WO2009006661A1 - Solid fuel comprising a vegetable material and glycerol - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to pressed solid fuel comprising at least one vegetable material and glycerol and processes for producing it.

Description

 SOLID FUEL COMPLETELY A PLANT MATERIAL AND GLYCERINE

The present invention relates to solid fuel of vegetable material and its preparation.

In agriculture and in woodworking operations, such as sawmills and planers, an enormous amount of plant material (e.g., wood chips, straw) is produced, which has been particularly well suited for direct use in furnaces. Since the use of this potential can generally not be exploited at the site of the seizure, the production of compressed fuel, e.g. Pellets, on.

The production of compressed fuel from vegetable material is usually made of fem ground and dried material in ring or flat die presses under high pressure and slightly elevated temperature. An important physical property of such products is the mechanical strength achieved, and in particular the lowest possible abrasion. Crushed fuel with insufficient strength tends to disintegrate to form dust, which causes dust emissions in handling and can interfere with the firing operation. In addition to the strength, care must be taken during pellet production to ensure that the consumption of external energy, operating costs and emissions are as low as possible.

The mechanical strength, in addition to the raw material properties (for example type of wood, duration of the intermediate storage), also depends on process parameters. While the raw material properties can not be changed in a targeted manner, there is some potential in varying the process parameters. Furthermore, the mechanical strength is also influenced by the addition of binders or pressing aids. Wood pellets, for example, are pressed without binders as well as with the addition of up to 2% potato or maize starch. But also possible are vegetable paraffin or molasses. In addition to bonding, it is important to homogenize the wood chips so that the pellet press is constantly processed into a raw material with identical properties, depending on the type of wood, the pretreatment, the moisture and the grain size.

It is an object of the present invention to provide solid fuels, including agricultural and forestry wastes and raw materials, which are characterized in particular by drawing, that can be done their production compared to traditional methods of energy-efficient and that they have improved over conventional pressed against ^¬ fuels or at least constant properties with regard to abrasion, burn and the like.

Therefore, the present invention relates to a pressed solid fuel comprising at least a vegetable material and glycerol.

It has surprisingly been found that pressed solid ^fuels comprising at least one vegetable material, which contains, inter alia, cellulose and optionally additionally hemicellulose and / or lignin, have improved properties with addition of glycerol. The improved properties are not only the product itself, but also in the production of the same.

The addition of glycerine to plant material prior to compression into a solid fuel has been shown to significantly reduce specific energy consumption during production. Furthermore, the addition of glycerine can increase the mechanical stability of compressed solid fuel (as indicator the abrasion can be used for this purpose).

Solid fuels with insufficient strength tend to disintegrate to form e.g. Sawdust dust. This causes undesirable dust emissions in the handling of the pellets (e.g., during silo filling or discharge) and often prevents satisfactory plant operation (silo bridging, clogging of forklifts, poor combustion values, etc.). Ensuring minimum pellet abrasion is therefore crucial for both the manufacturer and the end user.

As a measure of the mechanical strength, the abrasion behavior of the solid fuel is used in accordance with standardized measurement methods. The abrasion resistance of solid fuels is dependent in particular fol ^¬ constricting factors: a) raw material b) press technology, processes and Anlagenkon ^¬ concept c) the type and duration of storage (absorbing moisture) d) pressing additives (press tools). The addition of glycerine to plant material also increases its calorific value / calorific value. As a result, a compressed solid fuel comprising glycerine generally has a higher calorific value than a solid fuel, which consists exclusively of compressed vegetable material.

According to the invention, "vegetable material" refers to any material which occurs in agriculture and forestry as a primary substance (eg cereals, wood chips) or as a residue (eg straw, bark, green crop). The "vegetable material" according to the present invention comprises cellulose and may further comprise hemicellulose and / or ligms. The herbal material, which is erfmdungsgemaß used, can m prepared in many different ways or used in various ways. Preferably, the vegetable material is comminuted, powdered, ground, etc. The vegetable material may further have a water content of up to 30%, preferably up to 20%, more preferably up to 10%.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the plant material is selected from the group consisting of straw, husks, bran, preferably wheat bran and rye bran, pomace, preferably grape pomace and apple pomace, press cake, preferably from seminal casings, in particular rapeseed, sunflower, pumpkin seeds germ of maize, coffee, fruit skin, wood shavings, paper ^'and sawdust.

