Method for fast pyrolysis of lignocellulose including: mechanically comminuting the lignocellulose to lignocellulose particles; at least one of completely drying and preheating the lignocellulose particles; mixing the lignocellulose particles with heat transfer particles so as to provide a mixture; heating the heat transfer particles, prior to the mixing, to a temperature between 500° C. and 650° C.; and heating, in a pyrolysis reactor with oxygen excluded, the lignocellulose particles using the heat transfer particles so as to establish a temperature between 400° C. and 600° C. for 1 to 50 seconds and so as to react the lignocellulose particles so as to provide pyrolysis coke, pyrolysis condensate, and pyrolysis gas.

Method for the rapid pyrolysis of lignocellulose

In apparatus for retorting oil shale, oil sands and similar materials wherein finely divided solids residue is used as a heat carrier and is heated in a vertical pneumatic conveyor-burner, mixed with fresh finely divided solid feed, product distillation vapors are removed from the mixture, and the solid distillation residue is returned to the conveyor-burner, the improvement whereby the propellant gas is introduced axially to the bottom of the conveyor-burner and the cool heat carrier is introduced thereinto from a concentric annular chamber thereabout through slits or openings in the propellant gas conduit by means of a flow of a control gas.

Retort system for oil shales and the like

Pyrolysis reaction apparatus and method are described in which carbonizable waste material is fed into the pyrolysis reaction chamber by an inlet conduit which passes through the wall of a heating furnace surrounding such chamber. As a result, the material is immediately vaporized in the reaction chamber due to the high temperature at the inlet portion of the chamber where the material is introduced. A fluid cooling jacket surrounds the inlet conduit to maintain the temperature within such conduit below the melting temperature of the material being transmitted therethrough in order to prevent clogging of the conduit. The material is fed into the reaction chamber by the inlet conduit along an input feed direction which is laterally offset from the axis of the shaft of an impeller for conveying such material through such chamber and is preferably directed toward the tips of the impeller blades in order to prevent clogging of the impeller. The treated material which may contain precious metal, such as the silver in photographic film, is heated within the reaction chamber in the absence of oxygen to decompose such material by chemical reaction into a hydrocarbon pyrolysis gas and a solid carbonized residue. The carbonized residue material of reduced size and weight may be further processed such as by oxidation to remove the carbon and convert the silver or other precious metal in such residue into a metal oxide which is refined to recover the metal.

Pyrolysis reaction apparatus

In a method and apparatus for recovering oil products from oil shale and like materials, controlled amounts of raw oil shale are delivered into an upper inlet of a downwardly sloping retort chamber that is constructed as readily portable. The raw oil shale is first moved in a direction countercurrent to gravity flow and crushed in the retort chamber by means of a rotating member that also serves to retain the oil shale in the retort chamber until a satisfactory recovery is completed. The crushed oil shale is confined to a relatively thin, downwardly moving layer in contact with a heated, inner, annular wall surface and moves by gravity flow between the inlet and a lower outlet to produce oil product vapors that rise to an upper portion of the retort chamber. The moving layer of the oil shale becomes spent as it passes through the retort chamber and finally is selectively discharged through the lower outlet. The oil product vapors are removed from the retort chamber into a condensing tube in which the vapors are condensed to a liquid form. The oil products are removed from the condenser by weight or are further refined in an adjacent refinery.

Method and apparatus for retorting oil shale

The system of the present invention includes a centripetal cyclone for separating particulate material from a particulate laden gas solids stream. The cyclone includes a housing defining a conduit extending between an upstream inlet and a downstream outlet. In operation, when a particulate laden gas-solids stream passes through the upstream housing inlet, the particulate laden gas-solids stream is directed through the conduit and at least a portion of the solids in the particulate laden gas-solids stream are subjected to a centripetal force within the conduit.

Danulat Hedwig Gertrud

Papers

Apparatus for degasifying finely divided fuels

Depressurizing of ash discharge locks and similar chambers