Patent ID: 9321850
Filing Date: 2016-04-26
CPC Classification: B01J,B29B,B29K,B29L,C08B,C08H,C10L,C12P,C12Y,Y02E

Claim Text:
1. A method of processing biomass materials using a screw extrusion process, the method comprising: conveying biomass material through a screw extruder comprising a co-extruder having a first barrel and a second barrel, wherein the conveying step comprises conveying a first biomass material through the first barrel and conveying a second biomass material through the second barrel; applying compression and shear forces via a plurality of interpenetrate helicoidal surfaces within the screw extruder, the forces effective to reduce one or more dimensions of individual pieces of biomass material; exposing the biomass material to a plurality of scanning electron beam emitters while conveying the biomass material through the screw extruder, the scanning electron beam emitters each effecting a desired dose of electron beam radiation, wherein the exposing step comprises exposing the first biomass material to a first dose of electron beam irradiation and exposing the second biomass material to a second dose of electron beam irradiation; and producing an extrudate comprising the material discharged from the screw extrusion process.