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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to treatment of green house gases. More particularly, the present invention relates to a process for converting green house gases, such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxide and others, emitted from burning fossil fuels, to their base components of elemental carbon, sulfur, nitrogen and oxygen, while eliminating all emissions of harmful green house gases into the atmosphere.
2. General Background of the Invention
Coal is the most bountiful source of fuel in the world. Coal makes up 90% of the available fossil fuel in the world. Coal is typically found as a dark brown to black graphite like material that is formed from fossilized plant matter. Coal generally comprises amorphous carbon combined with some organic and inorganic compounds. The quality and type of coal varies from high quality anthracite (i.e. a high carbon content with few volatile impurities and burns with a clean flame) to bituminous (i.e., a high percentage of volatile impurities and burns with a murky flame) to sub-bituminous (i.e., lower percentage of volatile impurities but higher ash and moisture) to lignite (i.e. softer than bituminous coal and comprising vegetable matter not as fully converted to carbon and burns with a very smoky flame). Coal is burned in coal-fired power plants throughout the world to produce energy in the form of electricity. Over the years, it has been recognized that certain impurities in coal can have a significant impact on the types of emissions produced during coal combustion. A particularly troublesome impurity is sulfur. Sulfur can be present in coal from trace amounts up to several percentages by weight (e.g., 0-7 percent by weight) Sulfur may be found in coal in various forms, e.g. organic sulfur, pyretic sulfur, or sulfate sulfur. When coal-containing sulfur is burned, sulfur dioxide (SO2) is typically released into the atmosphere in the combustion gases. The presence of SO2 in the atmosphere has been linked to the formation of acid rain, which results in part from sulfuric or sulfurous acids that from S02 and water. Acid rain can damage the environment in a variety of ways. And in the United States, the Environmental Protection agency (EPA) has standards for burning coal that restricts S02 emissions from coal-fired power plants.
While coal is produced in the United States in many area of the country, much of the coal that is easily mined (and therefore inexpensive) often contains high levels of sulfur that result in levels of S02 in the combustion gases greater than allowed by the EPA. Thus, coal-fired plants often must buy higher quality coal from mines that may be located long distances from the plants and pay significant transportation and other costs. A significant body of technology has been developed over time to reduce the amount of S02 in combustion gases from burning high sulfur coal. This technology has involved treatments to coal during pre-combustion, during combustion, and during post combustion. However, such treatments have generally not achieved a satisfactory combination of efficacy in reducing S02 emissions and economic feasibility in implementation.
When coal is burned in the presence of air at the burn temperature of modern boilers, the nitrogen from the air forms covalent bonds with oxygen to form nitrous oxide (NO and NO2) or Nox. Nitrous oxide is a major component of acid rain. Total Nox emissions from coal-fired boilers are about 6.8 million tons/year, equivalent to an emissions rate of 0.75 Ib/million BTU. Nox reduction technologies have been developed but with disappointing outcomes. 1) Low-Nox burners. 2) Selective catalytic and non-catalytic reduction technologies (SCR). 3) Artificial intelligence-based control systems.
Most coal deposits contain varying amounts of mercury. When the coal is burned much of this mercury is emitted in the flue gas. This mercury is brought back to the earth in rainwater. This contamination of our surface water has allowed toxic concentrations of mercury to accumulate in the fish, such that the fish may be unfit for human consumption. No good technology is available to control these mercury emissions.
For each ton of coal burned in the world each year, one ton of CO2 (carbon dioxide) is produced and released into the atmosphere. It is estimated that approximately 4.0 Billion tons of CO2 are released into the atmosphere each year from the burn of coal. No significant technology exists to prevent the release of this significant green house gas.
It is against this background that a need arose to develop the process of the present invention.
