A device includes a rotary drum and a fluid conduit. The rotary drum has a horizontal rotation axis and the drum has a sealed inlet end and a sealed outlet end. The drum is configured to receive biomass proximate the inlet end and has a discharge port proximate an outlet end. The fluid conduit is disposed along an inner surface of the drum. The fluid conduit is configured to carry heated fluid and has a coupling external to the drum.

A bio-product such as biochar, bio-coal, bio-oil, coke, and/or activated carbon material is formed by processing a starting biomass material comprising water-laden material. The starting biomass material is heated to below or above an autoignition temperature through a rotary compression unit (RCU) by generating steam through releasing unbound and bound waters in the biomass thus forming a bio-product. The biomass material being processed may be, without limitation, a woody or non-woody biomass material, such as cellulosic material and/or grain. The process can also form bio-oil from pyrolysis vapors which can be processed to other bio-products.

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.

A process for increasing the energy density of a biomass, which includes establishing a temperature and pressure within a reaction chamber that includes water and is at or above a desired reaction condition wherein the desired reaction condition is sufficient to increase the energy density of a reacted biomass; introducing a biomass into the reaction chamber such that the desired reaction condition is maintained or equilibrates thereto; and subjecting the biomass to the desired reaction condition for an amount of time effective to increase the energy density of the reacted biomass relative to the biomass prior to reaction.

A conventional agricultural cuber machine was modified to transform fibrous, low density cellulosic biomass into a mechanically stable form suitable for use as a feed stock to a bulk flow torrefier process without requiring the addition of a binder or other such adjuvant. Certain disclosed embodiments of the product concern a compact cube or thin puck of raw cellulosic biomass having a density of from 4 to 15 times the bulk density of the shredded raw biomass or from 20 to 32 lb/cu ft. The moisture content is below 10%, typically 3-8%. The strength of the product as measured by dropping the product onto a hard surface from a height of 3 ft. will not produce more than 10% breakage. The products of the present invention can be produced having any desirable dimensions, such as substantially square-, rectangular- or parallelogram-shaped product having at least one dimension of from about 5 to about 30 millimeters, which corresponds to the dimension of the die 2 in FIG. 2. The length of each extrudate is determined by the angle of the deflector plate 1 in FIG. 2.

A process for the thermal-chemical modification treatment of wood is described, in which such a modification is obtained through multiple chemical reactions of the substances comprising the wood structure generated by exposing the wood to temperatures at which the pyrolysis phenomenon begins, i.e., in the range of 180 C.-240 C., in a vacuum autoclave-cell while always maintaining the internal pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure, in a range of values of 70-350 mBar of absolute pressure, consisting in the steps of pre-heating, actual heat treatment, and cooling of a wood mass.

A method for providing raw material for an industrial process, in particular for steel production, the method including torrefying a torrefaction material, which contains biomass, in a reactor by thermochemically treating the torrefaction material at 200? C. to 600? C., to obtain bio coal, extracting the bio coal from the reactor at a first temperature of up to 600? C., providing bulk materials at a second temperature between 0? C. and 100? C., mixing bio coal with bulk material, thereby cooling down the bio coal with the bulk material and obtaining a mixture of bulk material and bio coal at a third temperature, below the self-ignition temperature of the mixture, and using the mixture to provide the raw material for the industrial process.

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 process for converting waste fibers to solid fuel is provided, including providing a supply of animal waste including the waste fibers in a predetermined quantity; washing the supply of animal waste for a predetermined washing period; dewatering the supply of animal waste by separating water from the waste fibers for a predetermined dewatering period; shedding the waste fibers for separating liquids from solids; compressing the dewatered and shed waste fibers to generate a plurality of briquettes; torrefying at least one of the plurality of briquettes in a torrefaction reactor using a heat source at a predetermined torrefying temperature for a predetermined torrefying period; removing the at least one of the plurality of briquettes from the reactor; and cooling the torrefaction reactor to reach a predetermined cooling temperature.

A compact, transportable batch-process supertorrefaction system includes at least one supertorrefying unit, a liquid tank containing molten salt, and a wash tank including a plurality of basins containing water having different temperatures and different salinity. The liquid tank and the wash tank sequentially supply the molten salt and the water to a receiving space of the at least one supertorrefying unit to supertorrefy the biomass into charcoal and to rinse and cool the charcoal, respectively. The plurality of basins of the wash tank sequentially supply water having different temperatures and salinity to the same receiving space to gradually rinse and cool the charcoal. The biomass is not moved in the at least one supertorrfeying unit during biomass supertorrefaction. The charcoal is not moved during charcoal cooling.