High protein organic materials as fuel and processes for making the same

A process for making a combustible fuel product from a non-auto-combustible organic material for a combustion system having a low nitrogen oxides (NOX) production amount and a low emissions opacity comprising the following steps:

• 1) providing a non-auto-combustible organic material, wherein the organic material is a high protein organic material having a protein content of about 10%, on a dry weight basis (DWB) or greater;
• 2) optionally mechanically removing liquid and soluble components from the high protein organic material;
• 3) optionally applying heat to dry the organic material to reduce its moisture content to ten percent (10%) or less by weight;
• 4) pulverizing the high protein organic material to reduce the high protein organic material to a particle size of less than 2 mm;
• 5) separating particles of the high protein organic material during a combustion phase to inhibit their cohesion into an integrated mass by spraying the particles into a combustion chamber;
• 6) simultaneously injecting steam into the combustion chamber to enhance combustion characteristics of the high protein organic material;
• and,
• 7) allowing protein thermal decomposition by-products to react with nitrogen oxides (NOX) within the combustion chamber to form water (H2O) and nitrogen (N2),
• wherein the nitrogen oxides (NOX) production ranges from about 100 parts per million (ppm) to about 150 parts per million (ppm) and wherein the opacity of the emissions is about 20% or less on average for every 6-minute interval,
• wherein the pre-combustion steps of 2) optionally mechanically removing liquid and soluble components from the high protein organic material, 3) optionally applying heat to dry the organic material to reduce its moisture content to ten percent (10%) or less by weight and, 4) pulverizing the high protein organic material to reduce the high protein organic material to a particle size of less than 2 mm may occur in any order.