Andritz Inc.

Andritz Technology and Asset Management Gmbh

Bertil Stromberg

Thomas Pschorn

Namhee Shin

Peter Mraz

Rodolfo Romero

Joseph Monroe Rawls

John F Bolles

Allen Turner

Tyson Bradford Hunt

Ventzislav H Kirov

William J Cann

Patrick Pepin

Pam O'Leary

Namshee Shin

Joseph M Rawls

A method for treating cellulosic biomass feed stock including: feeding the feed stock to an upper inlet of a vertical reactor vessel, wherein the feed stock is deposited on a pile of feed stock within the vertical reactor vessel; adding heat energy to heat the feed stock by injecting steam to an upper region of the vertical reactor vessel; propelling the feed stock through an outlet in a lower region of the vertical reactor vessel by injecting steam into the biomass at, near or after the bottom outlet of the vertical reactor vessel, and moving the propelled feed stock through an expansion device, such as a steam explosion device, to subject the feed stock to a steam explosion process.

Method and apparatus for adding steam for a steam explosion pretreatment process

A method to treat biomass, e.g., lignocellulosic material, including: performing a pretreatment step on the biomass and discharging the pretreated biomass; in at least a first enzymatic hydrolysis reactor producing a liquefaction material, recirculating at least a portion of the liquefaction material from the at least first reactor to a location upstream of the addition of the enzymes as at least a portion of the coolant for the hot pretreated biomass.

Method and apparatus for cooling pretreated biomass prior to mixing with enzymes

System for cooling pretreated biomass prior to mixing with enzymes

A discharge assembly including: a chamber having an sidewall extending around a perimeter of the chamber, an open upper region, an flange coupling at an upper region of the sidewall and extending around the upper region and a bottom, wherein the chamber receives a rotating impeller; a plurality of discharge openings in at least one of the sidewall and bottom of the chamber; a plurality of valves each coupled to one of the discharge openings, and a plurality of nozzles each coupled to one of the discharge openings and downstream in the opening to the valve for the opening.

Assembly of nozzles and valves as discharge ports of a pressurized vessel and method for switching and replacing the nozzles and valves

A reactor apparatus including: an internal mixing chamber including a first chamber section having a cross-sectional area expanding from a biomass inlet to the internal mixing chamber to the a second chamber section; the second chamber section having a substantially uniform internal cross-sectional area from the opposite end of the first chamber section to a discharge end of the mixing chamber; the biomass inlet is coupled to a source of pre-treated biomass external to the reactor vessel, and a rotating mixing device in the internal mixing chamber and coaxial with an axis of the first chamber section.

High solids enzyme reactor or mixer and method

A reactor vessel system including: a first reactor vessel having a hydrolysate and liquid extraction screen, a first region above the extraction screen that is maintained at conditions promoting a hydrolysis reaction in the cellulosic material, a second region below the extraction screen in which the hydrolysis is substantially suppressed and a wash liquid inlet below the extraction screen providing wash liquid at a temperature below a hydrolysis temperature; a transport pipe having an inlet coupled to the first reactor vessel and an outlet coupled to a second reactor vessel, and the second reactor vessel includes a liquid discharge that extracts a portion of liquid from the second reactor vessel and directs the portion of liquid to the first reactor vessel or to the transport pipe.

Two vessel reactor system and method for hydrolysis and digestion of wood chips with chemical enhanced wash method

A method to treat a lignocellulosic material including: pretreating the lignocellulosic material to produce a slurry; adding an alkali material to the slurry in a first conveyor; adding a first portion of an enzyme solution to the slurry while the slurry is in, entering or passing through the discharge of a second conveyor; transferring the slurry with the enzyme solution from the second conveyor slurry to a mixer; mixing the slurry with a second portion of the enzyme solution, and transferring the slurry with the enzyme solution mixed with the first and second portions of the enzyme solution to a first reactor vessel for enzymatic hydrolysis, wherein the viscosity of the slurry is reduced in the first reactor vessel.

Method and apparatus for mixing a lignocellulosic material with enzymes

A feed system for a comminuted cellulosic material including: a chip bin having an upper chip inlet, an interior chamber oriented generally vertically and a lower discharge port; at least one liquor inlet to the chip bin to inject liquor in the chip bin, wherein the chip bin retains sufficient liquor and chips within the interior chamber to create a hydraulic pressure on the chips at the lower discharge port; a generally horizontally oriented chip conveyor or tube coupled to the lower discharge port to receive the chips and liquor from the bin under the hydraulic pressure, wherein the conveyor or tube includes liquor injectors which inject liquor into the chips and the conveyor or tube, and a high pressure transfer device coupled to a discharge of the conveyor or tube to receive the chips and liquor, whereby the hydraulic pressure of the chips and liquor at the discharge of the chip bin is sufficient to feed the chips and liquor to the high pressure transfer device.

