A system and method are described for heating a substance (i.e., liquid, gas, and/or an absorbed solid) using a carbon nanostructured porous foam as a heat transfer material and an electronic heat source. In some embodiments, the heat source may be a microwave volumetric heating (MVH) system. The method for heating, vaporizing, or decomposing any of the desired substance may involve filtering or continuously flowing the substance through the carbon nanostructured porous foam heat transfer material, resulting in physical confinement or absorption of the substance, and subjecting the carbon nanostructure porous foam heat transfer material to sufficient electronic radiation.

A method of enhancing the carbon content of a carbon-containing material, which includes loading a chamber with a carbon-containing material, evacuating air from the chamber, introducing an inert gas into the chamber, and heating sequentially the chamber at three or more different temperature phases each for a duration of time such that the weight percentage of the carbon in the treated carbon-containing material is increased by 20% or higher, as compared to the untreated carbon-containing material. Further disclosed is a system for performing this method.

Biomass (e.g., plant biomass, animal biomass, and municipal waste biomass) is processed to produce useful intermediates and products, such as energy, fuels, foods or materials. For example, systems and methods are described that can be used to treat feedstock materials, such as cellulosic and/or lignocellulosic materials, in a vault in which the equipment is protected from radiation and hazardous gases by equipment enclosures. The equipment enclosures may be purged with gas.

The invention relates to the use of engineered fuel feedstocks to control the emission of sulfur-based, chlorine-based, nitrogen-based, or mercury-based pollutants, such as SO.sub.2, SO.sub.3, H.sub.2SO.sub.4, NO, NO.sub.2, HCl, and Hg that are generated during the combustion of fossil fuels, such as coal. Disclosed are novel engineered fuel feedstocks, feedstocks produced by the described processes, methods of making the fuel feedstocks, methods of producing energy from the fuel feedstocks, and methods of generating electricity from the fuel feedstocks.

An environmental friendly, continuous biomass torrefaction system is disclosed herein. This torrefaction system captures carbon dioxide (CO.sub.2) from the combustion gases generated in the process. A portion of the captured CO.sub.2 is recycled and used as the inert gas for torrefying biomass and cooling the torrefied biomass. The rest of the captured CO.sub.2 is stored.

An environmental friendly, continuous biomass torrefaction system is disclosed herein. This torrefaction system captures carbon dioxide (CO.sub.2) from the combustion gases generated in the process. A portion of the captured CO.sub.2 is recycled and used as the inert gas for torrefying biomass and cooling the torrefied biomass. The rest of the captured CO.sub.2 is stored.

Biomass (e.g., plant biomass, animal biomass, and municipal waste biomass) is processed to produce useful intermediates and products, such as energy, fuels, foods or materials. For example, systems and methods are described that can be used to treat feedstock materials, such as cellulosic and/or lignocellulosic materials, while cooling equipment and the biomass to prevent overheating and possible distortion and/or degradation. The biomass is conveyed by a conveyor, which conveys the biomass under an electron beam from an electron beam accelerator. The conveyor can be cooled with cooling fluid. The conveyor can also vibrate to facilitate exposure to the electron beam. The conveyor can be configured as a trough that can be optionally cooled.

Systems and methods for processing and sorting a municipal solid waste stream are described herein. A system can include a processing sub-system configured to receive a municipal solid waste stream and to remove the non-processable waste, a processing apparatus configured and disposed to receive constituents of the municipal solid waste stream from the processing sub-system and reduce the size of the constituents of the waste stream to an average particle size of less than about inch, and separators configured to sort the waste stream into constituents based on density.

Systems and methods for processing and sorting a municipal solid waste stream are described herein. A system can include a processing sub-system configured to receive a municipal solid waste stream and to remove the non-processable waste, a processing apparatus configured and disposed to receive constituents of the municipal solid waste stream from the processing sub-system and reduce the size of the constituents of the waste stream to an average particle size of less than about inch, and separators configured to sort the waste stream into constituents based on density.

A method for producing levulinic acid from lignocellulosic biomass comprising hemicellulose including one or more six carbon chain compound precursors comprises the steps of hydrolyzing the lignocellulosic biomass to form a first phase comprising partially hydrolyzed lignocellulosic biomass including cellulose and lignin and a second phase comprising one or more five carbon chain sugars and one or more six carbon chain sugars from degradation of the hemicellulose, separating the first phase from the second phase, and converting at least a portion of the one or more six carbon chain sugars to levulinic acid.