Did You Know...
...that the Eveready Battery began as an invention called the "electric flowerpot," which was a tube with a battery and light bulb inside? The idea was to fasten this gizmo to the side of a flowerpot so it would illuminate the flowers from the bottom. The idea died on the vine and the businessman who licensed the flower pot, Conrad Huber, was left with a pile of useless tubes -- until he found a way to market them as batteries to light the world!
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7353653 | Hybrid power system for continuous reliable power at locations including remote locations The present inventive subject matter is drawn to a hybrid ultra reliable power generating system for supplying continuous reliable power at remote locations comprising: a primary power unit producing electric power that is supplied to a load. Also a secondary power ... | 04/08/2008 |
| 7328591 | Jet ejector system and method According to one embodiment of the invention, a jet ejector method includes providing a primary jet ejector having a primary inlet stream, coupling one or more secondary jet ejectors to the primary jet ejector such that all of the jet ejectors are in a cascaded arra... | 02/12/2008 |
| 7305829 | Method and apparatus for acquiring heat from multiple heat sources The present invention relates to systems and methods for implementing a closed loop thermodynamic cycle utilizing a multi-component working fluid to acquire heat from two or more external heat source streams in an efficient manner utilizing countercurrent exchange. ... | 12/11/2007 |
| 7260934 | External combustion engine An organic Rankine engine used to power a vehicle is provided with a quick-start system of pumps, electric heaters or pistons to generate a pressure differential across the motor, prior to the engine reaching operating conditions. ... | 08/28/2007 |
| 7251944 | Vapor-compression evaporation system and method According to one embodiment of the invention, a vapor-compression evaporation system includes a plurality of vessels in series each containing a feed having a nonvolatile component. A first set of the plurality of vessels includes vapor-compression evaporators and a... | 08/07/2007 |
| 7174715 | Hot to cold steam transformer for turbine systems A steam transformer (200) receives steam through a steam inlet (203), and the steam is mixed in a mixing zone (231) with water entering through a water inlet (205). Steam cooled by contact with the water exits the steam transformer throug... | 02/13/2007 |
| 7152681 | Method and arrangement for treatment of fluid A method utilizes the energy of water that flows out from a high-pressure reservoir. Water and hydrocarbons are separated in a down-hole separator and are brought separately to the seabed. In a first aspect the energy of the water is utilized to inject the water int... | 12/26/2006 |
| 7124584 | System and method for heat recovery from geothermal source of heat A system is disclosed for generating energy from a geothermal heat source. The system includes a fluid injection system configured for injecting fluid into a subterranean formation and a fluid extraction system configured for extracting fluid from the subterranean f... | 10/24/2006 |
| 7097392 | Free-flowing sulfur transport, storage and use to produce energy, fertilizer or hydrogen without carbon dioxide Elemental sulfur is combined with either liquid anhydrous ammonia, liquid sulfur dioxide, or both to form a solution or slurry which is transportable through pipelines or other transport vessels without a risk of clogging due to the environmental temperature drops t... | 08/29/2006 |
| 7059131 | Method and system for exchanging earth energy between earthly bodies and an energy exchanger, especially to produce an electric current An energy exchanger (2) is connected to an earth energy exchanger (18) via a flow line (10) and a return flow line (14). The flow line (10) and the return flow line (14) are both provided with a regulatable stop valve (12... | 06/13/2006 |
| 7036315 | Apparatus and method for detecting low charge of working fluid in a waste heat recovery system In a waste heat recovery system having a superheat controller, a reference superheat controller operating trajectory is established and compared with operational superheat controller trajectories from time to time and measuring the deviation therebetween to determin... | 05/02/2006 |
| 7017357 | Emergency power generation system In a comfort system having a combination furnace and air conditioner, the two are operated simultaneously at periods of time in which emergency power is desired, with the air conditioning system being temporarily converted to cause the flow of refrigerant to pass fr... | 03/28/2006 |
