Method and device for fuel and power generation by clean combustion of organic waste material

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9664382-B2
Application number	US-201113991086-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 5, 2011
Priority date	Dec 3, 2010
Publication date	May 30, 2017
Grant date	May 30, 2017

Abstract

Disclosed herein are systems and methods for the conversion of solid organic waste material, such as waste plastics, into fuel for the generation of heat and power. In addition, embodiments of the systems and methods disclosed herein relate to converting solid organic waste material into a gasified material for mixing with an oxidizing gas to allow for clean combustion of the fuel, thereby minimizing emissions of pollutants.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of generating power from solid organic waste material, the method comprising:
a) heating the solid organic waste material to form a liquid;
b) pyrolyzing the liquid to obtain one or more gaseous decomposition products;
c) mixing the one or more gaseous decomposition products with an oxidizing gas to form a mixture;
d) burning and igniting the mixture to produce thermal energy;
e) supplying a fraction of the thermal energy as process heat to perform a) and b); and
f) supplying a fraction of the thermal energy to a heat engine that converts the thermal energy into power.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein pyrolyzing the liquid is performed in an inert atmosphere.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the thermal energy is produced by a pre-mixed fuel lean flame.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the fuel-air equivalence ratio is less than 1.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the solid organic waste material is selected from the group of common post-consumer polymers, polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the oxidizing gas is oxygen.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein a) through d) are each performed in separate chambers.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the chambers are positioned in a vertical alignment.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the chamber for performing a) is positioned above the chamber for performing b), the chamber for performing b) is positioned above the chamber for performing c), and the chamber for performing c) is positioned above the chamber for performing d).

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising pressurizing the interior of the chamber for performing a) to a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the chamber for performing a) is pressurized with an inert gas.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the pressure in the chamber for performing a) is higher than the pressure in the chamber for performing b), the pressure in the chamber for performing b) is higher than the pressure in the chamber for performing c), and the pressure in the chamber for performing c) is higher than the pressure in the chamber for performing d).

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the heat engine is a turbine.

Assignees

• Flanagan Christopher
• Craver Anna
• Lynn Brittne Rose
• Riley Mason
• Dixon Katherine
• Zhuo Chuanwei
• Levendis Yiannis
• Univ Northeastern

Inventors

• Flanagan Christopher
• Craver Anna
• Lynn Brittne Rose
• Riley Mason
• Dixon Katherine
• Zhuo Chuanwei
• Levendis Yiannis

Classifications

• F23G5/46

  Recuperation of heat · CPC title

• F23G7/12

  of plastics, e.g. rubber · CPC title

• C10G1/02

  by distillation · CPC title

• Y02P30/20

  using bio-feedstock · CPC title

• C10G2300/1003

  Waste materials · CPC title