CN105377416A - Steam explosion methods before gasification - Google Patents

Abstract

An integrated plant that includes a steam explosion process unit and biomass gasifier to generate syngas from biomass is discussed. A steam explosion process unit applies a combination of heat, pressure, and moisture to the biomass to make the biomass into a moist fine particle form. The steam explosion process unit applies steam with a high pressure to heat and pressurize any gases and fluids present inside the biomass to internally blow apart the bulk structure of the biomass via a rapid depressurization of the biomass with the increased moisture content. Those produced moist fine particles of biomass are subsequently fed to a feed section of the biomass gasifier, which reacts the biomass particles in a rapid biomass gasification reaction to produce syngas components.

Description

Steam Explosion Method Before Gasification

Related applications

This international application claims priority and benefit to U.S. Application No. 14/276,719, filed May 13, 2014, entitled "Pretreatment of Biomass Using Steam Explosion Methods Before Gasification," said U.S. Application Claims Priority and Benefit in Part of U.S. Nonprovisional Application Serial No. 13/531,318, filed June 22, 2012, entitled "Pretreatment of Biomass Using Steam Explosion Methods Before Gasification" . This application also claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/823,360, filed May 14, 2013, entitled "Pretreatment of Biomass Using Steam Explosion Methods Before Gasification" rights and interests. This application also claims priority as a continuation-in-part of PCT Application No. PCT/US2013/044143, filed June 4, 2013, entitled "Pretreatment of Biomass Using Steam Explosion Methods Before Gasification" and benefit, said PCT application is an international application claiming priority to and benefit of the aforementioned U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/823,360 and U.S. Nonprovisional Application No. 13/531,318; all of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

technical field

The present design generally involves the treatment of biomass using a steam explosion method as a pretreatment prior to gasification or combustion. In an embodiment, the design specifically relates to an integrated plant that uses this biomass to produce liquid fuels from the biomass, or converts the biomass to a densified form to facilitate economical transport to a facility for use in For further processing into liquid fuels, heat/electricity, animal feed, bedding or chemicals.

Background technique

The technique originally conceived was to create medium-density fiberboard from dried wood chips. Other processes require multiple steps of grinding the chips, drying the chips, regrinding the chips, moisturizing the fibers, densifying the fibers, and then densifying the chips (eg, in the form of pellets). These processes are complex, capital-intensive, and energy-intensive. Some other typical processes require drying the biomass chips, then grinding the chips to a very small size before sending them to a subsequent heating/processing unit. This drying and grinding incurs substantial energy and capital costs. These processes produce small fibers but many times the size of the fine particles produced by the steam explosion process (SEP). Previous industries using the SEP process wished to maintain the integrity of the fibers making up the biomass as well as fiber strength; and thus had longer fragments that were not subjected to the harsh conditions as in a steam explosion unit. Also, no additional mechanical agitation of the biomass was applied as this would further reduce both fiber length and integrity.

Contents of the invention

An integrated plant comprising a steam explosion unit and a biomass gasifier to produce syngas from biomass. A steam explosion unit applies a combination of heat, pressure and moisture to the biomass to bring the biomass into a moist fine particle form. A steam explosion unit applies steam at high pressure to heat and pressurize any gases and fluids present inside the biomass. Wherein at the exit holes to two or more stages the monolithic structure of the pressurized biomass is internally disintegrated to be internally disintegrated via rapid depressurization of the biomass with increased moisture content. The moist fine particles of those biomass produced are then fed to the feed zone of the biomass gasifier, which reacts with the biomass particles in a fast biomass gasification reaction to produce syngas components. The steam explosion section of the steam explosion unit is coupled to a refining section having one or more blades configured to mechanically agitate the biomass before it exits the steam explosion section through an orifice to a purge line.

Description of drawings

Several figures relate to example embodiments of the present design.

Figures 1A and 1B show a flow schematic diagram of an embodiment of a steam explosion unit having an input chamber to receive biomass as a feedstock, two or more steam supply inputs, and a The biomass is processed for subsequent supply to two or more stages of the biomass gasifier.

Figure 2 shows an embodiment of a flow diagram of an integrated plant to produce syngas from biomass and liquid fuel products from the syngas.

Figures 3-1 through 3-4 illustrate alternative configurations for an exemplary biomass gasifier.

4A-4C show different magnification levels of example biomass chips having fiber bundles of cellulose fibers surrounded and bonded together by lignin.

Figure 4D shows example biomass chips exploded into fine particles of biomass.

Figure 4E shows a biomass chip with a bundle of fibers abraded or partially separated into individual fibers.

5 shows a flow schematic diagram of an embodiment of a radiant thermochemical reactor configured to produce chemicals comprising synthesis gas products.

While the design is capable of various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described herein in detail. The design should be understood not to be limited to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the design.

detailed description

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth, such as examples of specific chemicals, named components, connections, heat source types, etc., in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention's design. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the inventive design may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known components or methods have not been described in detail, but rather in block diagrams in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the inventive design. Accordingly, the specific details set forth are examples only. Specific details may be varied and still be contemplated within the spirit and scope of the present design.

In general, a number of example processes for pretreatment of biomass and devices associated with pretreatment of biomass are described. The following figures and text describe various example embodiments of an integrated plant using pretreatment of biomass. In an embodiment, the integrated plant contains at least a steam explosion unit and a biomass gasifier to generate syngas from biomass. The steam explosion unit may have one or more input chambers to receive biomass as feedstock, one or more steam supply inputs, and to pre-treat the biomass for subsequent supply to the biomass gas Two or more stages of a furnace. The stage uses a combination of heat, pressure and moisture applied to the biomass to bring the biomass into a moist fine particle form. The steam explosion process is at least partially achieved by applying steam from the first steam supply input to begin reducing the bond between the lignin and the hemicellulose from the cellulose fibers of the biomass and increasing the moisture content of the received biomass Break down the overall structure of the received biomass. In the final stage, any gases and fluids present inside the biomass are heated and pressurized using steam at least fourteen times atmospheric pressure from the second steam supply input. Wherein the monolithic structure of the pressurized biomass is split internally at the exit holes from two or more stages. Disruption of the overall structure of the biomass via rapid depressurization of the biomass with increased moisture content and reduced cohesiveness. The biomass produced in wet fine particle form from the segments may have an average size, for example, less than 70 microns thick and less than 500 microns long. Those moist biomass fines produced are then fed to the feed zone of the biomass gasifier. The biomass gasifier has a reactor vessel configured to react moist fine-grained biomass that is due to disintegration by the steam explosion unit compared to the input The received biomass chips in the cavity have increased surface area and reduced particle size. A biomass gasifier having a third steam supply input and one or more heaters and, in the presence of steam, a residence time of biomass in the form of fine particles in the reactor vessel between 0.1 seconds and 300.0 seconds React in a fast biomass gasification reaction over time to produce at least syngas components, including hydrogen (H2) and carbon monoxide (CO).

Possible biomass gasifier embodiments have a high temperature steam supply input and one or more heaters, such as gas burners or regenerative heaters. In the presence of steam, the biomass particles decomposed by the steam explosion unit are gasified as fast biomass at temperatures above 700 degrees Celsius with a residence time of less than one second in the reactor vessel in the biomass gasifier The reaction reacts to form a syngas component, comprising hydrogen (H2) and carbon monoxide (CO), which is fed to a methanol (CH30H) synthesis reactor. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that many parts and aspects of the designs discussed below within this illustrative document can be used as stand-alone concepts or in conjunction with each other.

Figures 1A and 1B show a flow schematic diagram of an embodiment of a steam explosion unit having an input chamber to receive biomass as a feedstock, two or more steam supply inputs, and a The biomass is processed for subsequent supply to two or more stages of the biomass gasifier.

Without additional drying, the moisture content in the incoming biomass in the form of chips can range from 15% to 60% of the biomass remaining outside. Biomass chips may be produced by a chipper unit 104 in conjunction with filters sized to form chips that are less than about one inch and on average about 0.5 inches in average length and 0.25 inches in average thickness. (See eg Figure 4a which shows biomass chips 451 from a block of biomass 453) The biomass chipper unit 104 may contain four or more blades to chip and cut the biomass. The feed rate of the biomass piece, the speed of the blade, the protrusion distance of the knife, and the angle of the knife can all be used to control the chip size. The chips are then screened and those chips that are too large are recut. Chips from different sources or wood species can be blended to enhance certain properties. A magnet or other scanner can be passed to detect and remove impurities. The biomass chips are fed in the thermal decomposition section in the steam explosion unit 108 on a conveyor or possibly in a pressure vessel to start decomposition, hydration/wetting and softening of the biomass chips using initial low pressure saturated steam. Low-pressure saturated steam can be at 100 degrees Celsius. The system may also inject some flow aid at this location (eg, recycled ash from the biomass gasifier 114 ) to prevent clogging and clogging with biomass cuttings.

