Processed Biomass Pellets from Organic-Carbon-Containing Feedstock

• US 20150361367A1
• Filed: 02/16/2015
• Published: 12/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/16/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CTP Biotechnology, LLC
• Original Assignee: Biomass Energy Enhancements LLC.
• Inventors: Tait, Carleton Drew, Van Thorre, Douglas M, Catto, Michael L, Scalzo, Philip James
• Granted Patent: US 9,796,940 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 2290/28 Cutting, disintegrating, shredding or grinding
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 2290/30 Pressing, compressing or compacting
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 2290/46 Compressors or pumps
• 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 5/08 without the aid of extraneous binders briquetting peat C10F
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 5/363 Pellets or granulates
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 5/42 on animal substances or products obtained therefrom , e.g. manure
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 5/44 on vegetable substances
• 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: C10L 9/086 Hydrothermal carbonization
• 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

A renewable processed biomass pellet composition made with a pelletizing sub-system from a processed organic-carbon-containing feedstock made with a beneficiation sub-system is described. Renewable biomass feedstock passed through a beneficiation sub-system to reduce water content to below at least 20 wt % and water-soluble intracellular salt reduction of at least 60% from that of unprocessed organic-carbon-containing feedstock on a dry basis. The processed feedstock is introduced into a pelletizing sub-system to result in renewable processed biomass pellets having an energy density of at least 17 MMBTU/ton (20 GJ/MT) a water content of less than 20 wt %, and water-soluble intracellular salt content that is decreased by at least 60 wt % on a dry basis for the processed organic-carbon-containing feedstock from that of the unprocessed organic-carbon-containing feedstock, and made with 40% less energy than expended to make current biomass pellets.

Claims

1. A composition, comprising:

a processed biomass pellet composition that comprises a processed organic-carbon-containing feedstock with characteristics that include an energy density of at least 17 MMBTU/ton (20 GJ/MT), a water content of less than 20 wt %, and a water-soluble intracellular salt content that is decreased more than 60 wt % on a dry basis for the processed organic-carbon-containing feedstock from that of unprocessed organic-carbon-containing feedstock, and

the processed biomass pellet is made from unprocessed organic-carbon-containing feedstock that is converted into the processed organic-carbon-containing feedstock with a beneficiation sub-system, and into the processed biomass pellet with a pelletizing sub-system that is made with 40% less energy than expended to make an unprocessed biomass pellet.

2. The composition of claim 1 wherein the beneficiation sub-system, comprises:

a. 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;

b. 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,

i. 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 penetration by water-soluble salts,

ii. 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

iii. a compaction section in communication with the vapor explosion section and configured to compress the porous organic-carbon-containing feedstock between pressure plates configured to minimize formation of water-impermeable felt so as to permit the escape of intracellular water and intracellular water-soluble salt from the reaction chamber fluid exit passageway and to create processed organic-carbon-containing feedstock that passes out through its reaction chamber exit passageway; and

c. 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 intracellular salt content that is decreased by at least 60% on a dry basis from that of the unprocessed organic-carbon-containing feedstock.

3. The composition of claim 1 wherein the pelletizing sub-system, comprises:

a compression chamber configured to separate the processed organic-carbon-containing feedstock into discrete units of mass having a longest length of at least 0.16 inch (4.0 cm) and a density of at least 37.5 pounds per cubic foot (0.60 grams per cubic centimeter) to form processed biomass pellets and

a collection chamber configured to gather an aggregate of processed biomass pellets.

4. The composition of claim 3 wherein the pelletizing sub-system, further comprises:

a heating chamber configured to apply sufficient heat to the processed organic-carbon-containing feedstock to reduce its water content to less than 10% by weight.

5. The composition of claim 4 wherein the compression chamber and the heating chamber are the same chamber.

6. The composition of claim 1 wherein the water-soluble intracellular salt content is reduced by more than 70 wt %.

7. The composition of claim 1 wherein the processed organic-carbon-containing feedstock comprises less than 5 wt % water.

8. The composition of claim 1 wherein the processed organic-carbon-containing feedstock comprises less than 5 wt % volatiles.

9. The composition of claim 1, wherein the unprocessed organic-carbon-containing feedstock comprises at least two 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 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).

10. The composition 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.

11. The composition of claim 1 wherein the processed organic-carbon-containing feedstock has a water soluble intracellular salt content that is decreased by more than 75 wt % on a dry basis from that of unprocessed organic-carbon-containing feedstock and the compaction section of the beneficiated sub-system is configured to provide at least one rinsing step.

12. The composition of claim 2, wherein the beneficiation system, further comprises:

a pretreatment chamber that is configured to use for each unprocessed 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.

13. The composition of claim 2, wherein the compaction section, further comprises:

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

14. The composition of claim 2 wherein the vapor explosion section of the beneficiation sub-system, further comprises:

a wash element that is configured to remove and clean micro particles of unprocessed organic-carbon-containing feedstock, lignin fragments, and hemicellulosic fragments from the vapor explosion section into a fine, sticky mass of biomass with high lignin content, and

wherein a blending chamber of the blending sub-section is further configured to receive fine, sticky mass of biomass to permit lower temperatures in a compaction chamber formation during formation of blended compact aggregates.