The compressed solid fuel according to the invention can be produced with any type of vegetable material, agricultural and forestry primary products or waste products in particular being found to be particularly suitable. These starting materials are present in a sufficient amount and, if processed appropriately, have excellent combustion and compression properties. The water content in the vegetable material is preferably up to 30%, wherein the water content can be reduced by drying to about 10% to less than 10%. For example, if the plant material comes from a presscake or other oily source, it may also have a certain oil content. This Olgehalt is up to 30%, preferably up to 20%, even more preferably up to 10%. Due to the presence of oil, the calorific value of the inventive solid fuel can be further improved. Erfxndungsgemaß the solid fuel may comprise at least one vegetable material, but it is also quite possible to combine two or more plant materials of various origins; while 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or more plant materials can be combined. Preferred combinations of vegetable materials in the solid fuel according to the invention include straw wood, straw rapeseed cake, wood rapeseed cake, straw-wood rapeseed cake, etc. The ratio of the individual plant materials may vary.

Erfmdungsgemaß it has proved to be particularly advantageous if the solid fuel glycerin in an amount of 0.1 to 40%, preferably from 1 to 30%, more preferably from 1 to 25%.

Already the addition of a few parts of glycerine to the plant material leads to the fact that the energy expenditure with the pressing can be reduced compared to conventional methods. The optimal amount of glycerine in the solid fuel also depends on the plant material. With a few compression attempts, however, the ideal ratio of glycerine to plant material can be determined.

In the production of compressed solid fuel from vegetable material and glycerine, it should also be noted that with a higher amount of glycerine, the pressing resistance should be increased in order to obtain compacted compressed solid fuel. In the production of pellets, for example, the pressing resistance can be increased by the selection of suitable matrices whose holes have a greater length.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the glycerine is derived from the production of biodiesel or fatty acids.

Glycerine accumulates in large quantities in the production of biodiesel and soap. Since erfmdungsgemaß glycerine of any purity can be used, glycerol, which is obtained directly from the Biodiesel or soap production, be pressed with vegetable material. The glycerol used in the invention preferably has a purity of more than 70%, more preferably more than 80%.

According to a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, the solid fuel is as Presslmg, pellet, Briquette, flake or chip shaped.

The pressing can be carried out to presses of various dimensions. The shape stability of these compacts is achieved by a suitable choice of the dimensioning in the shaping and by a suitable choice of the pressing pressure and in pellets also by the thickness of the die plate or the Matrizenrings. With a suitable proportion of vegetable material and glycerol and a suitable pressure of the pressing process dimensionally stable and largely abrasion-resistant pellets or briquettes are produced, provided that the forming pressure of the pressing operation according to an embodiment of the invention in the range of 15 bar to 250 bar, preferably in the range of 25 bar up to 200 bar and more preferably in the range of 30 bar to 180 bar. It is true that sufficiently dimensionally stable and abrasion-resistant compacts can be produced if the pressure increases correspondingly linearly in the production of larger dimensions of the compacts. In pellet shaping, the die thickness should not be significantly less than 15 mm, in order to ensure adequate compression resistance.

The pellets are preferably produced by means of a pelletizer in a size in the range of 5 mm to 50 mm, and preferably in the range of 10 mm to 30 mm, and depending on the composition of the mixture and larger pellets or briquettes, with a size in the range of 50 mm up to 500 mm, preferably in the range of 100 mm to 300 mm and particularly preferably in the range of 150 mm to 250 mm are possible. The crucial point here is that the mixture is adapted in terms of their Adhasionsver- mixture so large to be produced pellets or briquettes that after compression of the mixture sufficient strength of the pellets or briquettes is guaranteed. The diameter of the inventive pellets and briquettes is preferably 5 to 20 mm (5 to 15 mm, 5 to 10 mm) or 20 to 150 mm (20 to 120 mm).

Instead of pellets and briquettes, the solid fuel according to the invention can be produced by rolling. In this case, the solid fuel can be obtained in flake form.

The erfmdungsgemaßen chips are compacts of various shapes (eg round or square), the area of about 0.5 to 20 cm ² , preferably from 1 to 10 cm ² , and a thickness of 0.5 to 20 mm, preferably from 1 up to 5 mm. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the solid fuel comprises at least one pressing auxiliary.