The chipper unit 104 may feed and the steam explosion unit 108 is configured to receive two or more types of biomass feedstock, where the different types of biomass include 1) softwood, 2) hardwood, 3) grass, 4) vegetation shell and 5) any combination which is blended and steam exploded in the steam explosion unit 108 into a homogenized torrefied feedstock which is then collected and then fed to the biomass gasifier 114 . The steam explosion unit 108, dryer 112 and biomass gasifier 114 are designed to be fed flexibly by at least controlling the particle size of the biomass particles produced from the steam explosion section and dryer 112 without changing the physical nature of the feed supply equipment. Design or physical design of the biomass gasifier 114. Dryer 112 may be a flash dryer, drum dryer, paddle dryer, air dryer, or similar such device.

As discussed, a magnetic filter and air cleaning filter system can be coupled to the hydrothermal treatment section to ensure that the biomass in the form of shavings is free of metal debris and large rocks before entering the hydrohydration treatment section. The magnetic filter and air cleaning filter system prevents any metal debris and/or large rocks from clogging the portion of the steam explosion unit containing the discharge outlet. The air cleaning filter system helps discard virtually large rocks as well as light sand. It should be noted that the orifice forming the discharge outlet of the steam explosion section may be, for example, 0.25 to 0.375 inches.

The steam explosion unit 108 has an input chamber to receive biomass as a feedstock, one or more steam supply inputs, and two or more stages to pretreat the biomass for subsequent supply to the biomass gasifier 114. Multi-segment. The stage uses a combination of heat, pressure and moisture applied to the biomass to bring the biomass into a moist fine particle form. The steam explosion process is at least partially broken down by applying steam from the input of a low pressure steam supply to start reducing the bond between the lignin and the hemicellulose from the cellulose fibers of the biomass and increasing the moisture content of the received biomass The overall structure of the received biomass. (See e.g. Figure 4B which shows biomass chips with fiber bundles of cellulose fibers surrounded and bonded together by lignin) In the last stage, steam at least fourteen times atmospheric pressure is applied from the high pressure steam supply Any gases and fluids present inside the biomass are heated and pressurized to break down the overall structure of the received biomass internally via rapid depressurization of the biomass with increased moisture content and reduced cohesiveness.

In an embodiment, the two or more stages of the steam explosion unit 108 comprise at least a hydrohydration treatment stage and a steam explosion stage.

The hydrothermal treatment section has an input chamber to receive cuttings of biomass and a low pressure steam supply input for applying low pressure saturated steam to a vessel containing cuttings of biomass. The hydrothermal treatment section is configured to receive biomass in the form of cuttings, including leaves, needles, bark, and wood. The hydrohydrolysis stage applies low-pressure steam to the biomass at a temperature above the glass transition point of lignin in order to soften and increase the moisture content of the biomass so that in the steam explosion stage the cellulose fibers of the biomass can simply self- Biomass in the form of chips breaks down internally. In an embodiment, steam is used to heat the biomass chips to above 60°C. The low pressure steam supply input applies low pressure saturated steam to the vessel containing the biomass cuttings at a pressure of about atmospheric PSI at an elevated temperature above 60°C but below 145°C to initiate decomposition, hydration and softening of the receiving biomass in the form of shavings. The low pressure supply input can consist of several nozzles strategically placed around the vessel. A set of temperature sensors provides feedback on the high temperature of the incoming biomass chips. The control system is configured to maintain the biomass cuttings in the hydrothermal treatment section for a residence time of 8 to 20 minutes long enough to saturate the biomass cuttings with moisture before the biomass moves out to the steam explosion section. There is a shorter residence time for pieces of wood from the trunk of a tree and longer residence times for twigs, needles, etc.

The hydrothermal treatment section feeds biomass chips, which have been softened and have increased moisture content, to the steam explosion section, possibly via a screw feed system. The control system maintains the pressure of the steam explosion section at 10 to 30 times the pressure present in the hydrohydration treatment section and at an elevated temperature, eg a temperature of 160 to 270°C, preferably 190°C to 220°C. The pressure may be at 180 to 450 pounds per square inch (PSI) (preferably, 300 PSI). The steam explosion stage further increases the moisture content of the biomass to at least 40% by weight, and preferably, a moisture content of 50% to 60% by weight. The percent moisture by weight may be the weight of water divided by the total weight of biomass chips plus the weight of water. In the steam explosion stage, the softened and hydrated biomass chips are exposed to high temperature and high pressure steam for a sufficient period of 3 minutes to 15 minutes to destroy other components in the partially hollow cellulosic fibers and the overall structure of the biomass material. High pressure steam is formed inside the porous region. (See, e.g., Figure 4C, which shows a biomass chip with fiber bundles of cellulose fibers surrounded and bonded together by lignin, but with many porous regions when zoomed in.)

After the hydrothermal treatment stage, the softened biomass in the form of chips undergoes any combination of 1) extrusion and 2) compression into plug form, which is then fed to a continuous screw conveyor system. A continuous screw conveyor system moves the biomass in the form of a plug into the steam explosion section. The continuous screw conveyor system uses the biomass in the form of a plug to prevent the back pressure from the back explosion of the high pressure steam present in the steam explosion section from affecting the hydrothermal treatment section. Other methods can be used such as 1) check valves and 2) moving biomass in segments where each segment can be separated by an opening and closing mechanism.

The steam explosion section can operate at up to 850 psi but is preferably kept below 450 psi. A set of sensors detects the operating pressure. A plug-type screw feeder conveys chips along the steam explosion section. High pressure steam is introduced into the plug screw feeder in a section called the steam mixing conveyor. The high pressure supply input can consist of several nozzles strategically placed around the steam mixing conveyor. The ratio of biomass chip material fed through the steam explosion section is precisely controlled via a plug screw feeder. The residence time in the steam explosion section is individually controlled by the control system. In the steam explosion section, the biomass in the form of a plug is exposed to high temperature and high pressure steam of at least 160 degrees Celsius and 160 PSI from the high pressure steam input for 5 minutes (and preferably, about 10 minutes) until moisture penetrates the biomass The porous part of the monolith and all fluids and gases in the biomass rise to high pressure. In an embodiment, the steam explosion section has a set of temperature and pressure sensors and a control system, wherein the biomass is exposed to high temperature and high pressure steam of at least 188 degrees Celsius and 160 PSI from a second steam input for between 5 minutes and 20 minutes, Until moisture penetrates the porous part of the overall structure of the biomass.

As discussed, the steam explosion process works best when the system has a certain level of humidity/moisture in the biomass cuttings to provide a source of explosion. Typically, therefore, the moisture of the chips when in the steam explosion reactor is generally at least 50% to 55% by weight. In the steam explosion section of the steam explosion unit 108, in the chamber containing the biomass chips with softened lignin, the pressure and temperature are raised to at least at least An elevated temperature of twenty degrees and an elevated pressure fourteen times higher than the normal pressure in the chamber, but with a shorter duration than the time period set in the hydrohydration treatment stage.

A continuous screw conveyor system feeds the biomass in plug form through the steam explosion section to the refining section. The steam explosion section is coupled to a refining section having one or more blades configured to maintain a pressure below one-third of the pressure within the steam explosion section after the pressurized biomass exits the steam explosion section through an outlet hole. The pressurized biomass is mechanically agitated prior to the purge line under pressure in order to break down the pressurized biomass internally. The mechanical agitation in the refining section is configured so that the resulting biomass in particle form has a more consistent size distribution of the average size of the biomass particles. The blades of the refining section mechanically agitate the pressurized and wetted biomass and send the agitated biomass to the orifice outlet.

In an embodiment, a small opening forms an outlet and into a tube or other container area maintained at a pressure of about 4 to 10 bar, and any internal fluid or gas at high pressure expands to split the biomass internally. In some cases, the pressure drop from the high pressure in the steam explosion reactor goes all the way down to atmospheric pressure. In either case, the large pressure drop that occurs in the pipe or other vessel between the outlet in the steam explosion section and the water removal section of the cyclone drops rapidly. In an embodiment, the pressure drop is performed rapidly by extending a monolithic structure of biomass between 160 and 450 PSI into a tube under a significant reduced pressure (e.g., 4 to 10 bar) to induce a drop in pressure Then, or due to the internal "explosion" of the rapid steam expansion due to the "flash" of liquid water into vapor after the pressure drops below its vapor pressure, it internally breaks down the biomass in the form of chips into fine particles of biomass. In another embodiment, the steam explosion reactor portion of the steam explosion section contains a dedicated exhaust mechanism configured to "explode" the biomass cutting material to the next section at atmospheric pressure. The discharge mechanism opens and releases the biomass from the high pressure steam explosion reactor out of the reactor discharge outlet valve or door into the feed line of the blowdown chute.

