This invention relates to an integrated process of generating diverse types of energy using different types of wastes.
Presently, the energy crisis is well-known to be caused by the lack of energy resources, such as petroleum oil, due to the decrease in production and increase in consumption. Additionally, the environmental impact of oil, gas and coal combustion causes a crisis known as the greenhouse effect. The usual methods of waste disposal including sewage, household and agricultural waste disposal intensifies this environmental catastrophe.
It is noteworthy that electricity is generated using thermal devices without hot exhausts estimated at 30% of the thermal content of the used fuel. Accordingly, these devices, such as diesel motors and gas turbines can play a significant role in overcoming the energy and environmental crisis.
Waste, also known as “biomass”, can also be classified into two types. The first type is recyclable waste such as paper, plastic material and metal that are reprocessed to produce useful products. The second type of waste is called unacceptable waste, such as sewage, food residues and agricultural wastes and is divided into volatile and nonvolatile substances and ashes.
This type of biomass can be used as a source of energy using one or more of the three following methods: 1. anaerobic digestion, 2. thermal conversion to gases and 3. thermochemical conversion. As such, any of the abovementioned methods can be either endothermic (such as anaerobic digestion and thermochemical conversion) or exothermic (such as thermal conversion to gases). In commonly known devices these methods can be used separately without any linkage among them or any linkage to power generation devices.
However, there is a serious lack of integration between biomass conversion devices and power generation devices. In addition, there is a lack of knowledge and technology in the field of thermochemical conversion of agricultural waste. This is true in the field of purification of different products such as synthetic gases (syngas) and hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), which has not been resolved until the present invention.
The present invention uses the exhausts or outputs of devices to feed one or a plurality of the other devices while purifying HMF and syngas with natural and inexpensive materials. One aspect of the invention utilizes an electrical power generator with a diesel motor, gas turbine or steam cycle as a primary generator with hot gases as exhausts. Another aspect of the invention is an anaerobic digester for producing biogas with a carbon-rich material as an exhaust of the endothermic process. Yet another aspect of the invention is a system for converting biomass to gases for production of syngas, biodiesel, tar, charcoal and ashes with heat as an exhaust of the exothermic process. The final aspect of the invention is a thermochemical converter for producing HMF with non-convertible solids as an exhaust of the endothermic process.
The invention integrates these different aspects. In addition, this invention requires complex connections and a control system for the devices in order to ensure integration among them. The invention requires actual data resulting from practical experiences in different types of conditions such as flow rate, reaction time, temperature, pressure, catalyst type and pH.
The devices are low-energy density devices (generated energy/consumed energy) because of the use of external energy resources (heat and electricity, etc.) as is the case in exhausts (substances and heat, etc.). The present invention is known as a high-energy density device consisting of four zero-emission parts. The zero-emission is a result utilizing exhausts as energy or as an input source for the other aspects of the device.
Accordingly, the inputs to the first part, electrical power generator, are air and fuel (the biogas from the second part, the anaerobic digester, a percentage of the syngas produced from the third part of the invention and the gas generator from biomass). Furthermore, the outputs of this first part are electrical power as a final product. Additionally, high-temperature exhaust gases are used as a source of heat and partially oxygen-containing gases for the third part of the invention to complete the conversion to gases.
The inputs to the second part of this invention, the anaerobic digester, are sewage (wastes), heat (generated from the syngas produced from the third part, the system of conversion of biomass to gases during the process of purifying the gases), anaerobic bacteria (from soil) and an acidic solution added to adjust the pH of the solution in the digestion area. The outputs from the second part are biogas (used as a fuel for the first part power generator) and carbon-rich materials (used as a fertilizer in unpolluted drainage or a source of biomass for the third part of the invention).
The third part of the invention includes the system of converting biomass to gases. This may be biomass (household wastes, carbon-rich materials produced from the second part of the device and solids produced from the fourth part of the invention, thermochemical conversion of agricultural wastes), oxygen-containing gases (generated from the exhaust of the first part of the device, power generator, and the air), and a heat source (from the hot exhaust gases generated from the first). The outputs from the third part may include heat (used to increase the temperature of the second part and the hydrolysis processing of agricultural wastes in the fourth part of the invention), syngas, a hydrogen-rich gas purified in chambers around the digester containing dolomite, eggshell, charcoal, ashes and sands as catalysts. About half of these gases are used as fuel for the first part, while the other half is converted into biodiesel. This happens during the Fischer-Tropsch process of compressing syngas as a final second product of the invention with silicon carbide, cobalt and calcium as catalysts. This has a shelf life of five years. Tar is a final third product produced during the syngas-cooling process. Syngas compression and charcoal are the final fourth products produced from converting the biomass to gases. This is the case with ashes, the final fifth product.
