Environmental remediation, heat recovery, water purification, biomaterials

Abstract

The inventive concepts herein allow several seemingly intractable environmental problems (toxic algae blooms, water pollution, petroleum-based plastics pollution, water contamination, premature retirement of zero-carbon nuclear power plants, etc.) to be solved economically and in a commercially practical way by integrating recovered heat, to grow or sustain organisms, that provide services (e.g. water purification, water pollution remediation, industrial recycling, contaminant degradation, load following) and/or products (e.g. biomaterials, hydrogen).

Claims

1) A method comprising using heat recovered from a nuclear power plant to enhance, maintaining year-round modified organisms that are, substantially cleaning water.

2) A method comprising using heat recovered from a nuclear power plant to enhance, maintaining year-round modified organisms that are, producing biomaterials.

3) A method comprising using heat recovered from a nuclear power plant to enhance, maintaining year-round modified organisms that are, producing biomaterials and substantially cleaning water.

4) A method comprising the methods in claims 1), 2), and 3) in which the heat source is a refinery.

5) A method comprising the methods in claims 1), 2), and 3) in which the heat source is a combination nuclear power plant and solar energy installation.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTIVE CONCEPTS

[0088] A patent applicant is required to submit a detailed Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) disclosing patent and non-patent literature that is material to patentability such as novelty, usefulness, non-obviousness, enablement, written description, best mode, definiteness, etc. As such, the IDS is an essential part of the patent specification. An applicant cannot submit an IDS with a provisional application. I will submit a detailed material Information Disclosure Statement that gives material support for all the elements of patentability and validity and that Information Disclosure Statement is hereby incorporated by reference in support of both essential and non-essential elements in this utility patent application and any and all divisional applications, continuation applications, continuation-in-part applications, re-issue applications, and/or other applications permitted under the patent laws and regulations.

[0089] Recovery of unused heat and combined heat and power production has been used in limited circumstances. Macro- and micro-organisms have been modified by selective breeding as well as genetic and epigenetic processes. Such organisms have been used to produce substances that the organisms usually produce as well as substances that the organisms do not usually produce. Organisms have been used to substantially remove or lessen the concentration of substances in water. What has not been done before is combining technologies to recover unused heat or heat from combined heat and power production to grow organisms that substantially remove or lessen the concentration of substances in water and also produce valuable substances or services in circumstances in which those organisms could not be otherwise sustained.

[0090] The recovery and use of previously unused heat can also be put to very valuable uses even if no organisms are used to clean water or produce bioproducts. With respect to this patent application, the following illustrative terms include, but are not limited to:

[0091] Heat sources include: 1) nuclear reactors; 2) solar energy panels; 3) wind energy turbines; 4) oil and/or gas refineries; 5) metal melting and shaping operations; 6) cement production; 7) refractory production; 8) glass production; 9) coal burning operations; 10) natural gas burning operations; 11) chemicals production; 12) frictional energy; 13) combustion energy; 14) solar energy concentrating systems; 15) magnetic energy; 16) gravitational energy; 17) kinetic energy; 18) geothermal energy; and 19) chemical energy.

[0092] Nuclear reactor types include: 1) Generation 1; 2) Generation 2; 3) Generation 3; 4) Generation 4; 5) Light water reactors; 6) Pressurized water reactors; 7) Boiling water reactors; 8) Heavy water reactors; 9) Burner reactors; 10) Fast neutron reactors; 11) Molten metal reactors; 12) Advance gas-cooled reactors; 13 Small modular reactors; 14) Molten salt reactors; 15) Floating reactors; and 16) Breeder reactors.

[0093] Heat recovery means include: 1) heat exchangers; 2) heat pumps; 3) compressors; 4) thermal wheel heat recovery systems; 5) heat recuperators; 6) heat pipe technologies; and 7) boiler flue economizers.

[0094] Heat exchangers include: 1) tubular (shell and tube); 2) plate exchangers; 3) extended surface exchangers; 4) heat pipe exchangers; 5) regenerative exchangers (fixed matrix, fixed bed, fluidized bed, rotary, recuperative); 6) indirect contact exchangers; 7) direct contact exchangers; 8) parallel flow exchangers; 9) counter-flow exchangers; 10) cross-flow exchangers; 11) single pass exchangers; 12) multi-pass exchangers; 13) gas-liquid exchangers; 14) liquid-liquid exchangers; 15) gas-gas exchangers; 16) condensers; 17) evaporators; 18) micro-heat exchangers; 19) printed circuit exchangers; 20) perforated plate exchangers; 21) scraped surface exchangers; 22) graphite exchangers; 23) Compact exchangers; 24) tube-fin exchangers; 25) continuous fin on tube array exchangers; 26) plate-fin exchangers; 27) brazed plate fin exchangers; 28) air-cooled exchangers; 29) water-cooled exchangers; 30) organics cooled exchangers; and 31) baffled exchangers.