Therefore, the pressurized steam or superheated water coming out of the steam explosion reactor in this section descends rapidly to cause the explosion, which breaks down the biomass cuttings into fine particles. (See, eg, Figure 4D, which shows biomass chips that explode into biomass fine particles 453.) The raw fiber bundles that make up the biomass explode into fragments that form discrete fine powder particles. (See, e.g., FIGS. 4A through 4C showing different magnification levels of biomass chips with fiber bundles of cellulose fibers surrounded and bonded together by lignin and contrasted with FIG. 4D.)

At the end of the vessel/purge line, moisture and biomass shavings are squeezed out of the reactor outlet to a vessel at approximately atmospheric pressure, such as the purge line. The conversion of high-pressure steam or water to steam inside the partially hollow fibers and other porous regions of the biomass material causes the biomass cells to explode into a fine-grained moist powder. The overall structure of biomass consists of organic polymers of lignin and hemicellulose surrounding multiple cellulose fibers. The overall structure of the biomass breaks down internally in this SEP step which uses at least moisture, pressure and heat to release and expose the cellulose fibers so that they can (as an example) react directly during the biomass gasification reaction Rather than reacting only after the lignin and hemicellulose layers have reacted first, thereby exposing the cellulose fibers. The high temperature also reduces the energy/force required to break down the structure of the biomass because there is lignin softening that promotes fiber separation along the mesolayer.

Thus, internally in the steam explosion section, there are mechanical mechanism openings (eg valves or doors) or just small holes in the steam explosion reactor. The reactor is filled with softened biomass chips that may be in the form of plugs under high pressure, and after exposing those softened biomass chips to low pressure for a period of time, physically will contain lignin, cellulose fibers and hemifibers The overall structure of the fiber bundles of the prime biomass breaks into pieces and separates from each other. When the steam explosion process is operated under less severe conditions (e.g., 175 to 185 degrees Celsius and 160 PSI) in a steam explosion reactor, then small fiber fragment sized particles are discharged , 300PSI) produces very, very fine particles.

The biomass produced in wet fine particle form from the section has an average size of less than 50 microns thick and less than 500 microns long. In an embodiment, the steam explosion section is coupled to a refining section having one or more blades configured to mechanically agitate the pressurized biomass before it exits the steam explosion section through an outlet hole to a purge line. Biomass, and the resulting biomass fine particles having a reduced moisture content comprise fragmented, torn, shredded, and any combination thereof and may generally be less than 30 microns thick and less than 250 microns long Cellulose fibers of average size. Those moist biomass fines produced are then fed to the feed zone of the biomass gasifier 114 .

Internally splitting the overall structure of biomass in fiber bundles into fragments and fragments of cellulosic fibers, lignin and hemicellulose results in all three of the following: The increased surface area of the biomass in fine particle form, 2) eliminates the need to react the outer layers of lignin and hemicellulose before initiating the reaction of the cellulose fibers, and 3) the viscosity of the biomass in fine particle form occurs Change to flow like grains of sand instead of fibers.

Morphological changes to biomass produced by SEP reactors can include:

a. No complete fiber structure exists, but all parts are exploded causing more surface area, which leads to higher reaction rate in the biomass gasifier;

b. The fibers appear bent, they delaminate, and the cell walls are exposed and ruptured;

c. Some lignin remains attached to the cell walls of the cellulose fibers;

d. Hemicellulose is partially hydrolyzed and partially dissolved together with lignin;

e. The bond between lignin and carbohydrates/polysaccharides (i.e. hemicellulose and cellulose) is largely broken; and

f. Many other changes discussed herein.

The moist fine particles formed may be, for example, 20 to 50 microns in average diameter thick and less than 100 microns in length. It should be noted that 1 inch = 25,400 microns. Thus, biomass coming from the chipper unit 104 as chips averages up to 1 inch long and 0.25 inches thick, and as wet fines becomes 20 to 50 microns in average diameter thick and less than 100 microns in length, which is reduced in size. more than 2000 times smaller. Vigorous explosive decomposition of saturated biomass cuttings occurs at a rate faster than the rate at which saturated high pressure moisture in the porous regions of the biomass in the form of chips can escape from the structure of the biomass.

It should be noted that no external mechanical separation of cells or fiber bundles is required, in fact the process uses steam to blast the cells from the inside out. (See FIG. 4E, which shows a biomass chip with a bundle of fibers abraded or partially separated into individual fibers, biomass chip 451.) Using SEP on the biomass chip produces cellulose and has some lignin coating. layer of fine particles of hemicellulose. (See Figure 4D, which shows example biomass chips, including first biomass chips 451, decomposed into biomass fine particles 453.) This composite of lignin, hemicellulose, and cellulose in fine particle form has a high Density of high surface area that can be moved/conveyed in the system.

The produced biomass fines are fed downstream to the biomass gasifier 114 for a fast biomass gasification reaction in the reactor of the biomass gasifier 114 as they are in the form of chips compared to the received The form of biomass creates a higher surface area to volume ratio for the same amount of biomass, which allows for higher heat transfer to the biomass material and faster thermal decomposition and gasification of all molecules in the biomass.

Referring to FIG. 1B , as an example, one or more of the steam supply inputs may contain low pressure steam generated from recycled dirty water recovered from one or more cyclone units. For example, embodiments as described herein include exporting off-gas from a cyclone unit and feeding the off-gas to a biomass gasifier. Likewise, those gases and any other condensate can be fed to a turpentine recovery unit. Thus, gas containing organic compounds recovered from the spinner unit produced by the steam explosion section is collected and fed to the biomass gasifier through a feed line. The biomass gasifier then converts those gases containing organic compounds into syngas components and other gases.

Turpentine and other volatiles may be delivered to the biomass gasifier via steam atomization of dirty condensate recovered from one or more cyclone units. For example, feed steam containing volatiles/turpentine may contain waste gas from one or more cyclones and be fed to the gasifier. A turpentine recovery unit may be included, as well as products to be sold, a gasifier, or a burner system or reformer for a gasifier. Additionally, dirty water squeezed out when compacting the biomass and moved through the screw feed system can be recovered and sent to a turpentine recovery unit.

In embodiments, looping operations may be used rather than continuous conveyor systems. Cyclic operation allowed soft wet cuttings to be loaded into the SEP reactor and then high temperature and high pressure steam was introduced at the steam input for 10 minutes to raise the pressure of the gases and liquids in the biomass. After this period, the valve or gate is opened to allow the biomass pellets to pass into the feed line to the blowdown chute.

A collection chamber at the outlet section of the steam explosion section is used to collect the biomass reduced to smaller particle size and in slurry form. One or more cyclone filters may be in-line with the feed line to separate moisture from the biomass particles, which are then fed to the blowdown tank.

It should be noted that methods can also be incorporated to reduce the pressure in the outlet of the steam explosion unit to reduce motive gas. Therefore, one or more relief zones may be included to reduce the high pressure from the SEP vessel to a lower discharge pressure. Thus, the present design may include locating a pressure drop location from within the steam explosion unit to reduce the pressure from the high pressure in the steam explosion unit to a reduced pressure of eg 4 to 10 bar. A pressure drop can be made earlier in the pipe to create a swirling flow.

Also, in the exemplary embodiment, no additional air is introduced between the SEP pre-treatment step of the biomass particles and the entrained gas feeding the biomass particles into the biomass gasifier, which reduces radiation and purges the gas. An option may be included to use motive gas from the steam explosion unit for entrained gas into the biomass gasifier.

In another embodiment, the biomass in the form of a plug is once exploded into moist fine particle form at the outlet of the steam explosion section. A steam explosion section filled with high pressure steam and/or superheated water contains discharge outlets configured to "explode" the biomass material to the next section at atmospheric pressure to produce biomass in fine particle form. Biomass in the form of fine particles flows through the feed line of the blowdown chute at high velocity.

Biomass in the form of moist fines enters the feed line of the blowdown chute. The feed line is initially small, eg, only 1.5 inches in diameter, through which the biomass particles pass at high velocity. Flow enhancers such as wax can be added in the initial part of the purge line while the fibers are still wet to improve material consistency and avoid hydraulic binding. The feed line is now expanded to a diameter of 60 inches and the biomass in the form of moist fines maintains its heat and heats the purge line through heating coils positioned around it. Maintaining the temperature of the biomass tends to help crystallize the rosin and resin acids of the biomass and prevent the fiber particles from agglomerating together. Thus, the temperature helps prevent lignin from caking and prevents rosin from hardening.

