7761results about "Indirect carbon-dioxide mitigation" patented technology

A combustor method and apparatus is provided. The method utilizes flameless combustion with one or more of three improvements to enhance ignition of the flameless combustor. A catalytic surface can be provided within a combustion chamber to provide flameless combustion at least in the vicinity of the catalytic surface at a temperature that is much lower than the autoignition temperature of fuel in air without the presence of the catalytic surface. Nitrous oxide or supplemental oxygen may also be used as an oxidant either instead of air or with air to reduce ignition temperatures. Further, electrical energy can be passed through the fuel conduit, raising the temperature of the conduit to a temperature above which the fuel will ignite when combined with the oxidant.

A method for producing hydrogen gas is provided and comprises reducing a metal oxide in a reduction reaction between a carbon-based fuel and a metal oxide to provide a reduced metal or metal oxide having a lower oxidation state, and oxidizing the reduced metal or metal oxide to produce hydrogen and a metal oxide having a higher oxidation state. The metal or metal oxide is provided in the form of a porous composite of a ceramic material containing the metal or metal oxide. The porous composite may comprise either a monolith, pellets, or particles.

An oxy-combustor is provided to combust oxygen with gaseous low heating value fuel. A compressor upstream of the combustor compresses the fuel. The combustor produces a drive gas including steam and carbon dioxide as well as other non-condensable gases in many cases, which pass through a turbine to output power. The drive gas can be recirculated to the combustor, either through the compressor, the oxygen inlet or directly to the combustor. Recirculation can occur before or after a condenser for separation of a portion of the water from the carbon dioxide. Excess carbon dioxide and steam is collected from the system. The turbine, combustor and compressor can be derived from an existing gas turbine with fuel and air/oxidizer lines swapped.

This invention is related to so-called combined cycle co-generation installations, and it addresses present concerns of the industry. Among these, combustion stability, corrosion (due to large water content in the flue gases), large heat transfer areas, and the like. In some embodiments, an additional heat exchanger is added to heat combustion air with a portion of the exhaust gases resulting from an engine, preferably a gas turbine. As a result, the efficiency of the cycle will improve, the oxidant will be enriched by above 50% oxygen, the combustion process will be enhanced, and the dimensions of the boiler may be reduced. It is considered that the combustion air will require between 10% and 80% of the total flue gas volume, more preferably between 20% and 40%. This is the portion of the flue gases sent through the heat exchanger. A control system designed to optimize the flow of the different streams is also presented. Other inventive embodiments forego heat exchanges in lieu of precise control of two flows of exhaust gas, with preferred addition of additional oxidant to the boiler bumers.

A low or no pollution power generation system is provided. The system has an air separator to collect oxygen. A gas generator is provided with inputs for the oxygen and a hydrocarbon fuel. The fuel and oxygen are combusted within the gas generator, forming water and carbon dioxide. Water or other diluents are also delivered into the gas generator to control temperature of the combustion products. The combustion products are then expanded through at least one turbine or other expander to deliver output power. The combustion products are then passed through a separator where the steam is condensed. A portion of the water is discharged and the remainder is routed back to the gas generator as diluent. The carbon dioxide can be conditioned for sequestration. The system can be optimized by adding multiple expanders, reheaters and water diluent preheaters, and by preheating air for an ion transfer membrane oxygen separation.

A power plant including an air separation unit (ASU) arranged to separate nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and argon from air and produce a stream of substantially pure liquid oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and argon; a steam generator, fired or unfired, arranged to combust a fuel, e.g., natural gas, liquefied natural gas, synthesis gas, coal, petroleum coke, biomass, municipal solid waste or any other gaseous, liquid or solid fuel in the presence of air and a quantity of substantially pure oxygen gas to produce an exhaust gas comprising water, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, nitrogen, sulfur oxides and other trace gases, and a steam-turbine-generator to produce electricity, a primary gas heat exchanger unit for particulate/acid gas/moisture removal and a secondary heat exchanger arranged to cool the remainder of the exhaust gases from the steam generator. Exhaust gases are liquefied in the ASU thereby recovering carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, nitrogen, sulfur oxides, oxygen, and all other trace gases from the steam generator exhaust gas stream. The cooled gases are liquefied in the ASU and separated for sale or re-use in the power plant. Carbon dioxide liquid is transported from the plant for use in enhanced oil recovery or for other commercial use. Carbon dioxide removal is accomplished in the ASU by cryogenic separation of the gases, after directing the stream of liquid nitrogen from the air separation unit to the exhaust gas heat exchanger units to cool all of the exhaust gases including carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur oxides, and other trace gases.

Heating units, drug supply units and drug delivery articles capable of rapid heating are disclosed. Heating units comprising a substrate and a solid fuel capable of undergoing an exothermic metal oxidation reaction disposed within the substrate are disclosed. Drug supply units and drug delivery articles wherein a solid fuel is configured to heat a substrate to a temperature sufficient to rapidly thermally vaporize a drug disposed thereon are also disclosed.

