This invention relates to a power recovery process in waste steam/CO.sub.2 reformers in which a waste stream can be made to release energy without having to burn the waste or the syngas. This invention in some embodiments does not make use of fuel cells as a component but makes use of exothermic chemical reactors using syngas to produce heat, such as Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. It also relates to control or elimination of the emissions of greenhouse gases in the power recovery process of this invention with the goal of producing energy in the future carbonless world economy.

Novel redox based systems for fuel and chemical production with in-situ CO.sub.2 capture are provided. A redox system using one or more chemical intermediates is utilized in conjunction with liquid fuel generation via indirect Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, direct hydrogenation, or pyrolysis. The redox system is used to generate a hydrogen rich stream and/or CO.sub.2 and/or heat for liquid fuel and chemical production. A portion of the byproduct fuels and/or steam from liquid fuel and chemical synthesis is used as part of the feedstock for the redox system.

A direct carbonaceous material to power generation system integrates one or more solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) into a fluidized bed gasifier. The fuel cell anode is in direct contact with bed material so that the H.sub.2 and CO generated in the bed are oxidized to H.sub.2O and CO.sub.2 to create a push-pull or source-sink reaction environment. The SOFC is exothermic and supplies heat within a reaction chamber of the gasifier where the fluidized bed conducts an endothermic reaction. The products from the anode are the reactants for the reformer and vice versa. A lower bed in the reaction chamber may comprise engineered multi-function material which may incorporate one or more catalysts and reactant adsorbent sites to facilitate excellent heat and mass transfer and fluidization dynamics in fluidized beds. The catalyst is capable of cracking tars and reforming hydrocarbons.

A direct carbonaceous material to power generation system integrates one or more solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) into a fluidized bed gasifier. The fuel cell anode is in direct contact with bed material so that the H.sub.2 and CO generated in the bed are oxidized to H.sub.2O and CO.sub.2 to create a push-pull or source-sink reaction environment. The SOFC is exothermic and supplies heat within a reaction chamber of the gasifier where the fluidized bed conducts an endothermic reaction. The products from the anode are the reactants for the reformer and vice versa. A lower bed in the reaction chamber may comprise engineered multi-function material which may incorporate one or more catalysts and reactant adsorbent sites to facilitate excellent heat and mass transfer and fluidization dynamics in fluidized beds. The catalyst is capable of cracking tars and reforming hydrocarbons.

The present invention is directed to a pyrolysis method. The method involves providing a biomass and subjecting the biomass, in a reactor operating under conditions of parasitic heat loss of less than 1% of the biomass' chemical energy content, to partial oxidation where, during steady state operation of the reactor, oxygen is provided to the reactor in sufficient quantity to achieve an equivalence ratio of 0.06 to 0.15 to release sufficient energy to support endothermic pyrolysis reactions and produce condensable organic compounds as the major portion of the pyrolysis products.

An apparatus is provided for processing reusable fuel comprising: a continuous material supply assembly; a heated airlock feeder configured to continuously receive and process the material supply received therein; a reactor configured to receive the processed material from the heated airlock feeder; and a vapor refining system configured to process vapor supplied by the reactor. The apparatus may comprise a char disposal system configured to eliminate char from the reactor. The apparatus may also comprise a thermal expansion system configured to allow thermal expansion of the reactor. A cooling system may be configured to receive processed fuel from the reactor.

An equilibrium approach reactor with the ability to receive a highly variable gas and normalise it to a useful quality, and further to utilise the energy from the gas itself to robustly elevate the operating temperature, to ensure good mixing and high conversion while having the ability to handle solids in multiple states.

An equilibrium approach reactor with the ability to receive a highly variable gas and normalise it to a useful quality, and further to utilise the energy from the gas itself to robustly elevate the operating temperature, to ensure good mixing and high conversion while having the ability to handle solids in multiple states.

A method for producing a synthesis gas from an organic material with a moisture content of less than 20%. A first step for carrying out the thermolysis of the organic material and a second, separate step for the gasification (ii) of the thermolysed organic material. The thermolysis step is carried out by increasing the temperature of the raw material up to an end temperature higher than 150 C. and lower than 1400 C.; the thermolysis step (i) is carried out in a controlled gas atmosphere in which the quantity of oxygen supplied is less than 20% of the quantity of oxygen required for the stoichiometric combustion of the organic raw material; the thermolysis gas obtained in the thermolysis step is conveyed to a purification step (iii) for removing undesirable elements.

A method for producing a synthesis gas from an organic material with a moisture content of less than 20%. A first step for carrying out the thermolysis of the organic material and a second, separate step for the gasification (ii) of the thermolysed organic material. The thermolysis step is carried out by increasing the temperature of the raw material up to an end temperature higher than 150 C. and lower than 1400 C.; the thermolysis step (i) is carried out in a controlled gas atmosphere in which the quantity of oxygen supplied is less than 20% of the quantity of oxygen required for the stoichiometric combustion of the organic raw material; the thermolysis gas obtained in the thermolysis step is conveyed to a purification step (iii) for removing undesirable elements.