A feedstock delivery system transfers a carbonaceous material, such as municipal solid waste, into a product gas generation system. The feedstock delivery system includes a splitter for splitting bulk carbonaceous material into a plurality of carbonaceous material streams. Each stream is processed using a weighing system for gauging the quantity of carbonaceous material, a densification system for forming plugs of carbonaceous material, a de-densification system for breaking up the plugs of carbonaceous material, and a gas and carbonaceous material mixing system for forming a carbonaceous material and gas mixture. A pressure of the mixing gas is reduced prior to mixing with the carbonaceous material, and the carbonaceous material to gas weight ratio is monitored. A transport assembly conveys the carbonaceous material and gas mixture to a first reactor where at least the carbonaceous material within the mixture is subject to thermochemical reactions to form the product gas.

Increasing of the heating value of combustible biomass through hemicellulose extraction and subsequent press-drying is described. After hemicellulose extraction the remaining biomass is soft and easily press-dried to high dry content of up to 80%. The method involves the removal of most water binding hemicelluloses and retaining most of the lignin in the biomass. Lignin can either be retained in the biomass during the extraction or combining the lignin, which has been separated from the hemicellulose extract, with the extracted biomass.

The invention provides a method for generating a solid wood-based material and a hemicellulose-derived material from a wood raw material, said method comprising; i) treating the wood raw material under aqueous conditions at elevated temperature and pressure whereby to generate a hemicellulose-containing fluid component and a solid component; ii) separating said fluid component from said solid component; iii) processing at least a part of said solid component into a solid wood-based material; and iv) processing said liquid component into a hemicellulose-derived material. The invention also provides for a wood-derived fuel with a low ash content.

A process of making a fuel product from a non-combustible high protein organic material such as a biological by-product or waste material. The moisture content of the high protein organic material is mechanically reduced and dried to reduce the moisture content to less than ten percent (10%). The high protein organic material is pulverized to a particle size of less than about 2 mm. The high protein organic waste material is fed into a combustion chamber and separated during combustion such as by spraying of the high protein organic waste material within the combustion chamber. Temperature and nitrogenous hydrocarbon combustion reactions within the combustion chamber are also controlled by injection of steam within the combustion chamber.

A feedstock delivery system transfers a carbonaceous material, such as municipal solid waste, into a product gas generation system. The feedstock delivery system includes a splitter for splitting bulk carbonaceous material into a plurality of carbonaceous material streams. Each stream is processed using a weighing system for gauging the quantity of carbonaceous material, a densification system for forming plugs of carbonaceous material, a de-densification system for breaking up the plugs of carbonaceous material, and a gas and carbonaceous material mixing system for forming a carbonaceous material and gas mixture. A pressure of the mixing gas is reduced prior to mixing with the carbonaceous material, and the carbonaceous material to gas weight ratio is monitored. A transport assembly conveys the carbonaceous material and gas mixture to a first reactor where at least the carbonaceous material within the mixture is subject to thermochemical reactions to form the product gas.

Biomass based fuel configured to reduce chemical and/or mechanical effects of flue gas on heat transfer surfaces. The biomass based fuel comprises steam-exploded biomass and some combustion additive. The combustion additive is selected from a group of additives that are capable of reducing chemical and/or mechanical effects of flue gas on heat transfer surfaces. The combustion additive may comprise fouling-reducing additive and/or an additive reducing corrosion potential. In addition, a method for manufacturing biomass based fuel configured to reduce chemical and/or mechanical effects of flue gas on heat transfer surfaces. The method comprises providing biomass and steam into a reactor; maintaining said biomass and said steam simultaneously in the reactor, in a pressure of at least 10 bar(a) and at a temperature from 180 C. to 250 C. for at least 2 minutes; and decreasing the pressure in the reactor and/or conveying biomass out of the reactor such that the pressure of the environment of the biomass decreases below 5 bar(a), to produce steam-exploded biomass. The method further comprises adding some combustion additive to the biomass and/or the steam-exploded biomass.

During hydrothermal carbonization, biomass is converted to biocoal. The reaction yield depends on the reaction conditions, including duration of the carbonization reaction or time period within which the slurry composed of water and biomass remains in the reaction tank and is exposed to pressure and temperature. These conditions should be selected so that the greatest possible dry residue of carbonized material remains in the slurry. It has been shown that the dry residue amount changes during the carbonization reaction with a curve that is similar, to a great extent, to that of the slurry pH value. Because determining the dry residue is difficult during the ongoing reaction, but determining the pH value can be easy during the entire reaction period, the reaction is terminated at a maximum of the pH value corresponding to a maximum of the biocoal dry residue, to the greatest possible extent.

There is provided a method of treatment of sludge, such as municipal or industrial sludge from a wastewater treatment plant, comprising the steps of: preheating an incoming sludge with at least one steam fraction, preferably by direct steam injection, to obtain a preheated sludge; further heating the preheated sludge with a high-temperature steam fraction, preferably by direct steam injection, to obtain a heated sludge; hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) of the heated sludge to obtain a HTC-treated sludge; separating a particle-lean fraction from the HTC-treated sludge; wet oxidation of the particle-lean fraction to obtain a heated particle-lean fraction; subjecting the heated particle-lean fraction to a first flashing to obtain the high-temperature steam fraction used in the further heating step; separating a particle-rich fraction from the HTC-treated sludge; subjecting the particle-rich fraction to flashing to obtain at least one steam fraction that is used in the preheating step and a cooled particle-rich fraction.

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for producing a product by hydrolyzing a raw material containing vegetable waste comprising, a hydrolysis treatment step of subjecting the raw material to a hydrolysis treatment with steam by a hydrolysis treatment apparatus, a washing step of washing the hydrolyzed raw material with a washing liquid by a cleaning apparatus, and a solid-liquid separation step of separating the washed raw material into a solid component and a liquid component by a solid-liquid separation apparatus, wherein at least one of the solid content or the liquid con-tent is used as the product.

Systems and methods for rendering cannabis-related waste materials are provided. The method includes obtaining a plurality of cannabis-related waste materials, preparing a blend comprising a predetermined amount of each of the plurality of cannabis-related waste materials, pulverizing the blend such that the blend is unrecognizable and unusable, heating the blend to at least 150 degrees Fahrenheit for an amount of time sufficient to sterilize and denature the blend, removing evaporated liquid from the heated blend, and cooling the heated blend to form a refuse-derived fuel material.