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US 11,891,320 B1Granted
Adaptive solar heated anaerobic digestor pond
AssigneeTucumcari Bio-Energy Corporation
InventorRobert G. Hockaday
Life of this patent
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AssigneeTucumcari Bio-Energy Corporation
InventorRobert G. Hockaday
Estimating the term…
Large sealed anaerobic digestor ponds with thin rubber membrane covers to absorb sunlight efficiently in selective sunlight absorption coating and low emissivity in infrared and transparent insulation layers. Flow of pond byproduct gas and heat transfer to circulate slurry liquid controlled by pressurization and weighting of gas collection cover membrane to provide sloped buoyant bubble gas flow gas collection channels in deformed membrane. Low gas pressure used between layers to increase heat transfer to digesting slurry when low wind and prevent wind lift-off with high winds. High gas pressure used between membrane layers to remove sloped collection channels, permit thickened foam over digesting slurry and reduce heat transfer at night. These large-scale solar heating digesting ponds can maintain sufficient digestion temperature to accelerate digestion, maximize gas production efficiency, and minimize greenhouse gas emissions.
Apparatus comprising a membrane covered anaerobic digestor pond containing digesting slurry kept at a temperature different and more constant than an ambient air temperature with a polymer membrane liner a depression in the earth with a polymer membrane cover that absorbs sunlight, wherein a circulation of contained digesting slurry within a volume between the polymer membrane liner and the polymer membrane cover that is in contact with digesting slurry and the polymer cover membrane can actuate to be a sloped contact with the digesting slurry by raising or lowering the pressure of a space between the membrane cover and the membrane liner and/or by changing a weight or buoyancy of tubes with additions or removal of fluids from tubes or bladders in contact with the membrane cover that product gas bubbles rise under a sloped membrane cover propels fluid circulation of digesting slurry liquid and therein transfers heat by convection between the membrane cover and the digesting slurry liquid and collection of gas from digesting slurry.
A method comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.