System and method using a reaction chamber to beneficiate organic-carbon-containing feedstock for downstream processes

• US 9,593,447 B2
• Filed: 06/16/2014
• Issued: 03/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/20/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CTP Biotechnology, LLC
• Original Assignee: Biomass Energy Enhancements LLC.
• Inventors: Scalzo, Philip James, Tait, Carleton Drew
• Primary Examiner(s): Toomer, Cephia D
• Application Number:
  US14/305,143
• Publication Number:
  US 20160097157A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,002 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 2290/146 of water
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 2290/148 of steam
• 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 2290/48 Expanders, e.g. throttles or flash tanks
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 2290/544 Extraction for separating fractions, components or impurities during preparation or upgrading of a fuel
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 2290/545 Washing, scrubbing, stripping, scavenging 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: C10L 5/445 Agricultural waste, e.g. corn crops, grass clippings, nut shells or oil pressing residues
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 9/08 by heat treatments, e.g. calcining
• CPC Class Codes: D21B 1/021 by chemical means
• CPC Class Codes: D21C 9/08 Removal of fats, resins, pitch or waxes; Chemical or physical purification, i.e. refining, of crude cellulose by removing non-cellulosic contaminants, optionally combined with bleaching fats, waxes C11B; natural resins C09F1/00; hemicellulose C08B37/14; purification by mechanical means D21D5/00
• CPC Class Codes: D21C 9/18 De-watering de-watering in general F26B; Elimination of cooking or pulp-treating liquors from the pulpD21C9/002, D21C9/02 take precedence; paper-making machines D21F; strainers in digesters D21C7/00; presses in general B30B
• 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

Systems and methods for producing processed organic-carbon-containing feedstock from an unprocessed carbon-containing feedstock are described. Unprocessed feedstock is introduced into and transported through at least one reaction chamber. The reaction chamber is configured for each feedstock to produce processed feedstock having a water-soluble salt reduction of at least 60 percent from that of unprocessed organic-carbon-containing feedstock and a water content of less than 20 percent.

Claims

1. A system for removing water and water-soluble salts from an organic-carbon-containing feedstock, comprising:

a transmission device configured to convey into a reaction chamber unprocessed organic-carbon-containing feedstock comprising free water, intercellular water, intracellular water, intracellular water-soluble salts, and at least some plant cells comprising cell walls that include lignin, hemicellulose, and microfibrils within fibrils;

at least one reaction chamber comprising at least one entrance passageway, at least one exit passageway for fluid, at least one exit passageway for processed organic-carbon-containing feedstock, and at least three sections, the sections comprising,

a wet fibril disruption section configured to interact with at least some of the lignin and hemicellulose between the fibrils to make at least some regions of the cell wall more susceptible to outflow by water-soluble salts,

a vapor explosion section in communication with the wet fibril disruption section and at least configured to volatilize plant fibril permeable fluid through rapid decompression to penetrate the more susceptible regions of the cell wall so as to create a porous organic-carbon-containing feedstock with plant cell wall passageways for intracellular water and intracellular water-soluble salts to pass from the plant cell, and

a compaction section in communication with the vapor explosion section and configured to compress the porous organic-carbon-containing feedstock to create processed organic-carbon-containing feedstock that passes out through its reaction chamber exit passageway; and

a collection device in communication with the reaction chamber and configured to gather the processed organic-carbon-containing feedstock having a water content of less than 20% by weight and a water-soluble salt content that is decreased by at least 60% on a dry basis from that of the unprocessed organic-carbon-containing feedstock.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the unprocessed organic-carbon-containing feedstock has a water-soluble salt content of at least 4000 mg/kg on a dry basis.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a pretreatment chamber that is configured to use for each organic-carbon-containing feedstock a particular set of conditions including time duration, temperature profile, and the chemical content of pretreatment solution to at least initiate the dissolution of contaminates that would hinder creation of the plant cell wall passageways that allow intracellular water and intracellular water-soluble salts to pass outward from the plant cells.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the contaminants are from a group consisting of resins, rosins, glue, creosote, and oils.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the organic-carbon-containing feedstock comprises at least two types from a group consisting of a herbaceous plant material, a soft woody plant material, and a hard woody plant material, wherein each type passes in series through the reaction chamber, and wherein the energy density of each type of plant material in the processed organic-carbon-containing feedstock is substantially the same.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the organic-carbon-containing feedstock comprises at least two of a herbaceous plant material, a soft woody plant material, and a hard woody plant material, wherein each type passes in series through the at least one reaction chamber, and wherein the energy density of each plant material in the processed organic-carbon-containing feedstock is at least 17 MMBTU/ton (20 GJ/MT).

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the volatile plant fibril permeable fluid decompression comprises steam decompression.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the vapor explosion section, further comprises:

at least one rinsing subsection configured to flush at least some of the water-soluble salt from the porous organic-carbon-containing feedstock before it is passed to the compaction section.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the water-soluble salt content of the processed organic-carbon-containing feedstock is decreased by at least 75% on a dry basis.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a mastication chamber before the reaction chamber and configured to reduce particle size of the unprocessed organic-carbon-containing feedstock to less than 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) as the longest dimension.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein

the reaction chamber is configured to operate at conditions predetermined for each unprocessed organic-carbon-containing feedstock to minimize the energy consumed to lead to a particular set of processed organic-carbon-containing feedstock properties and the reaction chamber sections are further configured as follows:

the wet fibril disruption section of the reaction chamber is configured to use conditions that comprise at least a solvent medium, time duration, temperature profile, and chemical content, and the conditions are tailored for each organic-carbon-containing feedstock,

the vapor explosion section in communication with the wet fibril disruption section is at least configured to create porous organic-carbon-containing feedstock with decompression conditions tailored for each organic-carbon-containing feedstock that comprise at least pressure drop, temperature profile, and decompression duration to form porous organic-carbon-containing feedstock,

the compaction section in communication with the vapor explosion section is configured to compress the porous organic-carbon-containing feedstock between pressure plates at conditions particular to each organic-carbon-containing feedstock that include compaction pressure profile and compaction duration to form processed organic-carbon-containing feedstock, and the system has a cost of removing the water and the water-soluble salt that is reduced to less than 60% that of the cost per weight of processed organic-carbon-containing feedstock from known mechanical, known physiochemical, or known thermal processes.