A flow aid comprising either 1) recycled ash from the biomass gasifier 114 and 2) an olefin (e.g., wax) in 1) the discharge outlet of the steam explosion section and 2) the feed line Inject at either to prevent clogging with biomass. In addition, the feed line may have heating coils disposed around the feed line to maintain the high temperature of the biomass in fine particle form to help prevent crystallization of rosin and resin acids in the biomass in fine particle form.

The resulting biomass particles lost a large percentage of their moisture content due to steam flashing in the purge line and being expelled as water vapor. The resulting biomass particles and moisture are then separated by a cyclone filter and then fed to a blowdown chute. Therefore, the water separation unit has built-in purge lines. A collection chamber at the outlet section of the steam explosion section is used to collect the biomass reduced to smaller particle size in slurry form and feed it to the water separation unit. Water is removed from the biomass in fine particle form in a cyclone unit and/or a dryer unit.

The moisture content of the biomass fines is further dried at the outlet of the blowdown chute through a dryer unit (e.g., a flash dryer or a low-temperature roasting unit), which reduces the moisture content of the biomass fines to below 1 by weight. % to 20%. The goal of fiber production is to form biomass particles that have the largest surface area and are as dry as possible to a moisture of 5% to 20% by weight of the output biomass fines. The flash dryer blows only hot air to dry the biomass pellets from the blowdown chute. The flash dryer may be located substantially at the outlet of the blowdown chute or in place of the cyclone at its inlet so that the output biomass particles contain a moisture content greater than 5% but less than 20% by weight. A flash dryer can feed biomass to a silo for storage to further dry out the SEP biomass fines before being fed to a lock hopper. In an embodiment, the paddle dryer may further reduce the biomass particle size due to the velocity of the particle-carrying gas as it enters the dryer, which acts as a grinder for the incoming biomass particles.

The resulting biomass pellets differ from thermomechanical pulping (TMP) in that the pellets are more crystalline in structure and flow more easily than fibers, which tend to entangle and clump.

A reduced moisture content of 5% to about 35% by weight of the biomass in the form of fine particles is fed through a conveying system (as an example) to the torrefaction unit 112 to undergo torrefaction or pyrolysis at temperatures from 100 to 700 degrees Celsius , for a preset amount of time.

The conveyor system supplies the biomass in pellet form to the roasting unit 112 to process the biomass at a temperature below 700 degrees Celsius for a preset amount of time to form an off-gas that will be collected in the created tank and can eventually be fed Used when part of the synthesis gas component to an organic liquid product synthesis reactor (eg, a methanol synthesis reactor).

Biomass fines coming out of blowdown chutes and flash dryers already have low moisture content due to steam flashing, further air drying and are fragments with lignin coating, lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose etc. A composite of fragments of cellulose fibers. The biomass gasifier 114 has a reactor vessel configured to react biomass in the form of wet fine particles having an increased surface area due to disintegration by the steam explosion unit 108 . The biomass gasifier 114 has a high pressure steam supply input and one or more heaters, and in the presence of steam, the biomass in the form of fine particles is retained in the reactor vessel at a residence time of between 0.1 seconds and 5.0 seconds Time reacts in a fast biomass gasification reaction to produce at least the syngas components, including hydrogen (H2) and carbon monoxide (CO). When the fine particles produced are supplied to the biomass gasifier 114 in high density, then the small particles react quickly and more easily and completely break down the larger hydrocarbon molecules of the biomass into syngas components. Thus, almost all of the biomass material lignin, cellulose fibers, and hemicellulose are gasified completely, while some of the inner portion of the non-chips are not decomposed to the same extent that the crusty outer shell of coker chips decomposes. These fine particles form less residual tar, less char coating, and less deposits than swarf. Thus, breaking up the integrated structure of biomass in fiber bundles tends to reduce the amount of tars that are subsequently produced in biomass gasification. These fine particles also allow for a greater bulk density of material to be fed to the biomass gasifier 114 . As a side note, having at least 10% by weight water as a liquid or vapor can assist in producing methanol CH30H as a reaction product in addition to the CO and H2 produced in the biomass gasifier 114 .

The roasting unit and the biomass gasifier 114 may be combined into an integrated unit.

In an alternative, the wet split biomass particles can be fed from the output of the steam explosion reactor to the pelletizer in slurry form directly or after drying. Pelletizers can densify biomass from a fine-grained form into biomass granules, which are then fed to a biomass gasifier. This direct feeding and conversion of biomass from fine particle form to granular form saves many steps and the substantial energy consumption associated with those eliminated steps. Alternatively, the pellets can be transported to a facility for further processing as liquid fuel, heat/electricity, animal feed, bedding or chemicals.

In an embodiment, the biomass gasifier 114 is designed to radiatively transfer heat to the biomass particles flowing through the reactor design, wherein the rapid gasification residence time of the biomass particles is 0.1 seconds to 10 seconds, preferably, less than one second. The flow of biomass particles and reaction gases through the radiant reactor is substantially facilitated by radiant heat from the surfaces of the radiant reactor and possibly heat transferally assisting particles entrained in the flow. The reactor can heat the particles with temperatures generally in excess of 900 degrees Celsius, and preferably at least 1200 degrees Celsius, to produce a syngas component comprising carbon monoxide and hydrogen, and to keep the methane produced in the exit product, with minimal residual tar in the exit product and the resulting The component composition of the ash produced is at a level of <1%.

An exemplary embodiment of a biomass gasifier 114 is shown in FIGS. 3-1 through 3-4. Figure 3-1 shows a fountain reactor using radiant heat, where entrained gas carrying biomass enters at the bottom of the gasifier and is projected through a central tube and a fountain above the partition wall formed by the central tube and falls into In the section formed between the outer tube and the center tube. Figures 3-2 and 3-3 illustrate exemplary bayonet reactor radiant heat designs in which a series of radiant heat pipes are used to heat injected biomass. Gas burners may provide heat directly to the tubes or to an intermediate source, such as heating gas, supplied to the tubes. Biomass can be outside the tubes while heat is supplied to the tubes internally. Alternatively, biomass may be between the tubesheet and refractory lining. 3-4 illustrate an exemplary downdraft radiant heat reactor in which multiple tubes are used to provide radiant heat to the reactor. Biomass can either be external to the tubes and heat supplied to the tubes internally, or vice versa.

The heat receiver 106 has a cavity with inner walls. The radiation-promoting geometry of the cavity walls of the thermal receiver 106 relative to the reaction tubes 102 positions the plurality of tubes 102 of the chemical reactor in an offset and staggered arrangement inside the receiver 106 . The surface area of the chamber walls is greater than the area occupied by the reaction tube 102 to allow radiation to reach areas on the tube 102 from multiple angles. The inner walls of the chamber of the receiver 106 and the reaction tubes 102 essentially exchange energy by radiation, wherein the walls and tubes 102 act as re-emitters of radiation to obtain a high radiative heat flux to all tubes 102, and thus, avoid shielding and blocking radiation to the tube 102 , allowing the reaction tube 102 to obtain an extremely consistent temperature profile from the beginning to the end of the reaction zone in the reaction tube 102 .

Thus, the geometry of the reaction tubes 102 and chamber walls shapes the distribution of incident radiation by using these 1) staggered and offset tubes 102, which in combination 2) occupy a larger area than the accessory tubes 102 diameter of the chamber wall, and additionally 3) inter-tube radiative exchange between multiple reaction tube geometric arrangements relative to each other in conjunction with the geometry. The walls are made of materials that either highly reflect radiation or absorb and re-emit radiation. The shaping of the distribution of the incident radiation uses both reflection and absorption of radiation within the cavity of the receiver 106 . Thus, the inner walls of the thermal receiver 106 align and act as radiation distributors by either 1) absorbing and re-emitting radiant energy, 2) highly reflecting incident radiation to the tube 102, or 3) any combination of these, thereby maintaining the attachment superconductivity. The operating temperature of a high heat flux chemical reactor. Radiation from 1) the cavity walls, 2) directly from the regenerative burner, and 3) from the outer walls of other tubes acting as re-emitters of radiation is absorbed by the reaction tube 102 and heat is then transferred to the inner wall of the reaction tube 102 by conduction , wherein heat is radiated to the reacting particles and gas at temperatures between 900 and 1600 degrees Celsius (and preferably above 1100 degrees Celsius).

