ARRANGEMENT AND SYSTEM FOR FEEDING BIOMASS MATERIAL TO A TREATMENT PROCESS

Abstract

A feeding arrangement for feeding lignocellulosic biomass material such as annual plant material towards a hydrolysis process includes at least one transportation device for transporting the biomass material towards the treatment process; and at least one tearing roll arranged at a predetermined distance from the at least one transportation device and being provided with tearing protrusion. The at least one tearing roll is arranged with a predetermined distance to the at least one transportation device to tear off parts of the transported material to provide a substantially continuous flow of material.

Claims

1-12. (canceled)

13. A feeding arrangement for feeding lignocellulosic biomass material towards a hydrolysis or pre-hydrolysis process, the feeding arrangement comprising: at least one transportation device for transporting the biomass material towards the hydrolysis or pre-hydrolysis process; at least one tearing roll arranged at a predetermined distance from the at least one transportation device and being provided with tearing protrusions, the at least one tearing roll being arranged with a predetermined distance to the at least one transportation device to tear off parts of the transported material; and a housing provided with an upper inlet opening for receiving the biomass material and a lower outlet opening for discharging the biomass material, wherein the at least one transportation device includes a first and a second revolving drum arranged in the housing, the first drum revolving in a first rotational direction and the second drum revolving in a second rotational direction for transporting the biomass material, wherein the first and second drum is provided with protrusions and wherein the first and second drum are arranged to co-rotate with respect to each other, wherein the at least one tearing roll is arranged in the housing below the first and second drum seen in a feeding direction of the biomass material, wherein the at least one tearing roll is arranged to tear off parts of the material transported by the first and second drum in order to transport the material to the outlet opening, and wherein a radius of the tearing roll is smaller than the radius of the first drum and the radius of the second drum.

14. The feeding arrangement according to claim 13, wherein a speed of the transportation device is controlled by a first motor having a variable speed, wherein a rotation of the at least one tearing roll is controlled by a second motor having a variable speed and wherein the speed of the at least one tearing roll is variable independently of the speed of the transportation device.

15. The feeding arrangement according to claim 13, wherein the tearing roll is arranged above the outlet opening of the housing and below a nip between the first drum and the second drum.

16. The feeding arrangement according to claim 13, wherein a rotational speed of the first and second revolving drum is controlled by a first motor having a variable speed, wherein a rotation of the tearing roll is controlled by a second motor having a variable speed and wherein the speed of the tearing roll is variable independently of the rotational speed of the first and second drum.

17. The feeding arrangement according to claim 13, wherein the tearing roll is arranged such that an outer part of the tearing roll is located a first predetermined distance from an outer surface of the first drum and at a second predetermined distance from an outer surface of the second drum.

18. The feeding arrangement according to claim 17, wherein the first predetermined distance is equal to or lower than a radius of the first drum and the second predetermined distance is equal to or lower than a radius of the second drum.

19. The feeding arrangement according to claim 13, wherein the tearing protrusions of the tearing roll are cutting elements.

20. A feeding system for feeding lignocellulosic biomass material towards a hydrolysis or pre-hydrolysis process comprising: a feeding arrangement comprising at least one transportation device for transporting the biomass material towards the hydrolysis or pre-hydrolysis process and at least one tearing roll arranged in connection to the at least one transportation device and being provided with tearing protrusions, wherein the at least one tearing roll is arranged with a predetermined distance to the at least one transportation device to tear off parts of the transported material, said feeding arrangement further comprising a housing provided with an upper inlet opening for receiving the biomass material and a lower outlet opening for discharging the biomass material, wherein the at least one transportation device includes a first and a second revolving drum arranged in the housing, the first drum revolving in a first rotational direction and the second drum revolving in a second rotational direction for transporting the biomass material, wherein the first and second drum is provided with protrusions and wherein the first and second drum are arranged to co-rotate with respect to each other, and wherein the at least one tearing roll is arranged in the housing below the first and second drum seen in a feeding direction of the biomass material, wherein the at least one tearing roll is arranged to tear off parts of the material transported by the first and second drum in order to transport the material to the outlet opening; and a force-feeding screw coupled to the feeding arrangement to receive biomass material discharged from the outlet opening of the feeding arrangement, wherein the force-feeding screw is arranged to transport the biomass material towards the hydrolysis or pre-hydrolysis process.

21. The feeding system according to claim 20, wherein the force-feeding screw is a plug screw feeder arranged to transport the biomass material to the hydrolysis or pre-hydrolysis process.