According to the invention, binders or pressing aids can be added to the solid fuel before the pressing. In particular, non-chemically modified products from primary agriculture and forestry, such as e.g. Rye flour or corn starch. The amount added in the case of known pellets is generally less than 2% by weight, but may be more according to the invention. In addition to non-chemically modified pressing aids from primary agriculture and forestry, there are a large number of non-biogenic pressing aids or chemically modified pressing aids from secondary biomass processing (for example water-soluble cellulose den- sity, lignin).

The pressing aid is therefore preferably selected from the group consisting of corn meal, starch, especially potato starch or corn starch, rye flour, polyglycols, sugar, glucose syrup, paper flour, cellulose powder and combinations thereof. Sugar and glucose syrup may be added, for example, in an amount of from 0.5% to 25%, preferably from 1% to 20%.

In addition to vegetable matter, glycerin, and optionally pressing aids, the solid fuel may additionally comprise at least one material selected from the group consisting of graphite, carbon black, glucose, paraffin, and glycols.

This additional material can serve on the one hand to increase the mechanical stability of the solid fuel produced, on the other hand to increase the calorific value of the solid fuel even more. For example, graphite may preferably be added in an amount of 0.5% to 5% or 1% to 2%, paraffin in an amount of 0.5% to 5% or 1% to 3% or 2%.

Another aspect of the present invention relates to a process for producing a solid fuel from plant material comprising the steps:

- mixing the vegetable material with glycerin and

- Pressing the mixture into extrudates, pellets, briquettes, flakes or chips.

Before mixing the individual components, the moisture content of the vegetable material by, for example, drying to an amount of about 1% to 20%, preferably about 10% (eg 7% to 15%) brought. Further, if necessary, the vegetable material may be made to a certain size before mixing. Depending on how the mixture according to the invention is compressed, the vegetable material should be comminuted. For example, in the production of pellets, the vegetable material is in the range of 1 μm to 10 mm, preferably 1 μm to 5 mm, and in the production of briquettes in the range of 1 μm to 5 cm, preferably 1 μm to 3 cm mince. The comminution of the plant material can be done for example by means of cutter or Koloplexmuhle. A Koloplexmuhle has two nested high-speed rotating discs, which are bestuckt with pins of about 1.5 cm in diameter and 2 cm high, which are arranged in mirror image and rotate in a closed housing against each other. This results in large shear forces, which shred the dry or slightly moist millbase.

Before pressing, the vegetable material is homogeneously mixed with glycerine and optionally with other additives. Mixing can be done by simultaneously adding the individual components m a Teigkneter, roller mill or cutter. The cutter is a multi-stage sharp, preferably round, knife, which rotate at high speed. The material to be comminuted is comminuted by fine cutting in a large, annularly moving shell under the knives. But it is also possible to give the individual components gradually or sequentially.

The pressing can erfmdungsgemaß by ring or Flachmatrizenpressen or done by rolling.

According to a preferred embodiment, the vegetable material is selected from the group consisting of straw, husks, bran, preferably wheat bran and rye bran, pomace, preferably grape pomace and apple pomace, press cake, preferably from seed casings, in particular from rapeseed, sunflower, pumpkin seeds and corn germ, coffee fruit skin, Wood chips, paper and sawdust.

Glycerol is preferably added to the vegetable material in an amount of from 0.1 to 40%, preferably from 1 to 30%, more preferably from 1 to 25%.

According to a preferred embodiment, the glycerol is derived from the production of biodiesel or fatty acids.

The solid fuel is preferably compressed into pellets, pellets, briquettes, flakes or chips.

At least one pressing assistant is preferably added to the vegetable material before the pressing.

The pressing aid is preferably selected from the group consisting of corn grits, starch, particularly potato ^¬ strong or corn starch, rye flour, polyglycols, sugar, glucose syrup, paper powder, cellulose powder, and combinations thereof.

According to a further preferred embodiment, at least one material selected from the group consisting of graphite, carbon black, glucose, paraffin and glycols is added to the vegetable material.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the pressing is carried out with ring or flat die presses.

Erfmdungsgemaß the compression of the solid fuel can be carried out with any type of press, which is suitable to form Presslmge, pellets and briquettes. In particular, presses as described in EP 0 371 519, EP 0 489 046, US 4,979,887, DE 21 08 326, DE 27 56 647, FR 2 591 438 and EP 0 956 943 can be used. In addition, the common types of briquette press are also suitable.