| 7019412 | Power generation methods and systems A closed loop system for generating mechanical energy at high efficiencies. The system can have a heating source, a superheater, an expander, a receiver, an absorber, a desorber, and regenerator with pumps and controls. The superheater heats a working fluid (a refri... | 03/28/2006 |
| 6960839 | Method of and apparatus for producing power from a heat source A method for producing power from a heat source comprises the steps of: heating an intermediate fluid with heat from the heat source and producing a vaporized intermediate fluid in an intermediate fluid heater/vaporizer. Heat from the vaporized intermediate fluid va... | 11/01/2005 |
| 6919000 | Diffusion driven desalination apparatus and process A diffusion driven desalination apparatus and related method includes structure for receiving a heated water stream and creating at least one region having a thin film of water and structure for forcing a low humidity air stream over the thin film of water, wherein ... | 07/19/2005 |
| 6912853 | Method of and apparatus for increasing the output of a geothermal steam power plant In accordance with the present invention, a method is provided for increasing the output of a geothermal steam turbine power plant comprising the steps of: providing a separate, additional flash separator that produces the steam for operating the non-condensable gas... | 07/05/2005 |
| 6820421 | Low temperature geothermal system A new thermodynamic cycle is disclosed for converting energy from a low temperature stream from an external source into useable energy using a working fluid comprising of a mixture of a low boiling component and a high boiling component. The cycle is designed to imp... | 11/23/2004 |
| 6438957 | Piezoelectric power generating arrangement activated by elements caused to rotate by natural energy source A piezoelectric power generating arrangement activated by elements caused to rotate by a natural energy source, includes a plurality of bristles; a plurality of piezoelectric elements in surrounding relation to and in contact with the bristles; a rotating... | 08/27/2002 |
| 6375907 | Hydrogen sulfide abatement with scale control and/or well acidizing The emissions of hydrogen sulfide during the production of natural gas, oil or geothermal fluids from subterranean formations and the subsequent processing of these fluids is reduced by converting the hydrogen sulfide into a hydrogen halide or a halogen a... | 04/23/2002 |
| 6332320 | Geothermal steam processing As geothermal steam containing contaminants such as boron, arsenic, and mercury is passed through a turbine-condenser system, the contaminants preferentially collect in the initial condensate produced from the steam. Collecting this initially-produced con... | 12/25/2001 |
| 6298663 | Method and apparatus for producing power from geothermal fluid Apparatus for utilizing geothermal fluid comprising a two-phase mixture of geothermal steam and brine produced by a production well, includes an input conduit connecting the production well with the separator which separates the geothermal fluid into high... | 10/09/2001 |
| 6286314 | Geothermal steam processing As geothermal steam containing contaminants such as boron, arsenic, and mercury is passed through a turbine-condenser system, the contaminants preferentially collect in the initial condensate produced from the steam. Collecting this initially-produced con... | 09/11/2001 |
| 6247313 | Plant for exploiting geothermal energy A plant for exploiting geothermal energy by circulating water through a geological formation (1) at a substantial depth below the earth surface (2), comprises at least one supply hole (3) leading from the surface (2) down to said formation (1) and at leas... | 06/19/2001 |
| 6212890 | Geothermal power plant and condenser therefor A geothermal power plant operating on geothermal fluid includes a source of low pressure geothermal steam, and a turbo-generator including a low pressure steam turbine to which the geothermal steam is applied, and a generator coupled to the steam turbine.... | 04/10/2001 |
| 6122915 | Multistage two-phase turbine A multistage two-phase turbine having multiple stages to receive fluid, each stage having an inlet and outlet comprising nozzles at the inlet to each stage to accelerate the fluid that consists of a mixture of gas and liquid, to form two-phase jets; a rot... | 09/26/2000 |
| 5970714 | Geothermal power plant operating on high pressure geothermal fluid A geothermal power plant operating on high pressure geothermal fluid includes a primary separator for separating the geothermal fluid into two channels, one containing high pressure steam and the other containing high pressure liquid. A primary steam turb... | 10/26/1999 |
