Advanced Fuel Research, Inc.

Brown University

Other

Eric M Suuberg

Michael A Serio

Marek A Wojtowicz

Erik Kroo

Robert H Hurt

Arun K Mehta

Xu Chen

Yuming Gao

Joseph M Calo

Yu-Ming Gao

Alicia Burnett

The method for generating a hydrogen-rich stream from hydrocarbon fuels, ultimately to produce hydrogen gas, involves the following two steps performed in a cyclic fashion: (1) pyrolysis of the hydrocarbon fuel to obtain a carbon-rich fraction and a hydrogen-rich fraction; and (2) oxidation of the carbon-rich fraction, or a portion of it, for heat generation. The method involves the following optional steps: (3) steam gasification of part of the carbon-rich fraction to produce additional amounts of hydrogen and carbon monoxide; (4) water-gas shift reaction to convert carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide with the simultaneous formation of additional amounts of hydrogen; and (5) steam reforming of light hydrocarbons that may be produced in step (1) to produce more hydrogen and carbon monoxide.

Pyrolysis-based fuel processing method and apparatus

Solid waste resource recovery in space is effected by pyrolysis processing, to produce light gases as the main products (CH, H, CO, CO, HO, NH) and a reactive carbon-rich char as the main byproduct. Significant amounts of liquid products are formed under less severe pyrolysis conditions, and are cracked almost completely to gases as the temperature is raised. A primary pyrolysis model for the composite mixture is based on an existing model for whole biomass materials, and an artificial neural network models the changes in gas composition with the severity of pyrolysis conditions.

Pyrolysis process for producing fuel gas

Pyrolysis processing for solid waste resource recovery

Carbon-containing fly ash has been treated with optimum amounts of ozone. There is homogenous treatment of the fly ash with ozone and over saturation with ozone is avoided. In a further embodiment of the invention carbon, from various sources is oxygenated to be incorporated into concrete. The preferred oxygenating agent is ozone.

Ozone treatment of fly ash

A method for removing ammonia from fly ash employs water mist (a water fog) or a flowing warm humid air stream to rid the fly ash of ammonia. Ozone alone or with other co-oxidants such as hydrogen peroxide are also used to rid fly ash of ammonia.

Dry and semi-dry methods for removal of ammonia from fly ash

A method for producing high capacity gas-storage microporous sorbents involves precursor carbonization under relatively severe heat-treatment conditions, normally followed by activation using a cyclic chemisorption-desorption process.

Microporous carbons for gas storage

An apparatus and method for improving the properties of carbon-containing fly ash through ozonation is described. The apparatus includes a chamber for containing the fly ash and an ozonator that generates an ozone-containing gas. The ozonator supplies the ozone-containing gas such that it enters the chamber with the fly ash and deactivates carbon within the fly ash. Afterwards, the fly ash will have decreased surfactant adsorptivity so that it can be effectively mixed with cement or whatever other materials may require fly ash with passivated carbon.

Apparatus and method for deactivating carbon in fly ash

Disclosed herein is a method and system for sorting recycled solid waste materials, such as plastics, by a liquid-fluidized bed classifier (LFBC) technique. The application of a LFBC to the separation of plastics, and in particular plastic particles, is shown to be advantageous for a number of reasons. Firstly, the primary fluidization medium, i.e., water, is present in large quantities during conventional chopping, washing, and flotation operations that are performed during plastics recycling operations. Secondly, the natural density distribution of the major types of recycled plastics favors segregation by density in water, i.e., the 'lighter-than-water' polyolefins, polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) from the 'heavier-than-water' polystyrene (PS) PVC and PET plastics. The latter types of plastics have been found to separate spatially in an upflow LFBC, while the 'lighter-than-water' plastics can be collected at the top of the column, thereby combining flotation and classification in a single step. Further separation of the polyolefins can be accomplished in a second LFBC operating in a downflow mode. Thirdly, any overlap of density distributions between types of plastics is overcome via selective modification of plastic particle size/density. A fourth advantage of the LFBC spatial separation is that the separated plastic particles can be collected by hydraulic flow from the appropriate section of the column and supplied to simple gravity separators for particle recovery, and also for disengaging the fluidizing water for recycling, thereby enabling the continuous classification of plastic particles with both continuous feed and product removal.

Growing community of inventors

Barrington, RI, United States of America

Eric M Suuberg