10 Primary Feedstock Hopper
11 Grinder/Shredder
12 Cleaner
13 Drier
14 Saturation Tank Hopper
15 Saturation Tank
16 Gas Supply
17 Gasification Assembly
18 MHD Generator
19 Particulate Separator
20 Particulate Accumulator
21 Hydrogen Separator
22 Resultant Gas Liquid Cooling Jacket
23 Resultant Gas Evacuation Pump
24 Resultant Gas Compressor
25 Resultant Gas Storage Tank
26 Hydrogen Liquid Cooling Jacket
27 Hydrogen Evacuation Pump
28 Hydrogen Compressor
29 Hydrogen Storage Tank
30 Steam Turbine
31 Gasification Tube Assembly
32 Injector Assembly
33 Condensing Nozzle Assembly
34 Discharge End of Gasification Tube
35 Insulating Housing Insulator Layer
36 Insulating Housing Outer Shell
37 Gasification Tube
38 Main Internal Heating Assembly
39 Main Internal Heating Element Support
40 Main Internal Heating Element
41 Main Internal Heating Assembly Support
42 Gasification Tube Mounting Flange
43 Feedstock Injection Tube
44 Feedstock Injection Tube Heating Element
45 Initiating Gas Injector
46 Injector Assembly Mounting Flange
47 Condensing Nozzle Mounting Flange
48 Condensing Nozzle Internal Reduction Member
50 Insulating Housing
51 Heating Element Insulators
Explained herein below is one preferred embodiment of the invention and referenced by the accompanying drawings. However, the reader should keep in mind that the invention is not limited to this example as it may gasify solids as well as liquids and slurries to produce electricity, hydrogen, synthesis gas, petroleum products or any combination thereof. In this example, a coal solid feedstock is converted to produce electricity, hydrogen and synthesis gas.
First, raw coal is fed from primary feedstock hopper 10 and pulverized to at least 60 screen mesh in grinder/shredder 11. From there, the pulverized coal is fed into a material cleaner 12 where most contaminants (i.e. metals and rock) are removed. The coal powder is then fed into a drier system 13 to remove entrained moisture resulting in a dried feedstock material. The dried feedstock material is then loaded into saturation tank hopper 14 after which it pass into a saturation tank 15 wherein it is mixed with an injected hydrocarbon containing gas from gas supply 16 to displace and remove any entrained air and/or oxygen from the feedstock material.
Pressurized natural gas is injected into the electrically internally heated high refractory tube 37 through the initiating gas injectors 45. Simultaneously, the pressurized hydrocarbon gas saturated coal powder is injected into the feedstock injector tube 43. Tremendous heat generated by the internal heating elements 40, 44 heats and begins to expand the initiating gas. Said heat simultaneously expands gas contained within the saturated coal powder feedstock mixture as well as softens the coal powder as it proceeds through the feedstock injector tube 43. The high temperature heat within the gasification tube 37 affects the molecular excitation and violent expansion of the initiating gas allowing it to reach its maximum activation energy and resulting in the cracking of the natural gas's molecular structure. This violent expansion forces the rapidly expanding gas toward the discharge end 34 of the gasification tube 37. As the gas reaches its maximum activation energy, the molecularly dissociated initiation gas's kinetic energy begins to collide with the heated and softened coal solids as the mixture proceeds towards the discharge end 34 of said gasification tube 37. This kinetic energy of the cracked natural gas ultimately breaks apart or cracks the molecular structure of the coal solids returning the said coal solids to their constituent elements. The combination of cracked natural gas combined with the cracked coal solids produces a resultant hydrogen rich synthesis gas.
Said resultant gas then passes through a particulate separator 19 such as a cyclonic particulate separator wherein inert solids and any un-reacted feedstock materials are separated and removed from the resultant gas and discharged into at least one particulate accumulator 20.
If so desired, as the resultant gas exits the particulate separator 19, it enters a hydrogen separator unit 21. Said hydrogen separator 21 unit removes hydrogen from hydrogen rich resultant gas. An evacuation pump 27 is used to remove extracted hydrogen gas and a liquid cooling jacket 26 cools hydrogen removed from said resultant gas. Upon cooling of the extracted hydrogen gas, the gas is compressed by at least one compressor 28 and stored in hydrogen storage tank 29 for future use in additional energy utilization capacities. Said energy utilization capacities may include, but are not limited to hydrogen-fueled turbines or hydrogen-powered fuel cells.
If so desired, as the resultant gas exits the gasification assembly 17, it enters and passes through a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) generator 18. Said MHD generator 18 has nonconductive tube wall material in which is an array of electrically charged contacts. As the resultant gas passes through the walls of the MHD generator 18 a charge is induced in the field, which is drawn off as electrical power. The electricity generated through the MHD generator 18 is discharged through electrodes on the outside of the MHD generator.
As the remaining hydrogen depleted resultant gas exits the hydrogen separator 21, it proceeds to the intake end of the liquid cooling jacket 22. Said liquid cooling jacket 22 circulates a liquid coolant such as water to extract heat from and reduce the temperature of the entering high temperature resultant gas. Heat captured by the liquid within the liquid cooling jacket 22 is further utilized in an external steam turbine 30 for the generation of electricity.
Upon exiting the liquid cooling jacket 22, said cooled resultant gas enters a gas evacuation pump 23. Said gas evacuation pump 23 removes the resultant gas from the system. Said resultant gas removed from system by gas evacuation pump 23 is transferred to at least one compressor 24 which compresses said gas and transfers compressed gas to storage tanks 25 for later use or further processing.
This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/837,217, filed Aug. 14, 2006, entitled “Method and Apparatus for the Oxygen-Free Gasification of Hydrocarbonaceous and non-Hydrocarbonaceous Materials for the production of Synthesis gas” 3956885May, 1976Davis, et al4322946April, 1982Murch, et al5950547September, 1999Wachendorfer.6216613April, 2001Wachendorfer.6827751December, 2004Kaufman, et al
Number | Date | Country | |
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60837217 | Aug 2006 | US |