Compact feed system and method for comminuted cellulosic material

An apparatus, for the steam explosion treatment of biomass, having a pressurized reactor vessel to receive a biomass material and steam, discharge lines connecting the pressurized reactor vessel to the separation device, the lines sized and positioned to allow for the steam explosion of biomass material. At the outlet end of the discharge lines is a collection-expansion manifold to connect the outlet end of each of the discharge lines to a collection line, wherein the collection line provides a passage for biomass material and steam flowing from the discharge lines. The collection line passage has a substantially larger cross-sectional area than the cross-sectional area of a single discharge line. The collection line is coupled to a separation device such that the separation device receives the biomass material and steam from the collection line.

Piping system from reactor to separator and method to control process flow

A method to process cellulosic material in a treatment vessel including: introducing the cellulosic material to a processing chamber of the vessel; adding heat energy or pressure to the vessel to hydrolyze the cellulosic material in the processing chamber and dissolve hemi-cellulosic from the cellulosic material; compressing the cellulosic material in the processing chamber; extracting the dissolved hemi-cellulosic material through a screen from the processing section; draining the extracted hemi-cellulosic material from the vessel; and discharging the cellulosic material from the vessel separately from the extracted hemi-cellulosic material.

Method for treating, pressing and washing biomass

A reactor for the treatment of lignocellulosic material and related methods. The reactor includes a vessel having an upper portion and a lower portion. A pressure envelope is formed between an outer wall of the vessel and at least one lower wall of the lower portion of the vessel, and the upper portion of the vessel and the pressure envelope are operatively connected with a pressurization line, such that a pressure of the pressure envelope and a pressure of the upper portion may be equalized.

Method and process for dry discharge in a pressurized pretreatment reactor

A method to treat a lignocellulosic material including: performing a steam explosion reaction on the lignocellulosic material and discharging a slurry from the; adding an alkali material to the slurry in a first conveyor; transferring the slurry with the alkali material from the first conveyor to a second conveyor; adding an enzyme solution to the slurry while in, entering or at the discharge of the second conveyor; transferring the slurry with the enzyme solution from the second conveyor slurry to a mixer; mixing the slurry in the mixer, wherein a second portion of the enzyme solution is added to the slurry during the mixing, and transferring the slurry with the enzyme solution from the mixer to a first reactor vessel wherein the slurry in the first reactor vessel undergoing enzymatic hydrolysis such that the viscosity of the slurry is reduced in the first reactor vessel.

A method including: pretreating biomass feed stock in a first pressurized reactor, wherein the feed stock undergoes hydrolysis in the first pressurized reactor; discharging the feed stock from the first pressurized reactor to a pressurized sealing device having a first pressurized coupling to a feedstock discharge port of the first pressurized reactor; maintaining a vapor phase in the first pressurized reactor by injecting steam; washing the feed stock; draining dissolved hemi-cellulosic material extracted from the feed stock; discharging the feed stock from the pressurized sealing device through a second pressurized coupling to a second pressurized reactor; in the second pressurized reactor, infusing cells of the feed stock with steam or water vapor, and rapidly releasing the pressure applied to the feed stock to cause steam expansion in the cells of the feed stock and refine the feed stock.

System and method for preextraction of hemicellulose through using a continuous prehydrolysis and steam explosion pretreatment process

Systems and methods for producing torrefied lignocellulosic material in a commercially suitable process.

Method and system for the torrefaction of lignocellulosic material

A biomass cooking device including: a treatment vessel having an biomass inlet adapted to receive biomass material to a processing chamber of the vessel, a biomass outlet adapted to discharge from the processing chamber the biomass material processed in the vessel, an extraction region of the vessel and a liquids outlet to the extraction region to discharge dissolved hemi-cellulosic material extracted from the biomass material in the processing chamber; a piston press in the cooking vessel defining a moveable wall of the processing chamber, wherein the piston press moves to reduce the processing chamber and thereby compress the biomass material; and a screen plate in the vessel forming a barrier between the processing chamber and an extraction region of the vessel, the screen plate having apertures to pass the dissolved hemi-cellulosic material through the screen plate from the processing chamber to the extraction region.

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Diamond Point, NY, United States of America

Bertil Stromberg