Patent FR-2942803-A1 (FR)
Title: System for converting biomass into liquid fuel, comprises a rapid and/or flash vertical pyrolysis reactor comprising a hot module, a module for quenching hot pyrolytic gas, and a module for separating and storing liquid fuel
Inventor: BEHAR ISAAC
IPC: C10B49/04
Filed: 2009-03-09
Abstract: The system comprises rapid and/or flash vertical pyrolysis reactor comprising a hot module for separating pyrolytic fluid particles, a module for quenching hot pyrolytic gas, and a module for separating and storing liquid fuel formed by the condensation of pyrolytic gas. The rapid and/or flash pyrolysis reactor comprises a unit for feeding the reactor in biomass, a hot gaseous coolant fluid, a pipeline (4a) for penetrating the hot gaseous coolant fluid in the reactor, and a pipeline for bringing out the hot gaseous coolant fluid from reactor. The system comprises rapid and/or flash vertical pyrolysis reactor comprising a hot module for separating pyrolytic fluid particles, a module for quenching hot pyrolytic gas, and a module for separating and storing liquid fuel formed by the condensation of pyrolytic gas. The rapid and/or flash pyrolysis reactor comprises a unit for feeding the reactor in biomass, a hot gaseous coolant fluid, a pipeline (4a) for penetrating the hot gaseous coolant fluid in the reactor, a pipeline for bringing out the hot gaseous coolant fluid from reactor, a device for rapidly circulating the hot gaseous coolant fluid and the product, a pipeline to collect non-condensable fuel gases, and a unit to heat the hot gaseous coolant fluid and/or entire or part of the pyrolysis system. The reactor is horizontal, and biomass is dense and moves horizontally. The reactor further comprises a unit to compensate the loss of charge, which is decreased based on decreasing height of the biomass from upstream to downstream and for producing gas from the biomass by introducing a loss of charge increasing based on the gradual reduction of the height of biomass from upstream to downstream as the loss of the gas is homogeneous with the gradual reduction of the biomass height. The device is arranged for obtaining a constant loss of gas passing through the biomass. The loss of gas is obtained by changing the opening by indications of measuring devices directly or indirectly, where the changes are analyzed by a calculator and controlled by an automaton. The reactor is fed in powder biomass that is supported by a porous sole and forms a fluidized bed suspended by a hot gas coolant entering in the vertical reactor by a pipeline opening in the bottom of the reactor and emerging by a pipeline located in the upper reactor. A branch of vertical pipeline conveying the gaseous coolant fluid that passes through the vertical reactor, bypasses the reactor and is connected to the pipeline exiting from the reactor by a pipeline comprising a device such as venturi device accelerating the horizontal circulation of the gaseous coolant fluid. The vertical reactor comprises a hot baffle to traverse the reactor from bottom to top but slows its passage and causing the collision with the hot baffle. The pyrolytic gases generated by the horizontal reactor is partially quenched at a selected temperature to form a liquid fuel, and partly used as gaseous coolant fluid feeding the vertical reactor of which the powder biomass in suspension undergoes a flash pyrolysis. The division between two destinations of pyrolytic gases generated in the horizontal reactor is controlled by valves Vb and Vc. The temperature of the coolant fluid flowing in the pipeline is modified by a heat exchanger positioned on the pipeline. Independent claims are included for: (1) a combined system for flash or rapid pyrolysis and gasification; and (2) a process for flash or rapid pyrolysis.