Converter for organic materials
AssigneeThe Crucible Group Pty Ltd
InventorsLazer Strezov, Steve Osborn, Joseph George Herberston
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A continuous converter for pyrolysing or otherwise processing biomass or other solid organic feed materials includes a reaction chamber (5) for producing a solid carbon-containing product and a gas product and optionally a liquid water product via pyrolysis or other reaction mechanisms from a solid organic feed material. The chamber has an inlet (41) for supplying a solid organic feed material to the chamber and separate outlets (15, 35) for the solid carbon-containing product and the gas product produced in the reaction chamber. The inlet and the solid carbon-containing product outlet are configured so that the solid materials in the inlet and in the outlet form respective gas seals in the inlet and the outlet.
Claims22
An apparatus for pyrolysing or otherwise processing a solid organic feed material includes:
- (a) a reaction chamber having an upstream end, a downstream end, an inlet for the organic feed material, and separate outlets for a gas product and a dried and pyrolysed solid carbon-containing product produced from the organic feed material in the chamber;
- and
- (b) an assembly for moving the organic material through the reaction chamber from the upstream end towards the downstream end of the chamber counter-current to a flow of gas produced in the chamber.
(canceled)
A method for pyrolysing or otherwise processing a solid organic feed material in the apparatus defined in any one of the preceding claims includes the steps of:
- (a) supplying the solid organic feed material to the inlet of the reaction chamber of the apparatus;
- (b) moving the solid organic material through the reaction chamber from the inlet to the downstream end of the chamber and exposing the organic material to a temperature profile within the chamber that dries and pyrolyses or otherwise processes the organic material and releases water vapour and a volatile products gas phase from the organic material as the organic material moves through the chamber;
- (c) moving the water vapour phase and the volatile products gas phase produced by heating the solid organic material in step (b) through the reaction chamber in a direction counter to that of the solid organic material so that at least a part of the water vapour phase and the condensable components of the volatile products gas phase condense in cooler upstream sections of the chamber and form liquid water and liquid oil, at least the liquid oil being carried forward in the reaction chamber by the feed material to the higher temperature regions of the chamber and being progressively volatilised and cracked to a non-condensable gas;
- and
- (d) discharging (i) a gas product that includes non-condensable gas and (ii) a dried and pyrolysed solid product from the separate outlets of the chamber.
22-26. (canceled)
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.