22. The feeding system according to claim 21, further comprising a plug screw feeder arranged to receive biomass material from the force-feeding screw, wherein the plug screw feeder is arranged to transport the biomass material to the hydrolysis or pre-hydrolysis process.

23. The feeding system according to claim 21, further comprising a reactor for hydrolysis of the lignocellulosic biomass material coupled the plug screw feeder to receive the biomass material.

24. The feeding system according to claim 20, wherein a radius of the tearing roll is smaller than the radius of the first drum and the radius of the second drum.

25. The feeding arrangement according to claim 14, wherein the tearing roll is arranged above the outlet opening of the housing and below a nip between the first drum and the second drum.

26. The feeding system according to claim 22, further comprising a reactor for hydrolysis of the lignocellulosic biomass material coupled the plug screw feeder to receive the biomass material.

27. The feeding arrangement according to claim 17, wherein the first predetermined distance is equal to or lower than half a radius of the first drum and the second predetermined distance is equal to or lower than half a radius of the second drum.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] The present invention will now be described, for exemplary purposes, in more detail by way of embodiments and with reference to the enclosed drawings, in which:

[0031] FIG. 1 is a schematic partial side view of a feeding arrangement in which the present invention can be arranged;

[0032] FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of an embodiment of a feeding arrangement according to the present invention;

[0033] FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of an embodiment of a feeding system according to the present invention;

[0034] FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of another embodiment of a feeding arrangement according to the present invention;

[0035] FIG. 5 is a schematic side view of a further embodiment of a feeding arrangement according to the present invention;

[0036] FIG. 6 is a schematic detailed view of the tearing roll and the revolving drums;

[0037] FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a further embodiment of a tearing roll in accordance with the present invention;

[0038] FIG. 8a is a schematic view of another embodiment of a tearing roll in accordance with the present invention;

[0039] FIG. 8b is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment of the tearing roll shown in FIG. 8a.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0040] In the drawings, similar or corresponding elements are denoted by the same reference numbers.

[0041] For the purpose of this disclosure, the term longitudinal refers to the direction along which a body, part or element has its greatest extension. Further, when the term longitudinal is used in connection with the axes of screws, the longitudinal axis corresponds to the rotational axis of the screw.

[0042] With reference first to FIG. 1, a feeding arrangement in which the present invention can be arranged or implemented will be discussed. The pin drum feeder 10 comprises a housing 12 with an upper inlet opening 14 for receiving the material and a lower outlet opening 15 for discharging the material to the plug screw feeder 17. Revolving drums 18 are provided in the housing 12 to control the transport and flow rate of the material through the housing. After the material has passed the revolving drums, the material falls through the lower outlet opening to the plug screw feeder. The material is fed to the pin drum feeder from a vertical feeding chute or similar unit connected to the upper inlet opening of the housing 12. An effective and smooth flow of material into the pin drum feeder requires that this vertical feeding pipe is completely filled with material during operation. Hence, when the feeding pipe is completely filled with material, the flow into the pin drum feeder will be smooth and continuous. The revolving drums operate to feed the material through the housing towards the outlet opening in a controlled manner.

[0043] FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional side view illustrating an example feeding arrangement according to an exemplifying embodiment of the present invention. The feeding arrangement 20 for feeding lignocellulosic biomass material such as annual plant material to a treatment process, e.g. a pre-hydrolysis process, comprises a housing 21 provided with an upper inlet opening 22 for receiving the biomass material and a lower outlet opening 23 for discharging the biomass material. The biomass material is fed to the inlet opening 22 via a feeding chute (not shown) or similar construction. The feeding pipe may be vertically arranged allowing the material to fall into the feeding arrangement 20 through the inlet opening 22. Preferably, the feeding pipe is completely filled with material thereby delivering a smooth and continuous flow of material into the feeding arrangement 20.

[0044] A first and a second revolving drum 24, 25 are arranged in the housing 21. The first drum 24 is arranged to revolve or rotate in a first rotational direction R.sub.1 and the second drum 25 is arranged to revolve or rotate in a second rotational direction R.sub.2. The first drum 24 and the second drum 25 are arranged to co-rotate with respect to each other and thereby, by rotation of the first and second drum 24, 25, transport the biomass material through the housing 21 towards the outlet opening 23 (in FIG. 2 in a downward direction). In embodiments of the present invention, a rotational speed of the first and second revolving drum 24, 25 is controlled by a motor 26 having a variable speed. Preferably, a rotational speed of the first and second drum 24, 25 is controlled using the motor 26.