[0095] Types of organisms include: 1) Bacteria; 2) Archaea; 3) Protozoa; 4) Algae; 5) Fungi; 6) Viruses; 7) Multicellular animal parasites; 8) Plant cells; and 9) Animal cells. Modification of organisms include: 1) selective isolation; 2) selective growth; 3) selective breeding; 4) cross-breeding; 5) mutagenesis; 6) protoplast fusion; 7) introducing polyploidy; 8) transgenesis; 9) genome editing; 10) hybridization; 11) genetic transformation of or by genomic DNA, plasmid DNA, mitochondrial DNA, 12) Clustered Regularly Interspaced Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) processes; 13) TALENS processes; 14) Zinc-finger nucleases processes; 15) Conjugation; 16) epigenetic processing by methylation and/or acetylation; 17) post-transcriptional processing; 18) post-translational processing; 19) alterations in carbon partitioning; 20) alterations in transport signal tags for proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids; 21) improved promoters; 22) improved enhancers; 23) improved transcription factors; 24) RNA editing.

[0096] Products and/or services that can be rendered using recovered heat include: 1) local heating; 2) local cooling; 3) desalination; 4) aquaculture; 5) providing activation energy for exothermic chemical reactions; 6) providing the energy to drive endothermic chemical reactions; 7) optimizing enzymatic activity; 8) optimizing catalytic activity; 8) sterilizing substances; 9) electricity co-generation; 10) initiating and maintaining the molten state of substances; 11) distillation; 12) enhancing the malleability of substances; 13) tempering and heat treating substances to increase their strength; 14) viscosity reduction; 15) preventing freezing or gelling; 16) seal gas heating; 17) gas phase preservation to prevent condensation; 18) cooking, frying, broiling, baking; 19) kiln treatment of ceramics; 20) drying; 21) wastewater treatment; 22) growing or maintaining micro-organisms that have been modified to produce biomaterials or biofuels; 23) preheating of process air and materials; 24) drinking water source treatment; 25) hydrogen production; 26) degradation of harmful/toxic chemicals or substances; 27) load-following electrical grid energy requirements.

[0097] Heat recovery includes: 1) transferring and utilizing heat produced by a combined heat-power (CHP) system; 2) transferring and utilizing heat produced by a system primarily designed to provide power; 3) transferring and utilizing heat produced by an energy co-generation system.

[0098] Year-round includes activity: 1) that can potentially be utilized in all four seasons of the year; 2) does not mean that the activity must be continuous for the entire year. There may be interruptions for maintenance, breakdown, repair, refueling, weather, natural disasters, war, civil unrest, hacking, labor actions, regulatory bases, financial reasons, and other reasons.

[0099] Substantially cleaning in reference to water includes: 1) reducing or removing partially or completely any contaminants that are harmful to humans, animals, plants, chemical reactions, the environment, machinery, pipes, electrical equipment, plumbing, valves, etc.; 2) filtering; 3) settling by gravity; 3) centrifugation; 4) screening, 5) using permeable or semipermeable membranes; 6) flocculation; 7) precipitation; 8) coagulation; 9) physical and/or chemical destruction; 10) physical and/or chemical reaction; 11) conversion, 12) adsorption; 13) absorption, 14) application of magnetic energy/field; 15) application of electric energy/field; 16) application of heat; 17) distillation; 18) application of light.

[0100] Biomaterials include: 1) polymers; 2) bioplastics (e.g. polylactic acids, polyhydroxyalkanoates); 3) fibers; 4) textiles and fabrics; 5) composites; 6) gels; 7) films and coatings; 8) adhesives and sealants; 9) drugs; 10) supplements; 11) biologicals; 12) ceramics and glasses; 13) tissues; 14) cells; 15) enzymes; 16) catalysts; 17) carbohydrates; 18) lipids: 19) proteins; 20) nucleic acids; 21) metals and complexation compounds.

