1430 results about "Fossil fuel" patented technology

An electromagnetic linear generator and regenerative electromagnetic shock absorber is disclosed which converts variable frequency, repetitive intermittent linear displacement motion to useful electrical power. The innovative device provides for superposition of radial components of the magnetic flux density from a plurality of adjacent magnets to produce a maximum average radial magnetic flux density within a coil winding array. Due to the vector superposition of the magnetic fields and magnetic flux from a plurality of magnets, a nearly four-fold increase in magnetic flux density is achieved over conventional electromagnetic generator designs with a potential sixteen-fold increase in power generating capacity. As a regenerative shock absorber, the disclosed device is capable of converting parasitic displacement motion and vibrations encountered under normal urban driving conditions to a useful electrical energy for powering vehicles and accessories or charging batteries in electric and fossil fuel powered vehicles. The disclosed device is capable of high power generation capacity and energy conversion efficiency with minimal weight penalty for improved fuel efficiency.

Devices and methods are described for converting a carbon source and a hydrogen source into hydrocarbons, such as alcohols, for alternative energy sources. The influents may comprise carbon dioxide gas and hydrogen gas or water, obtainable from the atmosphere for through methods described herein, such as plasma generation or electrolysis. One method to produce hydrocarbons comprises the use of an electrolytic device, comprising an anode, a cathode and an electrolyte. Another method comprises the use of ultrasonic energy to drive the reaction. The devices and methods and related devices and methods are useful, for example, to provide a fossil fuel alternative energy source, store renewable energy, sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, counteract global warming, and store carbon dioxide in a liquid fuel.

The present invention is primarily directed to cost-effective systems for using large reflective elements that track the sun on two axes to concentrate solar energy onto a receiver that can convert the sun's optical energy to a form usable for extensive displacement of combustion of fossil fuels. The structures of the tracker frame, tracking mechanism and tracker supports are co-optimized with the optical elements and the receiver for high efficiency, low cost, and ease of assembly, making moderate and large-scale implementations cost-competitive with fossil fuels for peak power, and, with suitable storage, for base-load power and dispatchable peaking power in sunny locations. Improvement to small-tracker two-axis systems and one-axis tracking systems that focus in two dimensions are also included, as are improvements in systems for space-based solar power.

An apparatus and system to manage monitored traffic density in relationship to spatial locational flow rates. The system includes a variety of mobile and/or stationary transmitting and receiving comm-devices utilizing certified comm-devices equipped Avics iChipset arranged in a polarity of vehicles, in communication with stationary and/or mobile hub comm-devices and/or other certified comm-devices, strategically arranged within and/or along one or more roadways and in communication with a server channel networked to a central server. Configured to receive and/or transmit encrypted traffic data from the diversity of stationary and/or mobile transmitting and receiving comm-devices over the network, update traffic data in the non shared database, continuously calculate optimal traffic density flow for one or more of vehicles traveling along the one or more roadways based on the updated vehicular transit data, transmitting variations in speed adjustments in a network infrastructure to one or more vehicles; adjusting traffic light intersections based on traffic density traversing such roadways based on the optimal traffic flow suggestions combined with Predicated Traffic Artifacts transmitted via system generated encrypted digital comm-advice directives; and in turn share extracted and/or transmitted data with each state an federal DOT departments and other stack holders, including insurance companies and vehicle manufacturers and dealers with information to assist with making the traffic network safer. The present invention presents an Intuitive ITS engaged in Channeled Vehicular Telematics conveying statistical data, from an plurality of network devices, providing informational services forecasting safety-critical features and more, in return gathering and disseminating connected channelled intelligence between vehicles from within and surrounding infrastructures and other shareholders. Such data includes vehicle Phase-Change Spatial analytics from traffic congestion artifacts, along with Consumption Variable Analysis that provides real-time Energy Summation Data from combined vehicle exhausted energy by adjusting traffic flow based on traffic density in relationship with the human factor, vehicle capacity to navigate and topography and climatic variations in relationship with any area being traversed, and most importantly the use of the unique string identification. USIN acknowledged as ‘tMarker Audit Trail’ or simply tMarker Trail as to data inception creation point. Managed within a secure private network infrastructure, each comm-device is synchronized with localized cloud servers in communication will a central server. This invention embarks on a new era in vehicle management, further enhancing time sensitive movements, leaving no doubt as to Vehicle Symmetry Orientation, especially once you move your vehicle and additional particulars currently not beyond the scope of this art presented herein. ITTS will throughly reduce the worlds fossil fuel supply consumption rate and on many other fronts availed by extracted data, transmitted from each vehicles onboard vehicle processor equipped with Avics iChipSet on certified comm-devices, reducing navigational concerns to elementary variables creating a safe traffic network.

The present invention provides methods for decomposing and extracting compositions for the recovery of petroleum-based materials from composites comprising those petroleum-based materials, comprising subjecting the compositions and/or composites to microwave radiation, wherein the microwave radiation is in the range of from about 4 GHz to about 18 GHz. The present invention also provides for products produced by the methods of the present invention and for apparatuses used to perform the methods of the present invention.

