US 4,477,257 AGranted

Apparatus and process for thermal treatment of organic carbonaceous materials

AssigneeK-Fuel/Koppelman Patent Licensing Trust

InventorsEdward Koppelman, Robert G. Murray

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Abstract

An improved apparatus and method for the continuous processing of organic carbonaceous materials containing appreciable amounts of water to produce thermally upgraded products suitable for use as fuels, carbon-containing chemical intermediates, and the like. The apparatus and process utilizes controlled elevated temperatures and pressures to which the feed material is sequentially subjected including a preheating stage, a pressurized dewatering stage and a reaction stage during which vaporization of at least a portion of the volatile organic and moisture constituents therein is effected to form a gaseous phase. The intervening dewatering stage removes a large proportion of the initial moisture content of the feed material whereby substantially improved efficiency and increased capacity are attained. The gaseous phase generated in the reaction stage is preferably passed in a direction countercurrent to the direction of flow of the feed material in the preheating stage and in heat exchange relationship therewith and residual steam from the preheating stage can also be advantageously employed to preheat and preliminarily reduce the moisture content of the incoming feed material.

Claims48

Dependent claims

An apparatus for thermal treatment of moist organic carbonaceous materials containing about 25 percent to about 90 percent by weight moisture under pressure comprising

(a) means defining a preheating chamber having an inlet and an outlet spaced from said inlet,
(b) supply means for introducing a moist organic carbonaceous feed material under pressure into said inlet,
(c) means for conveying the feed material through said preheating chamber from said inlet to said outlet,
(d) means for preheating the feed material in said preheating chamber to extract water therefrom,
(e) means for separating and draining the extracted water from said preheating chamber,
(f) means defining a dewatering chamber formed with an inlet port disposed in communication with said outlet of said preheating chamber and an outlet port spaced from said inlet port,
(g) means for conveying and compacting the preheated feed material through said dewatering chamber to said outlet port to extract additional moisture therefrom, forming a dewatered feed material,
(h) means for separating and draining the extracted water from said dewatering chamber,
(i) means defining a reaction chamber formed with an entry port disposed in communication with said outlet port for receiving the dewatered feed material from said dewatering chamber and a discharge port spaced from said entry port,
(j) means for heating the feed material in said reaction chamber to an elevated temperature for a period of time sufficient to vaporize at least a portion of the volatile substances therein to form a gaseous phase and a reaction product,
(k) means for conveying the feed material through said reaction chamber and for discharging the reaction product through said discharge port,
(1) means for separating and extracting the gaseous phase from said reaction chamber, and
(m) means defining a receiving chamber disposed in communication with said discharge port for receiving the reaction product.

10 more elements

A process for the thermal treatment of organic carbonaceous peat materials under pressure which comprises the steps of:

(a) introducing a supply of moist carbonaceous peat feed material to be processed under pressure into a preheating reaction chamber and preheating the peat feed material to a temperature of about 300.degree. to about 500.degree. F. for a period of time sufficient to cause a change in the physical characteristics of the peat feed material which enables the moisture content of the peat feed material conveyed from said preheating reaction chamber to be subsequently substantially reduced to a lower level;
(b) introducing the changed preheated peat feed material under pressure into a dewatering chamber and compacting the changed preheated peat feed material to extract sufficient water therefrom to reduce the moisture content of the peat feed material compact therein to said substantially reduced lower level;
(c) separating the dewatered peat feed material from the water;
(d) introducing the dewatered peat feed material under pressure into a reaction chamber and heating the introduced peat feed material to a temperature of about 400.degree. to about 1200.degree. F. under a pressure of about 300 to about 3000 psi for a period of time of about 1 minute to about 1 hour sufficient to vaporize at least a portion of the volatile substances therein to form a gaseous phase and a reaction product;
(e) separating the gaseous phase from the reaction product;
and
(f) thereafter recovering and cooling the reaction product.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.