Patent ID: 8187350
Filing Date: 2012-05-29
Classification: C10L,Y02E,Y02P

Abstract:
1. Apparatus for separating carbonaceous fuels, such as coal and biomass, into two or more separated fuel products, a devolatilized coke product, and one or more volatile matter products, said apparatus comprising: a source of carbonaceous fuel chunks containing volatile matter; a steam boiler source of superheated steam at a steam boiler pressure; a receiver of devolatilized coke chunks; a receiver of steam and volatile matter at a receiver pressure less than said steam supply pressure; a sealable, and preferably insulated, pressure vessel devolatilization reactor chamber comprising a refuel end and a coke removal end, and further comprising: refuel transfer means for intermittently, and sealably, transferring a single refuel batch of carbonaceous fuel chunks, from said source of carbonaceous fuel chunks, into said refuel end of said devolatilization reactor chamber; coke removal transfer means for intermittently and sealably transferring, a single batch of devolatilized coke chunks, from said coke removal end of said devolatilization chamber, into said receiver of devolatilized coke chunks; a steam inlet pipe with steam inlet valve for transferring superheated steam, from said source of superheated steam, into said coke removal end of said devolatilization reactor chamber, at steam boiler pressure; a steam outlet pipe with steam outlet valve for transferring steam and volatile matter, from said refuel end of said devolatilization reactor chamber, into said receiver of steam and volatile matter, at receiver pressure; carbonaceous fuel control and actuator means for operating said refuel transfer means, and said coke removal transfer means, intermittently at refuel time intervals, so that said devolatilization reactor chamber is maintained essentially filled with a number of batches of carbonaceous fuel chunks; and further so that, at the end of each refuel time interval, a single batch of devolatilized coke fuel chunks is transferred from the coke removal end of said devolatilization reactor chamber into said receiver of devolatilized coke chunks, by said coke removal transfer means, and so that a single batch of carbonaceous fuel chunks is next transferred, from said source of carbonaceous fuel chunks, into the refuel end of said devolatilization reactor chamber, by said refuel transfer means, to start the next following refuel time interval; whereby each carbonaceous fuel batch moves, in steps, from the refuel end of said devolatilization reactor chamber, toward the coke removal end of said devolatilization reactor chamber, each step taking place at the end of each refuel time interval, and each carbonaceous fuel batch reaching the coke removal end of said devolatilization reactor chamber after a number of refuel time intervals, following entry, essentially equal to the number of carbonaceous fuel batches inside said devolatilization reactor chamber, and each carbonaceous fuel batch is removed from said devolatilization reactor chamber, at the end of the next refuel time interval after reaching said coke removal end, and is transferred into said receiver of devolatilized coke chunks; steam control and actuator means for opening and closing said steam inlet valve, and said steam outlet valve, intermittently at steam cycle time intervals, so that an integral number of steam cycles, of steam compression into said devolatilization reactor chamber, followed, after a compression time interval, by steam release from said devolatilization reactor chamber, takes place during each refuel time interval, each said steam cycle comprising the following sequence of steps: the steam outlet valve is closed; the steam inlet valve is opened to admit superheated steam, from said steam boiler source, into said devolatilization reactor chamber at steam boiler pressure; after a compression cycle time interval the steam inlet valve is closed; the steam outlet valve is opened to discharge steam and volatile matter out of the devolatilization reactor chamber into said receiver of steam and volatile matter at receiver pressure; whereby, by thus operating the devolatilization reactor chamber over a range of steam pressure, during each steam cycle, the steam is compressed into the interchunk spaces and pore spaces of the carbonaceous fuel chunks, during each steam compression, and heat is transferred rapidly into said carbonaceous fuel chunks, by direct contact, over pore and inter chunk area, between steam and carbonaceous fuel chunks, to increase the temperature thereof; as carbonaceous fuel temperature is thusly increased the volatile matter portions become vaporized and liquefied and thermally cracked, and are forced out of the carbonaceous fuel chunks by such vaporization, and are mixed into the steam, thus creating additional pore spaces in the carbonaceous fuel chunks; and further whereby the volatile matter, forced out of the carbonaceous fuel chunks and mixed into the steam, is discharged into said receiver of steam and volatile matter during the steam release portion of each steam cycle, and is thus separated from the devolatilized coke portions; and further whereby additional volatile matter is thusly separated from carbonaceous fuel chunks during each of the several steam cycles, taking place during each refuel time interval, of all the number of refuel time intervals experienced by each refuel batch of carbonaceous fuel, while inside said devolatilization reactor chamber; and finally whereby the devolatilized coke product in each carbonaceous fuel batch, thus largely separated from its volatile matter product, is delivered into said receiver of devolatilized coke chunks by said coke removal transfer means.