[0045] At least one tearing roll 27 is arranged at a predetermined distance d1 and d2, respectively, from the first and second revolving drum 24, 25. The tearing roll 27 is provided with tearing protrusions 70 and is arranged with a predetermined distance to the at least one transportation device to tear off parts of the transported material to provide a substantially continuous flow rate of material.

[0046] As can be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the radius of the tearing roll 27 is smaller than the radius of the first drum 24 and the radius of the second drum 25. According to embodiments of the present invention, the tearing roll 27 is arranged such that an outer part of a tearing protrusion 70 (see FIG. 6) is at a first closest predetermined distance d1 from an outer surface 74 (see FIG. 6) of the first drum 24 and at a second predetermined distance d2 from an outer surface 75 of the second drum 25. The protruding pins 66 are according to embodiments provided on the outer surfaces 74, 75.

[0047] In embodiments, the first distance d1 and second distance d2 are equal to or lower than a radius RA1 and RA2 of the first and second drum, respectively, i.e. d1, d2 RA1=RA2, and, preferably equal to or lower than half the radius RA1 and RA2 of the first and second drum, respectively, i.e. d1, d2≦0.5×RA1=RA2. Further, a minimum distance between a tip of a pin 66 and the outer part 70 of the tearing roll 27 is preferably 1 cm.

[0048] As can be seen in FIG. 6, the radius RA3 of the tearing roll 27 is smaller than the radius RA1 of the first drum 24 and the radius RA2 of the second drum 25.

[0049] As can be seen in FIG. 6, the tearing roll 27 is provided with cutting elements 70 shaped as protruding knifes. Other conceivable cutting elements are shaped as cutting discs 79 arranged on the tearing roll 77 shown in FIG. 7. A tearing roll with cutting elements is efficient for cutting, for example, annual plants. Such a tearing roll can also be operated at a higher speed.

[0050] According to embodiments of the present invention, a rotational speed of the tearing roll 27 is controlled by a motor 28 having a variable speed.

[0051] In embodiments of the present invention, the rotational speed of the tearing roll 27 can be varied independently of a rotational speed of the first and second drum 24, 25.

[0052] In embodiments of the present invention, the feeding arrangement 20 is arranged to feed material to a plug screw feeder 30 in a feeding system 50, see FIG. 3. The plug screw feeder 30 and the feeding arrangement 20 are preferably arranged perpendicular to each other, i.e. the rotational axis of the plug screw is perpendicular to a feeding direction of the feeding arrangement 20.

[0053] The plug screw feeder 30 is arranged to rotate at a variable speed, wherein the speed of the plug screw feeder operates independently of the drums 24, 25 and the tearing roll 27.

[0054] In embodiments of the present invention, the feeding arrangement 20 is a so called pin drum feeder. The drums 24, 25 are provided with protruding pins 29, for example cylindrical pins, for transporting the material in a controlled manner. The pin drum feeder is considered to be the “gas pedal” of the system, controlling the production capacity. The pin drum feeder ensures that an adequate amount of material is supplied to the plug screw feeder.

[0055] With reference to FIG. 3, a feeding system according to the present invention will be described. The system 50 comprises a feeding arrangement 20 as described above with reference to FIG. 2.

[0056] An outlet opening 23 of the feeding arrangement 20 is coupled to a force-feeding screw 50, in this embodiment a plug-screw feeder, to feed biomass material to the plug-screw feeder 30. The plug-screw feeder 30 transports the material to the treatment process by the rotation of the plug screw 32. The plug screw 32 is arranged in an elongated and cylindrical housing 31.

[0057] In this embodiment of the present invention, the feeding arrangement is a pin drum feeder 20. The pin drum feeder is arranged to provide a predetermined rate of material flow, i.e. the production flow, which is achieved by co-operation between the first and second drum 24, 25 and the grinding or tearing roll 27. The rotational speed of the plug screw 32 is then set in relation to the predetermined rate of material flow in order to achieve a predetermined density increase of the material in the plug screw feeder 30. If the production flow is increased, the rotational speed of the plug screw 32 has to be increased to maintain the same density in the plug screw feeder 30. If the rotational speed of the plug screw 32 is maintained while the production flow increases, the density will increase. By increasing the material density in the plug screw feeder an essentially gas- and fluid-tight plug flow of the annular material is created through the plug screw feeder 30.

