Systems and methods for use in processing of forest residue

• US 10,675,661 B2
• Filed: 06/15/2016
• Issued: 06/09/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Biofuel Technology A/S
• Original Assignee: Biofuel Technology A/S
• Inventors: Laitt, Andrew
• Primary Examiner(s): Katcoff, Matthew
• Application Number:
  US15/737,109
• Publication Number:
  US 20180169707A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,455 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B02C 18/14 within horizontal containers B02C18/062, B02C18/065 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B02C 18/145 with knives spaced axially and circumferentially on the periphery of a cylindrical rotor unit
• CPC Class Codes: B07B 15/00 Combinations of apparatus for separating solids from solids by dry methods applicable to bulk material, e.g. loose articles fit to be handled like bulk material using wet methods B03B7/00; using gas currents B07B9/00
• CPC Class Codes: B07B 9/00 Combinations of apparatus for screening or sifting or for separating solids from solids using gas currents; General arrangement of plant, e.g. flow sheets
• CPC Class Codes: B07C 5/14 Sorting timber or logs , e.g. tree trunks, beams, planks or the like
• CPC Class Codes: B07C 5/3422 using video scanning devices, e.g. TV-cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B07C 5/365 using a single separation means
• CPC Class Codes: B09B 3/00 Destroying solid waste or transforming solid waste into something useful or harmless
• CPC Class Codes: B09B 5/00 Operations not covered by a single other subclass or by a single other group in this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 2290/28 Cutting, disintegrating, shredding or grinding
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 2290/54 Specific separation steps for separating fractions, components or impurities during preparation or upgrading of a fuel
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 2290/546 Sieving for separating fractions, components or impurities during preparation or upgrading of a fuel
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 2290/547 Filtration for separating fractions, components or impurities during preparation or upgrading of a fuel
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 5/442 Wood or forestry waste
• CPC Class Codes: D21B 1/023 Cleaning wood chips or other raw materials
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 50/10 Biofuels, e.g. bio-diesel
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 50/30 Fuel from waste, e.g. synthetic alcohol or diesel

Abstract

This disclosure includes systems and methods that may be used in forest residue processing. Some systems use or include: a filter configured to filter elements based on element size, a separator configured to separate elements based on element areal density, a separator configured to separate elements based on element density, and/or a sorter configured to sort elements based on element wood fiber content.

Claims

1. A method for producing wood fiber from forest residue, the method comprising:

filtering at least a portion of a forest residue feed into;

a first large-elements feed having a first maximum element size; and

a small-elements feed having a second maximum element size that is smaller than the first maximum element size;

sorting at least a portion of the first large-elements feed into a first wood fiber-elements feed and a first bark-elements feed having a lower aggregate wood fiber content than that of the first wood fiber-elements feed; and

size-reducing at least a portion of the first bark-elements feed to produce a reduced-size bark-elements feed;

where the filtering comprises filtering at least a portion of the reduced-size bark-elements feed into the first large-elements feed and the small-elements feed.

2. The method of claim 1, where:

the first maximum element size is approximately 50 mm; and

/or

the second maximum element size is approximately 10 mm.

3. The method of claim 1, where the size-reducing at least a portion of the first bark-elements feed is performed using a shredder.

4. The method of claim 3, where the size-reducing at least a portion of the first bark-elements feed comprises:

contacting at least a portion of the first bark-elements feed with a rotor of the shredder, the rotor including a plurality of teeth; and

rotating the rotor at a rotational speed of between 50 revolutions per minute (rpm) and 250 rpm.

5. The method of claim 1, comprising:

separating at least a portion of the forest residue feed into a first high-density-elements feed and a first low-density-elements feed having a lower maximum element density than that of the first high-density-elements feed;

where the sorting comprises sorting at least a portion of the first low-density-elements feed into the first bark-elements feed and the first wood fiber-elements feed.

6. The method of claim 5, where the filtering comprises filtering at least a portion of the first low-density-elements feed into the first large-elements feed and the small-elements feed.

7. The method of claim 5, where the separating at least a portion of the forest residue feed into the first high-density-elements feed and the first low-density-elements feed is performed using a de-stoner, a ballistic separator, and/or an aerodynamic separator.

8. The method of claim 5, comprising:

separating at least a portion of the forest residue feed into a high-areal-density-elements feed and a low-areal-density-elements feed having a lower maximum element areal density than that of the high-areal-density-elements feed;

where the sorting comprises sorting at least a portion of the high-areal-density-elements feed into the first bark-elements feed and the first wood fiber-elements feed.

9. The method of claim 8, comprising separating at least a portion of the high-areal-density-elements feed into the first high-density-elements feed and the first low-density-elements feed.

10. The method of claim 8, comprising separating at least a portion of the first low-density-elements feed into the high-areal-density-elements feed and the low-areal-density-elements feed.

11. The method of claim 8, where the separating at least a portion of the forest residue feed into the high-areal-density-elements feed and the low-areal-density-elements feed is performed using an aerodynamic separator.

12. The method of claim 1, where the sorting is performed using an optical sorter.

13. A system for producing wood fiber from forest residue, the system comprising:

a filter configured to receive at least a portion of a forest residue feed and filter the received portion into;

a first large-elements feed having a first maximum element size; and

a small-elements feed having a second maximum element size that is smaller than the first maximum element size;

a first sorter configured to receive at least a portion of the first large-elements feed and sort the received portion into a first wood fiber-elements feed and a first bark-elements feed having a lower aggregate wood fiber content than that of the first wood fiber-elements feed; and

a size-reducing machine configured to receive at least a portion of the first bark-elements feed and produce a reduced-size bark-elements feed;

where the filter is configured to receive and filter at least a portion of the reduced-size bark-elements feed.

14. The system of claim 13, where:

the first maximum element size is approximately 50 mm; and

/or

the second maximum element size is approximately 10 mm.

15. The system of claim 13, where the size-reducing machine comprises a shredder.

16. The system of claim 13, comprising:

a first separator configured to receive at least a portion of the forest residue feed and separate the received portion into a first high-density-elements feed and a first low-density-elements feed having a lower maximum element density than that of the first high-density-elements feed;

where the first sorter is configured to receive and sort at least a portion of the first low-density-elements feed.

17. The system of claim 16, where the filter is configured to receive and filter at least a portion of the first low-density-elements feed.

18. The system of claim 16, comprising:

a second separator configured to receive at least a portion of the first high-density-elements feed and separate the received portion into a second high-density-elements feed and a second low-density-elements feed having a lower maximum element density than that of the second high-density-elements feed;

where the first sorter is configured to receive and sort at least a portion of the second low-density-elements feed.

19. The system of claim 16, comprising:

a second separator configured to receive at least a portion of the forest residue feed and separate the received portion into a high-areal-density-elements feed and a low-areal-density-elements feed having a lower maximum element areal density than that of the high-areal-density-elements feed;

where the first sorter is configured to receive and sort at least a portion of the high-areal-density-elements feed.

20. The system of claim 19, where the second separator comprises an aerodynamic separator.