Abstract: Apparatus for using focused solar radiation to gasify coal and other carbonaceous materials. Incident solar radiation is focused from an array of heliostats onto a tower-mounted secondary mirror which redirects the focused solar radiation down through a window onto the surface of a vertically-moving bed of coal, or a fluidized bed of coal, contained within a gasification reactor. The reactor is designed to minimize contact between the window and solids in the reactor. Steam introduced into the gasification reactor reacts with the heated coal to produce gas consisting mainly of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, commonly called "synthesis gas", which can be converted to methane, methanol, gasoline, and other useful products. One of the novel features of the invention is the generation of process steam at the rear surface of the secondary mirror.

Abstract: Large amounts of industrial wastes are drawn by high vacuum into a scrubber and separator unit at the entrance of which the bulk wastes are flooded with water and reduced to slurry form. In the separator, the slurry is centrifugally spun and separated from the entraining air and delivered by gravity into a slurry tank from which the slurry is pumped to a remote disposal site. The air passes from the separator to a surge chamber where the air is spun and expanded and ridded of entrained moisture. The dry air in a clean state after passing serially through the vacuum producer and a silencer is expelled to the atmosphere. The equipment can be mounted on a vehicular base. The apparatus can operate to continuously and simultaneously remove and dispose of industrial wastes.

Abstract: A method for treating cooked fiber pulp as it comes from a continuous digester. The cooked pulp is bleached by intensively mixing the pulp with an oxygen containing gas and reacting the mixture while moving the mixed mass upwardly through a funnel shaped body within a pessurized reactor. The funnel shaped body is open at the upper end whereat the pulp mixture cascades over the side and flows downwardly into a ring chamber area between the reactor shell and funnel body, the pulp thereby forming a pressure barrier to any surplus gas within the reactor. The surplus unreacted gas is removed from the upper portion of the chamber for recycle with fresh pulp from the digestor and added gas. The treated pulp is removed from the lower portion of the ring chamber after passing downward therein.