Another aspect of the present invention relates to the use of glycerol for the production of compressed solid fuel.

The present invention is further illustrated by, but not limited to, the following example.

B e i s p i e l:

Glycerine has so far mainly been used - in purified form - in the pharmaceutical industry. Also, attempts were made to use in biogas plants. Due to the increased seizure additional recycling rails are to be sought. A possible variant is the mixing with straw or rapeseed cake, a subsequent compression to pellets for thermal utilization in automatically fed firing systems. Straw and rapeseed cake also fall as by-products on the one hand and the production of rapeseed oil on the other hand (for food or as a source of biodiesel production).

In this example, the effect of blending glycerine on the pelleting process itself (energy expenditure) and on the quality of the produced pellets (mechanical stability) should be investigated. From this it is deduced which amount of glycerin can be added to straw or rapeseed cake in order to achieve good pelletsquallity.

Used mixtures

For the evaluation of the pelletability of straw and rapeseed cake mixed with glycerine different amounts of glycerol are added to the raw materials. At the suggestion of the client, honey was added to two mixtures as a substitute for glucose syrup. The following mixing ratios were prepared:

Table 1 Composition of the mixtures

The calculation of glycerin and honey was based on the anhydrous mass of raw straw and rape cake. This means that e.g. 5 g of glycerol were mixed in mixture A to 95 g of absolutely dry straw (as fresh mass).

The pressing is done with a bald flat die press Type 14-175. The die used has 6 mm holes Diameter and a length of 45 mm. This results in a press ratio of 1: 7.5. This matrix is often used in the laboratory for the pelleting of stalks. When pelleting wood, usually a die with a press ratio of 1: 5 is used.

Determination of energy consumption during pelleting In order to determine the energy consumption during pelleting, the currently recorded power can be read off the pelleting press. This is documented every minute and at the same time during a test at least twice the throughput measured. From this, the specific energy consumption per kilogram of pellets is calculated. The energy consumption was only carried out in experiments A, B, C, E and F. In the other tests, due to the stickiness, no uniform feeding of the feed material into the press room was ensured.

Table 2 lists the power consumed, the flow rate and the specific energy consumption calculated from it:

Table 2: Energy consumption during pelleting

It can be seen that in the mixtures with straw as the proportion of glycerol increases the energy consumption for pelleting decreases. This can be concluded that a lubricating effect of glycerol in the die holes and a corresponding lower compression resistance. Usually With the pressing resistance, the hardness and mechanical stability of the pellets are also reduced. Since the addition of glycerine obviously other binding mechanisms are effective, as are known in wood and stalks, when using glycerol with low pressing pressures and thus low energy consumption, a good Pelletsqualltat can be achieved.

For the pelleting of rape cake, a test with pure press cake was carried out in advance to estimate the behavior during pelleting. Due to the residual content, the lubrication in the die bores is so strong that the press cake falls loose, which means that no suitable rapeseed pellets could be produced. After the addition of glycerine, the feed had some stickiness, so that the wells filled and pellets could be produced.

A higher addition of glycerin, as shown in Table 2, in turn, causes a reduced energy consumption in pelleting. For rapeseed cake mixtures, this is generally well below the values of straw mixtures.

Measurement of the mechanical stability of the pellets

The measurement of the mechanical stability of the pellets is carried out using a abrasion tester (Lignotester) of the brand Borregaard LTII. In this abrasion tester, about 100 g of pellets are vortexed for 1 minute in an air flow of 70 mbar. Subsequently, the resulting Femanteil is screened and weighed out the remaining amount of pellets. From the difference of the mass of the weighed and the back-weighed pellets, the abrasion is calculated. For wood pellets according to ONORM M 7135 this may amount to a maximum of 2.3%. This value is also used as a guide in this example to define good quality. The investigation of the abrasion is carried out by double determination.