As discussed, the inner walls of the cavity of the receiver 106 and the reaction tubes 102 exchange energy between each other primarily by radiation rather than by convection or conduction, allowing the reaction tubes 102 to obtain a very consistent temperature distribution, even with typically lower temperature biomass Particles and entrained gas enter the reaction tube 102 in the reaction zone from a first entry point and pass through the heated chamber to exit the reaction zone at a second exit point. This radiant heat transfer from the inner walls and reaction tubes 102 promotes the chemical reaction and rapidly raises the temperature of the chemical reactants to near the temperature of the product and other effluent materials exiting the reactor outlet.

The length and diameter dimensions of the gasification reaction zone of each of the reaction tubes 102 are sized to give a residence time of greater than 0.1 seconds at a gasification temperature of at least 900 degrees Celsius and gasification in the plurality of reaction tubes 102 area exit. The reaction products have a temperature at or above 900 degrees Celsius at the outlet from the gasification zone, and the multiple reaction tubes 102 in this chemical reactor design increase the available reactions for radiative exchange of biomass particles as well as radiative exchange between jackets device surface area. Rapid gasification of dispersed falling biomass particles and resulting stable ash formation occurs within the reaction zone within the reaction tube 102 within the residence time, resulting in a complete improvement of tar below 500 milligrams per normal cubic meter and at least 90% conversion of biomass to production of hydrogen and carbon monoxide products.

To achieve high conversion and selectivity, biomass gasification requires temperatures in excess of 1000 °C. These are difficult to achieve in standard fluidized bed gasifiers because higher temperatures require the combustion of ever greater fractions of the biomass itself. Therefore, indirect and fluidized bed gasification are generally limited to temperatures of 800°C. At these temperatures, the production of undesired higher hydrocarbons (tars) is evident. These tars plug downstream equipment and foul/deactivate catalytic surfaces, requiring significant capital investment (10% to 30% of total equipment cost) in tar removal equipment. High heat flux thermal systems are able to achieve high temperatures extremely efficiently. What's more, the efficiency of the process can be controlled in terms of concentration and desired temperature, and achieving high temperatures no longer requires loss of biomass fraction. Thus, temperatures in tar cracking regimes (1000 to 1300°C) can be achieved without loss of fuel produced from biomass or overall process efficiency. This eliminates the complex train of tar cracking equipment normally associated with biomass gasification systems. Additionally, operation at high temperature improves heat transfer and reduces required residence time, thereby reducing the size and capital cost of the chemical reactor.

Operating temperatures with a clearly demarcated wall temperature between 1200°C and 1450°C and exhaust gas temperatures above 900°C but not above the melting temperature of silica (1600°C) are generally not present in gasification, and certainly not in indirect (circulating fluidized bed) gasification occurs. The possibility of co-gasification of biomass and steam reforming of natural gas that can be performed in ultra-high heat flux chemical reactors cannot occur in partial oxidation gasifiers (since methane will be burned preferentially). The flexibility of the process feedstock comes from the simple tubular design and, for reasons discussed here, most gasifiers cannot handle a different range of fuels.

The material making up the inner walls of the receiver 306 cavity may have mechanical and chemical properties to maintain its structural strength at elevated temperatures between 1100°C and 1600°C, with an extremely high emissivity of ε > 0.8 or ε < 0.2 for the receiver 306 cavity High reflectivity, as well as high heat capacity (>200J/kg-K) and low thermal conductivity (<1W/m-K). The material constituting the reaction tube 302 has high emissivity (ε>0.8), high thermal conductivity (>1W/m-K), and moderately high heat capacity (>150J/kg-K).

An example particle size analysis to determine particle size may be a digital image processing particle size and shape analysis system, eg, Horiba, Ltd.'s CamsizerXT particle size analyzer. Such systems use one or more cameras to provide fast and accurate particle size and particle shape distributions for dry powders and bulk materials in the size range (eg, from 30 μm to 30 mm). Measurements from digital image processing systems allow correlation of existing data with a variety of techniques as well as screening and deposition (which in some cases can also be used to measure particle size). In the examples, the particle size of steam-exploded wood chips was measured using a Horiba, Ltd. Camsizer XT particle size analyzer. The samples to be measured are mixed in a resealable bag by kneading and stirring the contents of the bag with external manipulation. After mixing, a sample volume of, for example, approximately 3 cm3 is loaded into the instrument's sample hopper. The goal is to run and analyze a sufficient sample size, eg at least 2 million particles from each sample, so sample volume is only important to this extent as it equates to a sufficient number of particles. Example settings on the instrument may be as follows: 0.2% coverage, image ratio 1:1, with X-jet, gap width = 4.0mm, dispersion pressure = 380.0kPa, xFe_max [and correspondingly xc_min]. Controlling the feed rate to produce a target coverage area allows the computer to process the image quickly enough. The camera imaging ratio was fixed and both "base" and zoom images were acquired for each run. A single value for average particle size, eg, less than 50 microns in diameter, can be an objective measure. In the examples, three point values for both Fe-max and xc-min are more complete. Therefore, it looks like a 6-point value. Particle size distribution (PSD) can be defined as Fe-MaxD10, D50, D90 and Xc-minD10, D50, D90. Then measure can use multiple values (for example, enter 6 values) to determine the measured value. Other similar mechanisms may be used.

Calculations can be performed using volume-based Femax and xcmin. Two models can be used to analyze particle images: xc-min, which produces results comparable to those obtained by physically screening/screening samples; and Fe-max, which is similar to measuring the longest dimension. Get raw data, frequency plots, archived results, and particle images for all samples. D10, D50 and D90 can be calculated on a volume basis and are average aspect ratios. D90 describes the diameter in which ninety percent of the distribution has the smaller particle size and ten percent has the larger particle size. The D10 diameter has ten percent smaller and ninety percent larger. A three-point specification providing D10, D50 and D90 is considered complete and suitable for most granular materials. In an embodiment, the particle size distribution PSD can be defined as D50 (μm) model Fe-max.

Table 1 - Particle size distribution of wood for steam explosion

The particle size indices of the SEP-treated samples were generated by the xc-min and Fe-max models.

The examples in Table 1 were generated with a steam pressure of 16 bar and a reaction time of 10 minutes.

Figure 2 shows an embodiment of a flow diagram of an integrated plant to produce syngas from biomass and liquid fuel products from the syngas. The steam explosion unit 308 may have a steam explosion section and a hydrothermal treatment section that supplies the biomass particles to either a dryer, a torrefaction unit or directly to the biomass gasifier 314 . The dryer can be a flash dryer, a drum dryer, a paddle dryer, an air dryer or similar such devices.

In an embodiment, the delivery system is coupled to the collection chamber at the outlet section of the steam explosion unit 308 and the cyclone supplies the biomass in the form of particles to either the torrefaction unit 312 or directly to the biomass gasifier 314, Or supply to flash dryer. Most of the initial lignin and cellulose that make up the biomass in the receiver section of the steam pipe section in the steam explosion unit 308 remains as the biomass particles produced, but are now substantially the same as at the outlet section of the steam explosion section 308. The cellulose fibers in the collection chamber are separated.

The collection chamber in the steam explosion unit 308 is configured to collect non-condensable hydrocarbons from any off-gas generated from the biomass during the steam explosion process.

After the steam explosion stage 308, water is removed from the biomass in a water separation unit (e.g., a cyclone unit) and a reduced moisture content biomass consisting of flaccid fibers and separated lignin and cellulose can be fed to the dryer.

In an embodiment, one or more gas collection tanks in steam explosion unit 308 may collect non-condensable hydrocarbons from any off-gas generated from biomass during the SEP process and combine those non-condensable hydrocarbons with those collected in torrefaction unit 312 Anything is sent to catalytic converter 316 together.

In another embodiment, the reduced moisture slurry may go directly from steam explosion unit 308 to biomass gasifier 314 , torrefaction unit 312 , or catalytic converter 316 . Typically, particles of biomass go to a torrefaction unit 312 and then onto a biomass gasifier 314 . However, the roasting unit 312 and the biomass gasifier may be combined into a single unit.

