Abstract: Sewage sludge is dewatered to a cake-like state. The viscosity of the sludge is lowered by admixing a quantity of urea, urea-ammonium-nitrate, or other nitrogen-containing material, in with the dewatered sludge. The treatment also removes pathogens, and renders the product suitable for use as a fertilizer.

Abstract: Applying pulses to liquid being injected into wells makes the ground/liquid formation more homogenous, and more penetrative. A system for automatically creating the pulses is described, in which a piston is acted upon by the pressure differential (PDAF) between the supplied accumulator pressure and the formation pressure. The changing levels of the PDAF as the pulse-valve opens (and the PDAF falls) and as the pulse-valve closes (and the PDAF rises) are harnessed to actuate an inhibitor that restrain movement of the valve-piston, and delays opening and/or closing of the pulse-valve. The pulse-valve is engineered to open explosively, and thus create penetrative porosity-waves in the formation. The system includes a pressurized-gas accumulator, and injection-check-valve which can maintain pulsing even when the ground is not saturated, and the static injector, which allows non-pulsed injection only when the ground is non-saturated.

Abstract: Nickel entrained in the sulphide mineral pyrrhotite is engineered to dissolve in leaching acid in a two step procedure. First, a slurry of the mineral and the acid is activated by oxidation. This is done in a time T1 by electrolysis; or alternatively chemically, by adding e.g an oxidizing acid to the mineral. After activation, the slurry is then kept under anoxic conditions for a time T2. During T2, the sulphide starts to dissolve much more rapidly, and the rapid breakdown of the sulphide enables the nickel to dissolve and thus to be leached out of the mineral. The dissolved nickel is extracted from the leaching acid e.g by electro-winning.

Abstract: For use when injecting remediation liquid via an injection-well into contaminated groundwater, in the ground. The injection equipment includes a pulse-generator, which has an upstream chamber and a downstream chamber, linked by a pulse-conduit and a bypass conduit. The pulse-conduit includes a pulse-port, which opens and closes cyclically. The pulse-port is formed by the interaction of two apertures, one in the motorised rotor, the other in the stator. The rotor and stator may be formed as two facing plates held slightly apart, or as two cylinders one inside the other. The pulse-generator is located at the ground surface and can be adjusted as to pulse frequency, pulse amplitude, pulse rise-time, and as the the differential pressure between the upstream-chamber and the downstream chamber.

Abstract: The water to be treated might be river water which needs to be clarified, or might be septic tank effluent which needs to have its BOD and dissolved organics content diminished, and its ammonium oxidized. Treatment is done by passing the water through a block of soft open-cell foam. The block of foam is rectanguloid in its basic form. The block of foam is housed in a watertight box. The rectanguloid form enables minimal hydraulic heads, and is simple and cheap to manufacture and install.

Abstract: During a surge-pulsing operation in a borehole (e.g an oil-well undergoing remediation) liquid is stored under pressure upstream of a valve, and then released through the valve suddenly enough to create a seismic wave, which propagates into the formation around the borehole, and assists the surge-pulsing to improve the conductivity and liquid-injectability of the formation. The downhole valve achieves the rapid-opening requirement by virtue of its geometrical layout, as dictated by the strictures of the downhole environment.

Abstract: Sewage sludge that has been de-watered to 25% solids is subjected to a combination of shearing and heating that liquefies the sludge, and drops its viscosity to below 12,000 cP. The fact of liquefaction prepares the sludge such that subsequent drying can be done more cost-effectively than hitherto. After drying, the dried sludge can be incinerated.

Abstract: An N-nary photonic transistor (PT) based on a heterojunction optical semiconductor microstructure is presented. The PT has one control signal input, one data signal input, and one output. The lights for each input can be one of the wavelengths within the N number (N-nary) of predetermined lightwaves. The output light of the PT is determined by the inputs in accordance with the switching function of the PT. The PT can be used to construct either N-nary digital logic gates or binary Boolean logic gates. For the N-nary system, both the wavelength domain and intensity domain of the lights are used which forms a two dimensional logic system. An optical AND gate, which can be used as either N-nary or binary, is constructed using the current photonic transistor, which is also presented herein.

Abstract: Guide case (24) for use in conjunction with a water turbine (20), with a helical top wall (35) of the annular chamber (27) extended downstream of the inner wall (39) of the inlet port (30). The extension is wetted on its downstream side by the top water entering the inlet port, and on its upstream side by the bottom water. The extension serves to keep the top water separate from the bottom water until the velocity vectors of the two water streams have been aligned, therefore reducing turbulence at the point where the waters mix and merge, and enabling more of the energy to be extracted from the water.

