Patent ID: 9422663
Filing Date: 2016-08-23
CPC Classification: D21C

Claim Text:
1. A process for treating biomass materials comprising: providing biomass materials in fiber or granular particulate form having a moisture level in the range of between about 2 percent and about 10 percent; providing a treatment apparatus comprising: a treatment chamber having a feed zone and an exit zone, said treatment chamber being adapted for pressurization, said treatment chamber containing: a longitudinal central axis, a cylindrical enclosure, an interior portion having an interior surface and an exterior portion, said feed zone being adapted for communication with a biomass feeding device, said chamber being adapted for utilization under pressure; a shaft disposed along the longitudinal central axis of said chamber, said shaft being adapted for rotation around said axis; a plurality of pins affixed to said central axis, said pins protruding from the central axis, said pins being substantially perpendicular in relation to the central axis, said central axis and pins being adapted for rotation inside the chamber; a plurality of channels disposed in an inner wall surface of the cylindrical enclosure having a predetermined width, a predetermined depth and a predetermined clearance from the pins; and a plurality of blocks adapted for movement inside the treatment chamber, said movement of said blocks being actuated by collision with the pins, said blocks having a diameter in a range between about 0.3 inches to about 0.5 inches and weighing between about 1 gram and about 2 grams; feeding the biomass materials into the feed zone of a treatment apparatus and moving said biomass materials from the feed zone toward the exit zone; macerating the biomass materials; and collecting the biomass at the exit zone of said treatment apparatus.