Typical compositions of biomass types that can be blended include, for example:

The biomass gasifier 314 has a reactor configured to react the biomass particles decomposed by the two or more stages of the steam explosion unit 308 and those biomass particles are then fed into the biomass gasifier 314 feed area. The biomass gasifier 314 has a high-temperature steam supply input and one or more heaters, and in the presence of steam, the biomass particles decomposed by the steam explosion unit 308 are in the reactor vessel to be released in the biomass gasifier 314 reacts in a rapid biomass gasification reaction at temperatures above 700 degrees Celsius with a residence time of less than five seconds to produce at least a syngas component, comprising hydrogen (H2) and carbon monoxide (CO), which is fed to methanol ( CH3OH) synthesis reactor 310. In the gasifier 314, the heat transferred to the biomass particles consisting of loose cellulose fibres, lignin and hemicellulose or fragments of cellulose fibres, lignin and hemicellulose no longer needs to penetrate the lignin and hemicellulose Cellulose layer to reach the fibers. In some embodiments, the fast biomass gasification reaction is performed at a temperature above 700 degrees Celsius to ensure a minimum amount of tar is formed during the gasification reaction. Therefore, a starting temperature of 700 degrees but below 950 degrees may be an obvious range for biomass gasifier operation. More complete and easier gasification of all biomass.

The biomass gasifier 314 may have particles designed to flow through the reactor with a fast gasification residence time of the biomass particles (0.1 seconds to 10 seconds and preferably less than one second fast gasification residence time of the biomass particles). and radiant heat transfer of the reaction gas flowing through the radiant thermal reactor, and the predominant radiant heat from the surfaces of the radiant thermal reactor and the particles entrained in the flow heats the particles and resulting gas to substantially more than 700 degrees Celsius and preferably at least A temperature of 1200°C to produce a syngas composition comprising carbon monoxide and hydrogen and to keep the methane produced at <1% of the component composition of exiting products, minimal tar residue in exiting products, and ash produced level down. In some embodiments, the temperature range for biomass gasification is greater than 800 degrees Celsius to 1400 degrees Celsius.

Referring to Figure 2, the plant uses any combination of the three approaches to generate syngas for methanol production. Syngas can be a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, which can be converted into a wide range of organic compounds suitable as chemical feedstocks, fuels and solvents. For example, biomass gasifier 314 gasifies biomass at a temperature high enough to eliminate the need for a catalyst in producing hydrogen and carbon monoxide for methanol production.

Biomass gasification is used to break down the complex hydrocarbons of biomass into simpler gaseous molecules, mainly hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. Some mineral ash and tars are also formed, as well as methane, ethane, water and other components. The mixture of primary products varies according to the type of biomass feedstock used and the gasification method used.

The biomass gasifier is followed by a gas cleaning section to clean the ash, sulfur, water and other contaminants from the syngas stream exiting the biomass gasifier 314 . The synthesis gas is then compressed to the appropriate pressure required for methanol synthesis. Additional syngas from steam methane reformer 327 may be connected upstream or downstream of the compression section.

The synthesis gas of H2 and CO from the gasifier and steam methane reformer 327 is sent to a common input to one or more methanol synthesis reactors. The exact ratio of hydrogen to carbon monoxide can be optimized by the control system receiving an analysis of the composition of the syngas exiting the biomass gasifier 314 and steam methane reformer 327 from the monitoring equipment and allowing the ratio to methanol synthesis to be optimized. Methanol produced by one or more methanol synthesis reactors is then processed in a methanol-to-gasoline process.

The liquid fuel produced in the integrated plant can be petrol or other such as diesel, jet fuel or some alcohols.

Thus, both biomass gasifier 314 and SMR 327 may supply syngas components to a downstream organic liquid product synthesis reactor, such as methanol synthesis reactor 310 . Methanol is then supplied to methanol-to-gasoline processing to form high-quality, high-octane gasoline. Methanol can also be supplied to the processing of other liquefied fuels, including jet fuel, DME, gasoline, diesel and blended alcohols.

4A-4C illustrate different magnification levels of an example biomass chip 451 having fiber bundles of cellulose fibers surrounded and bonded together by lignin.

FIG. 4D shows example biomass chips, including first biomass chips 451 , exploded into biomass fines 453 .

Figure 4E shows a biomass chip 451 with a bundle of fibers abraded or partially separated into individual fibers.

5 shows a flow schematic diagram of an embodiment of a radiant thermochemical reactor configured to produce chemicals comprising synthesis gas products. The multi-shell radiant thermochemical reactor 514 comprises a refractory vessel 534 having an annular cavity with an inner wall. The radiant thermochemical reactor 514 has two or more radiant tubes 536 made of solid material. One or more radiant tubes 536 are positioned inside the cavity of the refractory lined vessel 534 .

The exothermic heat source 538 heats the interior of the space of the tube 536 . Thus, each radiant tube 536 is internally heated with exothermic heat sources 538 (eg, regenerative burners or gas burners) at each end of the tube 536 . Each radiant tube 536 is internally heated with fire and gases from the burners through heat inserts at each end of the tube 536 and possibly through one or more heat inserts located between the two ends. The flame of one or more natural gas gas burners 538 and the heated gas act as an exothermic heat source, which is supplied to the plurality of radiant tubes and connected to both ends of the radiant tubes 536 at a temperature between 900°C and 1800°C. Each tube 536 may be made of SiC or other similar material.

One or more feed lines 542 supply biomass and reaction gases into the top or upper portion of the chemical reactor 514 . Feed lines 542 for biomass pellets and steam enter below entry points in refractory lined vessel 534 for internally heated radiant tubes 536 . Feed line 112 is configured to supply chemical reactants comprising 1) biomass particles, 2) reactant gases, 3) steam, 4) heat transfer assist particles, or 5) any of the four above to the radiant heat in the chemical reactor. Chemical reactions facilitated by radiant heat take place outside the plurality of radiant tubes 536 with internal fires. Chemical reactions facilitated by radiant heat take place within the inner walls of the cavity of the refractory lined vessel 534 and the outer walls of each of the one or more radiant tubes 536 .

The chemical reaction may be an endothermic reaction involving one or more of 1) biomass gasification (CnHm+H2O→CO+H2+H2O+X) and 2) other similar hydrocarbon decomposition reactions using radiant heat at radiative The thermochemical reactor 514 is carried out. The molar ratio of steam (H2O) to char is in the range of 1:1 to 1:4, and the temperature is high enough to carry out the chemical reaction in the absence of a catalyst.

The use of biomass particles as raw material in radiant thermal reactor designs has the beneficial effect of increasing and being able to maintain process gas temperatures in excess of 1200 degrees Celsius for a given amount of Biomass feeding increases gasifier yield of syngas components producing carbon monoxide and hydrogen, and improves process hygiene through reduced production of tars and C2+ olefins. The control system for the radiant heat reactor matches the radiant heat transferred from the surface of the reactor to the flow rate of the biomass particles to yield the above advantages.

The control system controls the gas burner 538 to supply thermal energy to the chemical reactor 514, thereby helping to have a high heat flux of the radiant heat generated by the chemical reactor. The interior surfaces of the chemical reactor 514 are aligned to 1) absorb and re-emit radiant energy, 2) highly reflect radiant energy, and 3) any combination of these to maintain the operating temperature of the adjacent ultra-high heat flux chemical reactor 514. Thus, the inner cavity walls of the refractory vessel and the outer walls of each of the one or more tubes 536 emit radiant heat energy to, for example, biomass particles and any other material that exists between the outer walls of a given tube 536 and the inner walls of the refractory vessel. Heat transfer assist particles. Accordingly, the refractory vessel absorbs or reflects concentrated energy via tubes 536 from burners 538 positioned along the top and bottom of the refractory vessel to cause energy transfer through thermal radiation and reflection, thereby delivering heat flux generally to the interior of the chemical reactor Biomass particles, heat transfer auxiliary particles and reaction gases. The inner walls of the cavity of the insulated refractory vessel and the plurality of tubes 536 act as radiation distributors by either absorbing radiation and reradiating it to the heat transfer aid particles or reflecting incident radiation to the heat transfer aid particles. The radiant thermochemical reactor 514 uses ultra-high heat flux and high temperature facilitated by heat transfer primarily by radiation rather than convection or conduction.

Convective biomass gasifiers commonly used on coal pellets typically achieve a heat flux of at most 5 to 10 kW/m^2. High radiant heat flux biomass gasifiers will use significantly greater heat fluxes, at least three times those present in convection-facilitated biomass gasifiers (i.e. above 25kW/m^2) . Typically, higher fluxes (high heat fluxes above 80 kW/m^2) can be achieved with properly designed reactors using radiation at high temperatures (wall temperatures >950 °C). In some cases, the high heat flux may be 100 kW/m^2 to 250 kW/m^2.

Next, various algorithms and methods for controlling the system may be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions (eg, program modules) being executed by a computer. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement concrete abstract data types. Those skilled in the art may implement the descriptions and/or figures herein as computer-executable instructions, which may be embodied on any form of computer-readable media discussed below. Generally, program modules may be implemented as software instructions, logical blocks of electronic hardware, or combinations of both. The software portion can be stored on a machine-readable medium and written in any number of programming languages, such as Java, C++, C, etc. The machine-readable medium can be a hard drive, external drive, DRAM, tape drive, memory stick, etc. but does not cover transitory signals. Thus, algorithms and control systems can be constructed using hardware logic exclusively, hardware logic interacting with software, or software only.

