece to be decontaminated. The chamber has a downward sloped bottom draining to a solvent holding tank. An entrance zone, a cleaning zone and an exit drying zone are defined within the chamber by removable partitions having slotted rubber gaskets in their centers. The entrance and exit drying zones contain a horizontally mounted cylindrical housing which supports in combination a plurality of slotted rubber gaskets and circular brushes to initiate mechanical decontamination. Solvent is delivered at high pressure to a spray ring located in the cleaning zone having a plurality of nozzles surrounding the work piece. The solvent drains into a solvent holding tank located below the nozzles and means are provided for circulating the solvent to and from a solvent cleaning, distilling and filter unit.

Growing community of inventors

Gainesville, FL, United States of America

David E Fowler