[0101] The implementation of the inventive concepts proceeds substantially as follows: [0102] 1) Science/technology, business/financing, legal/regulatory analyses. [0103] 2) Securing intellectual property and exclusive permits/licenses. [0104] 3) Securing financing. [0105] 4) Bench chemistry and biology. This is driven largely by the need for approval of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) under the Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) and the Clean Water Act (CWA). [0106] a. We have detailed TSCA/USEPA regulatory requirements we must meet, [0107] b. We have detailed genetic modification protocols to induce organisms to produce valuable biomaterials in sufficient yield to be economically viable, [0108] c. We have benchmarks to have the algae/organisms adequately remove P/N/C to achieve desired reductions in Lake Erie and other bodies of water. [0109] 5) Pilot Plant construction and operation. This applies the lessons learned from the Bench Chemistry and Biology phase and is driven by the need for approval of the USEPA under the TSCA and CWA. [0110] a. After the USEPA and other regulators give approval for the Bench Chemistry and Biology phase, we proceed to build a Pilot Plant of between 2-10 acres to apply the lessons learned from the Bench. [0111] b. The goal is to operate the cultivation facility through all four seasons to achieve adequate yields and contaminant results. We have detailed engineering diagrams and work plans for the Pilot Plant and later the large operational facility. [0112] 6) Heat Exchanger Installation on the Nuclear Power Plant. From the beginning a Nuclear Team has been working in parallel with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to secure approval to install the heat exchangers on the nuclear power plant under the Atomic Energy Act. [0113] a. Every nuclear power plant is different is at least a few important ways. Heat exchanger design is an individualized effort. We have detailed protocols for heat exchanger designs and will be working with the NRC for approval to install heater exchangers. Heat exchangers exist on all Pressurized Water Reactors (PWR) between the primary and subsequent loops. We would install our heat exchangers on the final hot leg of the cooling system loops. Nuclear reactors in Pakistan and India have been successfully retrofitted with heat exchangers to introduce desalination capability to nuclear power plants that were not build with that capability initially. [0114] 7) Construction of the Algae/Organisms Cultivation and Co-generation Facility. From the beginning the Cultivation Facility Team has been working in parallel with the local land use authorities, departments of natural resources, and other parties to engineer and construct the ponds and facilities to be used for the 1) substantial water cleaning; and 2) production of biomaterials and/or valuable services. [0115] a. Massive algae cultivation facilities were built in the American Southwest in an effort to produce biofuels. Those facilities were well and successfully engineered but failed economically because cheap fracked natural gas and oil made biofuels price non-competitive. We have detailed engineering diagrams and work plans for the algae/organism cultivation co-generation facilities. [0116] 8) Biorefinery. From the beginning, the Biorefinery Team has been working in parallel to engineer, design, and build the biorefinery that will process the biomaterial. [0117] a. When we have begun producing the bioplastic polymers, we will need a biorefinery to produce advanced polymers with the characteristics necessary for the products into which the bioplastics will be molded or formed. We have detailed work plants for the biorefinery construction or retrofit.

Additional Products and Services

[0118] We also have detailed engineering designs and operating protocols for the production of 1) other biomaterials; 2) PFAS collection and degradation; 3) drug collection and degradation; 4) collection and degradation of other hazardous substances; 5) hydrogen production; 6) industrial degradation and recycling; and 7) the interconnection of nuclear power plants to solar energy installations.

EXAMPLES

[0119] The following examples are merely illustrative and do not in any way limit other applications of the inventive concepts contained herein.

[0120] Example 1: Toxic algae blooms in Lake Erie cause severe injury to human health and the environment, yet no effective or economical solutions have been found. The same nitrogen, phosphorous, and carbon (P/N/C) in agricultural run-off that promote the increasing frequency and intensity of such toxic blooms in Lake Erie can serve as nutrients for a production species of algae grown in raceway ponds in an algae cultivation facility located close to a nuclear power plant on the shores of Lake Erie. Building and getting regulatory approval for such an algae cultivation facility is extremely expensive, but the facility could not be utilized to grow the algae in the cold, dark days of late fall, winter, and early spring in the absence of an external source of heat and energy to warm and light the ponds economically. No investors will fund such a costly project if it sits idle for 5-6 months each year.

[0121] One or more heat exchangers recover the unused heat from the nuclear power plant and supply it to the algae cultivation facility to allow year-round operation. The algae facility may include an energy co-generation process that provides artificial light when sunlight is absent or not optimal. In the alternative, relatively inexpensive electricity is provided directly by the nuclear power plant.

