The invention relates to a a method for producing a synthesis gas for use in the production of a hydrocarbon product, particularly a synthetic fuel, said method comprising the steps of: providing a hydrocarbon feed stream comprising biogas; optionally, purifying the hydrocarbon feed stream in a gas purification unit; optionally, prereforming the hydrocarbon feed stream together with a steam feedstock in a prereforming unit; carrying out steam methane reforming in a reforming reactor heated by means of an electrical power source; providing the synthesis gas to a synthetic fuel synthesis unit, preferably a Fischer-Tropsch synthesis unit, for converting said synthesis gas into hydrocarbon product and producing a tail gas. The invention also relates to a system for producing a synthesis gas for use in the production of a hydrocarbon product, particularly a synthetic fuel.

A power-to-X system for the utilization of off-gases, includes an electrolyzer for generating hydrogen H2 and oxygen O2, a unit, connected to the electrolyzer, for processing the hydrogen H2, for removing any remaining water H2O and oxygen O2 from the generated stream of hydrogen H2, a compressor, connected to the unit for processing the hydrogen H2, for compressing the hydrogen H2, and a chemical reactor, connected to the compressor, for producing a synthesis gas consisting of hydrogen H2 and carbon dioxide CO2 that can be added. An oxy-fuel combustion system to which non-condensable off-gases from the chemical reactor and oxygen O2 from the electrolyzer can be supplied, and carbon dioxide CO2 generated during the combustion of the off-gases in the oxy-fuel combustion system can be returned to the stream of hydrogen H2 downstream of the electrolyzer via a return line.

A method for increasing the fertility of soil for agricultural crop production by producing a biofertilizer containing one or more selected strains of nitrogen fixing cyanobacteria that are compatible with the type of soil and environmental conditions where the biofertilizer is to be applied and rhizobacteria, and applying the biofertilizer to such soil at a rate that is sufficient to accelerate the fertilization performance of the soil for the growth of agricultural products, and to increase the net terrestrial sequestration of CO2.

There are provided display controllers and driving methods related to those described in US Published Patent Application No. 2013/0194250. These include (a) a display controller having an update buffer, means for removing from the update buffer pixels not requiring updating, and means to ensure that pixels having certain special states are not removed from the update buffer; (b) a method of driving a bistable display wherein, in a pixel undergoing a white-to-white transition and lying adjacent another pixel undergoing a visible transition, there is applied to the pixel one or more balanced pulse pairs and at least one top-off pulse; (c) a method of driving a bistable display by overlaying a non-rectangular item over a pre-existing image content and then removing the item, where only pixels in the region of the item perform transitions (including self-transitions); and (d) a method of driving a bistable display in which a proportion of background pixels not undergoing an optical change are subjected to a refresh pulse to correct optical state drift.

A method of producing a fertilizer composition, the method comprising: (a) providing a composition comprising ammonia; and (b) contacting the composition provided in step (a) with: (i) a composition comprising carbon dioxide; and (ii) a source of sulfate ion; and (iii)cellulosic fibres.

Whole cell based biostimulant compositions and methods for improving agricultural productivity the compositions including: a microbial consortium having gammaproteobacterial methanotroph. As a result of these methanotrophs, the biostimulant composition enables plant performance improvement, utilization of methane, and facilitates improved nitrogen fixation in plants. The composition also helps in reducing the need of external chemical fertilizers for plant growth, development, performance and/or survival.

The present disclosure relates to protein hydrolysate based biostimulant composition derived from methanotrophic bacteria, and methods for enhancing agricultural productivity. In particular, the compositions disclosed herein comprise a protein-derived component in an amount of about 30% or less with respect to weight of the composition, wherein said protein-derived component is obtained from a methanotrophic bacterium. The present biostimulant composition finds applications in methods for improving plant performance along with methods for reducing the need of external chemical fertilizer-based inputs for plant growth.

Some variations provide a process for producing biocarbon pellets, comprising: pyrolyzing a biomass-containing feedstock in a first pyrolysis reactor to generate a first biogenic reagent and a pyrolysis vapor; introducing the pyrolysis vapor to a separation unit, to generate a pyrolysis precipitate in liquid or solid form; contacting the first biogenic reagent with the pyrolysis precipitate, thereby generating an intermediate material; pelletizing the intermediate material, to generate intermediate pellets; optionally, drying the intermediate pellets; separately pyrolyzing the intermediate pellets in a second pyrolysis reactor to generate a second biogenic reagent and a pyrolysis off-gas; and recovering the second biogenic reagent as biocarbon pellets. Some variations provide a similar process that utilizes a carbon-containing condensed-matter material, which is not necessarily a pyrolysis precipitate. The disclosure provides improved processes for producing biocarbon compositions, especially with respect to carbon yield and biocarbon properties, such as reactivity.

The present invention discloses a rapid evaluation method for quality of lignin-pyrolyzed bio-oil and an application thereof, and particularly relates to a rapid evaluation method for quality of lignin-pyrolyzed bio-oil based on radical detection and an application thereof. The method can be used to evaluate the quality of lignin-pyrolyzed bio-oil by detecting the spin concentration of radicals in lignin char obtained by lignin pyrolysis, thus avoiding the complex processes involved in the evaluation for the quality of conventional pyrolyzed bio-oils such as, extraction, separation and detection and reducing the detection costs substantially. The detection method of the present invention is simple and easy to operate, thus achieving the rapid evaluation for the quality of lignin-pyrolyzed bio-oil. Moreover, the detection method of the present invention is non-contact detection without destructive samples, which is applicable to the rapid detection on the quality of lignin-pyrolyzed bio-oil in the field of industry and scientific research. The present invention further broadens the application fields of radical detection and contributes to the development of radical detection technology in the field of pyrolysis, and provides a reliable method for the detection of lignin-pyrolyzed bio-oil, which has good application prospect.

There is disclosed a modular anaerobic digestion point-of-waste to renewable energy system. The system is directed to a modular and scalable anaerobic digestion system for point-of-waste use. The System includes a pretreatment process for removing inhibitory nutrients from a feedstock, an in-treatment process for providing clean renewable energy and a post-treatment process for further providing clean renewable energy for subsequent use. The System includes a leaching bed; a liquids tank; a mixing tank; an anaerobic digester reactor; a precipitation tank; a stripping tank; a hydrogen sulfide scrubber; a water remover; a gas bladder; a dewaterer; and a flare system.