Table 3 summarizes the mechanical stability of the pellets produced:

80_S/20_G D 1, 10 1, 40 1,25

80_S / 20_G D 1, 10 1, 40 1.25

90 R / 10_G F 1, 80 1, 90 1.85

80 R / 20_G G 1.50 1.80 1.65

85 S / 10_G / 5 H H 1.20 1.70 1.45

85 R / 10_G / 5 H I 1, 60 1.70 1, 65

Limit value for wood pellets according to ONORM M 7135 2.30

Table 3: Mechanical stability of the pellets

It can be seen that in the mixtures of straw and glycerine, there is an improvement in the pellet quality with increasing glycerol content. In this example, the optimum was achieved at a level in the range of about 15%. With even higher additions of glycerol, the already described effect occurs that the pressing resistance in the die bores decreases too much due to the lubricating action of glycerol and the pellets are poorly compressed.

Nevertheless, all straw / glycerine mixtures have very low abrasion values. The limit for ONORM-compliant wood pellets, as mentioned, is 2.3%.

The mixture of rapeseed cake and glycerine also produced pellets with good stability. The best pellets were obtained when trying with 20% glycerine. A further improvement of the pellet quality with further increased Glyzermanteil is quite to be expected on the basis of these experiments.

The experiments with the addition of 10% glycerol and 5% glucose syrup did not improve the pellet quality of the straw mixture compared to the admixture of 10% or 15% pure glycerine. When blended into rapeseed cake, a slight improvement in quality compared to the addition of 10% pure glycerin was achieved.

The pellets with rape cake were softer after compression compared to the straw pellets. The addition of glycerol apparently causes the pellets to cure in the cooling phase, so that the good abrasion values shown above are measured.

The die used is the highest press ratio available in the laboratory (longest bore). From a certain Proportion of glycerin decreases the pressing pressure: in the holes from. This effect can be remedied by using even longer holes.

Claims

Claims: 1. Pressed solid fuel comprising at least one vegetable material and glycerol. 2. Solid fuel according to claim 1, characterized in that the plant material is selected from the group consisting of straw, husks, bran, preferably wheat bran and rye bran, pomace, preferably grape pomace and apple pomace, press cake, preferably from semen casings, especially from rapeseed, pumpkin seeds , Sunflowers and corn germs, coffee fruit hides, wood chips, paper and sawdust. 3. Solid fuel according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the solid fuel glycerol in an amount of 0.1 to 40%, preferably from 1 to 30%, more preferably from 1 to 25%. 4. Solid fuel according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the glycerol is derived from the production of biodiesel or fatty acids. 5. Solid fuel according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the solid fuel in the form of a compact, of pellets, briquettes, flakes or chips. 6. Solid fuel according to claim 5, characterized in that the solid fuel comprises at least one pressing aid. 7. Solid fuel according to claim 6, characterized in that the pressing aid is selected from the group consisting of corn meal, starch, in particular potato starch or corn starch, rye flour, polyglycols, sugar, glucose syrup, paper flour, cellulose powder and combinations thereof. 8. Solid fuel according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized ge ^¬ indicates that the solid fuel further comprises at least one material selected from the group consisting of graphite, carbon black, glucose, paraffin and glycols. 9. A process for producing a solid fuel from vegetable material comprising the steps of: - mixing the vegetable material with glycerin and - Pressing the mixture into compressions, pellets or briquettes, chips or flakes. 10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that the plant material is selected from the group consisting of straw, husks, bran, preferably wheat bran and rye bran, pomace, preferably grape pomace and apple pomace, press cake, preferably from semen casings, especially from oilseed rape, sunflowers , Pumpkin seeds and corn germ, coffee fruit skin, wood chips, paper and sawdust. 11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that the plant material glycerol in an amount of 0.1 to 40%, preferably from 1 to 30%, more preferably from 1 to 25%, is added. 12. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that the glycerol is derived from the production of biodiesel or fatty acids. 13. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 12, characterized in that the solid fuel is pressed into pressings, pellets, briquettes, flakes or chips. 14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that the vegetable material is added before pressing at least one pressing aid. 15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that the pressing aid is selected from the group consisting of corn meal, starch, especially potato starch or corn starch, rye flour, polyglycols, sugar, glucose syrup, paper flour, cellulose powder and combinations thereof. 16. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 15, characterized in that the plant material further comprises at least one material selected from the group consisting of graphite, carbon black, Glucose, paraffin and glycols are added. 17. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 16, characterized marked ^¬ characterized in that the pressing is performed with ring or Flachmatrizenpres ^¬ sen. 18. Use of glycerine for the production of compressed solid fuel.