Method and apparatus for preparation of fuel from biomass wherein the biomass is subjected to a heat treatment in a temperature range from 150 to 300 C, in a reactor pressurized with steam and air, wherein the pressure at completed treatment is released. The volume increase of steam and other gases from the pressure release is temporarily accumulated in a container of a flexible volume while steam and other gases are subjected to heat exchange in at least one heat exchanger so that condensable gases are condensed and release their heat of condensation in the at least one heat exchanger.

A system for preparing a coal water slurry, comprising: a first unit for providing a stream of coarse coal water slurry; a second unit for providing a stream of fine coal water slurry; a concentration unit for receiving a portion of at least one of the stream of coarse coal water slurry and the stream of fine coal water slurry, and, providing a concentrated stream having a higher coal concentration than the portion of at least one of the stream of coarse coal water slurry and the stream of fine coal water slurry; and a mixing unit for mixing the concentrated stream and the remaining portions of the stream of coarse coal water slurry and the stream of fine coal water slurry. An associated method is also presented.

A system for preparing a coal water slurry, comprising: a first unit for providing a stream of coarse coal water slurry; a second unit for providing a stream of fine coal water slurry; a concentration unit for receiving a portion of at least one of the stream of coarse coal water slurry and the stream of fine coal water slurry, and, providing a concentrated stream having a higher coal concentration than the portion of at least one of the stream of coarse coal water slurry and the stream of fine coal water slurry; and a mixing unit for mixing the concentrated stream and the remaining portions of the stream of coarse coal water slurry and the stream of fine coal water slurry. An associated method is also presented.

Systems and methods for cooling and processing materials are disclosed.

Systems and methods for cooling and processing materials are disclosed.

Briquet designs that facilitate close packing and improve burn efficiency are provided herein. Such designs can include scaled down briquet size and close packing shapes, which can include pyramidal shaped portions, such as rectangular pyramids and tetrahedron shapes, as well as oblate spheroid and hexoid shapes, to facilitate closer random packing when the briquets are randomly arranged in a pile when poured from a bag. Some briquet shapes can further include special surface features, such as flattened or rounded portions or depressions, such as dimples, that reduce volume without increasing the bulk density in order to further improve burn performance and efficiency.

A coal mixture is provided that maintains a high level of coke strength after carbonization, even where coal having an excessively large permeation distance is used in a large amount. The coal mixture includes large-permeation-distance coal and permeation-distance-decreasing coal. The permeation-distance-decreasing coal has a mean maximum vitrinite reflectance Ro of 1.25% or more and a total inert amount TI of 30 vol. % or less. The blending ratio of the permeation-distance-decreasing coal in the coal mixture is in a range derived by multiplying the blending ratio of the large-permeation-distance coal by 0.25 or more and 3.0 or less.

A coal mixture is provided that maintains a high level of coke strength after carbonization, even where coal having an excessively large permeation distance is used in a large amount. The coal mixture includes large-permeation-distance coal and permeation-distance-decreasing coal. The permeation-distance-decreasing coal has a mean maximum vitrinite reflectance Ro of 1.25% or more and a total inert amount TI of 30 vol. % or less. The blending ratio of the permeation-distance-decreasing coal in the coal mixture is in a range derived by multiplying the blending ratio of the large-permeation-distance coal by 0.25 or more and 3.0 or less.

A coal upgrade plant includes: a dryer 1 that dries coal; a pyrolyzer 3 that pyrolyzes the coal dried by the dryer 1; a quencher 5 that cools the coal pyrolyzed by the pyrolyzer 3; a finisher 7 that deactivates the coal cooled by the quencher 5; and cyclones 28 and 94 that collect pulverized coal generated from the coal, wherein the pulverized coal collected by the cyclones 28 and 94 is fed to an absorber fed to a scrubber 32 that treats a flue gas. Thus, the mercury generated from the coal upgrade plant can be removed.

Disclosed are methods of producing calcined coke from bio-oil from a biomass feedstock. Also disclosed are calcined cokes produced by such methods.