Hot gas generation system for producing combustible gases for a burner from particulate solid organic biomass material

A hot gas generation system for producing combustible gases for a boiler burner from particulate, solid, organic, biomass material in combination with a boiler having a burner leading to a boiler stack comprising:

• a. an enclosed, biomass-heating primary chamber including a side wall, top wall, and a bottom closure with a perforate table for supporting a bed of biomass material, said table having a generally central opening;
• b. a conveyor assembly, including a tubular housing depending from said opening, and material advancing mechanism operable to continuously force biomass material upwardly through said housing and opening to maintain the biomass material in a generally fructroconically shaped body in which newly supplied material is pushed upwardly and displaces other material outwardly toward the outer periphery of the body;
• c. air manifold means contiguously under said table surrounding said tubular housing and communicating with the bottom of said table;
• d. an air supply control system means for maintaining a partially oxygen starved atmosphere in said primary chamber and including means supplying air to said manifold means;
• e. an effluent gas discharge passage leading from said primary chamber near the upper end thereof for egressing hot gases given off by said bed;
• f. means creating a secondary cyclonic heating chamber, having an annular wall downstream from said gas discharge passage into which said off gases are received from said passage and whirled in a spiraling path to cause entrained particulates to be centrifugally contacted and combusted by said annular wall;
• g. means for maintaining the cyclonic heating chamber with a partially oxygen starved atmosphere and at a limited temperature which combusts entrained material contacted by said wall, without combusting a major portion of said off gases;
• h. passage means leading from the secondary heating chamber for communicating with the burner to supply hot combustible gases thereto;
• i. means for preventing the back up of smoke and off-gases through said conveyor assembly;
• j. means for removing ash from the primary chamber;
• and
• k. means sensitive to the demand for combustible gas for continuously regulating the air supply control system means to automatically supply air under varied volumes to said air manifold means.

A hot gas generation system for producing combustible gases for a burner from particulate solid organic biomass material comprising:

• a. an enclosed biomass-heating primary chamber including a side wall, top wall, and a bottom closure with a perforate table for supporting a bed of biomass material, said table having a generally central opening;
• b. a conveyor assembly, including a tubular housing depending from said opening, and material advancing mechanism operable to continuously force biomass material upwardly through aid housing and opening to maintain the biomass material in a generally frustroconically shaped body in which newly supplied material is pushed upwardly and displaces other material outwardly toward the outer periphery of the body;
• c. air manifold means contiguously under said table surrounding said tubular housing and communicating with the bottom of said table;
• d. an air supply control system means for maintaining a partially oxygen starved atmosphere in said primary chamber and including means supplying air to said manifold means;
• e. an effluent gas discharge passage in said primary chamber near the upper end thereof for egressing hot gases given off by said bed;
• f. f means creating a secondary cyclonic heating chamber, having an annular wall downstream from said gas discharge passage into which said off gases are received from said passage and whirled in a spiraling path to cause entrained particulates to be centrifugally contacted by said annular wall;
• g. means for maintaining the cyclonic heating chamber with a partially oxygen starved atmosphere and at a limited temperature which combusts entrained material contacted by said wall, without combusting a major portion of said off gases;
• h. passage means from the secondary heating chamber for communicating with the burner to supply hot combustible gases thereto;
• i. means for preventing the back up of smoke and off-gases through said conveyor assembly;
• j. said primary chamber having an ash discharge opening adjacent to and radially outboard of the perimeter of said table;
• k. an endless drive band outboard of and radially supported by said table;
• l. a series of circumferentially spaced, generally radially outwardly extending paddles fixed to said band;
• and
• m. means for selectively driving said band in a direction of travel to cause said paddles to move ash to said ash discharge opening.

A hot gas generation system for producing combustible gases for a burner from particulate solid organic biomass material comprising:

• a. an enclosed, biomass-heating primary chamber including a side wall, top wall, and a bottom closure with a perforate table for supporting a bed of biomass material, said table having a generally central opening;
• b. a conveyor assembly, including a first imperforate tubular housing depending from said opening and a second tubular housing leading generally laterally to connect to the lower end thereof, and material advancing mechanism operable in said tubular housings to continuously force biomass material laterally in said second housing and upwardly through said first housing and table opening to maintain the biomass material in a generally frustroconically shaped body in which newly supplied material is pushed upwardly and displaces other material outwardly toward the outer periphery of the body;
• c. air manifold means contiguously under said table surrounding said tubular housing and communicating with the bottom of said table;
• d. an air supply control system means for maintaining a partially oxygen starved atmosphere in said primary chamber and including means separately supplying air to said manifold means;
• e. an effluent gas discharge passage in said primary chamber near the upper end thereof for egressing hot gases given off by said bed;
• f. means creating secondary cyclonic heating chamber, having an annular wall downstream from said gas discharge passage into which said off gases are received from said passage and whirled in a spiraling path to cause entrained particulates to be centrifugally contacted by said annular wall;
• g. means for maintaining the cyclonic heating chamber with a partially oxygen starved atmosphere and at a limited temperature which combusts entrained material contacted by said wall, without combusting a major portion of said off gases;
• h. h passage means from the secondary heating chamber for communicating with the burner to supply hot combustible gases thereto;
• i. means for preventing the back up of smoke and off-gases through said conveyor assembly, said means comprising a tapering portion of said second housing adjacent to said first housing into which the biomass material packs to form a slug of material substantially without gas flow passages and an air inlet upstream therefrom with means for introducing air under a pressure greater than that maintained in said primary chamber;
• and
• j. means for removing ash from the primary chamber.