An integrated air separation and oxygen fired power generation system includes an air separation unit and a gas turbine including an air compressor to provide compressed air for the air separation unit. The system further includes a gas turbine expander and at least one additional turbine to drive the air compressor, as well as at least one combustion unit to provide drive gas for expander and additional turbine(s). A portion of oxygen produced by the air separation unit is delivered to the combustor(s) to facilitate production of drive gas for use by the expander and additional turbine(s). Turbine inlet temperatures are controlled by recycling water or steam to the combustor(s).

The invention provides processes and apparatuses for safely, rapidly, cost-effectively and efficiently producing a superheated steam product or dry saturated steam product that can be employed to generate electrical power, or in other manufacturing and/or non-manufacturing processes, in an environmentally clean manner without causing corrosion to electrical power-generating devices. These processes and apparatuses involve the combustion of one or more fuels containing the elements hydrogen and/or carbon, which can be derived from waste materials, such as the rubber from scrap tires. Water that circulates around one or more combustion chambers and/or areas, but that does not enter into the combustion chambers or areas, becomes converted into a high purity steam product The present invention also provides processes and apparatuses for recycling or eliminating waste materials, and for transforming hazardous materials into non-hazardous materials, and fuels that can be employed in the foregoing processes and apparatuses.

The invention relates to a new and improved process and apparatus for the production of high purity hydrogen by steam reforming. The apparatus is an integrated flameless distributed combustion-membrane steam reforming (FDC-MSR) or reactor for steam reforming of a vaporizable hydrocarbon to produce H₂ and CO₂, with minimal CO, and minimal CO in the H₂ stream. The flameless distributed combustion drives the steam reforming reaction which pro-vides great improvements in heat exchange efficiency and load following capabilities. The reactor may contain multiple flameless distributed combustion chambers and multiple hydrogen-selective, hydrogen-permeable, membrane tubes. The feed and reaction gases may flow through the reactor either radially or axially. A further embodiment of the invention involves producing high purity hydrogen by dehydrogenation using an integrated FDC-membrane de-hydrogenation reactor. A still further embodiment of the invention involves a zero emission hybrid power system wherein the produced hydrogen is used to power a high-pressure internally manifolded molten carbonate fuel cell. In addition, the design of the FDC-SMR powered fuel cell makes it possible to capture good concentrations of CO₂ for sequestration or use in other processes.

A self-cooled oxidant-fuel burner consisting novel fuel and oxidant nozzles and three compartment refractory burner block design is proposed. The new oxidant-fuel burner can fire in high-temperature (2200 DEG F. to 3000 DEG F.) and high-particulate (or high process volatiles/condensates) furnaces without over-heating or causing chemical corrosion damage to it's metallic burner nozzle and refractory burner block interior. Using various embodiments of nozzle and block shape, the burner can offer a traditional cylindrical flame or flat flame depending on the heating load requirements. The new features of this burner include unique fuel nozzle design for the streamline mixing of fuel and oxidant streams, a controlled swirl input to the oxidant flow for desired flame characteristics, a controlled expansion of flame envelope in the radial and axial dimensions, and efficient sweeping of burner block interior surface using oxidant to provide convective cooling and prevent any build up of process particulates. In addition, a relatively thick wall metallic nozzle construction with heat conduction fins enable efficient heat dissipation from the nozzle tip and providing a maintenance free burner operation.

A method of remediating and recovering energy from combustion products from a fossil fuel power plant having at least one fossil fuel combustion chamber, at least one compressor, at least one turbine, at least one heat exchanger and a source of oxygen. Combustion products including non-condensable gases such as oxygen and nitrogen and condensable vapors such as water vapor and acid gases such as SO_X and NO_X and CO₂ and pollutants are produced and energy is recovered during the remediation which recycles combustion products and adds oxygen to support combustion. The temperature and/or pressure of the combustion products are changed by cooling through heat exchange with thermodynamic working fluids in the power generation cycle and/or compressing and/or heating and/or expanding the combustion products to a temperature/pressure combination below the dew point of at least some of the condensable vapors to condense liquid having some acid gases dissolved and/or entrained and/or directly condense acid gas vapors from the combustion products and to entrain and/or dissolve some of the pollutants while recovering sensible and/or latent heat from the combustion products through heat exchange between the combustion products and thermodynamic working fluids and/or cooling fluids used in the power generating cycle. Then the CO₂, SO₂, and H₂O poor and oxygen enriched remediation stream is sent to an exhaust and/or an air separation unit and/or a turbine.