The present invention solves the problems of treating and converting green house gases to non-toxic elements in a straightforward manner. What is provided is a process which includes the steps of first collecting the green house gases, such as CO2, SO2, Nox, CO, emitted from a furnace where fossil fuels are burned; flowing the gases to a sequestration unit where the gases are cleaned and scrubbed; moving the scrubbed gases to a compressor for reducing the volume of the gases; introducing the gases into a plasma arc for ionizing the gases to charged components; providing a source of free electrons; capturing the free electrons in a dense free electron zone; introducing the charged components from the plasma arc into the dense free electron zone for rendering the ions into elemental fragments of carbon, oxygen gas, nitrogen, hydrocarbons, and other elemental components; collecting the elemental fragments of carbon and other elements; routing the oxygen gas to the furnace to provide oxygen to burn additional fossil fuels.
It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a process for rendering toxic green house gases released from burning of fossil fuels to harmless elemental components;
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a process of converting green house gases into elemental fragments within a closed loop system, free of emissions;
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a process which allows the conversion of green house gases into non-toxic components;
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a process for avoiding emissions of green house gases, such as CO2, CO, SO2, and others into the atmosphere as a result of burning fossil fuels;
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a process which includes a sequestration unit in which green house gases are cleaned and scrubbed for further processing into elemental fragments.
With the method and system of the present invention, at least 10% of the green house gases are converted to non-harmful components. Preferably, at least 20% of the green house gases are converted to non-harmful components. More preferably, at least 50% of the green house gases are converted to non-harmful components. Even more preferably, at least 90+% of the green house gases are converted to non-harmful components. Most preferably, all or substantially all green house gases are converted to non-harmful components.
While most preferably all or substantially all green house gases are converted to non-harmful components, the invention is useful and desirable even if only 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, or 90%, for example, of gases are converted.
For a further understanding of the nature, objects, and advantages of the present invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description, read in conjunction with the following drawings, wherein like reference numerals denote like elements and wherein:
The Holcomb Scientific Zero Emissions Prototype Power Plant represents the clean power of the future, which is available today. It utilizes the existing infrastructure to burn fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas without releasing emissions into the atmosphere. With this technology there will be no abnormal levels of green house gases above those required for the natural balance of the earth.
The combustion process begins in the furnace where heat or thermal energy is generated and then converted to usable power. The furnace is also where the problem of dangerous emissions begins. These dangerous emissions, in the form of gases, make up what we know today as smog, greenhouse gases and the gases of acid rain, the harmful byproducts that plague our world today.
From the furnace the gases follow the piping system through the circulation fans into the sequestration chamber. In the sequestration chamber the gaseous byproducts of combustion are partially removed along with toxic substances such as mercury, which is completely removed.
The remaining scrubbed gases are then compressed and injected through the plasma arc where the oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur bonds are broken. Breaking the bonds in these dangerous gases releases oxygen and the base elements of the gases in an ionized form. The electron accelerator stabilizes the ionized gases by bombarding them with an excess number of electrons, which takes place in a magnetic chamber.
The base elements are separated in the element trap and the oxygen then proceeds along to the combustion chamber where it is reused to combust additional fossil fuel.
The cycle continues in this truly closed loop system without any emissions while continuously producing energy.
This is the solution to the green house gas problem. It also eliminates toxic gases currently produced from the burning of fossil fuels. The unit can be scaled down into the size of the furnace alone for home or small business applications, or be scaled up to accommodate Industrial and Power Grid applications. The Holcomb Scientific Zero Emissions Prototype Power Plant represents the clean power of the future that is available today.
What follows is a summary of the theory and operation of the process of the present invention as illustrated in
The carbon fragments are dissolved in a solution of IPE (a catalytic surface) and water. The carbon fragment solution is then passed through a plasma arc in the presence of nitrogen (oxygen free) into an electron accelerator. The accelerator provides an environment devoid of free electrons. Therefore, the carbon forms combustible hydrocarbon such as long chain oils, to be a power source for the conversion in either solar and/or the “Holcomb Power Cell.” The Carbon-Carbon, Carbon-Hydrogen and Carbon Oxygen covalent bonds as a storage battery for stable long term storage of electricity.
