Abstract: The disposal of troublesome substances, especially global-warming halogenated compounds is difficult enough, but is particularly difficult when associated with particulate-forming matter, such as silane and arsine commonly encountered in waste gas streams of the semiconductor industry. The combustive destruction of the troublesome substances in such a waste gas stream is simply and successfully achieved by injecting the stream admixed with fuel gas into a combustion zone surrounded by the radiant surface of a foraminous gas burner that is separately fed fuel gas and excess air sufficient to burn all the combustibles entering the combustion zone. A simple apparatus integrates the combustion zone with a quenching zone for the combustion product stream.

Abstract: The cryogenic treatment of landfill gas removes troublesome compounds that cause severe corrosion of combustion engines in which the gas is used as fuel. It involves compressing the gas to an elevated pressure and isenthalpically expanding the gas to chill the gas to a temperature below -20 .degree. F. The compressed gas is first cooled to eliminate moisture as condensate. Methanol is injected into the gas so that it can be deeply chilled without forming ice with residual moisture in the gas. An aqueous methanol condensate containing troublesome compounds forms in, and is removed from, the deeply chilled gas before it is expanded to provide refrigeration for chilling the gas. By adding water to the aqueous methanol, the troublesome compounds lose solubility in diluted methanol and form a supernatant layer that can be separated for disposal. The diluted methanol can be recycled.

Abstract: Unusually strong and highly perforated plates are formed by pressurized filtration of a suspension of chopped ceramic fibers in an aqueous dispersion of colloidal alumina or colloidal silica through a mold having a perforated filter base and a pin support base having pins that extend through and beyond the perforations of the filter base. Pressurized filtration is preferably conducted by applying vacuum on the downstream side of the mold. When the layer of chopped fibers deposited on the perforated filter base has the desired thickness, filtration is stopped. The perforated filter base and pin support base are moved apart to retract the pins from contact with the perforated layer of chopped fibers which is transferred to a drier for conversion into a strong perforated plate.

Abstract: The disposal of troublesome substances, especially global-warming halogenated compounds is difficult enough, but is particularly difficult when associated with particulate-forming matter, such as silane and arsine commonly encountered in waste gas streams of the semiconductor industry. The combustive destruction of the troublesome substances in such a waste gas stream is simply and successfully achieved by injecting the stream admixed with fuel gas into a combustion zone surrounded by the radiant surface of a foraminous gas burner that is separately fed fuel gas and excess air sufficient to burn all the combustibles entering the combustion zone. A simple apparatus integrates the combustion zone with a quenching zone for the combustion product stream.

Abstract: A water heater of simplified construction which incorporates a unique infrared gas burner performs with notable thermal efficiency and suppression of the combustion pollutants, nitrogen oxides. The upright cylindrical water tank of the new water heater is supported by a cylindrical metal skirt having the same diameter of the tank. A circular perforated ceramic plate is fitted transversely in the skirt to provide a combustion zone above it and a plenum for fuel gas and air below it. A venturi tube extends through the skirt into the plenum for the injection of gas and air. The flameless combustion occurring at the exit surface of the perforated plate makes it a radiant emitter of infrared energy aimed at the bottom of the water tank.

Abstract: The generation of electricity via a steam turbine-driven generator is improved by mixing high-pressure fuel gas with the steam supplied to the turbine. The turbine discharge is separated into gas and steam condensate. The gas is burned to convert the condensate into the steam supplied to the turbine. Maximum benefits of such operation are attained by conducting the combustion of the separated gas with a porous fiber burner to suppress the formation of air pollutants.

Abstract: An unsintered metal fiber burner is produced by mixing ceramic fibers with the metal fibers and binding the mixed metal-ceramic fibers together as a porous layer adherent to a foraminous support. By mixing ceramic fibers with metal fibers, the cost of a sintered metal fiber burner is reduced while the novel burner, because of the metal fiber therein, exhibits improved properties such as greater radiant efficiency, lower NO.sub.x emissions and increased durability.

