# US 9,005,318 B2 · Process for upgrading low rank carbonaceous material

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- Number: US 9,005,318 B2
- Document ID: US9005318B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 14/126,616
- Filed: 2012-06-18
- Published: 2014-07-17
- Granted: 2015-04-14
- Earliest claimed: 2011-06-17
- Assignees: Pacific Edge Holdings Pty Ltd
- Applicants: Roderick Howard Carnegie; Brendon Gerrard Cooper; William John Stevens
- Inventors: Roderick Howard Carnegie; Brendon Gerrard Cooper; William John Stevens
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9005318B2

## CPC

- C10L 9/08: by heat treatments, e.g. calcining
- C10L 5/10: with the aid of binders, e.g. pretreated binders
- C10L 5/361: {Briquettes}
- C10L 5/363: {Pellets or granulates}
- C10L: FUELS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; NATURAL GAS; SYNTHETIC NATURAL GAS OBTAINED BY PROCESSES NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C10G OR C10K; LIQUIFIED PETROLEUM GAS; USE OF ADDITIVES TO FUELS OR FIRES; FIRE-LIGHTERS

## Abstract

A process for upgrading brown coal having a first water content including subjecting the brown coal to a conditioning step which includes heating the brown coal to a first temperature to produce a conditioned brown coal having a second water content which is lower than the first water content; attritioning the conditioned brown coal to enable water to be released from the microstructure of the brown coal and thereby producing an admixture of the brown coal and released water; forming aggregates of the admixture; drying the aggregates to produce upgraded brown coal having a third water content which is lower than the second water content.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A process for upgrading brown coal having a first water content including:
subjecting the brown coal to a conditioning step which includes heating the brown coal to a first temperature in excess of 40° C. and to impart energy into the brown coal to produce a conditioned brown coal having a second water content between 45 and 55 wt % which is lower than the first water content;
attritioning the conditioned brown coal to enable water to be released from the microstructure of the brown coal and thereby producing an admixture of the brown coal and released water;
forming aggregates of the admixture;
drying the aggregates to produce upgraded brown coal having a third water content which is lower than the second water content.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

A process of claim 1, wherein the first temperature is greater than 45° C.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

A process of claim 1, wherein the first temperature is in the range of 45 to 55° C.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

A process of claim 1, wherein the first temperature is in excess of 50° C.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

A process of claim 1, wherein the second water content is about 50 wt %.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

A process of claim 1, further including comminuting the brown coal, in order to break up coal lumps and result in a more homogeneous distribution of particle sizes.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

A process of claim 6, wherein the brown coal is comminuted to an average particle size of less than 10 mm.

### Claim 8 (depends on 6)

A process of claim 6, wherein the comminuting step occurs before and/or after the heating step.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

A process of claim 1, wherein the attritioning step comprises shearing attritioning of the brown coal to form an admixture from the attritioned brown coal and released water.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

A process of claim 9, further including extruding the admixture through apertures, either substantially immediately after or concurrently with the shearing attritioning, in order to form pellets.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

A process of claim 1, wherein the third water content varies from about 10 to 20 wt %.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

A process of claim 1, wherein the drying step is conducted in a chamber under a steam containing atmosphere at a temperature above the dewpoint of the steam, and recirculating a hot gas including a portion of the steam through the chamber in order to evaporate moisture from the material to a predetermined level of dryness.

### Claim 13 (depends on 1)

A process of claim 1, wherein the aggregates at least partially disintegrate during the drying step to form particulate coal material.

### Claim 14 (depends on 1)

A process of claim 1, further including the step of briquetting the upgraded brown coal.

### Claim 15 (depends on 1)

A process for the production of char utilizing as feed material upgraded brown coal formed by the process of claim 1.