The fourth pail of the invention is a thermochemical device used to treat agricultural wastes and comprises three phases. The first stage is a hydrolysis process that represents primary treatment of agricultural waste as cellulose materials. Inputs are water (used for hydrolysis of these wastes by converting cellulose to glucose with hydrochloric acid of a volume of 3%) and heat (generated from the third part during syngas cooling and before syngas compression to meet the requirements for the Fischer-Tropsch process). The second stage is the dehydration process applied as a final treatment of glucose and converting it to fructose and then to hydroxymethylfurfural (RMF). The inputs of the final sixth product of the invention are heat (generated from the third part during the Fischer-Tropsch process of hot and compressed syngas, with DMSO as solvent and chromium chloride as catalyst). The third stage is a process for purifying the HMF produced from the previous stage and recovering DMSO as a reusable solvent. This uses charcoal to elute DMSO, as a polarity material, and collects HMF. Afterwards, the coal-heating process starts to evaporate eluted DMSO and vapor is condensed to recover DMSO. The remaining products of the fourth part are HMF and the remaining non-cellulose solids. This is used as a source of biomass for the third part of this device, the system of conversion of biomass to gases.
Referring to
Also, purification tank 8 is heated to 192° C. to evaporate the solvent DMSO, then this steam is condensed in radiator 5.
With reference to
The present device can be divided into four parts; the first which can be called “electrical power producer”, which comprises power generator 3, while the second part can be called “biogas producer” and comprises digester 1. The third part can be called “generator of biodiesel, active coal, tar and ashes” and comprises purification chamber 14, gas generator 2, radiator 4, compressor 11 and reactor 6. The fourth part is called “HMF Producer” and contains primary treatment tank 9, pump 10, reactor 6, extractor 7 and purification tank 8.
Referencing
As indicated in
Black paths as main entries:
Main products:
Orange paths of intermediary processes for gases:
Blue paths of intermediary processes for liquids:
Digester 1 contains the sewage present in diluted acid and temperature of 35-45° C. of anaerobic digestion and the production of biogas after a digestion period of 15-20 days, which can be used as fuel for power generator 3. Power generator 3 produces electrical power being the first product of the device, and also produces exhaust that is used to supply gas generator 2 with heat and gases with oxygen. Gas generator 2 is supplied with household waste and the rest of digestion process, and the rest of the agricultural waste treatment process which is obtained from extractor 7. Gas generator 2 produces active coal and ashes as second and third products of this invention, and also produces syngas. Syngas is purified in chambers surrounding digester 1 to be heated, as such chambers contain dolomite, eggshell, charcoal, ashes, and sand to separate tar being the fourth product from this device. Meanwhile, purified syngas is cooled in two phases; the first phase is done in primary treatment tank 9 to convert the agricultural cellulosic wastes into glucose during the hydrolysis for 4 hours in diluted hydrochloric acid solution at 3%. The second phase of syngas cooling is done in radiator 4. About half the syngas after cooling is supplied to power generator 3, while the rest is compressed to 25 bar, heated to 300° C. through compressor 11 and then moved to reactor 6 in the presence of silicon carbide-calcium-cobalt as a catalyst for the conversion of syngas into biodiesel being the fifth product of this device. Furthermore, the glucose produced during the hydrolysis of agricultural cellulosic waste is dissolved by the addition of DMSO to the glucose in primary treatment tank 9 and stirring the mixture for an hour in the presence of chromic chloride to convert glucose into fructose. This mixture comprises of DMSO, glucose, fructose and chromic chloride. The unconverted biomass is pumped through primary treatment tank 9 to reactor 6 by pump 10 for the production of HMF being the sixth product through heating mixture at 120° C. or 250° C. for two hours or fifteen minutes, respectively, by the use of the above-mentioned compressed syngas. The resulting product, which is HMF, DMSO, chromic chloride and unconverted biomass, is first poured into extractor 7 to separate the remaining biomass and then the residue is supplied first to gas generator 2, and second to purification tank 8 filled with active coal to adsorb the solvent DMSO and extract the purified HMF being the sixth product of this invention. Purification tank 8 is heated to 192° C. to evaporate the solvent DMSO, and then such steam is intensified in radiator 5.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2015-30684 30 | Dec 2015 | GC | regional |
This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of Gulf Coast patent application Ser. No. GC 2015-30684 filed on Dec. 30, 2015 and titled Integrated Device for Producing Electricity, Biodiesel, Hydroxy Methyl Furfural HMF, and Char Coal from Waste (Sewage, Domestic Disposals, Agricultural Wastes), and is related to PCT patent application serial no. PCT/IB2016/058125 filed on Dec. 30, 2016, also titled Integrated Device for Producing Electricity, Biodiesel, Hydroxy Methyl Furfural HMF, and Char Coal from Waste (Sewage, Domestic Disposals, Agricultural Wastes) the entire content of which, is incorporated herein by reference except to the extent that disclosure therein is inconsistent with the disclosure herein.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/IB2016/058125 | 12/30/2016 | WO | 00 |