Method and apparatus for generating a low tar, renewable fuel gas from biomass and using it in other energy conversion devices, many of which were designed for use with gaseous and liquid fossil fuels. An automated, downdraft gasifier incorporates extensive air injection into the char bed to maintain the conditions that promote the destruction of residual tars. The resulting fuel gas and entrained char and ash are cooled in a special heat exchanger, and then continuously cleaned in a filter prior to usage in standalone as well as networked power systems.

An integrated power production system including a fossil fuel power plant for processing fossil based fuel such as coal or natural gas arranged in tandem with a carbonate fuel cell having an anode and a cathode section. The flue gas of the power plant serves exclusively as the inlet gas for the cathode section of the fuel cell. Anode exhaust gas leaving the anode section of the fuel cell is subjected to processing including sequestration of the carbon dioxide in the exhaust gas.

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.

An environmentally beneficial method of producing methanol from varied sources of carbon dioxide including flue gases of fossil fuel burning power plants, industrial exhaust gases or the atmosphere itself. Converting carbon dioxide by an electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide in a divided electrochemical cell that includes an anode in one cell compartment and a metal cathode electrode in another cell compartment that also contains an aqueous solution comprising methanol and an electrolyte of one or more alkyl ammonium halides, alkali carbonates or combinations thereof to produce therein a reaction mixture containing carbon monoxide and hydrogen which can be subsequently used to produce methanol while also producing oxygen in the cell at the anode.

Lignin polymers having distinctive properties, including a generally high molecular weight and generally homogeneous size distribution, as well as preservation of native reactive side groups, are isolated by solvent extraction of plant materials. Methods for isolation of lignin polymers, and for use of the isolated lignin polymers are disclosed. Compositions containing lignin isolated from plant materials, such as carbon fiber composites, resins, adhesive binders and coatings, polyurethane-based foams, rubbers and elastomers, plastics, films, paints, nutritional supplements, food and beverage additives are disclosed. Xylose and xylose derivatives, furfural, fermentable sugars, cellulose and hemi-cellulose products may be used directly or further processed. The lignin polymers and other plant-derived products disclosed herein may be produced in abundance at low cost, and may be used as substitutes for feedstocks originating from fossil fuel or petrochemical sources in the manufacture of various products.

An environmentally beneficial method of producing methanol from varied sources of carbon dioxide including flue gases of fossil fuel burning powerplants, industrial exhaust gases or the atmosphere itself. Converting carbon dioxide by electrochemical reduction produces formic acid acid and some formaldehyde and methanol mixtures. The formic acid can be used as source of carbon as well as hydrogen to produce methanol, dimethyl ether and other products.

A high efficiency, environmentally friendly system comprising a plurality of photovoltaic solar collecting panels (PV panels) is disclosed. The system comprises an outer frame to which a plurality of inner frames are mounted to which the plurality of PV panels are attached. To minimize shadowing by the outer frame upon one or more PV panels, at least one PV panel may extend beyond an endpoint of the main frame. The system also comprises an outer frame rotation actuator that rotates the outer frame and an inner frame rotation actuator that rotates the inner frames and the plurality of PV panels. The solar tracking array frames disclosed herein help to improve the quality of the environment by conserving a variety of energy resources (e.g., fossil fuels, hydroelectric energy, etc.) The solar tracking array frames disclosed herein also help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as solar tracking array frames do not produce carbon dioxide byproducts.

The present invention relates to systems, apparatuses, and methods for providing a reliable, high purity source of CO₂ that is used in the recovery of formation deposits, such as fossil fuels. At least a portion of the fossil fuels recovered may be directly combusted or extracted using the same process used to provide the pure source of CO₂ without the need to first remove CO₂, sulfur, other fossil fuels, or other impurities.

A method for separation of CO₂ from the combustion gas from a thermal power plant fired with fossil fuel, wherein the combustion gas from the thermal power plant is used as cooled, compressed and reheated by combustion of natural gas in a combustion chamber to form an exhaust gas, where the exhaust gas is cooled an brought in contact with an absorbent absorbing CO₂ from the exhaust gas to form a low CO₂ stream and an absorbent with absorbed CO₂, and where the low CO₂ stream is heated by means of heat exchanges against the hot exhaust gas leaving the combustion chamber before it is expanded in turbines, is described. A plant for performing the method and a combined plant is also described.

A method for capturing and reducing the mercury content of an industrial flue gas such as that produced in the combustion of a fossil fuel or solid waste adds a chelating agent, such as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) or other similar compounds like HEDTA, DTPA and/or NTA, to the flue gas being scrubbed in a wet scrubber used in the industrial process. The chelating agent prevents the reduction of oxidized mercury to elemental mercury, thereby increasing the mercury removal efficiency of the wet scrubber. Exemplary tests on inlet and outlet mercury concentration in an industrial flue gas were performed without and with EDTA addition. Without EDTA, mercury removal totaled 42%. With EDTA, mercury removal increased to 71%. The invention may be readily adapted to known wet scrubber systems and it specifically provides for the removal of unwanted mercury both by supplying S2- ions to convert Hg2+ ions into mercuric sulfide (HgS) and by supplying a chelating agent to sequester other ions, including but not limited to Fe2+ ions, which could otherwise induce the unwanted reduction of Hg2+ to the form, Hg0.