Turning now to the specifics of the invention, in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method, in real time and on line, to convert green house gases, including CO2, S2, Nox, CO, and hydrocarbons, to their base elements in a closed loop system. In a provisional application entitled “Emissions Free High Efficiency Coal Fired Power Generation Plant,” currently pending, by the same inventors, and incorporated by reference thereto, there was disclosed some aspects of the present invention. However, the process of the invention disclosed herein provides for combustion of any fossil fuels efficiently which results in zero emissions to the environment. In the process, C02 and other green house gases, are converted to oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon fragments, including carbon black, graphite, combustible gases, although not all have yet been identified. The process also results in the production of a light to medium grade oil, which appears to be in the category light crude oil, appearing in the pressure tanks and the lines.
Turning to the Figures, reference is first made to
In
Returning to
Next, as illustrated in
The ions 32 exiting the arc 30 are then subjected to a dense electron zone 64, adjacent a titanium grid 65, whereby the charged positive ions 32, rather than combining with oxygen to form the gas molecules, would immediately flow into the free electron zone 64 and pick up free electrons from the dense electron zone at titanium grid 65, thereby converting the charged ions of carbon to elemental carbon fragments 75, such as carbon black or graphite. The charged negative oxygen ions 32 would be converted to oxygen gas molecules 73, which would flow from the tower 50 through line 72, to be returned to the furnace 12 to burn more fuel. In the process described, there may be converted hydrocarbon products, but the end result is the absence of CO2 or other green gas molecules emitted into the atmosphere.
In order to accomplish the conversion as described with reference to
Therefore, when the electrons 58 enter this area, the electrons are repelled by the charged electromagnets 61, 62, but are collected and captured on a titanium grid 65, and are trapped within the opposite polarized zone 64, causing a dense accumulation of electrons. The result is the formation of a dense electron pocket 64, estimated at some 2 million watts of free electrons, within the chamber 50, on the titanium grid 65, adjacent the exit nozzles 69 of the plasma arc 30, where the reduction of the charged ions into atoms takes place. At that instance, rather than the positively charged ions 32 picking up free electrons from the negatively charged oxygen ions 32, and the ions reverting back to the noxious green house gases, the carbon ions pick up electrons from the dense field of electrons 64, and are converted to elemental carbon fragments 75, such as carbon black or graphite. The negatively charged oxygen ions form oxygen gas molecules 73. The other charged ions of sulphur or mercury, also form elemental fragments and are deposited in the chamber. The oxygen, and some nitrogen, is routed back into the furnace 12, through line 72, in order to allow further burning of fossil fuel. Because of the large quantity of carbon fragments converted, the carbon is routed to a carbon trap 70, where the carbon is recovered. Any other carbon fragments, such as hydrocarbon fragments, result in the formation of oil or other component.
In
In
CO2 Test Findings
In tests conducted regarding CO2 in the process, it has been determined that the following results have been observed:
1—The furnace
Burning fossil fuel+O2 results in CO2
2—The Sequestration chamber
CO2 results in CaCO3 (10%)+CO2 (90%)
3—The Compressor
CO2 results in compressed CO2
4—The CO2 Converter
CO2 results in O2+C fragments
5—The Carbon Water Trap
O2+C result in O2 released
Green House Gas Test Findings
In treating green house gas containing other components in addition to CO2, the following results were observed:
1—The Furnace
Fossil fuel burning in 21% O2 results in Heat+CO2(10%)+CO(1%)+SO2 (CaSO4)
Green House Gases result in NO(60 ppm)+NO2(100 ppm)+CHX(hydrocarbons) (1.2 ppm)+O2 (9-10%)
2—Sequestration Chamber
CO2, SO2, CO, NOX and CHX result in CO2, CaSO4, H2O, CO, NOX, CHX and CaCO3
3—Compressor
CO2, CO, NOX and CHX components remained unchanged but in a reduced volume.
4—CO2 Converter
CO2, CO, NOX, CHX result in (C)n, O2, and N2
5—Carbon Water Trap
(C)n, O2 and N2 result in O2 and NO2
Plasma Arc/Converter Process
When the CO2 is subjected to the electrodes of the plasma arc, unstable C++ ions and unstable O—— ions are the result. When immediately contact is made with the high density electron field in the tower, the C++ are converted to (C)n fragments in the form of carbon black and graphite, and the unstable O—— ions are converted to O2 molecules.