Abstract: Remarkable suppression of the formation of pollutants: NO.sub.x, CO and UHC, in the flameless combustion of gaseous fuel with excess air is achieved by passing the fuel and air through a porous surface combustor directly into an adiabatic zone, and by controlling the amount of excess air to be greater than about 50% but not greater than about 150% in excess of the stoichiometric requirement. The furnace with the adiabatic zone for the suppression of pollutants will preferably have a refractory body as part of the adiabatic zone.

Abstract: A power tool for torquing a threaded member of a movable device, such as a pipe nipple of a gas meter sent for repairs, comprises a rigid disk with a bore to fit the nipple so that the disk can be placed against the meter, a block attached to the disk to prevent its movement, a reaction arm that cam be rotatably fitted on the nipple and locked to the disk, a torque arm that can be clamped on the nipple adjacent the reaction arm, and a hydraulic cylinder with its opposite ends connected to the reaction and torque arms to provide the force to move the torque arm.

Abstract: A framing module for quickly assembling frames of rectangular towers suitable for supporting protective shields within excavations comprises a horizontal wale connected by hinge to a vertical leg and a locking brace to hold the hinged members in the right angle position. The wale has a tenon and set-back at each end. The hinged end of the leg is adjacent a set-back in the wale and that set-back becomes a mortise when the leg is set at right angle to the wale. The tenon of one module is inserted in the mortise of another module to interlock the modules. A rectangular frame is easily formed with at least four interlocked modules, and duplicate frames can be stacked to reach a desired tower height.

Abstract: A high-speed continuous mixer for solids and liquids has a horizontal tubular vessel with a semi-cylindrical bottom and a mixer shaft coinciding with its axis. Multiple crescent-like flat blades are mounted on the shaft at right angles thereto and clear the semi-cylindrical bottom by a small distance. Each crescent-like blade has a tapered knife edge on its convex periphery which has a sweeping shape to provide, when rotated, a slicing action through the mass undergoing mixing while moving from the feed end to the discharge end of the tubular vessel. Remarkable high-speed production of dough for pasta and baked goods is achieved as an example of the outstanding performance of the mixer.

Abstract: Cogeneration of at least electricity and refrigeration with low NO.sub.x combustion of fuel gas supplied at high pressure involves expanding the gas, after preheating, in a turbo-expander which drives a centrifugal compressor for the refrigerant vapor of a refrigeration system. The expanded fuel gas admixed with a limited amount of air is fed to a porous fiber burner to effect flameless combustion on the outer surface of the burner and yield a flue gas with a very low content of NO.sub.x and other pollutants. Combustion heat is used to produce high-pressure steam which is fed to a steam turbine that drives an electric generator. The flue gas can be passed through an absorption system for the recovery of carbon dioxide, part of the steam being utilized in the absorption system. When desired, recovered carbon dioxide can be liquefied with refrigeration produced by the cogeneration system.

Abstract: Cogeneration of electricity and carbon dioxide with low NO.sub.x combustion of vaporizable liquid fuels, particularly alcohols and hydrocarbons, is achieved by feeding the vaporized fuel admixed with a limited amount of air to a porous fiber burner and effecting flameless combustion on the outer surface of the burner to yield a flue gas with a very low content of NO.sub.x and other pollutants. The liquid fuel is vaporized by injection into hot combustion air preheated by heat exchange with the flue gas while heat from the burner is utilized to produce high-pressure steam which is supplied to a steam turbine that drives an electric generator. The flue gas is then passed through an absorption system for the recovery carbon dioxide, part of the steam being used in the absorption system. When desired, recovered carbon dioxide can be liquefied with refrigeration produced by the cogeneration system.