Apparatus for biomass torrefaction which includes a serpentine elongated housing, the housing having three generally U-shaped axial portions having first and second axial extremities and an intermediate section, the first and second axial extremities are disposed in normal use at a higher elevation than the first and second axial extremities, the intermediate section being configured for holding a liquid. Other forms of the invention include the method for biomass torrefaction which includes providing a quantity of biomass, providing a liquid heat transfer fluid, providing at least a first housing for holding the heat transfer liquid, elevating the temperature of the liquid heat transfer liquid, heat treating the biomass by passing it through the heat transfer liquid in the first housing at a temperature and duration sufficient to accomplish torrefaction of the wood. In some forms of the method, the process further includes the step of pelletizing the biomass prior to performing the treating step.

An environmentally beneficial method of producing methanol from varied sources of carbon dioxide including flue gases of fossil fuel burning power plants, industrial exhaust gases or the atmosphere itself. Converting carbon dioxide by an electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide in a divided electrochemical cell that includes an anode in one compartment and a metal cathode electrode in a compartment that also contains an aqueous solution comprising methanol and an electrolyte. An anion-conducting membrane can be provided between the anode and cathode to produce at the cathode therein a reaction mixture containing carbon monoxide and hydrogen, which can be subsequently used to produce methanol while also producing oxygen in the cell at the anode. The oxygen produced at the anode can be recycled for efficient combustion of fossil fuels in power plants to exclusively produce CO₂ exhausts for capture and recycling as the source of CO₂ for the cell.

A method and system for environmental control and supplementary power generation in conventional and hybrid vehicle applications is presented. A thermoelectric heat pump function regulates vehicular interior temperature environments and uses the waste heat from a vehicles engine to power thermocouples and generate supplemental electrical current to power electrical devices. Thermocouples are used to gauge changes in temperature. The Peltier Effect is used to provide both primary cabin environmental control and supplementary power generation for motorized vehicle applications. Thermoelectric generators can be used for both primary internal climate control and supplementary power generation in the vehicular environment. Thermoelectric heat pumps' special characteristics are used to provide (a) primary cabin environment control including cooling, heating, dehumidifying, defrosting, pre-heating/pre-cooling and (b) supplemental DC power generation functions for conventional fossil fueled and/or biomass-fueled vehicles as well as emerging hybrid or all electric vehicle applications.

A system for retrofitting an internal combustion engine to use a proportion of hydrogen gas and existing fossil fuel is disclosed. The system is comprised of a source of hydrogen gas and means for delivering hydrogen gas to the combustion chamber of the engine. The engine operating parameters are adjusted and the delivery of hydrogen is controlled to provide selective introduction of hydrogen gas throughout the engine's operating cycle. The source of hydrogen gas can comprise an onboard hydrogen reformer, or hydrogen and carbon monoxide can be reformed inside the cylinder from an on board carrier of hydrogen. A single point injector placed at the intake manifold in close proximity to the engine intake valve can be used to mix the hydrogen gas to the air/fossil fuel mixture or sequential injectors can deliver hydrogen in close proximity to each engine intake valve, or directly into each cylinder.

The control of emissions from fossil-fired boilers wherein an injection of substances above the primary combustion zone employs multi-layer feedforward artificial neural networks for modeling static nonlinear relationships between the distribution of injected substances into the upper region of the furnace and the emissions exiting the furnace. Multivariable nonlinear constrained optimization algorithms use the mathematical expressions from the artificial neural networks to provide the optimal substance distribution that minimizes emission levels for a given total substance injection rate. Based upon the optimal operating conditions from the optimization algorithms, the incremental substance cost per unit of emissions reduction, and the open-market price per unit of emissions reduction, the intelligent emissions controller allows for the determination of whether it is more cost-effective to achieve additional increments in emission reduction through the injection of additional substance or through the purchase of emission credits on the open market. This is of particular interest to fossil-fired electrical power plant operators. The intelligent emission controller is particularly adapted for determining the economical control of such pollutants as oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and carbon monoxide (CO) emitted by fossil-fired boilers by the selective introduction of multiple inputs of substances (such as natural gas, ammonia, oil, water-oil emulsion, coal-water slurry and/or urea, and combinations of these substances) above the primary combustion zone of fossil-fired boilers.

Because the efficiency of the thermal energy storage technology is inherently restricted, its beneficial use is limited to very particular economic boundary conditions, i.e. a large difference between the value of electricity going into the unit and the value of electricity coming out of the unit. With the reduction in wind power equipment prices and the cost of fossil fuels and/or their combustion products this is occasionally the case for wind power. Wind is a free fuel and the value of wind power when there is too little load demand is essentially zero, and the value of wind power when there is demand is considerable indeed. Under these circumstances, a combination of electrothermal energy storage and combustion of (fossil) fuels as an auxiliary heat source provides for a cost efficient system for storing energy and an economical way of generating electricity.