Abstract: Already-treated sludge is fed back into incoming sewage, and is effective to supply nutrients needed for the microbiological breakdown of the sludge. The feedback sludge has a solids content of 10% or more, and has been sheared and heated to drive its viscosity down to 10,000 cP or less. In sludge done that way, nutrients are preserved and presented to the sewage to be treated in highly liquidized and solubilized form, whereby the nutrients are very bio-available to the microbes in the sewage. Large improvements in the elimination of biomass can result.

Abstract: The left and right sideblades are hinged to the mainblade about vertical axes, and can pivot each through 180°. The sideblades are rotated by means of left and right hydraulic rotary actuators. The actuator includes a piston formed with helical splines, which drive a rotor sleeve of the actuator to rotate in a single-plane-circle when the piston is driven axially. The journal bearings in the rotary actuator are supplemented by bearings provided in a coaxial lower hinge, which are of much greater journal capacity than the bearings in the rotary actuators. The lower hinge protects the hydraulic rotary actuator from shocks due to the sideblade impacting against a kerb. A wheel-protection link blocks the sideblade from contacting the wheel of the vehicle.

Abstract: In a crimped hose, a length of rubber tubing is crimped into a blind-ended ferrule. To determine whether the tubing has been fully inserted, a dimple is pressed into the ferrule. The force needed to produce the dimple is small or large, depending whether the rubber is inserted properly, and the difference is large enough to serve as a detector. Measuring the dimple-force provides a commercially-useful test for proper insertion.

Abstract: The weight sensing device may include a base, a cover, a first load cell attached to the base and the cover, a second load cell attached to the base and in contact with the cover but not attached, and an analyzing circuit which is connected by electrical wires to the load cells. The base may be a fork, for example, a lift truck fork. When a load is positioned on the load bearing surface of the cover, the load cells flex and cause an electrical signal to be transmitted over the wires to the analyzing circuit.

Abstract: For extracting a liquid (such as oil) from a porous medium, the liquid is subjected to pulses that propagate through the liquid flowing through the pores of the medium. The pulses cause momentary surges in the velocity of the liquid, which keeps the pores open. The pulses can be generated in the production well, or in a separate excitation well. If the pulses travel with the liquid, the velocity of travel of the liquid through the pores can be increased. The solid matrix is kept stationary, and the pulses move through the liquid. The pulses in the liquid can be generated directly in the liquid, or indirectly in the liquid via a localized area of the solid matrix.

Abstract: The left and right sideblades are hinged to the mainblade about vertical axes, and can pivot each through 180°. The sideblades are rotated by means of left and right hydraulic rotary actuators. The actuator includes a piston formed with helical splines, which drive a rotor sleeve of the actuator to rotate in a single-plane-circle when the piston is driven axially. The journal bearings in the rotary actuator are supplemented by bearings provided in a coaxial lower hinge, which are of much greater journal capacity than the bearings in the rotary actuators. The lower hinge protects the hydraulic rotary actuator from shocks due to the sideblade impacting against a kerb.

Abstract: The cage comprises a metal support framework and plastic panels that define trays for containing live-poultry. Horizontal floor panels of the trays are domed and slitted to prevent pooling of water. Vertical fence panels are formed as open lattice boxes, combining good containment with good ventilation. Openable doors for the trays have a double-detent camming action, whereby the doors snap to open or snap to closed, whichever is closer. The cage is lifted on/off a truck with a fork lift.

Abstract: The headrest support tubes are secured to the seat frame member not by the usual welding, but by gripping the web of the member between two rings or lock-beads swaged into the metal of the tube. The first ring is swaged-out by compressing the tube. The tube, with the one ring, is then assembled into a through-hole in the web of the frame member. Then, the second ring is swaged into the metal of the tube, on the other side of the web, and the web lies gripped between the rings. The seat frame member may be an I-section extrusion, or a round tube with localised squeezed-flat areas, flanked by flanges.

Abstract: In a belt splicer, having crossbeams straddling over and under the splice area, and having tie-bolts holding the ends of the crossbeams together, the safety system comprises link-spacers which link the crossbeams together. The link-spacers are profiled complementarily to the crossbeams, whereby the link-spacers can slide relative to the crossbeams. If a tie-bolt should fail, the cross-beams are held in place, relative to the other crossbeams, by the link-spacers.

Abstract: In the manual/select mode of scanning, if the manually-selected network is not available, the phone performs a general search, and settles on a suitable alternative network. The phone is programmed to provide full call service on that found network. Upon returning home, the phone automatically switches back to home/auto scanning mode, e.g after a pre-set time, or e.g in response to detection of the home network.

Abstract: The vented port-cap includes a check-valve, which admits air into the barrel of the hydrant when the pressure inside is lower than the pressure outside. After an inspection of the hydrant, the hydrant can be left to drain by itself, even though the port-cap has been replaced and tightened.