Process and products using a rotary compression unit
AssigneeEnginuity Worldwide, LLC
InventorsRobert Heimann, Allison Talley
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A fertilizer/soil conditioner or a fuel source material is formed by processing animal waste by-products through the use of a rotary biomass dryer system. The animal waste by-product includes without limitation manure obtained from cattle or swine; feed lot bedding, poultry litter, a digestate of animal waste by-products obtained from an anaerobic digester, municipal waste, waste meat renderings, waste meat, or a mixture thereof. The processed material may comprise a higher amount of ash and a lower amount of volatile material than the animal waste by-product. The processed material may be stored as a powder or processed into pellets, logs, pucks, briquettes or another convenient shape form.
Claims20
A method of converting an animal waste by-product into a fertilizer/soil conditioner or a fuel source material, the method comprising:
- providing an animal waste by-product having a moisture content between about 2 wt. % and about 90 wt. %;
- providing a rotary biomass dryer system comprising:
- a feeding mechanism;
- a rapid compression unit (RCU) having a screw and a barrel, and optionally, one or more flow disruptors;
- at least one of a reflux condenser and a gas management manifold;
- an aftercooler stage;
- and
- an exit mechanism;
- feeding the animal waste by-product through the feeding mechanism;
- mixing and heating the animal waste by-product in the RCU;
- separating the animal waste by-product into steam and a fertilizer/soil conditioner or fuel source material;
- removing the steam from the rotary biomass dryer system;
- cooling the fertilizer/soil conditioner or fuel source material in the aftercooler stage;
- and
- collecting the fertilizer/soil conditioner or fuel source material after the fertilizer/soil conditioner or fuel source exits through the exit mechanism.
The method according to Clam 1, wherein bio-coal or bio-fuel is formed and pretreated to remove inorganic compounds in order to form coke.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.