Fractionated stillage processing
AssigneeICM, Inc.
InventorsCharles C. Gallop, Christopher Riley William Gerken, Jeremy Edward Javers, Jesse Spooner, Ryan A. Mass
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
This disclosure describes methods to separate solids from liquids in a production facility. A process separates components in the process stream by applying non-condensable media to create density differences and then using a mechanical device to separate the solids from the liquids based on the density difference. The process produces the liquids and solids, which may be further processed to create valuable animal feed products.
Claims22
A method for reducing energy consumption in processing fractionated stillage streams, the method comprising:
- adding non-condensable media selected from air, compressed air, oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, hydrogen, helium, or argon to a fractionated stillage process stream to reduce a density of liquids relative to suspended solids;
- mechanically separating the fractionated stillage process stream using centrifugal forces to produce separated solids and separated liquids based on density differences;
- and
- reducing an amount of energy needed for downstream drying and evaporating by increasing the separated solids from about 10% to about 15% total solids by wt % to about 25% to about 40% total solids by wt % as a result of the non-condensable media.
A system for energy-efficient mechanical separation in a biofuel production facility, the system comprising:
- a mechanical separation device selected from a sedicanter centrifuge, decanter centrifuge, or disk stack centrifuge configured to operate at centrifugal forces between 3,000 and 10,000×g;
- and
- a preparation system configured to inject non-condensable media into a process stream to create density differences that enhance mechanical separation efficiency of the mechanical separation device.
A process for reducing carbon intensity in renewable fuel production, the process comprising:
- applying non-condensable media to a fractionated stillage stream to alter liquid density;
- mechanically separating components in the fractionated stillage stream using density differential separation to produce concentrated solids having reduced moisture content;
- reducing energy consumption for downstream evaporating and drying operations by at least 15%;
- and
- decreasing carbon emissions from evaporators and dryers while maintaining production efficiency.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.