Hydrothermal treatment device, biomass fuel manufacturing plant, hydrothermal treatment method, and biomass fuel manufacturing method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11236001-B2
Application number	US-201915734793-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 30, 2019
Priority date	Jun 14, 2018
Publication date	Feb 1, 2022
Grant date	Feb 1, 2022

Abstract

A hydrothermal treatment device (3) is a hydrothermal treatment device (3) performing hydrothermal treatment by heating high-water-content biomass, the hydrothermal treatment device (3) including a treatment container (21) that stores sludge, a sludge supply unit (22) that supplies the sludge to inside of the treatment container (21) such that a space (S) is formed in a vertical upper part of the treatment container (21), a stirrer (23) that is provided within the treatment container (21) and stirs stored matter such that counter flows in an up/down direction occur, and a heat transfer tube (24) that is disposed in a horizontal direction within the treatment container (21) and heats the sludge with heat of vapor flowing within the heat transfer tube (24).

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A hydrothermal treatment device performing hydrothermal treatment by heating high-water-content biomass, the hydrothermal treatment device comprising:
a treatment container that stores the high-water-content biomass;
a first supply unit that supplies the high-water-content biomass to inside of the treatment container such that a space is formed in a vertical upper part of the treatment container;
a stirrer unit that is provided within the treatment container and stirs the high-water-content biomass such that flows in a predetermined direction occur; and
at least one heat transfer tube that is disposed within the treatment container so as to cross the predetermined direction and heats the high-water-content biomass with heat of vapor flowing within the heat transfer tube.

2. The hydrothermal treatment device according to claim 1 , wherein
the stirrer unit includes a blade unit disposed so as to tilt from a horizontal plane,
the blade unit rotates about an axial direction extending in a vertical up/down direction,
the blade unit has a radial tip disposed so as to be close to an inner periphery surface of the treatment container, and
the heat transfer tube extends in a horizontal direction.

3. The hydrothermal treatment device according to claim 1 , wherein
the stirrer unit includes a plurality of blade units that rotate about an axial direction extending in a vertical up/down direction,
the plurality of blade units are disposed at equal intervals along a circumferential direction of the axial direction at positions separated by a predetermined distance in a radial direction from the axial direction about which the blade units rotate, and each of the blade units is disposed so as to tilt at a predetermined angle toward a direction of the rotation from a horizontal plane,
the heat transfer tube extends in a horizontal direction, and
the flows in the predetermined direction are counter flows including flows in the vertical up direction and the vertical down direction.

4. The hydrothermal treatment device according to claim 1 , further comprising a second supply unit that supplies water or vapor to the treatment container such that at least a part of stored matter within the treatment container keeps a predetermined water content.

5. The hydrothermal treatment device according to claim 1 , wherein
the treatment container includes an outer shell having a body part forming a side surface and a bottom surface and a ceiling part forming a vertical upper surface, and a fixing unit that fixes at least one of the heat transfer tubes to the body part,
the ceiling part is removably fixed to the body part, and
the fixing unit is removably fixed to the body part.

6. The hydrothermal treatment device according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a supply chamber that supplies the high-water-content biomass to the treatment container;
an ejection chamber from which stored matter stored within the treatment container is ejected;
a first switching means that switches between a state that the supply chamber and the treatment container are in communication and a state that the supply chamber and the treatment container are isolated; and
a second switching means that switches between a state that the ejection chamber and the treatment container are in communication and a state that the ejection chamber and the treatment container are isolated,
wherein, by keeping a temperature and a pressure within the treatment container at a predetermined temperature and pressure, the high-water-content biomass is supplied from the supply chamber to the treatment container, and the stored matter is ejected from the treatment container to the ejection chamber.

7. The hydrothermal treatment device according to claim 1 , further comprising a control unit that adjusts a speed of rotation of the stirrer unit during hydrothermal treatment within the treatment container such that a temperature difference depending on positions of the high-water-content biomass within the treatment container is within a predetermined temperature difference range.

8. A biomass fuel manufacturing plant including the hydrothermal treatment device according to claim 1 , the biomass fuel manufacturing plant comprising:
a dewaterer unit that dewaters the high-water-content biomass having undergone hydrothermal treatment in the hydrothermal treatment device;
a first separated water channel that guides separated water separated from the high-water-content biomass in the dewaterer unit to the treatment container;
a vapor ejection unit that ejects vapor occurring within the treatment container to outside of the treatment container; and
a separation treatment unit that separates impurities from the vapor ejected from the vapor ejection unit.

9. The biomass fuel manufacturing plant according to claim 8 , further comprising:
a plurality of branch pipes which are branched off from the first separated water channel,
wherein the plurality of branch pipes are in communication with different positions in the vertical up/down direction of the treatment container.

10. The biomass fuel manufacturing plant according to claim 8 , further comprising a blow off pipe that externally ejects a predetermined proportion of separated water separated in the dewaterer unit.

11. The biomass fuel manufacturing plant according to claim 8 , further comprising:
a boiler that generates vapor with heat of combustion of a charged fuel and supplies the generated vapor to the heat transfer tube; and
a first heat exchanger unit that heat-exchanges between the high-water-content biomass having undergone the hydrothermal treatment in the hydrothermal treatment device and boiler exhaust gas ejected from the boiler.

12. The biomass fuel manufacturing plant according to claim 8 , further comprising:
a digester to which the high-water-content biomass before being supplied to the treatment container is introduced;
a second separated water channel that guides the separated water separated from the high-water-content biomass in the dewaterer unit to the digester;
an internal combustion engine that drives by burning fuel gas for the internal combustion engine containing fuel gas ejected from the digester; and
a second heat exchanger unit that heat-exchanges between the high-water-content biomass having undergone the hydrothermal treatment in the hydrothermal treatment device and internal combustion engine exhaust gas ejected from the internal combustion engine.

13. The biomass fuel manufacturing plant according to claim 8 , further comprising:
a boiler that generates vapor with heat of combustion of a charged fuel and supplies the generated vapor to the heat transfer tube;
a digester to which the high-water-content biomass before being supplied to the treatment container is introduced;
a second separated water channel that guides the separated water separated from the high-water-content biomass in the dewaterer unit to the digester;
an internal combustion engine that drives by burning fuel gas for the internal combustion engine containing fuel gas ejected from the digester; and
a third heat exchanger unit that heat-exchanges between the high-water-content biomass having undergone the hydrothermal treatment in the hydrothermal treatment device and boiler exhaust gas ejected from the boiler and internal combustion engine exhaust gas ejected from the internal combustion engine.

14. The biomass fuel manufacturing plant according to claim 8 , further comprising a fourth heat exchanger unit that heat-exchanges between the high-water-content biomass having undergone the hydrotherma

Assignees

• Mitsubishi Power Ltd

Inventors

• Shimbo Yoichi
• Ozawa Yuta
• Yoshida Akito

Classifications

• B09B3/40

  involving thermal treatment, e.g. evaporation (processes using mineral binders involving a melting or softening step B09B3/29; involving radiation B09B3/50) · CPC title

• B01F35/93

  arranged inside the receptacle · CPC title

• C10L2290/24

  Mixing, stirring of fuel components · CPC title

• B01F35/80

  Forming a predetermined ratio of the substances to be mixed (controlling ratio of two or more flows of fluid or fluent material G05D11/02) · CPC title

• B01F27/90

  with paddles or arms · CPC title