A method of charging and/or discharging energy in reusable fuel workpieces or particles includes a solar furnace with counter-flowing workpieces and gas, to exchange heat therebetween, with the exiting gas and workpieces being at about ambient temperature. A further aspect employs a production plant including a reduction reactor configured to use excess electrical energy generated by renewable power generators to charge and/or discharge solid-state thermochemical fuel. Another aspect includes a fuel flow control valve using air pulses. An oxygen-deprived and reusable fuel, such as magnesium manganese oxide, or magnesium iron oxide, is also provided. In another aspect, an apparatus for producing a solid-state fuel includes a reduction reactor including a reactor chamber configured to receive concentrated solar energy, and a reactor tube having a recuperation zone, a reduction zone, and a quenching zone, wherein the reduction zone passes through the reactor chamber. A discharged solid-state fuel is configured to be fed down the reactor tube and a low-oxygen gas is configured to flow up the reactor tube.

An additive composition for a marine fuel or a heating oil comprising a stabilized colloidal dispersion of catalytic metal particles, a neutral or overbased alkaline earth metal detergent and a carrier fluid miscible with a marine fuel oil, a heavy fuel oil, a marine distillate fuel, and/or a residual fuel oil. Also provided are marine fuel and/or heating oil compositions having the additive composition described above and associated methods and uses.

A formulation and methods for making high energy organic fuels that incorporate suspended metal particles with metal particle sized ranging from 33 nm to 5 micron. The hybrid organic fuels contain superior density and/or energy content to conventional liquid organic fuels. These hybrid organic fuels used in combination with metal particle afford fuels with 5 to 80% more net heat of combustion (based on volume). These fuels should extend the distant range for jets, liquid rocket engines, SCRAM jet engines, and improve energy content in fuel-air explosive applications such as fuel-air explosives and in the Multi-Effects Weapons System (MEWS) where the fuel is used both for propulsion and explosive effects.

A liquid concentrate comprising essentially: (A) 0.1 to 10 wt. % of one or more amphoteric emulsifying agents; (B) 30 to 95 wt. % of one or more nonionic alkoxylated surfactants; (C) 0 to 20 wt. % of one or more glycol-based solubilizers; and (D) 0 to 65 wt. % of one or more organic solvents;

wherein component (B) comprises a mixture of C.sub.6-C.sub.15-alkanol ethoxylates with different carbon numbers for the alkanol unit species, the carbon numbers for the two C.sub.6-C.sub.15-alkanol ethoxylates which have the highest share in weight in the mixture being at least 1.5 carbon numbers distant from each other, is useful for reducing or eliminating the formation in a liquid hydrocarbon fuel of ice particles having a weight average particle size greater than 1 m when said liquid hydrocarbon fuel is cooled to temperatures in the range of from 0 to 50 C.

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.

The present invention generally relates to one or more compositions and methods for inhibiting the formation of gas hydrate agglomerates in a fluid using a fluorine-containing agent and an anti-agglomerant. The fluid may be contained, for example, in an oil or gas pipeline or refinery.

A method of charging and/or discharging energy in reusable fuel workpieces or particles includes a solar furnace with counter-flowing workpieces and gas, to exchange heat therebetween, with the exiting gas and workpieces being at about ambient temperature. A further aspect employs a production plant including a reduction reactor configured to use excess electrical energy generated by renewable power generators to charge and/or discharge solid-state thermochemical fuel. Another aspect includes a fuel flow control valve using air pulses. An oxygen-deprived and reusable fuel, such as magnesium manganese oxide, or magnesium iron oxide, is also provided. In another aspect, an apparatus for producing a solid-state fuel includes a reduction reactor including a reactor chamber configured to receive concentrated solar energy, and a reactor tube having a recuperation zone, a reduction zone, and a quenching zone, wherein the reduction zone passes through the reactor chamber. A discharged solid-state fuel is configured to be fed down the reactor tube and a low-oxygen gas is configured to flow up the reactor tube.

A fuel additive composition comprising an anthocyanidin; an amino acid; and a catalyst. The anthocyanidin may comprise delphinidin chloride. The amino acid may comprise aspartic acid, leucine acid, glutamic acid, a non-natural amino acid, or a combination thereof. Embodiments of the present invention also relate to a method for making of fuel additive, the method comprising: providing an anthocyanidin; contacting the anthocyanidin with an amino acid to form an anthocyanidin-amino acid mixture; contacting the anthocyanidin-amino acid mixture with a catalyst. The method may further comprise contacting the anthocyanidin-amino acid mixture with ethanol and/or an acid. The method may further comprise adjusting the pH of the anthocyanidin-amino acid mixture to less than 7.

A method for powering a diesel engine with a fuel emulsion involves preparing the fuel emulsion by emulsifying a fuel and water in the presence of an emulsifier package, which contains a branched surfactant of the formula (I) as defined below and optionally, a propoxylated surfactant of the formula (II) as defined below. A fuel emulsion for powering a diesel engine is also provided.

The present invention relates to a combustion additive comprising iron oxide nanoparticles; a fuel based on natural plant and animal fats and oils; and a method for producing the same. The production method allows up to 100% of the raw material, both virgin and waste fats and oils, to be used. The combustion additive and the fuel are useful in the combustion process; for example, in diesel-type alternative combustion engines.