[0122] Prior attempts to grow algae for large-scale production of biofuel and biomass were placed in hot, sunny locations, but were largely unsuccessful because of the high cost of water, energy, and nutrients to feed the algae. In this example, the costs are significantly reduced because the algae cultivation and energy co-generation facility has plentiful free water from Lake Erie. The heat recovered from the nuclear power plant would have otherwise been wastefully vented into the environment and has little on-going cost to the algae cultivation operation. The water pumped from Lake Erie contains the nutrients that feed the algae in the cultivation facility and comes at no cost to the facility. The year-round use of the lake water nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbon by the cultivated algae substantially removes those nutrients from Lake Erie and thereby substantially reduces or eliminates the toxic algae blooms. Carbon dioxide can be added to the algae as a nutrient or substrate, thereby reducing CO2. Animal waste from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO's) is a significant source of agricultural run-off and is increasingly the target of regulation. CAFO-related animal waste is also a low-cost source of nutrition for the micro-organisms producing bioplastics or biomaterials.

[0123] That cleaning of Lake Erie and reduction of toxic algae blooms is very valuable and is a source of income for the partnership or joint venture between the nuclear power plant and algae cultivation facility. The monetization of the previously unused heat allows the nuclear power plant to remain economically competitive and prevents closure. The free or relatively inexpensive heat, electricity, water, and nutrients make economically viable a valuable algae cultivation facility that would otherwise not exist in northern Ohio and southern Michigan.

[0124] Example 2: The interaction between the nuclear power plant and the algae cultivation and energy co-generation facility is much the same as in Example 1, but now with the addition of the production of useful substances by the algae at the cultivation facility. The algae are selectively bred or genetically modified to produce bioplastics or other valuable biomaterials. These serve as a valuable additional source of income for the algae cultivation facility. Toledo and Detroit are blessed with oil refining and petrochemical facilities that could be adapted to the production of bioplastics and/or other biomaterials. The re-engineering of those refineries would be relatively inexpensive compared to new construction. Those petrochemical refineries are also close to the processors and end-users of the bioplastics and biomaterials (e.g. the auto industry). Those oil and petrochemical refineries currently benefit from cheap fracked oil and gas but are under severe economic strain from the ethanol mandates and the current attempt of Michigan to close the Enbridge Oil Pipeline #5 that crosses the Strait of Mackinac. If the price of oil and gas go up or the #5 pipeline is closed, those oil and petrochemical refineries will close unless they can be put to alternative uses (i.e. processing bioplastics produced near the Fermi, Davis-Besse, and/or Perry nuclear power plants).

[0125] Example 3: The minimum efficient scale of the combination of nuclear power plants and algae cultivation and energy co-generation facilities are such that it is probable that only 3-5 such facilities would be needed in the United States. The recovery of heat from nuclear power plants could be used to produce other valuable services such as local commercial or industrial uses (e.g. chemical, steel, concrete, metals, refining, energy co-generation, food, oil and gas extraction, manufacturing, or other processes). Only approximately 28% of CO2 production comes from energy generation. The utilization of heat from zero-carbon nuclear power would significantly reduce CO2 generation from other industrial, residential, and commercial processes.

[0126] Example 4: An ingenious invention by an MIT professor is a liquid metal battery. The liquid metal battery could solve problems of energy storage for both renewable sources and for nuclear power plants. The problem is that the metals in the battery must be kept in a molten state and the cost of continuously heating those metals makes the liquid metal battery economically infeasible. Heat recovered from nuclear power plants could supply much of the heat needed to make the liquid metal batteries operational and cost effective.

[0127] Example 5: Most of the current nuclear power plants were designed and built in the 1960's, 70's, and 80's. As such, they are technically outdated. There are many exciting Generation III and IV nuclear power plants currently being designed and tested. Those new designs will include greater efficiency, safety, and high-grade heat. Breeder and burner versions of those advanced reactors will use current spent fuel (i.e. “nuclear waste”) as their fuel and convert those long-lived isotopes to much shorter-lived radionuclides. In essence, the advanced reactors will provide zero-carbon energy, high-grade heat, and substantially solve the nuclear waste problem. Unfortunately, those advanced designs will not be ready for construction and operation for 10-20 years. By that time many of the current nuclear power plants will have been decommissioned and returned to general land use.

[0128] If the Generation III and IV nuclear reactors have to be built on new sites, they may be prohibitively expensive. The simple reality is that the best sites for these extraordinary advanced nuclear reactors are the sites of the currently nuclear reactors. The current nuclear reactor sites have everything the advanced reactors will need: 1) electrical transmission and distribution infrastructure; 2) cooling water as the ultimate heat sink; 3) location far enough away from population centers to minimize the consequences of accidents, but close enough to minimize line loss and transmission costs; 4) human capital in the form of trained and experienced nuclear workforces and expertise; 5) regulatory licenses and permits that will merely need to be amended for the new technology rather than requiring a lengthy and expensive re-vetting at a new site; 6) social and community acceptance. Just about the only places that are receptive to nuclear power plants are the communities in which they already exist. The people appreciate the jobs, taxes, and benefit of nuclear power and it makes it less likely that community resistance and litigation will deter construction; and 7) co-located algae cultivation and energy co-generation facilities or other firms that utilize the heat from the nuclear plants.

