The invention relates to a process for recovering methane from digester biogas or landfill gas. More specifically, the invention pertains to a method for producing biomethane that removes impurities from a compressed digester biogas with staged membrane modules of at least two different types, to produce a biomethane having at least 94% CH.sub.4, below 3% of CO.sub.2, and below 4 ppm of H.sub.2S.

A plasma abatement process for abating effluent containing compounds from a processing chamber is described. A plasma abatement process takes gaseous foreline effluent from a processing chamber, such as a deposition chamber, and reacts the effluent within a plasma chamber placed in the foreline path. The plasma dissociates the compounds within the effluent, converting the effluent into more benign compounds. Abating reagents may assist in the abating of the compounds. The abatement process may be a volatizing or a condensing abatement process. Representative volatilizing abating reagents include, for example, CH.sub.4, H.sub.2O, H.sub.2, NF.sub.3, SF.sub.6, F.sub.2, HCl, HF, Cl.sub.2, and HBr. Representative condensing abating reagents include, for example, H.sub.2, H.sub.2O, O.sub.2, N.sub.2, O.sub.3, CO, CO.sub.2, NH.sub.3, N.sub.2O, CH.sub.4, and combinations thereof.

Embodiments disclosed herein include a method for abating compounds produced in semiconductor processes. The method includes energizing an abating agent, forming a composition by reacting the energized abating agent with gases exiting a vacuum processing chamber, and flowing the composition through a plurality of holes formed in a cooling plate. By cooling the composition with the cooling plate, damages on the downstream pump are avoided.

An oxidation catalyst is described for treating an exhaust gas produced by a diesel engine, wherein the oxidation catalyst comprises: a substrate; a capture material for capturing at least one phosphorus containing impurity and/or at least one sulfur containing impurity in the exhaust gas produced by the diesel engine; and a catalytic region disposed on the substrate; wherein the catalytic region comprises a catalytic material comprising a platinum group metal (PGM) selected from the group consisting of platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd) and a combination of platinum (Pt) and palladium (Pd).

A filter includes a filter media material through which a gas is transportable, a first metal salt immobilized upon the filter media material and a second metal salt immobilized upon the filter media material, wherein the first metal salt and the second metal salt are immobilized upon the filter media material from an aqueous solution comprising the first metal salt and the second metal salt.

Some embodiments include a method of producing metal diboride nanomaterials having thickness down to the atomic scale and lateral areas from 10 nm to over 1 m by preparing a mixture of a metal diboride and a suspending solution. The suspending solution can be an organic solvent or a solution containing water, and optionally can include a dispersion agent, such as a surfactant, a polymer, small molecule, or biopolymer. Further, the method includes exfoliating the metal diboride by exposing the mixture to ultrasonic energy, centrifuging the mixture forming supernatant that includes a dispersion of exfoliated metal diborides, and extracting the dispersion from the supernatant. Some embodiments include extracting the supernatant and casting the solution by diluting the dispersion with a second suspending solution that includes dissolved polymer. This can result in a composite film includes a dispersion of the exfoliated metal diborides and provides improved mechanical properties.

Embodiments disclosed herein include an abatement system for abating compounds produced in semiconductor processes. The abatement system includes an exhaust cooling apparatus located downstream of a plasma source. The exhaust cooling apparatus includes a plate and a cooling plate disposed downstream of the plate. During operation, materials collected on the plate react with cleaning radicals to form a gas. The temperature of the plate is higher than the temperature of the cooling plate in order to improve the reaction rate of the reaction of the cleaning radicals and the materials on the plate.

In one aspect, a method for coal purification and gasification may include steps of heating the coal including various hydrocarbons and harmful substances such as sulfides, phosphates, etc. to 900 to 1200 C. in a coal gasifier; providing a reaction chamber with oxygen and connecting with the coal gasifier; the sulfides, phosphates, etc. in the gasified coal entering the reaction chamber from the coal gasifier and reacting with the oxygen therein; separating mixtures from the reaction chamber to collect hydrocarbons in its fluidized phase; heating the fluidized hydrocarbons; and providing oxygen to react with the gasified form of hydrocarbons to achieve a complete burning of the hydrocarbons.

Adsorbent materials are disclosed, along with filter elements containing the adsorbent materials methods of using adsorbents to remove siloxane contaminants from a gas stream. The method includes providing an adsorbent material that has been washed with an acid and passing a gas through the adsorbent material so as to reduce siloxane levels in the gas. A filter element for reducing siloxane levels in a gas includes a first adsorbent material, the first adsorbent material comprising an acid-washed adsorbent; and a second adsorbent material, the second adsorbent material comprising an acid-impregnated adsorbent.

A plasma abatement process for abating effluent containing compounds from a processing chamber is described. A plasma abatement process takes gaseous foreline effluent from a processing chamber, such as a deposition chamber, and reacts the effluent within a plasma chamber placed in the foreline path. The plasma dissociates the compounds within the effluent, converting the effluent into more benign compounds. Abating reagents may assist in the abating of the compounds. The abatement process may be a volatizing or a condensing abatement process. Representative volatilizing abating reagents include, for example, CH.sub.4, H.sub.2O, H.sub.2, NF.sub.3, SF.sub.6, F.sub.2, HCl, HF, Cl.sub.2, and HBr. Representative condensing abating reagents include, for example, H.sub.2, H.sub.2O, O.sub.2, N.sub.2, O.sub.3, CO, CO.sub.2, NH.sub.3, N.sub.2O, CH.sub.4, and combinations thereof.