However, some specific embodiments of the design have shown that the design is not limited to these embodiments. For example, recovered waste heat from various plant processes can be used to preheat combustion air or can be used for other similar heating components. Regenerative gas burners or conventional burners can be used as the heat source for the boiler. Steam methane reforming may be/comprise SHR (Steam Hydrocarbon Reformer) which converts hydrocarbons (alkanes, alkenes, alkynes, aromatics, furans, phenols, formic acid, ketones, aldehydes, ethers, etc.) and Oxygenated short-chain hydrocarbons (<C20) split into syngas components. The design should be understood not to be limited by the particular embodiments described herein, but only by the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (20)

1., in order to produce an integrated equipment for synthesis gas from living beings, it comprises:

Steam blasting unit, it has to receive the input cavity that living beings chip is used as raw material, one or more steam supply input, and in order to living beings described in pretreatment for follow-up two sections that are fed to biomass gasifying furnace or more sections, wherein said two sections or more sections use the heat being applied to described living beings, the combination of pressure and moisture is with the fine particulate form making described living beings become humidity, the overall structure of the living beings chip received described in wherein said two sections or more sections are configured to decompose at least in part, method be by application from the first steam supply input steam with start to be reduced in lignin and from the cellulose fibre of described living beings hemicellulose between bonding and the moisture of the living beings chip received described in improving, and the steam then applied in the segment from least atmospheric pressure 14 times of the second steam supply input heats any gas of described living beings inside existence and fluid and pressurizes, wherein at the outlet opening place to described two sections or more sections, via the reduction of blood pressure in high-speed of described living beings described in internal division through the described overall structure of Pressed bio matter, described living beings wherein after division produce and are less than 70 micron thickness and the fine particulate form being less than the average-size of 500 microns long from described section of having of leaving, and the living beings fine grained of those humidities produced is fed to the feeding district of described biomass gasifying furnace subsequently, and

Wherein said biomass gasifying furnace has reactor vessel, it is configured to the living beings of the fine particulate form of described humidity are reacted, the living beings of the fine particulate form of described humidity have the granular size of reduction and the overall surface area increased owing to the division by described steam blasting unit compared to the living beings chip received described in described input cavity, wherein said biomass gasifying furnace has the 3rd steam supply input and one or more thermal source, and when there is described steam, the living beings of described fine particulate form react with quick bio matter gasification reaction thus produce at least synthesis gas components in described reactor vessel, comprise hydrogen (H2) and carbon monoxide (CO), wherein said steam blasting unit and described biomass gasifying furnace are parts for described integrated equipment.

2. integrated equipment according to claim 1, described two sections of wherein said steam blasting unit or more sections comprise at least hot water processing section and steam blasting section, wherein said hot water processing section has the described input cavity receiving described living beings chip, and described first steam supply input is configured to be applied to by low-pressure saturated steam under higher than 60 degrees Celsius but lower than the high temperature of 145 degrees Celsius under the pressure of about normal pressure PSI in the container containing described living beings chip, thus start to decompose, the living beings chip received described in hydration process also softens, wherein the high temperature of one group of temperature sensor to the described living beings chip received provides feedback, and wherein control system is configured to holdup time of keeping described living beings chip to stop in described hot water processing section 8 to 20 minutes, described holdup time long enough soaked into described living beings chip with moisture before being moved out to described steam blasting section in described living beings.

3. integrated equipment according to claim 2, wherein said hot water processing section will be fed to described steam blasting section through softening and that moisture improves described living beings chip via screwfeed system, described steam blasting section maintains the pressure of 10 to 30 times of the pressure existed in described hot water processing section by described control system under, and described steam blasting section raises the internal pressure of the described moisture of described living beings and the cell of the described living beings of formation further.

4. integrated equipment according to claim 1, wherein after described hot water processing section, described in chip formation through softening living beings through 1) extruding and 2) and compress be anyly combined into plug form, it is then fed to continous way conveying worm system, the described living beings in plug form move in steam blasting section by described system, wherein in described continous way conveying worm system, the described living beings in described plug form prevent from the back-pressure of the blowback of the high steam under at least ten four times of the normal pressure existed in comfortable described steam blasting section to affect described hot water processing section, and

The described synthesis gas components comprising described hydrogen (H2) and described carbon monoxide (CO) wherein from described biomass gasifying furnace is fed to downstream methanol synthesis reactor to form methyl alcohol, and described reactor is also a part for described integrated equipment.

5. integrated equipment according to claim 4, wherein said steam blasting section is coupled to refining section, described refining section has one or more blade, its be configured to described through Pressed bio matter to be left by described outlet opening described steam blasting section to maintain lower than pressure in described steam blasting section 1/3rd pressure under purge pipeline before mechanically stir described through Pressed bio matter so that through Pressed bio matter described in internal division, described mechanical agitation wherein in described refining section is configured to make gained living beings of a granular form have the more consistent size distribution of the average-size of described biological particles.

6. integrated equipment according to claim 2, wherein said steam blasting section has one group of temperature and pressure sensor and described control system, wherein said living beings are exposed to and continue between 5 minutes to 20 minutes in the high temperature and high pressure steam from described second steam supply at least 188 degrees Celsius of input and 160PSI, until the integrally-built porous part of living beings described in moisture penetration and all described fluid in described living beings and gas rise to described high pressure, wherein described living beings are fed to described outlet opening by described steam blasting section by conveyer system, the little opening of wherein said outlet opening enters in the pipe under the decompression maintaining 4 to 10 bar, and any internal flow under described high pressure or gas expansion are to split into the fine grained living beings of described humidity by the described overall structure of described living beings in inside.

7. integrated equipment according to claim 1, described two sections of wherein said steam blasting unit or more sections comprise hot water processing section and steam blasting section, wherein said hot water processing section has first group of temperature sensor and control system, it is configured to via described first steam supply input, described steam is applied to described living beings chip at the temperature of the glass transition point higher than described lignin, to soften and to improve the described moisture of described living beings, therefore at least described in described steam blasting section, the described cellulose fibre of living beings can from described living beings at internal division, wherein said hot water processing section is configured to receive described living beings chip, it can comprise leaf, needle, stem skin and bole, and then described control system uses described steam that the described living beings chip in described hot water processing section is heated to above 60 DEG C, be detained the time of 8 to 20 minutes, and then described living beings are delivered to described steam blasting section with other inside, porous zone formation high steam in the described overall structure of biological material described in the cellulose fiber peacekeeping of part hollow, and then make the environmental pressure of the described outlet opening through described steam blasting section decline fast, method is to cause Internal explosions in the pipe by the described overall structure of the described living beings maintained 160 to 450PSI by the described control system in described steam blasting section being stretched under reduced pressure, described living beings are split into living beings fine particle in inside by it, wherein in inside, the described overall structure of the living beings in fibre bundle is split into cellulose fibre, the fragment of lignin and hemicellulose and fragment cause following both: 1) compared to described receive in the living beings of chip formation, the surface area of the described living beings in fine particulate form increases, and 2) structure of the living beings produced in fine particulate form of described gained changes with as the grains of sand instead of as fiber flow.

8. integrated equipment according to claim 1, described two sections of wherein said steam blasting unit or more sections comprise hot water processing section and steam blasting section, wherein at the described outlet opening place of described steam blasting section, once described living beings explosion becomes the fine particulate form of described humidity, then described produced biological particles is owing to steam flash distillation being discharged and the percentage of the content that dries out as steam in purge pipeline, wherein said produced biological particles is then separated by swirl-type filter with moisture, the fine grain described moisture of wherein said living beings is become dry by drier in the exit of purge vessel further, fine grain for described living beings moisture is reduced to by weight lower than 20% by this, the described living beings fine grained with the moisture of reduction is then fed to silo for storage until be ready to be fed to described biomass gasifying furnace by wherein said drier.

9. integrated equipment according to claim 1, wherein steam blasting section is coupled to refining section, described refining section has one or more blade, its be configured to described mechanically stirred before Pressed bio matter leaves described steam blasting section to purge pipeline by described outlet opening described through Pressed bio matter, and described the produced living beings fine grained with the moisture of reduction comprises into cracked, tear, that tear up and any combination and have and be less than 30 micron thickness and the cellulose fibre being less than the average-size of 200 microns long, wherein said produced living beings fine grained is fed to described biomass gasifying furnace for the described quick bio matter gasification reaction in the described reactor vessel of described biomass gasifying furnace to downstream, because they form higher surface-to-volume ratio compared to the described living beings in chip formation received for the living beings of identical amount, this allows higher heat and quality to be delivered to more rapid thermolysis and the gasification of all molecules in described biological material and described living beings.

