Carbon Analytic continues several areas of energy development over a five year course which has begun to bring about advancement in bio-energy processes, refinement and production. The list of growing capabilities below is actually quite impressive given most of it has evolved from the first discovery of plant-based combustion we produced.
There are important guide posts followed to avoid creating secondary problems from advancement of discoveries. Capital cost, labor cost, environmental management and consumption of all byproducts head these concerns during the entire planning and execution phases of development. Plant-based bio-fuels are the first priority in developing multiple fuel sources resulting in ultra-low emissions in long-term, reliable energy production.
In many of the areas concerned the ongoing efforts take on a proprietary side to intellectual property. For this reason the methods and processes are not highly detailed in description here but do reveal the emerging benefits Carbon Analytic is developing.
Below are some of the current efforts...
- Real-time stream fractionation of bio-fuel production and combined consumption
- Plasma arc rapid decomposition of long chain hydrocarbons.
- Ion filtration / scrubbing of secondary particle emissions
- Aqueous pyrolytic processing to increase light volatile yields
- Light and heavy, low acidity, low sulfur liquid fuels with compensated octane
- Oxygen / nitrogen separation under continuous vacuum, without the use of adsorption
- High frequency inductive heating of catalyst imposed distillation / purification
- Catalytic designs for continuous stream chemical conversion management
- Compression densification and polymer confluence in solid fuel production
- Heat to power conversion
Development in bio-fuels first surged during the fuel shortage crisis years ago. As of this writing the current state of inflation and global energy decisions in developed countries has again come to severe price elevations over crude oil and natural gas restrictions. As such, there is a resurgence in finding further alternative strategies in power production to support electric vehicles and improved bio-refinement to reduce fossil fuel dependence. Considering decades of climate debate, these early developments never should have diminished, leaving a vacuum of means and methods by which to counter the current energy needs.
Below we discuss the nature of ongoing development, absent commentary on proprietary...
Real-time stream fractionation eliminates the down side of doing bio-fuel pyrolysis in batch modes for heating of materials enclosed in an oxygen depleted reaction vessel to produce clean and renewable liquid, gaseous and solid fuel products.
Problem: Batch processing increases process and labor costs while reducing productivity, significantly impacting any real or substantial commercial viability. The need for real time streaming refinement processes avoiding batch processing became the flagship effort which launched Carbon Analytic.
The process provides a partial vacuum at higher temperatures to process plant-based feedstocks. The process increases the rate of aromatic solvent production in progressively higher temperatures. Without revealing the proprietary nature of the method, the production of lighter more volatile fuels extends its own progressing chemical reactions. The liberated products then fuel their own catalytic scaffold enrichment and acid reducing reaction from the source fuel's structure which further increases the more valuable lighter, cleaner emissions continually. The process is consuming and converting the less desirable emissions to a higher yield of far cleaner, safe, viable, usable fuel production. The resulting emissions are fully carbon negative, sustainable and renewable, all while absorbing a portion of single waste pollution sources as part of the complete consumption.
Two of the most important features of the Carbon Analytic continuous process are increased yield fraction of lighter, cleaner fuels but also a much lower acidity of the fuels produced as a result of the higher temperature catalytic reaction phases. High acidity is one of the most serious detriments to using bio-fuels without extensive refinery processing. This method eliminates that need.
Last, the solid fuel product comprised of plant-based sources undergoes high temperature sterilization which forms a hermetically sealed envelope as a hydrophobic product, free from bacterial or fungal decomposition.
The final result is a scalable, renewable output of gaseous, liquid or solid bio-fuel products...
- liquid fractions of bio-sourced gasoline, kerosene, bio-diesel,
- gaseous products of bio-methane and hydrogen,
- solid bio-fuel as a stable, safe, transportable fuel source for numerous Carbon Analytic energy systems.
Plasma arc rapid decomposition of long chain hydrocarbons. Many advances in the use of high frequency, electrical discharge plasma have been developed in several industries. The extreme temperatures attainable are capable of deconstructing materials back to their molecular components at their smallest possible size. Past efforts in the energy industry have struggled to make practical commercial use of the method for energy production.
Carbon Analytic has found a means of using plasma discharg on a controlled, scalable basis inside its Real-time stream fractionation system in a manner that's cost effective and practical. The result provides a means to decompose stubborn complex emissions to aid in continuous production of a cleaner net result bio-fuel products.
Ion filtration / scrubbing of secondary particle emissions. Another process step which creates high frequency charged fields as an electrostatic zone capable of controlling fine particulate matter emitted from combustion. The use of high frequency ion production is not new to industry. It is a new implementation to help manage the emissions of a continuous combustion process for energy production. The result aids in controlling various vapors, soot or smoke as secondary byproducts. The capture of those byproducts insures they are returned to the ongoing process to become fully consumed to safely enhance combustion in both creation and utilization of bio-fuel emissions.