| 5965031 | pH modification of geothermal brine with sulfur-containing acid Sulfurous acid and/or sulfurous acid precursors, such as sulfur dioxide, are introduced into a hydrogen sulfide-containing geothermal brine or fluid prior to extracting energy from the resulting mixture by, e.g., passing the mixture through a flash vessel... | 10/12/1999 |
| 5911853 | Method for treating paper mill condensate to reduce the amount of sulfur compounds therein The invention described in the specification is a method for removing hydrogen sulfide, volatile mercaptans and methyl sulfides from a paper mill condensate stream. In the method, carbon dioxide is injected into the condensate stream under pressure and th... | 06/15/1999 |
| 5858245 | Inhibition of silicate scale formation A method for controlling fouling of a production or reinjection well, a flashing vessel or a heat-exchange surface exposed to a high-enthalpy geothermal brine that forms metal/silicon-containing scale comprises the addition of a metal complexing agent to ... | 01/12/1999 |
| 5839282 | Method and means for using a two phase fluid A method for using a two-phase fluid includes separating the fluid into its two phases, one of which is a hot gas containing energy in the form of latent heat, and one of which is a hot liquid containing energy in the form of sensible heat; converting sen... | 11/24/1998 |
| 5816048 | Method for utilizing acidic geothermal fluid for generating power in a rankine cycle power plant A method for utilizing acidic geothermal fluid (e.g., fluid having a pH of less than about 3.5) containing non-condensable gases in a geothermal power plant includes separating the geothermal fluid into steam and brine, applying the steam to a device from... | 10/06/1998 |
| 5694772 | Method of apparatus for disposing of non-condensable gases present in geo fluid A stream of non-condensable gases that include hydrogen sulfide which are produced by a geothermal plant are disposed of by first compressing at least a part of the stream to form compressed gases. Spent geothermal liquid produced by the power plant is pr... | 12/09/1997 |
| 5671601 | Geothermal power plant operating on high pressure geothermal fluid Power is produced from high presser geothermal fluid by separating the fluid into high pressure steam and high pressure brine, expanding the high pressure steam in a high pressure turbogenerator for producing power and heat depleted steam, and separating ... | 09/30/1997 |
| 5664419 | Method of and apparatus for producing power using geothermal fluid Power is produced using a two-phase geothermal fluid, utilizing a separator for separating the geothermal fluid into a steam branch and a brine branch. A vaporizer, containing an organic fluid, is responsive to the steam in the steam branch for producing ... | 09/09/1997 |
| 5664420 | Multistage two-phase turbine A multistage two-phase turbine having multiple stages to receive fluid, each stage having an inlet and outlet comprising nozzles at the inlet to each stage to accelerate the fluid that consists of a mixture of gas and liquid, to form two-phase jets; a rot... | 09/09/1997 |
| 5665242 | Inhibition of silica precipitation A method for controlling fouling of a flashing vessel or heat-exchange surface exposed to a high-enthalpy geothermal brine tending to form silicon-containing scale. The method adds a silicon-complexing amount of fluoroborate species to the brine to form a... | 09/09/1997 |
| 5660042 | Method of and means for using a two phase fluid A method for using a two-phase fluid includes separating the fluid into its two phases, one of which is a hot gas containing energy in the form of latent heat, and one of which is a hot liquid containing energy in the form of sensible heat; converting sen... | 08/26/1997 |
| 5656172 | pH modification of geothermal brine with sulfur-containing acid Sulfur-containing acid is produced at a geothermal energy source from hydrogen sulfide produced as part of a geothermal process and introduced into aqueous liquid brine to lower the pH of the liquid brine. The lowered pH of the brine inhibits silica, meta... | 08/12/1997 |
| 5582011 | Method of and apparatus for generating power from geothermal fluid containing a relatively high concentration of non-condensable gases A power plant operating on geothermal steam containing more than about 5% non-condensable gases includes a topping steam turbine for expanding the steam to produce power and from which exhaust steam is extracted at a pressure above atmospheric pressure, a... | 12/10/1996 |
| 5578140 | Solar energy plant The disclosure concerns various improvements in a solar energy plant of the kind in which incoming solar radiation is concentrated by a Fresnel reflector, i.e. a field of concentrating mirrors, and the concentrated radiation is focused into a solar receiv... | 11/26/1996 |
