Methods and apparatus for supertorrefaction of biomass

Abstract

Under current practices, agricultural or landscaping waste left in a field or forestry waste left in a forest will decay and release greenhouse gases. In addition, forestry waste also poses a high risk for fires. Accordingly, mechanisms are provided to allow efficient conversion under anaerobic conditions of biomass, such as agricultural or forestry waste, into biocarbon product, such as biochar, biocoal, inert carbon and/or activated carbon, using molten salts as a more efficient heat transfer medium than conventional heat. Specifically, biomass is converted into biocarbon product during a supertorrefaction process during which molten salts are pumped under anaerobic conditions from a molten salt reservoir to a batch process cooker that holds the biomass. The salts are washed from the resulting biocarbon product as needed.

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