A universal chemical processor (UCP) including a reactor vessel with a main chamber, comprises inlets for feedstock, a fluidizing medium and reactants. The UCP further includes a reactive X-ray chemical processor (RXCP) having a large area hollow cylindrical cold cathode in the main chamber, a grid positioned concentrically with respect to the cathode, and an anode positioned concentrically with respect to the cathode and grid. In operation, when activated, the cathode of the RXCP emits electrodes onto the anode, which then emits X-rays into a radiation zone within the main chamber capable of ionizing feedstock and reactants, inducing chemical reactions, and sterilizing and decomposing organic materials within the radiation zone, and wherein, a fluidized bed is supported in the main chamber when the fluidizing medium and feedstock are supplied. The RXCP and the fluidized bed portions can be operated separately or in conjunction to achieve unanticipated results.

Described herein is a dry sorbent injection system and process for removing sulfur oxides from a flue gas. The process generally comprises treating the flue gas with a dry sorbent material to convert the sulfur oxides to sodium sulfate particulates. The sodium sulfate particulates may then be introduced into a mix tank with water to form sodium sulfate solution. The sodium sulfate solution may then be reacted with a calcium hydroxide slurry to produce a reaction mixture comprising calcium sulfate precipitate and a sodium hydroxide solution. The calcium sulfate (gypsum) may be recovered, and the sodium hydroxide solution may be recirculated to pre-treat the flue gas by removing at least a portion of the sulfur dioxide and/or cooling the flue gas stream.

Described herein is a dry sorbent injection system and process for removing sulfur oxides from a flue gas. The process generally comprises treating the flue gas with a dry sorbent material to convert the sulfur oxides to sodium sulfate particulates. The sodium sulfate particulates may then be introduced into a mix tank with water to form sodium sulfate solution. The sodium sulfate solution may then be reacted with a calcium hydroxide slurry to produce a reaction mixture comprising calcium sulfate precipitate and a sodium hydroxide solution. The calcium sulfate (gypsum) may be recovered, and the sodium hydroxide solution may be recirculated to pre-treat the flue gas by removing at least a portion of the sulfur dioxide and/or cooling the flue gas stream.

Methods of recovering coal combustion products (CCPs) and/or dry bottom furnace slag (DBFS) from coal combustion byproducts are disclosed. The methods include compiling coal combustion byproducts (e.g., from combustion of lignite coal and/or bituminous coal), grinding the coal combustion byproducts to form ground coal combustion byproducts with a maximum particle size of 40 microns, and separating CCPs from the ground coal combustion byproducts using an electrostatic precipitator. The following CCPs can be separated from the coal combustion byproducts using the presently disclosed methods: fly ash, bottom ash (e.g., containing pyrites), scrubber materials (e.g., calcium sulfate and calcium sulfite), and raw coal.

A universal chemical processor (UCP) including a reactor vessel having a central longitudinal axis and main chamber comprises a first inlet port for a main feedstock, a second inlet port for a fluidizing medium and a third inlet port for one or more reactants. The UCP also includes a reactive radioactive chemical processor (R.sup.2CP) that contains a radioactive element positioned extending along the longitudinal axis in the main chamber. In operation, a fluidized bed can be supported in the main chamber when a fluidizing medium and feedstock are supplied to the main chamber through the first and second inlet ports and the radioactive element of the R.sup.2CP emits ionizing radiation that is capable of ionizing feedstock and reactants, inducing chemical reactions, and sterilizing and decomposing any organic materials within a radiation zone.

A method for recovering valuable substance, for recovering it from lithium ion secondary battery includes: thermal treatment step of thermally treating lithium ion secondary battery to obtain thermally treated product; pulverizing/classifying step of classifying pulverized product obtained by pulverizing thermally treated product, to obtain coarse and fine-grained products both containing valuable substance; water leaching step of immersing fine-grained product in water, to obtain water-leached slurry; wet magnetic sorting step of subjecting water-leached slurry to wet magnetic sorting, to sort water-leached slurry into magnetically attractable materials and non-magnetically attractable material slurry; and acid leaching step of adding acidic solution to either or both of non-magnetically attractable material slurry recovered by wet magnetic sorting and non-magnetically attractable materials obtained by solid-liquid separation of non-magnetically attractable material slurry to leach non-magnetically attractable materials at pH lower than 4, followed by solid-liquid separation to obtain acid leaching liquid and acid leaching residue.

A sound damping wallboard for installation on an installed wallboard, a sound damping wallboard system, and a method of constructing a sound damping wallboard on a building structure are disclosed. The sound damping wallboard includes a gypsum layer having a gypsum layer inner surface and a gypsum layer outer surface, a first sound damping layer disposed at the gypsum layer inner surface and having a first sound damping layer inner surface opposite the gypsum layer inner surface, a first encasing layer disposed at the gypsum layer outer surface, a second encasing layer disposed at the first sound damping layer inner surface, and a second sound damping layer disposed at the second encasing layer opposite the first sound damping layer inner surface.

A universal chemical processor (UCP) including a reactor vessel having a central longitudinal axis and main chamber comprises a first inlet port for a main feedstock, a second inlet port for a fluidizing medium and a third inlet port for one or more reactants. The UCP also includes a reactive radioactive chemical processor (R.sup.2CP) that contains a radioactive element positioned extending along the longitudinal axis in the main chamber. In operation, a fluidized bed can be supported in the main chamber when a fluidizing medium and feedstock are supplied to the main chamber through the first and second inlet ports and the radioactive element of the R.sup.2CP emits ionizing radiation that is capable of ionizing feedstock and reactants, inducing chemical reactions, and sterilizing and decomposing any organic materials within a radiation zone.

A system and method for producing minerals from divalent ion-containing brine stream includes rejecting sulfate from a divalent-ion rich reject stream in a first nanofiltration seawater reverse osmosis (NF-SWRO) unit, producing solid calcium sulfate dihydrate and a magnesium-rich brine stream in a first concentration unit, concentrating the magnesium-rich brine stream to a saturation point of sodium chloride in a second concentration unit, producing solid sodium chloride and a supernatant product stream in a first crystallizing unit, produce a concentrated magnesium-rich bittern stream from the supernatant product stream in a third concentration unit, and at least one of producing hydrated magnesium chloride from the concentrated magnesium-rich bittern stream in a second crystallizing unit and producing anhydrous magnesium chloride by prilling the concentrated magnesium-rich bitterns stream under a hydrogen chloride atmosphere in a dry air process unit.

A system and method for producing minerals from divalent ion-containing brine stream includes rejecting sulfate from a divalent-ion rich reject stream in a first nanofiltration seawater reverse osmosis (NF-SWRO) unit, producing solid calcium sulfate dihydrate and a magnesium-rich brine stream in a first concentration unit, concentrating the magnesium-rich brine stream to a saturation point of sodium chloride in a second concentration unit, producing solid sodium chloride and a supernatant product stream in a first crystallizing unit, produce a concentrated magnesium-rich bittern stream from the supernatant product stream in a third concentration unit, and at least one of producing hydrated magnesium chloride from the concentrated magnesium-rich bittern stream in a second crystallizing unit and producing anhydrous magnesium chloride by prilling the concentrated magnesium-rich bitterns stream under a hydrogen chloride atmosphere in a dry air process unit.