Rapid Thermal Conversion of Biomass

• Main Author: Freel, Barry A
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 18.06.2020
• Subjects: BLASTING; CHEMISTRY; CRACKING HYDROCARBON OILS; DESTRUCTIVE DISTILLATION OF CARBONAGEOUS MATERIALS FORPRODUCTION OF GAS, COKE, TAR, OR SIMILAR MATERIALS; FUELS; HEAT EXCHANGE IN GENERAL; HEAT-EXCHANGE APPARATUS, NOT PROVIDED FOR IN ANOTHER SUBCLASS,IN WHICH THE HEAT-EXCHANGE MEDIA COME INTO DIRECT CONTACTWITHOUT CHEMICAL INTERACTION; HEATING; LIGHTING; LUBRICANTS; MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; METALLURGY; MINERAL WAXES; PEAT; PETROLEUM, GAS OR COKE INDUSTRIES; PRODUCTION OF LIQUID HYDROCARBON MIXTURES, e.g. BY DESTRUCTIVEHYDROGENATION, OLIGOMERISATION, POLYMERISATION; PURIFYING OR MODIFYING THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF COMBUSTIBLEGASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE; RECOVERY OF HYDROCARBON OILS FROM OIL-SHALE, OIL-SAND, ORGASES; REFINING MIXTURES MAINLY CONSISTING OF HYDROCARBONS; REFORMING OF NAPHTHA; TECHNICAL GASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE; WEAPONS

The present invent provides improved rapid thermal conversion processes for efficiently converting wood, other biomass materials, and other carbonaceous feedstock (including hydrocarbons) into high yields of valuable liquid product, e.g., bio-oil, on a large scale production. In an embodiment, biomass material, e.g., wood, is feed to a conversion system where the biomass material is mixed with an upward stream of hot heat carriers, e.g., sand, that thermally convert the biomass into a hot vapor stream. The hot vapor stream is rapidly quenched with quench media in one or more condensing chambers located downstream of the conversion system. The rapid quenching condenses the vapor stream into liquid product, which is collected from the condensing chambers as a valuable liquid product. In one embodiment, the liquid product itself is used as the quench media.