The present invention is directed to a method of producing a solid fuel which includes providing a bio-oil and thermally curing the bio-oil to form a carbonaceous solid. The present invention is also directed to a method of producing a solid fuel which includes providing a bio-oil; subjecting the bio-oil to an extraction procedure with an aqueous liquid to produce a concentrated pyrolytic sugar-containing extract and a water insoluble raffinate comprising a lignin-derived phenolic oil; and thermally curing the phenolic oil to form a carbonaceous solid.

A process for the production of charcoal comprising the steps of: a) feeding biomass, in particular wood chips, into a pyrolysis unit, in which the wood chips are pyrolyzed into a full stream comprising solid, liquid and gaseous material, b) feeding the full stream and a gasifying agent into an oxidation unit, wherein the full stream is oxidized at least partially and transported pneumatically, c) feeding the partially oxidized full stream from the oxidation unit into a reduction unit arranged essentially vertically, the material outlet of the oxidation unit being connected to the reduction unit, with the cross-section of the reduction unit increasing as the distance from the material outlet of the oxidation unit increases, the flow rate of the full stream in the reduction unit being adapted to the material of the full stream and to the shape of the flow cross-section of the reduction unit in such a way that a stable fixed bed kept in suspension is formed in the reduction unit, d) removing the raw charcoal from the reduction unit via an overflow, e) separating gaseous components in a hot gas filter and collecting the charcoal, and f) quenching the collected charcoal with water.

A liquid fuel derived from processed biomass having extremely low water content and suitable for use in diesel engines or as an additive to petroleum based fuels, or which can be used as a petroleum or coal slurry substitute in those uses where a lower cost fuel have reduced emission is desired, is described.

The present techniques are directed to a system and method for generating power and recovering methane from methane hydrates. The system includes a low emissions power plant configured to generate power, wherein an exhaust gas from the low emissions power plant provides a gas mixture including nitrogen and carbon dioxide. The system also includes a methane recovery system configured to recover methane from methane hydrates by injecting the nitrogen and the carbon dioxide from the gas mixture into the methane hydrates.

In some variations, the invention provides a biocarbon pellet comprising: 35 wt % to 99 wt % of a biogenic reagent, wherein the biogenic reagent comprises, on a dry basis, at least 60 wt % carbon; 0 wt % to 35 wt % water moisture; and 1 wt % to 30 wt % of a binder, wherein the biocarbon pellet is characterized by an adjustable Hardgrove Grindability Index (HGI) from about 30 to about 120, as shown in the Examples. The pellet HGI is adjustable by controlling process conditions and the pellet binder. The binder can be an organic binder or an inorganic binder. The carbon is renewable as determined from a measurement of the .sup.14C/.sup.12C isotopic ratio. Many processes of making and using the biocarbon pellets are described. Applications of the biocarbon pellets include pulverized coal boilers, furnaces for making metals such as iron or silicon, and gasifiers for producing reducing gas.

Described herein is a method for isolating high carbon chipped wood charcoal fuel suitable for grilling food. According to one aspect, the method involves removing pyrolyzed wood charcoal from a kiln wherein the pyrolyzed wood charcoal comprises lumps, chips, smaller pieces, and dust particles. The pyrolyzed wood charcoal is passed over a first sieve that is configured to separate the lumps from the chips, smaller pieces and dust particles. The chips, smaller pieces and dust particles are then passed over a second sieve that is configured to separate the chips from the smaller pieces and dust particles. The resulting chipped wood charcoal is consistently sized to be small enough to pass through a food supporting grill grate and supportable by an underlying grid support, thereby allowing refueling while grilling without interruption.

This invention provides processes and systems for converting biomass into high-carbon biogenic reagents that are suitable for a variety of commercial applications. Some embodiments employ pyrolysis in the presence of an inert gas to generate hot pyrolyzed solids, condensable vapors, and non-condensable gases, followed by separation of vapors and gases, and cooling of the hot pyrolyzed solids in the presence of the inert gas. Additives may be introduced during processing or combined with the reagent, or both. The biogenic reagent may include at least 70 wt %, 80 wt %, 90 wt %, 95 wt %, or more total carbon on a dry basis. The biogenic reagent may have an energy content of at least 12,000 Btu/lb, 13,000 Btu/lb, 14,000 Btu/lb, or 14,500 Btu/lb on a dry basis. The biogenic reagent may be formed into fine powders, or structural objects. The structural objects may have a structure and/or strength that derive from the feedstock, heat rate, and additives.

A biomass solid fuel with reduced self-heating. An apparatus for manufacturing a biomass solid fuel including a carbonization furnace for carbonizing a biomass molded block to obtain a biomass solid fuel; a yield calculator for calculating a yield of the biomass solid fuel and/or a temperature detector for measuring a temperature of the carbonization furnace; and a controller for controlling a heat source of the carbonization furnace; in which the controller controls the heat source based on a correlation between (i) a self-heating property of the biomass solid fuel and (ii) the yield and/or the temperature of the carbonization furnace.

The present disclosure relates to methods and systems for treating a fluid produced from a biorefinery to remove contaminants, such as metals and sulfur therefrom. Biomass is pyrolysed and activated to form activated carbon used to remove such contaminants. The fluid produced from the biorefinery may be one or more of a biofuel, a biogas, and wastewater.

A continuous reactor device for treatment of biomass includes a biomass feed for introduction of the biomass or the feedstock to a reactor portion of the continuous reactor device. The reactor portion includes a compartment, a transport device for transportation of the biomass through the reactor portion, and a heating device for precise temperature-adjustment in the compartment in the reactor portion, is proposed.