A burner assembly having improved flame length and shape control is presented, which includes in exemplary embodiments at least one fuel fluid inlet and at least one oxidant fluid inlet, means for transporting the fuel fluid from the fuel inlet to a plurality of fuel outlets-, the fuel fluid leaving the fuel outlets in fuel streams that are injected into a combustion chamber, means for transporting the oxidant fluid from the oxidant inlets to at least one oxidant outlet, the oxidant fluid leaving the oxidant outlets in oxidant fluid streams that are injected into the combustion chamber, with the fuel and oxidant outlets being physically separated, and geometrically arranged in order to impart to the fuel fluid streams and the oxidant fluid streams angles and velocities that allow combustion of the fuel fluid with the oxidant in a stable, wide, and luminous flame. Alternatively, injectors may be used alone or with the refractory block to inject oxidant and fuel gases. The burner assembly affords improved control over flame size and shape and may be adjusted for use with a particular furnace as required.

Methods and systems for low emission power generation in hydrocarbon recovery processes are provided. One system includes integrated pressure maintenance and miscible flood systems with low emission power generation. An alternative system provides for low emission power generation, carbon sequestration, enhanced oil recovery (EOR), or carbon dioxide sales using a hot gas expander and external combustor. Another alternative system provides for low emission power generation using a gas power turbine to compress air in the inlet compressor and generate power using hot carbon dioxide laden gas in the expander. Other efficiencies may be gained by incorporating heat cross-exchange, a desalination plant, co-generation, and other features.

The power plant combusts a hydrocarbon fuel with oxygen to produce high temperature high pressure products of combustion. These products of combustion are routed through an expander to generate power. The products of combustion are substantially free of oxides of nitrogen because the oxidizer is oxygen rather than air. To achieve fast starting, oxygen, fuel and water diluent are preferably stored in quantities sufficient to allow the power plant to operate from these stored consumables. The fuel can be a gaseous or liquid fuel. The oxygen is preferably stored as liquid and routed through a vaporizer before combustion in a gas generator along with the hydrocarbon fuel. In one embodiment, the vaporizer gasifies the oxygen by absorption of heat from air before the air is routed into a separate heat engine, such as a gas turbine. The gas turbine thus operates on cooled air and has its power output increased.

A method of generating electrical power in which a synthesis gas stream generated in a gasifier is combusted in an oxygen transport membrane system of a boiler. The combustion generates heat to raise steam to in turn generate electricity by a generator coupled to a steam turbine. The resultant flue gas can be purified to produce a carbon dioxide product.

A combustion control system allows the dramatic reduction of NOx emission levels from industrial combustion processes without having recourse to expensive flue gas clean up methods. The system combines the technique of oscillating combustion with an adapted system for post combustion burn out of the excess of CO resulting from the low-NOx combustion zone. A process for fuel combustion includes generating an oscillating combustion zone by oscillating at least one of the fuel flow and the oxidant flow to achieve a reduced nitrogen oxide emission, selecting oscillating parameters and furnace operating parameters to maximize nitrogen oxide reduction efficiency to the detriment of carbon monoxide production, and combusting carbon monoxide downstream of the oscillating combustion zone by injecting a post combustion oxidant.

A semi-closed combined cycle power system 100 is provided which can also convert an open combined cycle gas turbine 10 into a non-polluting zero emissions power system. The prior art open combined cycle gas turbine 10 includes a compressor 20 which compresses air A' and combusts the air A' with a fuel, such as natural gas. The products of combustion and the remaining portions of the air form the exhaust E' which is expanded through the turbine 40. The turbine 40 drives the compressor 20 and outputs power. The exhaust E' exits the turbine 40 and then can optionally be routed through a heat recovery steam generator 50 to function as a combined cycle. According to this invention, the exhaust E' is not emitted into the atmosphere, but rather is routed to a divider 110. The divider 110 includes two outlets for the exhaust E' including a return duct 120 and a separation duct 130 which both receive a portion of the exhaust E'. The return duct 120 routes a portion of the exhaust E' back to the compressor 20. Before reaching the compressor 20, an oxygen duct 150 adds additional oxygen to the exhaust E' to form a gas mixture C which includes CO2 and steam from the exhaust E' and oxygen from the oxygen duct 150. This gas mixture C has characteristics which mimic those of air, so that the compressor 20 need not be modified to effectively compress the gas mixture C. The gas mixture C is compressed within the compressor 20 and routed to the combustor 30 where the fuel combusts with the oxygen of the gas mixture C' and produces exhaust E' which is substantially entirely CO2 and steam. This exhaust E' is routed through the turbine 40 and expanded to drive the compressor 20 and output power. The exhaust E' exits the turbine 40 and is routed back to the divider 110, preferably by way of a heat recovery steam generator 50 or other heat removal device, so that the semi-closed cycle operates as a combined cycle power system 100. The divider 110 directs a portion of the exhaust E' to a separation duct 130 which leads to a condenser 140. In the condenser 140 the exhaust E' is separated by condensation of the steam/water portion of the exhaust and removal of the remaining CO2 as gas from the condenser 140. The only exhaust from the semi-closed power system 100 is water and CO2 from the condenser. The CO2 exhaust is substantially pure and ready for appropriate further handling and disposal. Hence, no pollutants are emitted from the semi-closed power system 100. The return duct 120 can