Abstract: An apparatus for producing ravioli and other dough capsules containing a filler comprises a rotatable horizontal drum with uniformly spaced cavities in its cylindrical surface, means for suplying a first dough sheet to the top of the drum, a filler feed header flexibly suspended thereover and containing a gear pump with discharge nozzles aimed downwardly at the cavities, active drive means for moving the header, passive drive means for the pump to meter gobs of filler through the nozzles, means for supplying a second dough sheet over the first sheet with filler gobs thereon, and a roller to press the second sheet against the first sheet to fuse them around the filler gobs. The dough-encapsulated filler gobs are cut from the fused dough sheets as ravioli or like product.

Abstract: A backless, strapless ladies' body briefer is made practical by providing a lateral, full-length bone at each of the two seams connecting the front and back halves of the garment. The back half has a V-shaped cutout and an elastic band extending along the waistline and attached to the lateral bones. At least one auxiliary bone, spaced from each lateral bone, is attached to the elastic band and extends to the V-shaped cutout. Additional auxiliary bones attached to the elastic band can help keep the V-shaped edges of the garment snugly against the wearer's back.

Abstract: A positive-acting mechanism for pressurizing a liquid CO.sub.2 storage cylinder involves a sealed tube suspended from the cylinder top and extending down into the bottom of the cylinder. The sealed tube contains an electric heating element and a temperature sensor connected to a thermostat. A pressure-stat with its capillary connected to the top of the cylinder is connected in electrical series with the thermostat. One wire from the heating element goes to a source of electricity and the other to the thermostat or pressure-stat. Another wire to the source of electricity is connected to the thermostat or pressure-stat whichever is not connected to the heating element.

Abstract: Rolling mills commonly have rollers with shoulders abutting face plates on the frame of the mill. Dirt collects at the interface of the roller shoulders and face plates. There is no simple way to clean that interfacial area. Novel shields positioned against the roller shoulders and movable therefrom now permit facile cleaning of both the roller shoulders and shields. Frequent cleaning is critical in rolling mills of not only the food industry to prevent bacterial contamination of food products but also other industries where gritty material migrates into the interfacial area of roller shoulders and causes abrasion thereof. The shields can be as simple as stiff plastic sheets.

Abstract: Cogeneration of electricity and liquid carbon dioxide is conducted by combusting methane-rich gas to power a gas turbine and a steam turbine; each turbine drives an electric generator. Carbon dioxide is separated from the combustion products by an amine absorption system to which heat for releasing absorbed carbon dioxide is supplied by steam drawn from the steam turbine. Some of that steam is used to produce refrigeration with an ammonia absorption refrigeration unit. The refrigeration is applied to the separated carbon dioxide to liquefy it. Fractionation to yield purified liquid carbon dioxide is easily achieved and saleable refrigeration is another optional product of cogeneration.

Abstract: An apparatus for producing dough capsules containing a filler comprises a feed roller, a pocket-forming roller with axially and circumferentially equispaced cavities in its cylindrical surface and with a circumferential thin ridge thereon between each pair of axially spaced cavities, a cutting roller with circumferentially equispaced flutes extending lengthwise thereof and with a lengthwise thin ridge between each pair of flutes. The pocket-forming roller is parallel to, and in contact with, an upper quadrant of the feed roller, while the cutting roller is parallel to, and in contact with, the adjacent lower quadrant of the feed roller. Synchronous drive means rotates the feed roller in one direction and the other two rollers in the opposite direction. A dough sheet with longitudinal beads of filler aligned with the axially spaced cavities of the pocket-forming roller and a cover dough sheet enter the bite between the feed and pocket-forming rollers.

Abstract: In refrigeration systems wherein the refrigerant compressor is driven by a prime mover powered by combustion of a fluid fuel, a notable saving in fuel consumption is achieved by utilizing waste heat in the hot exhaust gases from the prime mover in an ammonia absorption refrigeration unit to produce refrigeration in the form of liquid ammonia. Subcooled liquid ammonia is used to subcool the compressed and condensed refrigerant prior to its expansion and evaporation to produce saleable refrigeration. This compound refrigeration system is economically attractive for producing large tonnage refrigeration particularly when a combustion turbine coupled to a centrifugal compressor is used.