For purposes of disclosure only this application incorporates by reference the following patent applications. The present application is not a continuation, divisional, or a continuation-in-part of any of the applications referenced below.
“Apparatus and Process for Generating Electric Power by Utilizing High Frequency High Voltage Oscillating Current as a carrier for high EMF DC in an Armature Board,” filed Oct. 27, 2003, bearing Ser. No. 10/694,326;
“Emissions Free High Efficiency Coal Fired Power Generation Plant,” filed on Aug. 27, 2003, bearing Ser. No. 60/498,050;
“Apparatus and Process For Generating Electric Power by Utilizing High Frequency High Voltage Oscillating Current as a carrier for high EMF DC in an Armature Board Composed of laminated Steel and Wound with Exciter Circuits in Proximity to a Stator Board of laminated Steel Wound with a Collector Coil and Separated by an Air Gap and Aluminum Screen Wire to Contain the High Frequency Within the Armature Board,” filed Oct. 23, 2002, bearing Ser. No. 60/421,097;
“Apparatus and Process for Generating Electric Power by Alternating Fields of High Frequency and High Voltage Which Generate Pulsating Fields Which In Turn PushElectrons Across Static Magnetic Flux Fields of the Invention and Collecting the Current on Collector/Conductor Coils Co-wound with the Exciter Coils,” filed on Jan. 24, 2002, bearing Ser. No. 60/351,655;
“Apparatus and Process for Converting the Force of Gravity to Useable Mechanical and/or Electrical Energy,” filed Jan. 23, 2001, bearing Ser. No. 60/264,394;
“Apparatus and Process for Converting The Force of Gravity Combined with Magnetic levitation To Usable Mechanical and/or Electrical Energy,” filed Feb. 23, 2001, bearing Ser. No. 60/271,224;
“Apparatus and Process for Converting the Formula and Operating of the Windings in Power Generating Equipment and Electric Motors to an increased Efficiency, By Removing the Power Reaction Force or Drag and Decreasing the Resistance in the Coils,” filed Jul. 4, 2001, bearing Ser. No. 60/303,662;
“Apparatus and Process for Generating Electric Power by Alternating Fields of High Frequency, High Voltage Across Static Magnetic Flux Fields and Collecting the Current on Collector/Conductor Coils Co-wound with the Exciter Coils,” filed Jul. 16, 2001, bearing Ser. No. 60/305,635;
“Description of an Inorganic Polymer Electret in a Colloidal State along with the Method of Generating and Applications,” filed Dec. 26, 2000, bearing Ser. No. 09/749,243;
“Apparatus and Process for Treating Coal which is High in Sulfur such that it will Burn in a High Temperature Furnace with Greatly Reduced Emissions of Sulfur Dioxide (S02) Nitrous Oxide and Mercury,” filed Mar. 28, 2001, bearing Ser. No. 60/279,325; and
“Reducing Sulfur Dioxide Emissions from Coal Combustion,” filed Mar. 28, 2002, bearing serial no. WO2/079356.
The following is a list of suitable parts and materials for the various elements of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
process 10
furnace 12
conduit 14
fan 16
green house gases (arrows) 15
bottom 17
gas sequestration unit 18
IPE fluid 19
chamber 20
top 21
IPE coil 22
conduit 23
line 24
second conduit 25
IPE generator 26
gas compressor 27
line 28
plasma arc 30
IPE reservoir 31
ions 32
plasma arc generator 33
electrodes 36, 38
conversion tower 50
electro-magnets 52
cast iron core 54
electron accelerator 56
free electrons 58
electro-magnets 61, 62
arrows 63
dense electron zone 64
titanium grid 65
coils 66
exit nozzles 69
carbon trap 70
line 72
Oxygen molecules 73
Carbon fragments 75
The foregoing embodiments are presented by way of example only; the scope of the present invention is to be limited only by the following claims.
This is a divisional of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/044,898, filed Jan. 27, 2005, which is incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Parent | 11044898 | Jan 2005 | US |
Child | 11468494 | Aug 2006 | US |