Apparatus for rapid mixing of media and method

• US 8,845,976 B2
• Filed: 01/12/2010
• Issued: 09/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/13/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: BioGasol ApS
• Original Assignee: BioGasol ApS
• Inventors: Beldring, Finn, Lukic, Dragan, Hilstrom, Troels
• Primary Examiner(s): Griffin, Walter D
• Assistant Examiner(s): NGUYEN, HUY TRAM
• Application Number:
  US13/144,276
• Publication Number:
  US 20120100045A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,722 Days
• Field of Search: 422/226, 366/150.1, 366/156.1
• US Class Current: 422/226
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 23/30 Mixing gases with solids
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 23/53 using driven stirrers
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 27/1151 with holes on the surface
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 27/1152 with separate elements other than discs fixed on the discs, e.g. vanes fixed on the discs
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 27/1155 with interconnected discs, forming open frameworks or cages
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 27/2122 Hollow shafts
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 27/621 the liquid being fed through the shaft of the stirrer
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 33/71 working at super-atmospheric pressure, e.g. in pressurised vessels
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 33/8305 Devices with one shaft, provided with mixing and milling tools, e.g. using balls or rollers as working tools; Devices with two or more tools rotating about the same axis
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 35/71775 using helical screws
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 35/91 using gas or liquid injected into the material, e.g. using liquefied carbon dioxide or steam
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 1/02 essentially based on components consisting of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen only
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 2200/0469 Renewables or materials of biological origin
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 2290/06 Heat exchange, direct or indirect
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 2290/08 Drying or removing water
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 2290/148 of steam
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 2290/24 Mixing, stirring of fuel components
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 2290/26 Composting, fermenting or anaerobic digestion fuel components or materials from which fuels are prepared
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 2290/28 Cutting, disintegrating, shredding or grinding
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 2290/30 Pressing, compressing or compacting
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 2290/50 : Screws or pistons for moving along solids
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 2290/562 : Modular or modular elements containing apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 50/10 : Biofuels, e.g. bio-diesel

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus, which can be part of a pre-treatment system in a plant for the production of fuels, e.g. bio-ethanol, derived from plant biomass, e.g. first generation crops, such as grain, sugarcane and corn or second generation crops such as lignocellulosic biomass. The invention relates to an apparatus for processing, such as fluffing and mixing, at least two media, such as a solid, e.g. biomass, and a fluid, e.g. steam, so as to rendering the first medium susceptible to efficient receiving of energy and/or mass which is provided by localized release of the second medium. Although the description of the present invention focuses on biomass, it is envisaged that the invention is generally applicable to control the mixing of at least two media by crossing their stream of while dispersing at least one of them.

Claims

1. An apparatus for processing at least two media, the processing comprising fluffing and mixing, the apparatus comprising:

a casing having at least one inlet for a first medium,

rotating means inside the casing, said rotating means comprising protrusions, wherein said protrusions comprise processing elements, and said rotating means generating mixing zones while being rotated,

at least one inlet for feeding a second medium to said mixing zones,

channels being located in said rotating means for dosing/injecting said second medium into said mixing zones,

at least one outlet for said first medium after being mixed with said second medium,

wherein said inlet for said first medium is adapted to advance the first medium towards the rotating means in a direction being parallel to or substantially parallel to a radius of the rotating means,

wherein;

said rotating means comprises a series of alternatingly stacked discs and spacers,

in that each spacer comprises a number of radially extending cut-outs initiating at an inner rim and extending towards, but not to, an outer rim,

in that each disc comprises a number of radially extending cutouts, said number being equal to the number of radially extending cut-outs of each spacer, initiating at a radial position and extending away from the inner rim and to the outer rim of the discs,

and in that the spacers and discs are stacked so that the end of the cut-outs of the spacers are located below the beginning of the cut-outs of the discs, so that the channels are formed extending from the inner rim of the spacers to the outer rim of the discs.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising pressurization means for pressurising said first medium so that said first medium when inside said inlet for said first medium is pressurized.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said pressurization means provide(s) a pressure inside the inlet for said first medium higher than or at least equal to the pressure inside the casing.

4. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said pressurization means is or comprise a screw press.

5. An apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising pressurization means for providing a pressure inside the casing above the atmospheric pressure.

6. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising dosing means for dosing said second medium into said mixing zones.

7. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said channels are or comprise a number of tubular channels at substantially mutually equidistant position.

8. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said channels are adapted to dose/inject said second medium at the end of said protrusions closer to the centre of said rotating means.

9. An apparatus according to claim 1, adapted to provide an advancement of said first material in said inlet between 10 nm and 300 mm per revolution of the rotating means.

10. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said rotating means is or comprise transporting means.

11. A system for producing bio-products from bio-mass, the system comprising:

i) a pre-processing subsystem for collecting, transporting, reducing to pulp, comminuting and delivering the material to a processing apparatus,

ii) a processing apparatus according to the any of the preceding claims,

iii) a reactor chamber for changing chemical and/or physical structure, of said material.

12. A system for producing bio-ethanol according to claim 11.

13. A method for processing at least two media, said method comprising:

comminuting a first medium in a mixing zone of a processing apparatus and at the same time dosing/injecting a second medium into said mixing zone,

said processing apparatus comprising;

a casing having at least one inlet for a first medium,

rotating means inside the casing, said rotating means comprising protrusions, wherein said protrusions comprise processing elements, and said rotating means generating mixing zones while being rotated,

at least one inlet for feeding a second medium to said mixing zones,

channels being located in said rotating means for dosing/injecting said second medium into said mixing zones,

at least one outlet for said first medium after being mixed with said second medium,

wherein said inlet for said first medium is adapted to advance the first medium towards the rotating means in a direction being parallel to or substantially parallel to a radius of the rotating means,

wherein;

said rotating means comprises a series of alternatingly stacked discs and spacers,

in that each spacer comprises a number of radially extending cut-outs initiating at an inner rim and extending towards, but not to, an outer rim,

in that each disc comprises a number of radially extending cutouts, said number being equal to the number of radially extending cut-outs of each spacer, initiating at a radial position and extending away from the inner rim and to the outer rim of the discs, and

in that the spacers and discs are stacked so that the end of the cut-outs of the spacers are located below the be min of the cut-outs of the discs so that the channels are formed extending from the inner rim of the spacers to the outer rim of the discs.