10. integrated equipment according to claim 2, the described steam blasting section being wherein filled with the high steam be greater than under 14 bar contains discharges outlet, it to be configured to described biological material " explosion " under reduced pressure next section to produce the described living beings in fine particulate form, wherein magnetic filter and air cleanness filter system, coupled to described hot water processing section to guarantee that the described living beings in chip formation eliminated metal fragment and ratchel before entering described hot water processing section, to prevent these metal fragments and ratchel blocking from comprising described part of discharging the described steam blasting unit of outlet, the wherein said living beings in fine particulate form are in the dirty feed line crossing purge vessel of high speed, and 1) the described of described steam blasting section discharge outlet and 2) any one in described feed line locate injection and comprise 1) charge of flowable solids and 2) obstruction that causes to prevent described living beings of the glidant of any one of gas, and other described feed line has the heater coil that arranges around described feed line to maintain the high temperature of the described living beings in fine particulate form thus to help prevent the crystallization of rosin in the described living beings in fine particulate form and resin acid.

11. integrated equipments according to claim 1, it comprises further:

Water separative element, collecting chamber wherein at the outlet section place of steam blasting section is reduced to compared with small particle size in order to collect and is the described living beings of slurry form and is fed to described water separative element, wherein in hydrocyclone unit, removes water from the described living beings in fine particulate form and the described living beings in fine particulate form is fed to drier to be reduced to by weight lower than 20% by the moisture of the described living beings in fine particulate form further; And

Gas wherein containing the organic compound reclaimed from described hydrocyclone unit produced by described steam blasting section is collected and is fed to described biomass gasifying furnace by feed line.

12. 1 kinds in order to produce the method for synthesis gas from the living beings in integrated equipment, it comprises:

The living beings received in chip formation are used as raw material and are fed to biomass gasifying furnace with living beings described in pretreatment in two sections or more sections for follow-up;

By heat in described two sections or more sections, the fine particulate form that the Combination application of pressure and moisture becomes moist to described living beings to make described living beings, steam blasting process wherein in described two sections or more sections decompose at least in part described in the overall structure of the living beings in chip formation that receives, method be the steam that there is low pressure by application with start to be reduced in lignin and from the cellulose fibre of described living beings hemicellulose between bonding and the moisture of the living beings chip received described in improving, and the steam then by application with more high pressure is heated any gas of described living beings inside existence and fluid and pressurizes, the described overall structure of the living beings in chip formation received described in internal division with the reduction of blood pressure in high-speed of the close-burning described living beings via the moisture and reduction with raising, the described living beings being wherein produced as the fine particulate form of described humidity from the steam blasting unit of described two sections or more sections have and are less than 70 micron thickness and the fine particulate form being less than the average-size of 500 microns long, and the living beings fine grained of those humidities produced is fed to the feeding district of described biomass gasifying furnace subsequently, and

Described living beings fine grained is reacted, described living beings fine grained has the granular size of reduction and the overall surface area increased owing to the division by described two sections of the described steam blasting unit in described biomass gasifying furnace or more sections compared to the described living beings in chip formation being used as raw material received, wherein deposit in the case of steam in described biomass gasifying furnace, the described particle of the described living beings produced by described steam blasting unit reacts to produce at least synthesis gas components with quick bio matter gasification reaction, comprise hydrogen (H2) and carbon monoxide (CO), wherein said steam blasting unit and described biomass gasifying furnace are parts for described integrated equipment.

13. methods for described integrated equipment according to claim 12, wherein said two sections or more sections comprise hot water processing section and steam blasting section, the low-pressure steam soaked into moisture is applied in the container of the described living beings in chip formation of accommodation by wherein said hot water processing section under the pressure of about normal pressure PSI under higher than 60 degrees Celsius but lower than the high temperature of 145 degrees Celsius, thus start to decompose, the living beings in chip formation received described in hydration process also softens, the described chip of wherein said living beings stops considerable 10 to 15 minutes to soak into moisture in described hot water processing section, and wherein said hot water processing section will be fed to described steam blasting section through softening and that moisture improves living beings chip, described steam blasting section under 160 pressure to 450PSI and temperature maintain between 160 to 270 DEG C.

14. methods for described integrated equipment according to claim 12, it comprises further:

Under 160 to 450PSI through the described living beings of pressurization to be left by outlet opening described steam blasting section to maintain lower than pressure in described steam blasting section 1/3rd pressure under purge pipeline before mechanically stir the described living beings in described steam blasting section so that in the described living beings of internal division through pressurizeing under 160 to 450PSI, the described mechanical agitation wherein in described refining section is configured to make gained living beings of a granular form have the more consistent size distribution of the average-size of described biological particles with the one or more blades in refining section.

15. methods for described integrated equipment according to claim 13, wherein after described hot water processing section, described in chip formation through softening living beings through 1) extruding and 2) any combination of compressing, it is then fed to conveyer system, described living beings move in described steam blasting section by described system, wherein in described conveyer system, described living beings prevent from the back-pressure of the blowback of the high steam existed in comfortable described steam blasting section to affect described hot water processing section.

16. methods for described integrated equipment according to claim 12, described two sections of wherein said steam blasting unit or more sections comprise hot water processing section and steam blasting section, steam is applied to described living beings by wherein said hot water processing section, use described steam be detained 8 to 20 minutes time chien shih its higher than 60 DEG C, so that softening and raising moisture, and then described living beings are delivered to the described steam blasting section of described living beings with the living beings in chip formation described in internal division, wherein said living beings are exposed to the sufficient time section continuing 3 to 15 minutes in high temperature and high pressure steam living beings between 160 to 450 pounds/square inch, high steam is formed with other inside, porous zone in the described overall structure of biological material described in the cellulose fiber peacekeeping of part hollow, and then make the pressure in the exit in described steam blasting section decline fast, method be by the described overall structure of the described living beings between 160 to 450 pounds/square inch is stretched into be less than described 160 to 450 pounds/square inch 1/3rd decompression under pipe in cause Internal explosions, described living beings are split into living beings fine particle in inside by it.

17. methods for described integrated equipment according to claim 14, wherein said living beings pass through the fine particulate form using the described outlet opening explosion of two or more pressure drops a series of through controlling of different-diameter section instead of the described steam blasting section of single continuous print diameter pressure drop to become described humidity, and wherein once described living beings explosion becomes the fine particulate form of described humidity, described produced biological particles is owing to steam flash and be discharged as steam and lose the percentage of described moisture, the fine grain moisture of wherein said living beings becomes dry further by flash dryer, fine grain for living beings described moisture is reduced to by weight lower than 20% by this.

18. methods for described integrated equipment according to claim 14, wherein said the produced living beings fine grained with the moisture of reduction comprises into cracked, tear, that tear up and any combination and have and be less than 50 micron thickness and the cellulose fibre being less than the average-size of 200 microns long, wherein said produced living beings fine grained is fed to described biomass gasifying furnace for the described quick bio matter gasification reaction in the reactor of described biomass gasifying furnace to downstream, because they form higher surface-to-volume ratio compared to the described living beings in chip formation received for the living beings of identical amount, this allows higher heat and quality to be delivered to more rapid thermolysis and the gasification of all molecules in described biological material and described living beings.

19. methods for described integrated equipment according to claim 12, it comprises further:

Collect in the discharge exit of described steam blasting unit and be reduced to compared with small particle size and described living beings in slurry form and be fed to water separative element, wherein in hydrocyclone unit, remove water from the described living beings in fine particulate form and the described living beings in fine particulate form are fed to flash dryer to be reduced to the described moisture of the described living beings in fine particulate form by weight lower than 20% further lower than the moisture of the described reduction of 40% by weight.

20. methods according to claim 19, wherein after described hot water processing section, described in chip formation through softening living beings through 1) extruding and 2) and compress be anyly combined into plug form, it is then fed to continous way conveying worm system, the described living beings in plug form move in described steam blasting section by described system, wherein in described continous way conveying worm system, the described living beings in described plug form prevent from the back-pressure of the blowback of the high steam existed in comfortable described steam blasting section to affect described hot water processing section, and

The described synthesis gas components comprising hydrogen (H2) and carbon monoxide (CO) wherein from described biomass gasifying furnace is fed to downstream methanol synthesis reactor to form methyl alcohol, and described reactor is also a part for described integrated equipment.