Aqueous pyrolytic processing to increase light volatile yields This development is a spin-off of the Real-time stream fractionation heading above. The design addresses the smaller scale operation of batch processing to produce low acidity bio-diesel liquid fuel for agricultural support. Part of producing a plant-based bio-fuel requires cultivation of the raw material plants insuring that more cultivation is produced than what is consumed along with combination food crop / livestock cultivation. The result is a combination of clean, sustainable heating provisions as well as continuous availability of reliable diesel fuel. The benefit is a dramatic cost reduction for the farming sector and option to include electrical power production. Together these combinations create ever-more independent flexibility for stability and cost control, without sacrificing the standard product and utility offerings on stand-by.
Light and heavy, low acidity, low sulfur liquid fuels with compensated octane This system provides for bio-fuel adjustment of lower temperature combustible liquids. Bio-fuels tend to produce higher flammability and faster consumption as they tend to ignite sooner under lower compression ratios. This effects both heavy fuel turbine combustion risking flame-out events and risk to pistons and valves in reciprocating internal combustion engines. Carbon Analytic has the ability to test and treat these fuel conditions insuring end user performance without risk of instability or damage to combustion equipment.
Oxygen / nitrogen separation under continuous vacuum Atmospheric oxygen and nitrogen share common electron bonds which makes the separation of the two difficult. The efforts of breaking those bonds to liberate oxygen to support greater combustion requires an input of additional energy which has significant cost. Carbon Analytic's processing technique makes use of thermal separation of the constituent fuel and amendments of composition to accomplish this. The net effect is increases in oxygen and hydrogen both, without the negative effects of increased No(x) emissions. Since the process generates excess heat available for this purpose, the cost to accomplish the enhancement is nil and built into the process automatically. Due to preservation of intellectual property, the exact manner of process is not detailed here, but will be reflected in analysis which shows total energy input versus efficiency to output values.
High frequency inductive heating of catalyst imposed distillation / purification The methods of inductive heating are not new or novel. However in nearly all distillation processes there is a need for closed loop circulation. Both closed loop and cooling tower applications face constant treatment for accumulation of corrosion and ionic instability due to mineral accumulation. Carbon Analytic has found means of using high frequency catalytic control over heating and circulating systems which remove these contaminates in a continual manner without the need for ongoing treatment and chemical balancing. This means the cost of maintaining make up water or static purity of closed loop water is far simpler with less human management. Where the process might require distillation this becomes even more valuable as the catalytic process is a direct participant in the inductive heating method; two birds with one stone.
Catalytic designs for continuous stream chemical conversion management Carbon Analytic's efforts in catalytic development provides for the ability to form and produce cutting edge catalytic solutions. These solutions are specifically geared for gaseous and liquid fuel refinement. Technological discoveries in this field in the last five years have revolutionized several aspects of fuel refinement. These breakthroughs are resulting in the ability to create superior quality, usability and optional variants of fuel production to meet a wide array of process and emissions benefits, removing other more cost intensive legacy methods of refinement.
Compression densification and polymer confluence in solid fuel production Material density in solid fuels is always an important aspect of total volume relating to storage, transportation and product durability. Even more important is the discovery that size versus density plays a critical role in the effectiveness of sustaining combustion and fuel consumption. Compression, reconstruction and elimination of empty spaces within a solid fuel's structure all play still further on how consistently a fuel is consumed without creating secondary byproducts. These characteristics effect the stability of the process, efficiency, net output and overall reliability, all translating to cost of operation. Last, temperature and pressure play a role in polymerization of otherwise separate crystalline structures in the fuel's material composition. This controls initiation time, rate of decomposition and several aspects of the resulting flame characteristics during combustion. This is an area of intense design effort for Carbon Analytic fostering some of the most important discoveries in the process to date, compared to any other form of solid fuel.
Heat to power conversion This area completes the list of the advancements built into the combined benefits of Carbon Analytic's design process. The ability to store excess heat and make usable conversion to power requires a minimum of 30% efficiency to be cost effective. That said, if the solution is simple, modular and scalable with few moving parts and high reliability, the ability to cascade thermal extraction means 30% of 30% of 30%, etc. The importance of avoiding heat as an emission has never been more important environmentally than it is today given climate change. The technologies being developed remain bound to internal dialog and testing only at this point. The reason it gains honorable mention here is confirm Carbon Analytic's awareness and dedication to this need; that we are finding solutions which are both novel and reliable where the greatest exposure of heat loss emissions happen.
That completes the overview of Carbon Analytic's ongoing research. Much of what is shown is well past proof of concept and prototype efforts, heading to production planning. Nothing shown is absent the design concepts of proof validating the critical processes involved. Production currently focuses on volume methodology and establishing the emissions lab capabilities to document and confirm production results.
