A method is provided for thermally processing waste to produce steam and generate energy while minimizing air pollutants in a staged thermal reactor. The method includes gasifying the waste to convert the waste to a fuel gas and a substantially carbon free, inert, granulated, sintered mineral ash and reforming the fuel gas auto-thermally to minimize creation of nitrogen oxide when the fuel gas is combusted. The method further includes burning the reformed fuel gas to minimize creation of nitrogen oxide in a flame region of a fuel gas burner and recirculating cooled flue gas to control oxygen content and temperature during the reforming operation and the burning operation. In one example, reforming the fuel gas converts non-molecular nitrogen species into molecular nitrogen in an auto-thermal non-catalytic reformer unit by decomposition reactions promoted by a prevailing reducing gas atmosphere.

A thermochemical system & method may be configured to convert an organic feedstock to various products. A thermochemical system may include a solid material feed module, a reactor module, an afterburner module, and a solid product finishing module. The various operational parameters (temperature, pressure, etc.) of the various modules may vary depending on the desired products. The product streams may be gaseous, vaporous, liquid, and/or solid.

This invention provides a system or method that includes combustion of mixed content solid waste to produce flue gases and separation of carbon dioxide gas in the produced combustion flue gas from other gaseous constituents of the flue gas in an amount produced from the burning of plastic material contained in the mixed content solid waste. The separated carbon dioxide is sequestered in geologic formations, thereby providing environmentally sound disposal and elimination of plastic waste, in one consolidated process, free of the need for separation of plastic waste from other solid or the need to identify and separate the various forms and compositions of plastic waste material. The illustrative disposal of plastic waste hereby is generally free of emission into the atmosphere of carbon dioxide gas. The invention includes a fee-generation process applied to customers, which can quantified and generated in association with the application of the system or method.

A process of making a fuel product from a non-combustible high protein organic material such as a biological by-product or waste material. The moisture content of the high protein organic material is mechanically reduced and dried to reduce the moisture content to less than ten percent (10%). The high protein organic material is pulverized to a particle size of less than about 2 mm. The high protein organic waste material is fed into a combustion chamber and separated during combustion such as by spraying of the high protein organic waste material within the combustion chamber. Temperature and nitrogenous hydrocarbon combustion reactions within the combustion chamber are also controlled by injection of steam within the combustion chamber. The concentration of protein thermal decomposition by-products, the temperature and/or pressure within the combustion chamber is also controlled to degrade hazardous polyfluoro compounds into less hazardous compounds.

A power-generation system having a combined heat and power plant and a fermentation plant has an electrolysis plant, which is connected by lines to both the combined heat and power plant and to the fermentation plant. This arrangement enables a method in which heat from a combined heat and power plant can be used for a fermentation plant and additionally heat from an electrolysis plant can be used for the fermentation plant, whilst the oxygen from the electrolysis plant is used for the combined heat and power plant.

A burner capable of burning crude or other heavy oil. A combustion chamber is surrounded by a wall of thermal insulation. An air-fuel injector pipe extends through the wall and opens into the combustion chamber. An oil supply pipe extends along the interior of the air fuel injector pipe to an inner open end that is proximate the inner end of the air-fuel injector pipe. A venturi insert is fixed within the air-fuel injector pipe and has an orifice positioned outward of the open inner end of the oil supply pipe. A combustion air supply including a blower and a recuperator transfers heat from outgoing combusted exhaust gases to incoming combustion-supporting air being blown through the recuperator and the air fuel injector pipe into the combustion chamber.

A toxic waste incinerator is capable of enhanced combustion of hazardous waste (oil contaminated sand, human waste, garbage, etc.) utilizing immersed non-combustible and thermally conductive objects for increasing heat feedback from the flames to the unburned fuel, while air inlets are used to optimize the air entrainment rate to enhance the burning efficiency. The burning rate of a fluidic mass such as a sand-oil mixture is enhanced using immersed conductive objects (copper rods) which enable rapid heat-up of the flame exposed to the upper surface of the rod and transmits heat back into the sand. Consequent conduction of heat to the porous media through the lower portion of the immersed rod significantly increases vaporization and therefore the burning rate. Incineration may be performed on a transient, exigent basis as with hazardous waste and oil spills, or as part of a permanent fixture for receiving an ongoing waste stream.

In a fossil fuel waste incineration or plasma gasification process, waste heat generated by combustion of waste is captured by a heat transfer fluid and conveyed to an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) for energy recovery. In the case of a fossil fuel-fired waste incineration system, the heat transfer fluid captures waste heat from a double-walled combustion chamber, a heat exchanger being used to cool the hot process exhaust (gas cooler). In the case of a plasma waste gasification system, the heat transfer fluid captures waste heat from a plasma torch, a gasification chamber and combustion chamber cooling jackets as well as any other high-temperature components requiring cooling, and then a heat exchanger used to cool the hot process exhaust (gas cooler). The heat exchanger may take on several configurations, including plate or shell and tube configurations.

Provided is a combustion system, and in particular a thermal decomposition system and plasma melting system, with which superheated steam is generated in an energy-efficient manner and the combustion structure has an improved combustion efficiency. A combustion system for making hot water coming from a boiler (11) into superheated steam with a superheated steam generation device (20) and supplying the superheated steam to a combustion structure (50) is provided with the following: the combustion structure (50) which combusts a fuel and a carbonaceous solid at 350 to 1,000 C.; a heat storage device (70) for storing waste heat from the combustion structure; and a heat exchange water tank (12) that is connected so as to allow heat exchange, through a heat transport medium, with heat from the heat storage device (70), and that heats water that is supplied to the boiler (11). The combustion system is provided with an oxyhydrogen gas supply structure (40) for heating the water supplied to the boiler (11) and also supplying an oxygen/hydrogen mixed gas, and a mixer (30) for mixing the superheated steam generated with the superheated steam generation device (20) and the oxygen/hydrogen mixed gas from the oxyhydrogen gas supply structure (40). The superheated steam is mixed with the oxyhydrogen gas and supplied to the combustion structure (50).

A rotary cascading bed combustion system for converting waste product into energy includes a rotary cascading bed combustor boiler including a rotating cylinder surrounding a combustion chamber; the rotating cylinder being structured and disposed for cascading the fuel to facilitate the mixing of air and solids, wherein the rotational speed of the rotating cylinder is selectively varied based on the amount of fuel, airflow and combustion properties; wherein combusting waste is mixed with sorbents and cycled through a plurality of combustion zones to produce controlled heat for generating steam; wherein the steam is routed to a turbine; and wherein if carbon burnout is not complete it will be recycled back into the combustion chamber.