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US 2024/0425893 A1Published application
Rapid pretreatment
AssigneeApalta Patents OÜ
InventorRobert E. Lumpkin
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Disclosed herein are methods, systems, and compositions for the pretreatment of biomass within seconds with low inhibitor formation. The pretreatment process is used to convert biomass to a fuel or other useful chemicals by subjecting the feedstock to a rapid retention time under pressure and temperature and/or chemical reactant. The system includes a continuously-operating valve discharge apparatus to discharge pretreated feedstock while maintaining uniform pressure on the pretreatment system.
Claims21
-82. (canceled)
A system for industrial scale pretreatment of biomass, the system comprising:
- (a) a barrel, wherein the barrel comprises a first inlet port near a first end of the barrel for receiving a biomass, an inner chamber comprising two or more zones including a feeder zone and a reaction zone, and a discharge valve opening at a second end of the barrel, wherein the feeder zone is upstream of the reaction zone in the direction from the first end to the second end,
- (b) one or more rotatable screws within the inner chamber, wherein the one or more rotatable screws are configured to move the biomass through the inner chamber from the first end to the second end, wherein the one or more rotatable screws contain one or more sections configured to form one or more plugs from the biomass as the biomass is moved continuously through the inner chamber from the first end to the second end, and wherein the one or more plugs from the biomass comprises a first plug that separates the feeder zone and the reaction zone, and
- (c) a pressure actuated discharge valve connected to an end flange plate at the second end of the barrel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.