Indiana University

Packer Engineering, Inc.

Other

Peter James Schubert

Alan D Wilks

Joseph E Paganessi

John Carl Christenson

Rodney L Burton

Kenneth Frederick Packer

Thomas E Long

Matthew J Tummillo

Richard L Natwora, Jr

Charles Ogborn

Johnny R Chapman

Filip Rysanek

Paul Fenoglio

Peter T Caine

Mike Hutches

David W Yen

Harley S Melbye, Jr

JingYing Zhang

A system for producing a syngas from a biomass material. The system compacts a loose biomass material to form a compacted biomass material at an entrance of a reactor tube, and then heats the compacted biomass material within the tube to form ash and a fuel gas mixture. The fuel gas mixture is withdrawn from the tube and the ash is removed from the tube through an exit thereof. Ingress of air into the tube is inhibited by forming a plug of the biomass material at the entrance of the tube and a plug of ash at the exit of the tube. A neutral atmospheric pressure is maintained in the reactor tube relative to pressure outside the reactor tube by monitoring and adjusting a volumetric rate of the fuel gas mixture withdrawn from the reactor tube based on pressures at the entrance and the exit of the reactor tube.

Biomass gasification/pyrolysis system and process

The invention provides a system for reducing the volume of bulk material, comprising a transportable container; a single chamber adapted to receive said transportable container; a means for establishing a plurality of controlled atmospheres within said chamber; a plurality of electrically-charged heating elements capable of heating said chamber to at least 1200 F; and an waste heat generator in fluid communication with the chamber. A method for simultaneously thermally degrading different waste differently in a single chamber, comprising filling each container within a plurality of containers with preselected waste and placing each container within the chamber at preselected positions; establishing a controlled atmosphere within the chamber and applying heat to the waste for a time and at a temperature sufficient to gasify the waste; collecting thermal degradation data during gasification; and applying the collected data to an algorithm to adjust the temperature and oxygen concentrations for each preselected position.

System for gasifying waste, method for gasifying waste

A system and process capable of promoting the energy content of a syngas produced from a biomass material. The system and process entail compacting a loose biomass material and simultaneously introducing the compacted biomass material into an entrance of a reactor tube, and then heating the compacted biomass material within the tube to a temperature at which organic molecules within the biomass material break down to form ash and a fuel gas mixture. The fuel gas mixture is withdrawn from the tube and the ash is removed from the tube through an exit thereof. The entrance and exit of the tube, the compaction step, and the removal step cooperate to inhibit ingress of air into the tube by forming a plug of the biomass material at the entrance of the tube and a plug of ash at the exit of the tube.

A process and system suitable for producing syngas from biomass materials. The process and system entail the compaction of a loose biomass material to remove air therefrom and form a compacted biomass material. The compacted biomass material is then introduced into a reactor and heated in the substantial absence of air so as not to combust the compacted biomass material. Instead, the compacted biomass material is heated to a temperature at which organic molecules within the compacted biomass material break down to form ash and gases comprising carbon monoxide and hydrogen gas. Thereafter, the carbon monoxide and hydrogen gas are released from the reactor, and the ash is removed from the reactor.

Process and system for syngas production from biomass materials

A system and process for modulating the carbon content of ash produced by a biomass gasification process, for example, to selected levels chosen by an operator, through the controlled injection of steam and controlled introduction of warm air during processing of a biomass feedstock. The system and process include delivering a carbon-containing biomass feedstock to a gasification reactor and producing a syngas and an ash from the biomass feedstock, and regulating the carbon content of the ash between a level at which carbon not present in the ash and a second level at which carbon is present in the ash. The regulating step entails selectively decreasing the moisture level of the biomass feedstock prior to the biomass feedstock being delivered to the gasification reactor and thereby increasing the carbon content of the ash, or increasing a moisture level of a mixture of the biomass feedstock, ash and gases within the gasification reactor and thereby decrease the carbon content of the ash.