[0129] After a nuclear power plant is decommissioned, all of the benefits of that site atrophy away. Creating those advantages anew is massively expensive and will be a major impediment to construction of the Generation III and IV nuclear reactors. The algae cultivation and energy co-generation facilities and other uses of unused nuclear heat will keep the current nuclear power plants economically viable long enough for the advanced nuclear reactors to come online and be built into the current sites' advantages.

[0130] Example 6: Polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl (PFAS) chemicals are widely used as fire retardants. They are called “forever” chemicals because the halogen-carbon bonds are so strong that it is exceedingly difficult to break down those chemicals into their constituent elements. Immense heat and energy are required but are usually very expensive. PFAS chemicals are highly toxic to human beings and are pervasive in the environment. We can chemically separate and collect PFAS chemicals, but the economics of degrading them into harmless constituents is unfavorable. Here we will convert “trash” into treasure. Nuclear waste heat is exactly that, waste. It turns out that excess solar heat and energy at peak midday output are also “waste” in that they exceed the total demand of the electricity grid. Solar energy producers must therefore either 1) harmfully curtail energy off-take from their solar panels (thereby causing long-term heat damage to the semiconductor wafers); or 2) pay electricity consumers (negative pricing) to take their solar electricity output for a few hours each day. That “Duck Curve” hurts the economics of both solar and nuclear energy producers. PFAS chemicals can be separated and stored until very inexpensive or negatively priced solar and nuclear energy are available for several hours each day to economically degrade them. I will either co-locate solar and nuclear power generation with a PFAS degradation facility or transmit excess solar energy to those facilities close to the nuclear power plants. The adjacent bodies of water (or more distant bodies of water if the PFAS chemicals are removed and transported to our PFAS degradation facilities) are cleaned of their PFAS chemicals. This is also true for many non-PFAS chemicals as well.

[0131] Example 7: Many pharmaceuticals and their toxic metabolites are excreted into rivers, lakes, groundwater, and other bodies of water. They cause many direct and indirect problems. Anti-retroviral drugs increase the mutational pressure on various viruses that can then become more virulent to all forms of life. Those mutations can drive the emergence of pandemics and insect-borne diseases. Recovered heat and energy from a nuclear power plant alone or in combination with other sources of heat and energy (solar, as in Example 6, above) could be used to break down pharmaceuticals and other contaminants in water.

[0132] Example 8: Hydrogen production from electrolysis of water also requires immense amounts of heat and energy. Current Generation I, II, and Ill nuclear power plants do not reach temperatures high enough to economically break water down into hydrogen and oxygen. Using heat compressors to raise the temperatures require too much energy to be commercially practical even with the use of current catalysts. Again, concurrent use of nuclear and solar (or other sources of excess energy, e.g. wind) at their peak production with very inexpensive or negative pricing could make hydrogen production economically viable even for current nuclear power plants.

[0133] Example 9: Load following is the ability of an energy generator to rapidly adjust its output to meet the almost instantaneous demands of the grid. Too little electricity and the customers have brownouts or blackouts; too much electricity and the sensitive motors, sensors, transformers, and relays are irreparably damaged. Nuclear power plants are very efficient at producing steady baseload amounts of electricity but have been poor at load following. The same heat exchangers that take off

“waste” heat for algae cultivation farms, PFAS/pharmaceutical/contaminant degradation, and hydrogen production could, when connected to commonly used variable rate generators, rapidly and effectively vary their energy outputs to follow the load requirements of the grid. That in turn allows nuclear power plants to bid for 1) capacity market supply; 2) “next day” short-term supply; and 3) “peaker” very short-term energy supply. The ability to follow the grid's load demands makes nuclear power plants far more competitive with greenhouse gas producing energy sources. The same principles would apply to solar, wind, and other renewable energy sources that currently do not follow grid load requirements well or at all.

[0134] I will discuss the technologies, utility, novelty, non-obviousness, enablement, written description, best mode, etc. requirements at greater length in the Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) in the context of the prior art where, with all due respect, those issues are better discussed once rather than twice (as is now the practice). The Information Disclosure Statement is hereby incorporated by reference with respect to all of the inventive concepts, embodiments, and examples contained herein.