A process is described for converting organic materials (such as biomass wastes) into sterile, high-grade bacterial protein suitable for use an animal feed or human food supplements. In a preferred embodiment the process involves thermally gasifying the organic material into primarily carbon monoxide, hydrogen and nitrogen products, followed by photosynthetic bacterial assimilation of the gases into cell material, which can be high as 65% protein. The process is ideally suited for waste recycling and for food production under zero-gravity or extra-terrestrial conditions.

A thin, room-temperature-curing, ceramic composite for coating and patching metal substrates comprises a sol gel silica glass matrix filled with finely ground particles or fibers, preferably alumina. The sol gel glass is made by adding ethanol to water to form a first mixture, then separately adding ethanol to tetraethyl orthosilicate to form a second mixture, then slowly adding the first to the second mixture to make a third mixture, and making a slurry by adding the finely ground particles or fibers to the third mixture. The composite can be applied by spraying, brushing or trowelling. If applied to patch fine cracks, densification of the ceramic composite may be obtained to enhance sealing by applying heat during curing.

An article of manufacture including a substrate, a patterned interlayer of magnesium oxide, barium-titanium oxide or barium-zirconium oxide, the patterned interlayer material overcoated with a secondary interlayer material of yttria-stabilized zirconia or magnesium-aluminum oxide, upon the surface of the substrate whereby an intermediate article with an exposed surface of both the overcoated patterned interlayer and the substrate is formed, a coating of a buffer layer selected from the group consisting of oxides of Ce, Y, Cm, Dy, Er, Eu, Fe, Gd, Ho, In, La, Mn, Lu, Nd, Pr, Pu, Sm, Tb, Tl, Tm, Y, and Yb over the entire exposed surface of the intermediate article, and, a ceramic superconductive material layer as an overcoat upon the buffer layer whereby the ceramic superconductive material situated directly above the substrate has a crystal structure substantially different than the ceramic superconductive material situated above the overcoated patterned interlayer.

A ceramic superconductor comprising a metal oxide substrate, a ceramic high temperature superconductive material, and a intermediate layer of a material having a cubic crystal structure, said layer situated between the substrate and the superconductive material is provided, and a structure for supporting a ceramic superconducting material is provided, said structure comprising a metal oxide substrate, and a layer situated over the surface of the substrate to substantially inhibit interdiffusion between the substrate and a ceramic superconducting material deposited upon said structure.

A substrate-free, free-standing epitaxially oriented superconductive film including a layer of a template material and a layer of a ceramic superconducting material is provided together with a method of making such a substrate-free ceramic superconductive film by coating an etchable material with a template layer, coating the template layer with a layer of a ceramic superconductive material, coating the layer of ceramic superconductive material with a protective material, removing the etchable material by an appropriate means so that the etchable material is separated from a composite structure including the template layer, the ceramic superconductive material layer and the protective material layer, removing the protective material layer from the composite structure whereby a substrate-free, free-standing ceramic superconductive film remains.

A method for dissipating a remanent field, created when a magnetic field is brought into contact with a superconductor, comprising the steps of (1) providing a ceramic superconductor; (2) continuously or intermittently applying an AC current to the ceramic superconductor; (3) gradually removing the AC current until the undesired remanent field is dissipated.