The present invention relates to a solar system for providing volumetric energy reproducing the effect of a combustion flame for a high-temperature industrial process, characterized in that it comprises: a solar receiver exposed to concentrated solar radiation, in which heat transfer fluid (liquid or gas) is brought to high temperature; at least one high-temperature chamber in which said high-temperature industrial process is performed; injection means of the heat transfer fluid in the form of a gas jet reproducing a combustion flame in the at least one high-temperature chamber. The present invention also relates to a process for providing volumetric energy reproducing the effect of a combustion flame for this purpose.

Reliability of devices such as lighting fixtures, is improved by replacing an inductor based voltage inverter to power the device with a switching constant current PWM controller. Avoiding use of an inductor and matching capacitor is made possible by a high voltage power input that exceeds the voltage requirements of the device. The power is pulse width modulated with a current feedback to control duty cycle, and thus average device current.

A closed-loop system and method for heating of target contaminant treatment zones (150) having environmental contaminants of concern present in the groundwater and the soil by thermal conduction, and subsequent enhancement of physical, biological and chemical processes to attenuate, remove and degrade contaminants in the target contaminant treatment zones, is disclosed. The system and method collects solar or other heat and transfers that heat via a closed-loop and a set of borehole exchangers (120) to subsurface soil in the proximity of and/or directly to the target contaminant treatment zones. The target contaminant treatment zone may comprise contaminated soil, contaminated groundwater in an aquifer, or industrial waste comprising water and/or solids. Solar collectors or heat exchangers capturing waste heat from industrial processes may be used as the heat source (110).

The present disclosure relates to power plants. The teachings thereof may be embodied in power plants which extract and store carbon dioxide from flue gas generated in the power plant, and in methods for operating a power plant of this kind. For example, a method for operating a power plant may include: generating electrical energy from a combustion process, extracting carbon dioxide from a flue gas generated during the combustion process; storing the extracted carbon dioxide; acquiring current electricity price data; comparing the current electricity price data with an electricity price threshold; and if the electricity price falls below the electricity price threshold, operating an electrolysis device to convert stored carbon dioxide into other substances.

A hybrid receiver for a concentrator photovoltaic-thermal power system combines a concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) module and a thermal module that converts concentrated sunlight into electrical energy and thermal heat. Heat transfer fluid flowing through a cooling block removes waste heat generated by photovoltaic cells in the CPV module. The heat transfer fluid then flows through a helical tube illuminated by sunlight that misses the CPV module. Only one fluid system is used to both remove the photovoltaic-cell waste heat and capture high-temperature thermal energy from sunlight. Fluid leaving the hybrid receiver can have a temperature greater than 200° C., and therefore may be used as a source of process heat for a variety of commercial and industrial applications. The hybrid receiver can maintain the photovoltaic cells at temperatures below 110° C. while achieving overall energy conversion efficiencies exceeding 80%.

The present disclosure provides biorefining systems for co-producing activated carbon along with primary products. A host plant converts a feedstock comprising biomass into primary products and carbon-containing co-products; a modular reactor system pyrolyzes and activates the co-products, to generate activated carbon and pyrolysis off-gas; and an oxidation unit oxidizes the pyrolysis off-gas, generating CO.sub.2, H.sub.2O, and energy. The energy is recycled and utilized in the host plant, and the CO.sub.2 and H.sub.2O may be recycled to the reactor system as an activation agent. The host plant may be a saw mill, a pulp and paper plant, a corn wet or dry mill, a sugar production facility, or a food or beverage plant, for example. In some embodiments, the activated carbon is utilized at the host plant to purify one or more primary products, to purify water, to treat a liquid waste stream, and/or to treat a vapor waste stream.

A distributed direct current power system including an inverter to invert DC to alternating current (AC), a plurality of photovoltaic (PV) strings, and a plurality of maximum power point tracking (MPPT) converters coupled between the plurality of photovoltaic (PV) strings, respectively, and the central inverter, the plurality of MPPT converters configured to maximize solar power production by the plurality of PV strings and minimize mismatch between the plurality of PV strings. The system also including a plurality of batteries, a plurality of DC-DC battery converters (DCBC) coupled to the plurality of batteries and configured to manage charge and discharge of the plurality of batteries, enable interconnection of the plurality of PV strings and the plurality of batteries, and supply a constant medium DC voltage to the central inverter, and a hydrogen generation system in electrical communication with the inverter, the photovoltaic strings, or the batteries.

Electrical power is dynamically managed a power source a load. A control switching system has a plurality of monitor nodes, a control switch having two switching states, and an electrical power storage cell connected to the power source in one of the switching states for storing voltage, and operative for discharging the stored voltage to the electrical load in the other of the switching states. A programmed controller dynamically monitors operating conditions at the monitor nodes during operation of the electrical load and the power source, and switches the control switch between the switching states in response to the monitored operating conditions for supplying a voltage of a desired waveform shape to the load.

A storage battery device is provided with a transmitter which, in cases when a power supply of the storage battery device is turned on, repeatedly transmits, for a prescribed time period, a classification message including the classification of the storage battery device.

Solar energy is collected and used for various industrial processes, such as oilfield applications, e.g. generating steam that is injected downhole, enabling enhanced oil recovery. Solar energy is indirectly collected using a heat transfer fluid in a solar collector, delivering heat to a heat exchanger that in turn delivers heat into oilfield feedwater, producing hotter water or steam. Solar energy is directly collected by directly generating steam with solar collectors, and then injecting the steam downhole. Solar energy is collected to preheat water that is then fed into fuel-fired steam generators that in turn produce steam for downhole injection. Solar energy is collected to produce electricity via a Rankine cycle turbine generator, and rejected heat warms feedwater for fuel-fired steam generators. Solar energy is collected (directly or indirectly) to deliver heat to a heater-treater, with optional fuel-fired additional heat generation.