[0058] As discussed above, the drums 24, 25 are provided with protruding pins 66, for example cylindrical pins, for transporting the material in a controlled manner. The pin drum feeder is considered to be the “gas pedal” of the system, controlling the production capacity. The pin drum feeder ensures that an adequate amount of material is supplied to the plug screw feeder.

[0059] According to embodiments of the present invention, a rotational speed of the tearing roll 27 is controlled by a motor 28 having a variable speed.

[0060] In embodiments of the present invention, the rotational speed of the tearing roll 27 can be varied independently of a rotational speed of the first and second drum 24, 25.

[0061] With reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 further embodiments of the present invention will be described. The feeding arrangement 40 for feeding biomass material to a treatment process, e.g. a pre-hydrolysis process, comprises a transportation belt or conveyer belt 41 having a receiving end 42 for receiving the biomass material and a discharge end 43 for discharging the biomass material. The conveyer belt 41 is controlled by a motor 46 having a variable speed to provide a smooth and continuous flow of material. In embodiments of the present invention, the feeding arrangement 40 is arranged to feed material to a plug screw feeder 61 in a feeding system 60 arranged downstream the conveyer belt 41, see FIGS. 4 and 5. The plug screw feeder 61 and the feeding arrangement 40 may be arranged perpendicular to each other, i.e. the rotational axis of the plug screw 61 is perpendicular to a feeding direction F of the feeding arrangement 40. The plug screw feeder 61 is arranged to rotate at a variable speed, wherein the speed of the plug screw feeder operates independently of the conveyer belt 41.

[0062] In an embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 4, a grinding or tearing roll 47 is arranged at the discharge end 43 of the conveyer belt 41 to tear off parts of biomass material being discharged from the conveyer belt 41. The tearing roll 47 is controlled by a motor 48 having a variable speed, wherein a rotation of the tearing roll 47 is variable independently of the conveying speed of the conveyer belt 41.

[0063] In embodiments of the present invention, an outer part of the tearing roll 47 is arranged at predetermined distance d3 from the discharge end 43 of the conveyer belt 41. In embodiments, the distance d3 is within a range relative the thickness or height of the layer or mat of biomass material transported on the conveyor belt 41. In embodiments, the range is between 0.5× the height of the layer (e.g. an average thickness of the layer) of the transported material and 1.5× the height of the layer (e.g. an average thickness of the layer) transported material, or at least 50 mm.

[0064] In another embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 5, a first tearing roll 47a is arranged at the discharge end 42 of the conveyer belt 41 to tear off parts of biomass material being discharged from the conveyer belt 41 to achieve a smooth stream of material. A second tearing roll 47b is arranged above a transportation side of the conveyer belt 41 to provide an even distribution of the biomass material on the conveyer belt 41.

[0065] The tearing rolls 47a and 47b are controlled by a motor 48 having a variable speed, wherein a rotation of the tearing 48 is variable independently of the conveying speed of the conveyer belt 41.

[0066] In embodiments of the present invention, the first tearing roll 47a is arranged at a first predetermined distance d3 from the discharge end 43 of the conveyer belt 41. In embodiments, the distance d3 is within a range relative the thickness or height of the layer or mat of biomass material transported on the conveyor belt 41. In embodiments, the range is between 0.5× the height of the layer (e.g. an average thickness of the layer) of the transported material−1.5× the height of the layer (e.g. an average thickness of the layer) transported material, or at least 50 mm.

[0067] The second tearing roll 47b is arranged at a second predetermined distance d4 from the conveyer belt 41 within a range relative the thickness or height of the layer or mat of biomass material transported on the conveyor belt 41. In embodiments, the range is between 0.5× the height of the layer (e.g. an average thickness of the layer) of the transported material−1.5× the height of the layer (e.g. an average thickness of the layer) transported material, or at least 50 mm.

[0068] The tearing rolls 47a, 47b may be designed as the tearing roll illustrated in FIG. 6 and as can be seen in FIG. 6, the tearing roll 27 is provided with cutting elements shaped as protruding knifes. Other conceivable cutting elements are shaped as cutting discs 79 as shown in FIG. 7.

[0069] With reference to FIGS. 8a and 8b, another embodiment of a tearing roll according to the present invention will be discussed. The tearing roll 87 is provided with protruding pins or spikes 89.

[0070] The invention shall not be considered limited to the embodiments illustrated, but can be modified and altered in many ways by one skilled in the art, without departing from the scope of the appended claims.