Back to results
US 4,255,129 AGranted
Apparatus and method for processing organic materials into more useful states
AssigneeThomas N. DePew
InventorsRoger D. Reed, Elmer E. Reed
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Loading patent…
Loading patent…
AssigneeThomas N. DePew
InventorsRoger D. Reed, Elmer E. Reed
Estimating the term…
A method for processing various organic materials such as lignocellulosics or biomass into more useful states, such as charcoal, carbon black, and coke, and other processed products while producing useful off-gases, includes feeding aggregate pieces of the material to a vertically extending heating chamber and, preferably, closing the chamber to air to control oxygen therein. The pieces are conveyed upwardly through the chamber in a predetermined time by spiral vibratory conveyor. The chamber is heated to a preselected temperature sufficient for gaseous conversion of volatile hydrocarbon constituents of the material. Resultant off-gases are removed from the chamber for further use such as burning thereof for heating the chamber or condensing volatiles, etc. Apparatus for carrying out the method includes preferably first and second such chambers, there being continuous spiral vibrator tray in each chamber carried by a central, vertical support column. Vibration generators secured to the support column impart vibratory forces to the tray for conveying the material by vibratory action. Heating of the material is carried out in the first chamber preferably by burning off-gases generated therein. After heating, material is transferred to the second chamber, also closed to air, for cooling as pieces are carried by vibration along a spiral conveyor therein. If drying of material is desired to reduce moisture content prior to carbonization, the material may first be conveyed through another chamber, heated with combustion gases from heating of the first chamber, by vibratory action.
Apparatus for processing pieces of material by heating, said apparatus comprising means defining a processing chamber configured to control the amount of oxygen contained therein, conveyor means defining an elongated material handling tray comprising a continuous spiral having a vertical extent within said chamber, vibration generating means for imparting vibratory forces to said tray to move pieces upwardly along said tray for being processed by heating within said chamber during movement from a bottom end of said tray to an upper end thereof by vibration, said vibration generating means causing vibratory agitation of said pieces to effect randomized movement thereof, and means for heating said chamber, including a combustion chamber located beneath a bottom of said processing chamber, said randomized movement of said pieces producing through exposure thereof to ambient temperatures within said processing chamber for indiscriminant uniform heating of each of said pieces, said vibration generating means being selectively adjustable to cause movement of said pieces of material to move from the bottom of said tray to the upper end of said tray in a predetermined transit time, said combustion chamber causing the temperature within said processing chamber at the bottom end of said tray to be greater than the temperature within said chamber at the upper end of said tray, whereby said pieces during processing are initially exposed to said greater temperature and thereafter to a lower temperature.
Apparatus for processing pieces of material by heating, said apparatus comprising means defining a processing chamber configured to control the amount of oxygen contained therein, conveyor means defining an elongated material handling tray comprising a continuous spiral having a vertical extent within said chamber, means for imparting vibratory forces to said tray to move pieces along said tray for being processed by heating within said chamber during movement from one end of said tray to the other end thereof by vibration, and means for heating said chamber, said means for heating said processing chamber including a combustion chamber located beneath a bottom of said processing chamber, and further comprising means for removing off-gases including a first fan for drawing said off-gases from said processing chamber, a gas burner for said combustion chamber, means for supplying at least a portion of said off-gases to said burner, and further comprising means for removing off-gases from said processing chamber for further use.
Apparatus for processing pieces of material by heating, said apparatus comprising means defining a processing chamber configured to control the amount of oxygen contained therein, conveyor means defining an elongated material handling tray having a vertical extent within said chamber, means for imparting vibratory forces to said tray to move pieces along said tray for being processed by heating within said chamber during movement from one end of said tray to the other end thereof by vibration, and means for heating said chamber, a second processing chamber configured to control the amount of oxygen contained therein, said second chamber being adapted for cooling of material therein, conveyor means defining an elongated material handling tray having a vertical extent within said second chamber, means for imparting vibratory forces to the last said tray for processing of material in said second chamber by cooling therein during movement from one end of the last said tray to the other end thereof by vibration, said imparting of vibratory forces to each of said trays causing randomized movement of pieces of said material along the respective tray, means for supplying pieces of material to one end of the first said tray for heating in the first said chamber, means for receiving the heated pieces at the other end of the first said tray, means for transferring the heated pieces to one end of the second tray for cooling in said second chamber, and means for receiving the cooled pieces at the other end of said second tray, and further a third processing chamber adapted for initially receiving said material for preheating, conveyor means defining an elongated material handling tray having a vertical extent within said third chamber, means for imparting vibratory forces to the last said tray for movement of said material through said third chamber by vibration, said imparting of vibratory forces causing randomized movement of pieces along the last said tray while being preheated, means for supplying pieces of said material to one end thereof, means for transferring the preheated pieces from the other end thereof to said one end of the first said tray, and means for transferring heat to said third chamber from said means for heating the first said chamber, whereby materials are preheated in said third chamber before being processed in the first said chamber.
A method for processing an organic material into a more useful product comprising the steps of enclosing said organic material in the form of aggregate pieces within a processing chamber having a vertical extent, at least partly closing said chamber to air to control the amount of oxygen contained therein, conveying said pieces through said chamber and along said vertical extent by vibratory action while heating said chamber to a preselected temperature sufficient for converting volatile constituents of said material to a gaseous state thereby to provide off-gases from said material, removing said off-gases from said chamber for further use, and burning at least a portion of said off-gases for causing heating of said chamber.
A method for processing an organic material into charcoal comprising heating a processing chamber having lower and upper ends for causing within said chamber at said lower end a preselected temperature greater than a further temperature within said chamber at the upper end, at least partly closing said chamber to air to control the amount of oxygen contained therein, feeding said organic material in the form of aggregate pieces into said chamber at said lower end, conveying said pieces upward in said chamber by continuous vibratory action along a spiral path for causing said pieces of material to travel along said path in said chamber in a predetermined unterval of time, said vibratory action causes individual one of said pieces of material while being conveyed to undergo randomized motion for indiscriminant, uniform exposure of each of said pieces to ambient temperatures within said chambers, said preselected temperature being sufficient for converting volatile constituents of said material to a gaseous state thereby to convert said material to charcoal and provide off-gases from said material during conversion thereof to charcoal, transferring the material from the upper end of said chamber for cooling, and removing said off-gases from said chamber for further use.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.