Improvements to the gasifier furnace design and process method to facilitate continuous production of mainly H.sub.2, CO and granulated solid from molten liquid or the liquid slag in the presence of carbonaceous material. It is a method of quenching molten liquid and cooling post quenched hot granulated solid which is done within a long horizontal reaction chamber space of the furnace in the presence of C and H.sub.2O. A moving layer of continuously gas cooled granulated solid protects the moving floor underneath by substantially reducing the possibility of heat transfer from the horizontal reaction chamber to such moving floor and its parts and preventing direct contact between the post quenched hot solid granulates and such moving floor. Such moving floor having plurality of gas passages and is disposed above a plenum that receives gas from outside source and uniformly distributes the gas to pass through all the gas passages.

A continuous slag processing system includes a rotating parallel disc pump, coupled to a motor and a brake. The rotating parallel disc pump includes opposing discs coupled to a shaft, an outlet configured to continuously receive a fluid at a first pressure, and an inlet configured to continuously discharge the fluid at a second pressure less than the first pressure. The rotating parallel disc pump is configurable in a reverse-acting pump mode and a letdown turbine mode. The motor is configured to drive the opposing discs about the shaft and against a flow of the fluid to control a difference between the first pressure and the second pressure in the reverse-acting pump mode. The brake is configured to resist rotation of the opposing discs about the shaft to control the difference between the first pressure and the second pressure in the letdown turbine mode.

A method of generating syngas as a primary product from renewable feedstock, fossil fuels, or hazardous waste with the use of a cupola. The cupola operates on inductive heat alone, chemically assisted heat, or plasma assisted heat. Cupola operation is augmented by employing carbon or graphite rods to carry electrical current into the metal bath that is influenced by the inductive element. The method includes the steps of providing a cupola for containing a metal bath; and operating an inductive element to react with the metal bath. A combination of fossil fuel, a hazardous waste, and a hazardous material is supplied to the cupola. A plasma torch operates on the metal bath directly, indirectly, or in a downdraft arrangement. Steam, air, oxygen enriched air, or oxygen are supplied to the metal bath. A pregassifier increases efficiency and a duct fired burner is added to a simple cycle turbine with fossil fuel augmentation.

A method includes combustion products from combustion of fuel with oxidant brought first through a first heat exchanging step (150;201), in which thermal energy is transferred from the combustion products to the fuel which is thereby preheated, and the cooled combustion products thereafter are brought through a second heat exchanging step (151;203), in which thermal energy is transferred from the cooled combustion products to the oxidant which is thereby also preheated. A related system for preheating the fuel and oxidant is also provided.

A method of generating syngas as a primary product from renewable feedstock, fossil fuels, or hazardous waste with the use of a cupola. The cupola operates selectably on inductive heat alone, chemically assisted heat, or plasma assisted heat. Additionally, the operation of the cupola is augmented by the use of direct acting carbon or graphite rods that carry electrical current for additional heat generation into the metal bath that is influenced by the inductive element. The method includes the steps of providing a cupola for containing a metal bath; and operating an inductive element to react with the metal bath. Feedstock in the form of a combination of fossil fuel, a hazardous waste, and a hazardous material is supplied to the cupola. A plasma torch operates on the metal bath selectably directly and indirectly. Steam, air, oxygen enriched air, and oxygen are supplied in selectable combinations.

A burner comprises a central passageway and outlets for fuel and for stabilizing oxidant arranged peripherally around the central passageway, and comprises outlets within the burner through which biasing gas, such as gas comprising oxygen, can be injected to enable control of the direction of the flame that is generated by combustion of the fuel and the oxidant at the face of the burner.

A gasifier for organic solid waste by injection into molten iron and slag bath includes a gasification furnace, a liquid level adjusting furnace and a slag discharge and heat exchange shaft furnace. The liquid level adjusting furnace, in communication with the bottom of the gasification furnace, contains 1200-1700° C. molten iron-based alloy liquid, which is covered with molten liquid slag layer. When gas pressure above or liquid volume in the liquid level adjusting furnace increases, liquid level of the molten liquid in the gasification furnace rises simultaneously. A particle material injection lance is immersed, through which organic particles to be gasified are blown into molten bath, and oxygen gas or oxygen-enriched air as gasifying agent is blown into the melt at the same time. Organic substance is gasified into CO-rich and H.sub.2-rich syngas, and most of inorganic substance enters molten slag and is discharged termly.

A method of generating syngas as a primary product from renewable feedstock, fossil fuels, or hazardous waste with the use of a cupola. The cupola operates selectably on inductive heat alone, chemically assisted heat, or plasma assisted heat. Additionally, the operation of the cupola is augmented by the use of direct acting carbon or graphite rods that carry electrical current for additional heat generation into the metal bath that is influenced by the inductive element. The method includes the steps of providing a cupola for containing a metal bath; and operating an inductive element to react with the metal bath. Feedstock in the form of a combination of fossil fuel, a hazardous waste, and a hazardous material is supplied to the cupola. A plasma torch operates on the metal bath selectably directly and indirectly. Steam, air, oxygen enriched air, and oxygen are supplied in selectable combinations.

An oxygen injection system for a direct reduction process, including: a common circumferential gas injection header adapted to be coupled to an oxygen source and an enrichment natural gas source and adapted to deliver oxygen from the oxygen source and enrichment natural gas from the enrichment natural gas source to a reducing gas stream flowing through a conduit axially disposed within the common circumferential gas injection header through a plurality of circumferentially disposed ports to form a bustle gas stream; wherein the common circumferential gas injection header includes a circumferential oxygen injection header adapted to deliver the oxygen from the oxygen source to the reducing gas stream through the plurality of circumferentially disposed ports and a circumferential enrichment natural gas injection header adapted to deliver the enrichment natural gas from the enrichment natural gas source to the reducing gas stream through the plurality of circumferentially disposed ports.

A system for melting a pelleted charge material including a furnace having a feed end configured to receive a solid pelleted charge material and a discharge end opposite the feed end configured to discharge a molten charge material and a slag, a conveyor configured to feed the pelleted charge material into the feed end of the furnace, at least one oxy-fuel burner positioned to direct heat into a melting zone near the feed end to heat and at least partially melt the pelleted charge material to form the molten charge material and slag, wherein the oxy-fuel burner uses an oxidant having at least 70% molecular oxygen, and at least one flue for exhausting burner combustion products from the furnace.