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Arthur G. Mckee & Company

Stanley J Pavilon

Biomass slurry is hydrolzyed in a fuel fired hydrolysis heater. When the biomass is fruit waste, the organic acid in the waste is used as the hydrolysis catalyst. When the biomass does not contain organic acid, carbon dioxide generated in a fermenter is fed to the hydrolysis heater as carbonic acid to provide the catalyst. Solids are separated from the hydrolyzed effluent, the flue gas from the hydrolysis heater is used to dry same. The effluent is fermented and subsequently distilled at substantially atmospheric pressure to produce ethyl alcohol vapor. The vapor is fed to a vacuum distillation tower for producing anhydrous ethyl alcohol. Vacuum distillation tower bottoms provide the reflux for the atmospheric distillation unit. A portion of the stillage from the atmospheric distillation unit is recycled by mixing with new feedstock. The remaining stillage is evaporated to a syrup, mixed with unreacted solids, and dried to produce an animal feed byproduct.

Method for producing ethanol from biomass

Biomass slurry is hydrolyzed in a fuel fired hydrolysis heater. When the biomass is fruit waste, the organic acid in the waste is used as the hydrolysis catalyst. When the biomass does not contain organic acid, carbon dioxide generated in a fermenter is fed to the hydrolysis heater as carbonic acid to provide the catalyst. Solids are separated from the hydrolyzed effluent, and flue gas from the hydrolysis heater is used to dry same. The effluent is fermented and subsequently distilled at substantially atmospheric pressure to produce ethyl alcohol vapor. The vapor is fed to a vacuum distillation tower for producing anhydrous ethyl alcohol. Vacuum distillation tower bottoms provide the reflux for the atmospheric distillation unit. A portion of the stillage from the atmospheric distillation unit is recycled by mixing with new feedstock. The remaining stillage is evaporated to a syrup, mixed with unreacted solids, and dried to produce an animal feed byproduct.

A thermal cracking process and apparatus are disclosed for economical manufacture of lower olefins and valuable coproducts by pyrolysis of liquid or gaseous hydrocarbon feedstocks ranging from ethane to tar sands, particularly feedstocks, such as gas oil, naphtha, residual oils or tar sands. The pyrolysis unit is a riser reactor heated by hot agglomerated ash particles and designed for short residence time to minimize the time of contact of the feedstock with the hot ash. The agglomerated ash is continually produced in a fluidized bed combustion unit by burning particles of coal or other solid carbonaceous material, and the hot agglomerated ash is continually forced upwardly through the riser by superheated steam which is further superheated in the riser reactor and which serves as dilution steam for hydrocarbon partial pressure reduction. Additional dilution steam enters the reactor with the preheated feedstock. A water quench at the outlet of the reactor slows down or stops secondary reactions as the cracked gases are separated from the hot ash in a roughing cyclone separator. The ash particles, which are coated with coke or char after reaction, are preferably steam stripped to remove occluded hydrocarbon and are thereafter recycled to the bed of the combustion unit. If the feedstock is tar sand or a feedstock with high coking tendencies, it may be preferable to burn at least part of the char or coke coated ash and/or sand particles from the riser reactor in a separate burner and thus dispose of some of the solids before the ash recycle to the main combustion unit.

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Shaker Heights, OH, United States of America

Stanley J Pavilon