16. The process of claim 14 wherein the beneficiation sub-system process and the pelletizing sub-system process, further comprises the steps of:

a. inputting into a beneficiation sub-system 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;

b. exposing the feedstock to hot solvent under pressure for a time at conditions specific to the feedstock to make some regions of the cell walls comprising crystallized cellulosic fibrils, lignin, and hemicellulose more able to be penetrable by water-soluble salts without dissolving more than 25 percent of the lignin and hemicellulose;

c. removing the pressure so as to penetrate the more penetrable regions to create porous feedstock with open pores in the plant cell walls; and

d. pressing the porous feedstock with conditions that include an adjustable compaction pressure versus time profile and compaction time duration, and between pressure plates configured to prevent felt from forming and blocking escape from the reaction chamber of intracellular and intercellular water, and intracellular water-soluble salts, and to create processed organic-carbon-containing feedstock that has a water content of less than 20 wt % and a water-soluble intracellular salt content that is decreased by at least 60 wt % on a dry basis for the processed organic-carbon-containing feedstock from that of unprocessed organic-carbon-containing feedstock;

and the pelletizing sub-system process, further comprises the steps of;

e. a compressing the processed organic-carbon-containing feedstock to separate it into pellets with discrete units of mass having a longest length of at least 0.16 inch (4.0 cm) and a density of at least 37.5 pounds per cubic foot (0.60 grams per cubic centimeter) and collecting an aggregate of processed biomass pellets.

18. The process of claim 16 wherein the pelletizing sub-system process steps of compressing and heating are done at the same time.

20. The process of claim 14 wherein the beneficiation sub-system process and the pelletizing sub-system process, further comprises the steps of:

a. inputting 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;

b. exposing the unprocessed organic-carbon-containing feedstock to hot solvent under pressure for a time at conditions specific to the feedstock to make some regions of the cell walls comprising crystallized cellulosic fibrils, lignin, and hemicellulose more able to be penetrable by water-soluble salts without dissolving more than 25 percent of the lignin and hemicellulose;

c. removing the pressure so as to penetrate the more penetrable regions to create porous feedstock with open pores in the plant cell walls; and

d. pressing the porous feedstock under conditions that include an adjustable compaction pressure versus time profile and compaction time duration, and between pressure plates configured to prevent felt from forming and blocking escape from the reaction chamber of intracellular and intercellular water, and intracellular water-soluble salts and to create processed organic-carbon-containing feedstock that has a water content of less than 20 wt %, a water-soluble intracellular salt content that is decreased by at least 60 wt % on a dry basis over that of unprocessed organic-carbon-containing feedstock, and a cost per weight of removing the water and water-soluble salt that is reduced to less than 60% of the cost per weight of similar water removal from known mechanical, known physiochemical, or known thermal processes,

and the pelletizing sub-system process, further comprises the step of;

e. a compressing the processed organic-carbon-containing feedstock to separate it into pellets with discrete units of mass having a longest length of at least 0.16 inch (4.0 cm) and a density of at least 37.5 pounds per cubic foot (0.60 grams per cubic centimeter) and collecting an aggregate of processed biomass pellets.

15. A process of making processed biomass pellets, comprising the steps of:

a. inputting into a system comprising a first and a second subsystem an renewable unprocessed organic-carbon-containing feedstock that includes 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,

b. passing unprocessed organic-carbon-containing feedstock through the first sub-system, a beneficiation sub-system process, to result in processed organic-carbon-containing feedstock having a water content of less than 20 wt % and a water soluble intracellular salt content that is reduced by at least 60 wt % on a dry basis for the processed organic-carbon-containing feedstock from that of the unprocessed organic-carbon-containing feedstock, and

c. passing the processed organic-carbon-containing feedstock through the second sub-system, a pelletizing sub-system process, to result in processed biomass pellets, a solid renewable fuel composition having an energy density of at least 17 MMBTU/ton (20 GJ/MT) a water content of less than 10 wt % and water-soluble intracellular salt that is decreased by at least 60 wt % on a dry basis for the processed organic-carbon-containing feedstock from that of the unprocessed organic-carbon-containing feedstock, and made with 40% less energy than expended to make current unprocessed biomass pellets.

17. The process of claim 15 wherein the pelletizing sub-system process, further comprises the step of heating the processed organic-carbon-containing feedstock to reduce its water content to less than 10% by weight.

19. The process of claim 15 wherein the beneficiation sub-system process, further comprises:

removing and cleaning of micro particles of unprocessed organic-carbon-containing feedstock, lignin fragments, and hemicellulosic fragments from the vapor explosion section into a fine, sticky mass of biomass with high lignin content in the removing the pressure step, and the blending sub-system, further comprises;

adding the fine, sticky mass of biomass to the blended powder to permit lower temperatures in the compressing step during formation of blended compact aggregates.