In a hot gas generation process for producing combustible gases for a burner from particulate solid organic biomass material, with a system comprising an enclosed, biomass-heating primary chamber including a side wall, top wall, and a bottom closure with a perforate table for supporting a bed of biomass material, said table having a generally central opening;

• a conveyor assembly including a tubular housing depending from said opening and material advancing mechanism operable to continuously force biomass material upwardly through said housing and opening to create and maintain the biomass material in a generally frustroconical shaped body in which newly supplied material is pushed upwardly and displaces other material outwardly toward the outer periphery of the body;
• a series of separate, generally annular, air manifolds contiguously under said table surrounding said tubular housing and communicating with the bottom of said table, said series comprising a centralmost manifold concentrically surrounded by at least one outer manifold;
• an air supply control system means for maintaining a partially oxygen-starved atmosphere in said primary chamber;
• an effluent gas discharge passage in said primary chamber near the upper end thereof for egressing hot gases given off by said bed;
• means creating a secondary cyclonic heating chamber, having an annular wall downstream from said gas discharge passage into which said off gases are received from said passage and whirled in a spiraling path;
• means for maintaining the cyclonic heating chamber with a partially oxygen-starved atmosphere and at a limited temperature lower than a temperature which would combust a major portion of said off gases;
• passage means from the secondary heating chamber for communicating with the burner to supply hot combustible gases thereto;
• and means for preventing the back up of smoke and off-gases through said conveyor assembly;
• the steps of:
• a. supplying air to said central manifold in a volume to maintain the exterior surface of the central portion of said bed flaming while the smoldering interior thereof remains incompletely combusted and egressing off gases;
• and
• b. supplying air to said outer manifold in a lesser volume than to said central manifold to maintain the exterior surface of a portion of said bed surrounding said central portion flaming while the interior thereof remains incompletely combusted and egressing off gases.

In a hot gas generation process for producing combustible gases for a burner from particulate solid organic biomass material, with a system comprising an enclosed, biomass-heating primary chamber including a side wall, top wall, and a bottom closure with a perforate table for supporting a bed of biomass material, said table having a generally central opening;

• a conveyor assembly including a tubular housing depending from said opening and material advancing mechanism operable to continuously force biomass material upwardly through said housing and, table opening to maintain the biomass material in a generally frustroconical shaped body in which newly supplied material is pushed upwardly and displaces other material outwardly toward the outer periphery of the body;
• air manifold means contiguously under said table surrounding said tubular housing and communicating with the bottom of said table;
• an air supply control system means for only maintaining a partially oxygen-starved atmosphere in said primary chamber and including means supplying air to said manifold means;
• an effluent gas discharge passage in said primary chamber near the upper end thereof for egressing hot gases given off by said bed;
• means creating a secondary cyclonic heating chamber, having an annular wall downstream from said gas discharge passage into which said off gases are received from said passage and whirled in a spiraling path;
• means for maintaining the cyclonic heating chamber with a partially oxygen-starved atmosphere and at a limited temperature to essentially combust any entrained material contacted by said wall, while lower than a temperature which would combust a major portion of said off gases;
• passage means from the secondary heating chamber for communicating with the burner to supply hot combustible gases thereto;
• means for preventing the back up of smoke and off-gases through said conveyor assembly;
• sensing means for monitoring the temperature of the fluid heated by the burner connected with said air supply control system;
• and means for removing ash from the primary chamber;
• the steps of:
• a. sensing the temperature of the fluid heated by the burner;
• and
• b. supplying more or less air to said manifold means via said air supply control system dependant on the temperature sensed by said sensing means.

In a hot gas generation process for producing combustible gases for a burner from particulate solid organic biomass material, with a system comprising an enclosed, biomass-heating primary chamber including a side wall, top wall, and a bottom closure with a perforate table for supporting a bed of biomass material, said table having a generally central opening;

• a conveyor assembly including a first tubular housing depending from said opening, and a second tubular housing leading generally laterally to connect to the lower end thereof;
• material advancing mechanism operable in said tubular housings to continuously force biomass material laterally in said second housing and upwardly through said first housing and table opening to maintain the biomass material in a generally frustroconical shaped body in which newly supplied material is pushed upwardly and displaces other material outwardly toward the outer periphery of the body;
• air manifold means contiguously under said table surrounding said tubular housing and communicating with the bottom of said table;
• an air supply control system means for maintaining a partially oxygen-starved atmosphere in said primary chamber and including means supplying air to said manifold means;
• an effluent gas discharge passage in said primary chamber near the upper end thereof for egressing hot gases given off by said bed;
• means creating a secondary cyclonic heating chamber, having an annular wall downstream from said gas discharge passage into which said off gases are received from said passage and whirled in a spiraling path;
• means for maintaining the cyclonic heating chamber at a limited temperature to essentially combust any entrained material contacted by said wall, while lower than a temperature which would combust a major portion of said off gases;
• passage means from the secondary heating chamber for communicating with the burner to supply hot combustible gases thereto;
• means for preventing the back up of smoke and off-gases through said conveyor assembly comprising a tapering portion of said second housing and an air inlet upstream therefrom with means for introducing air thereto;
• and means for removing ash from the primary chamber;
• the steps of:
• a. supplying air to said inlet at a pressure greater than that maintained in said primary chamber;
• and
• b. packing the biomass material in said tapered portion to form a slug substantially without gas flow passages.