System and method for converting food waste into fuel

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10138436-B2
Application number	US-201314769446-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 12, 2013
Priority date	Apr 22, 2013
Publication date	Nov 27, 2018
Grant date	Nov 27, 2018

Abstract

A system for converting food waste into fuel includes at least one thermal decomposition reactor. The at least one thermal decomposition reactor is configured to transfer an organic waste, that is, food waste, through a region on which a sunlight is concentrated by at least one solar concentrator. A fermenter is disposed at a front end of the at least one thermal decomposition reactor, and any thermal energy remaining after being used in the at least one thermal decomposition reactor is additionally used in fermentation of the food waste. A method of converting food waste into fuel is also provided.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system for converting food waste into a fuel product and a methane gas by thermally decomposing the food waste, comprising:
a food waste storage tank in which food waste collected from a region is stored;
a plurality of solar concentrators configured to collect a sunlight and concentrate the sunlight on a plurality of predetermined region;
a plurality of thermal decomposition reactors, wherein each thermal decomposition reactor is disposed in a predetermined region on which the sunlight is concentrated by a corresponding solar concentrator of the plurality of solar concentrators and is configured to discharge the fuel product and the methane gas produced through thermal decomposition of the food waste;
a transferring device configured to transfer the food waste to the plurality of thermal decomposition reactors from the food waste storage tank, wherein a transfer speed of the transferring device is controllable to provide the food waste to each thermal decomposition reactor in an amount that can be treated by a single associated solar concentrator;
a controller, coupled to the solar concentrators, the thermal decomposition reactors, and the transferring device, wherein the controller is configured to control the transfer speed of the transferring device, a driving of the plurality of solar concentrators, and a thermal decomposition reaction in the plurality of thermal decomposition reactors;
a plurality of fermenters, wherein each fermenter is disposed in a region at a front end of a corresponding thermal decomposition reactor of the plurality of thermal decomposition reactors and is configured to temporarily contain and ferment the food waste transferred from the food waste storage tank before provision to the corresponding thermal decomposition reactor; and
a collecting duct configured to collect the methane gas generated from the plurality of thermal decomposition reactors, wherein the methane gas is separated and collected from the fuel product,
wherein the plurality of thermal decomposition reactors and the plurality of fermenters are formed to be sealed to remove an odor,
wherein each thermal decomposition reactor is configured to discharge the food waste thermally decomposed through the region in which the corresponding fermenter is disposed, so to provide thermal energy to ferment the food waste contained in the corresponding fermenter.

2. A method of converting food waste into a fuel product and a methane gas by thermally decomposing the food waste, comprising:
a) collecting food waste and temporarily storing the food waste in a food waste storage tank;
b) concentrating a sunlight in a plurality of predetermined regions by a plurality of solar concentrators, wherein each thermal decomposition reactor of a plurality of thermal decomposition reactors is disposed in a corresponding predetermined region of the plurality of predetermined regions;
c) transferring the food waste stored in the food waste storage tank to the plurality of thermal decomposition reactors via a plurality of fermenters, wherein each fermenter of the plurality of fermenters is disposed in a region at a front end of a different thermal decomposition reactor of the plurality of thermal decomposition reactors, the food waste is transferred by a transferring device, a transfer speed of the transferring device is controlled to provide the food waste to each thermal decomposition reactor in an amount that can be treated by a single corresponding solar concentrator, and the food waste passes through a predetermined region of the single corresponding solar concentrator;
d) fermenting the food waste in the plurality of fermenters before providing the food waste to the plurality of thermal decomposition reactors,
e) thermally decomposing the transferred food waste in the plurality of thermal decomposition reactors disposed in the predetermined region on which the sunlight is concentrated and producing the fuel product and the methane gas;
f) separating and collecting the fuel product and the methane gas produced from the plurality of thermal decomposition reactors;
g) discharging the food waste thermally decomposed in the plurality of thermal decomposition reactors in operation (e) through the regions in which the corresponding fermenters are disposed to provide thermal energy to ferment the food waste contained in the plurality of fermenters,
wherein a controller is coupled to the solar concentrators, the thermal decomposition reactors, and the transferring device, wherein the controller is configured to control a transfer speed of the transferring device, a driving of the plurality of solar concentrators, and a thermal decomposition reaction in the plurality of thermal decomposition reactors,
wherein the plurality of thermal decomposition reactors and the plurality of fermenters are formed to be sealed to remove an odor.

Assignees

• Korea Inst Civil Eng & Building Tech

Inventors

• Kim Tae Hyung
• Kim Eun Ju

Classifications

• C10L3/06 Primary

  Natural gas; Synthetic natural gas obtained by processes not covered by C10G, C10K3/02 or C10K3/04 {(liquefying by pressure and cold treatment F25J)} · CPC title

• C10L2290/58

  Control or regulation of the fuel preparation of upgrading process · CPC title

• Y02E50/10

  Biofuels, e.g. bio-diesel · CPC title

• C10L2290/26

  Composting, fermenting or anaerobic digestion fuel components or materials from which fuels are prepared · CPC title

• C10L2200/0469

  Renewables or materials of biological origin · CPC title