System and method for controlling char in biomass reactors

A system for storing and retrieving elemental hydrogen. The system includes a housing, a hydrogen storage element enclosed within the housing and having a solid-state hydrogen storage material, and a control system for regulating storage of hydrogen into and retrieval of hydrogen from the storage material. At least a portion of the storage material is a porous matrix material having atoms of a first element capable of bonding with more than one hydrogen atom per atom of the first element, and atoms of a second element capable of molecularly bonding to atoms of the first element and hydrogen. Different atoms of the first element have bond sites available for different numbers of hydrogen atoms at different levels of bonding energy. The atoms of the second element are bonded to those atoms of the first element having bond sites for more than one hydrogen atom.

System, methods and materials for storing and retrieving hydrogen

A solid-state hydrogen storage material and process for making the material more thoroughly rechargeable. The process entails forming a porous matrix material to contain atoms of a first element and hydrogen atoms, in which the atoms of the first element are capable of bonding with more than one hydrogen atom per atom of the first element, and the atoms of the first element are molecularly arranged within the porous matrix material so that different atoms of the first element are bonded to different numbers of hydrogen atoms at correspondingly different levels of bonding energy. At least some of the hydrogen atoms bonded to the atoms of the first element at the lowest bond energies are then removed without removing hydrogen atoms bonded at higher bond energies, after which atoms of a second element are bonded to those atoms of the first element from which hydrogen atoms were removed.

Solid-state hydrogen storage media and catalytic hydrogen recharging thereof

A system and method capable of efficient production of synthesis gas from biomass materials in a manner which can be scaled to relatively large throughput capacities. the system is operable to compact a loose biomass material and simultaneously introduce the compacted biomass material into entrances of internal passages of multiple parallel reactors, heat the compacted biomass material within the reactors to a temperature at which organic molecules within the compacted biomass material break down to form ash and gases comprising carbon monoxide and hydrogen gases, inhibit combustion of the compacted biomass material when heated within the internal passages of the reactors, conduct the carbon monoxide and hydrogen gases through the reactors in a direction opposite the movement of the compacted biomass through the reactors, and remove the ash from the reactor.

Scalable biomass reactor and method

A device for counting shots fired by a firearm including a permanent magnet mounted to moving portion of the firearm and electrically coupled to a coil mounted on a relatively stationary portion of the firearm. Movement of the magnet relative to the coil induces an electromotive force within the coil. The induced electromotive force can be used increment a shot-count indictor and thereby record the number of shots fired by the firearm. The electromotive force can also be measured by a verification circuit to determine the strength of a shot and thereby verify whether a round was actually discharged by the firearm. In some embodiments, information regarding the number of shots discharged and the strength of the shots can be transmitted to an external device.

Shot-counting device for a firearm

A facility and process capable of extracting oxygen in extraterrestrial environments from materials available in extraterrestrial environments, for example, on planets, planetoids, etc. The facility extracts oxygen from a mineral-containing solid material and is configured to form a free-falling molten stream of the solid material, evaporate at least a portion of the molten stream and produce a vapor containing gaseous oxygen, create a supersonic stream of the vapor, condense constituents of the supersonic stream to form particulates within the supersonic stream, separate the gaseous oxygen from the particulates, and then collect the gaseous oxygen.

Oxygen extraction apparatus and process

Processes and apparatuses for producing a porous material, such as nano-porous silicon (npSi) media suitable for storage and retrieval of elemental hydrogen. Processes of this invention generally entail applying a magnetic field to a substrate that contains charge carriers and is in contact with an etchant, and then etching the substrate with the etchant while relative movement occurs between the substrate and the magnetic field. During etching, the charge carriers move relative to the substrate and the magnetic field, and porosity forms at surfaces of the substrate contacting the etchant.

Processes and apparatuses for producing porous materials

A hydrogen storage tank for containing solid-state hydrogen storage media, and method for determining the hydrogen fill level in the tank. The tank has at least one compartment for storing the storage media, passages for transporting hydrogen gas to and from the compartment, and a heat distribution system for establishing a substantially uniform temperature in the storage media. A look-up table is generated for the tank that relates hydrogen pressure changes in the tank versus hydrogen fill levels in the tank as a function of temperature. The tank is filled to full capacity by adsorbing hydrogen on the storage media. Thereafter, hydrogen is released from the storage media for a time period during which there is a substantially constant demand on the tank, the change in pressure of the released hydrogen gas is measured, and the look-up table is applied to determine the hydrogen fill level in the tank.

Growing community of inventors

Naperville, IL, United States of America

Peter James Schubert