CN109863233B

CN109863233B - Biomass fuel manufacturing device

Info

Publication number: CN109863233B
Application number: CN201780065765.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 河原井武夫
Original assignee: Amagai Tomoaki
Current assignee: Amagai Tomoaki
Priority date: 2016-10-27
Filing date: 2017-10-23
Publication date: 2021-02-23
Anticipated expiration: 2037-10-23
Also published as: CN109863233A; JP2018070717A; JP6130573B1; WO2018079470A1

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to solve the problem of the inconsistency in the shape and size of the produced biomass fuel and the problem of the variation in the degree of drying and carbonization due to the type of biomass material. The biomass fuel production apparatus provided to achieve the above object includes a combustion furnace 12, a rotary drum 14 that has a supply unit 50 for a biomass material and a discharge unit 52 for the biomass fuel 32 and that performs drying and carbonization using heat of exhaust gas generated in the combustion furnace 12, a tilting device 16 that tilts the rotary drum 14, a flue hood 18 that forms a flue for the exhaust gas generated in the combustion furnace 12 with the rotary drum 14, a processing line 20 that matches the shape and size of the biomass fuel, and a return line 22 that returns a part of the biomass fuel to the combustion furnace 12, and the supply unit 50 includes a screw conveyor 80 that feeds the biomass material into the rotary drum 14 while rotating at the same speed as the rotary drum 14.

Description

Biomass fuel manufacturing device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a biomass fuel production apparatus, and more particularly to a biomass fuel production apparatus for producing biomass fuel from biomass raw materials such as branches and leaves, bamboo, ground cover bamboo, brocade, and waste wood obtained by pruning stems of weeds, trees, and shrubs.

Background

At present, fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal, which are inexpensive and convenient, are used as fuels, and biomass fuels produced using biomass raw materials of wood and other plants as production raw materials are losing their practical position from the japanese society.

That is, 75% of the territories in japan are covered by forests, and although sufficient wood resources are available for sustainable regeneration, they are not fully utilized. In particular, the stems of weeds, trees, and shrubs, or branches and leaves obtained by pruning the stems, bamboo, and humifuse are incinerated as waste materials or used for landfills, and there is no perfect technique for utilizing the waste materials as raw materials for producing biomass fuels.

Therefore, establishing a series of techniques for producing biomass fuel from these wastes is important for the future practical use of biomass fuel production.

In view of the above, the applicant has proposed a biomass fuel manufacturing machine including a combustion furnace and a rotary drum for drying and carbonizing plant materials including weeds and the like by using heat of exhaust gas generated in the combustion furnace, and including a fuel circulation for supplying a part of the biomass fuel manufactured in the rotary drum to the combustion furnace (patent document 1).

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2013-82871

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

However, the biomass fuel manufacturing machine of patent document 1 still has a need for improvement in several respects.

(1) The manufactured biomass fuel is not uniform in shape and size, has low combustion efficiency when used as a biomass fuel, and is likely to cause troubles such as transport clogging in a return line for returning a part of the biomass fuel to a combustion furnace (hereinafter referred to as "problems of non-uniform shape and size of biomass fuel").

(2) The plant-based biomass material has a problem that the degree of carbonization varies depending on the type of the biomass fuel to be produced, and thus constant carbonization becomes difficult. For example, biomass raw materials such as bark and lawn in golf courses are dried and carbonized quickly, and in addition, stems of grass, relatively thick branches, and the like are hardly mixed, so that the drying and carbonization tend to be fast and progress excessively. Further, since such raw materials are discharged from the rotary drum while maintaining a high temperature, there is a risk of ignition when the raw materials are discharged and come into contact with fresh air (hereinafter, referred to as "a problem of variation in the degree of drying and carbonization due to the kind of raw materials").

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a biomass fuel production apparatus capable of solving the problem of variations in the shape and size of the produced biomass fuel and the problem of variations in the degree of drying and carbonization due to the type of biomass material.

Means for solving the problems

In order to achieve the object, a biomass fuel production device according to the present invention includes: a combustion furnace; a rotary drum having a supply portion for supplying a biomass material on one end side in a shaft center direction and a discharge portion for discharging a biomass fuel obtained by drying and carbonizing the biomass material on the other end side; a flue hood which is provided outside the rotary drum so as not to obstruct rotation of the rotary drum, and which forms a flue for exhaust fumes generated in the combustion furnace with the rotary drum to heat the rotary drum; a tilting device that tilts the rotary drum at an arbitrary tilt so that the supply portion side is higher than the discharge portion side; a processing line that conforms the shape and size of the biomass fuel discharged from the discharge portion of the rotary drum; and a return line that returns a part of the biomass fuel processed in the processing line to the combustion furnace, wherein the supply unit includes a screw conveyor that feeds the biomass material into the rotary drum while rotating at the same speed as the rotary drum.

According to the biomass fuel production apparatus of the present invention, since the processing line is provided in which the shapes and sizes of the biomass fuels discharged from the discharge portion of the rotary drum are made uniform, the problem of non-uniformity in the shapes and sizes of the produced biomass fuels can be solved.

In addition, in the present invention, since the tilting device that tilts the rotary drum at an arbitrary inclination is provided so that the supply portion side is higher than the discharge portion side, the residence time of the biomass raw material in the interior of the rotary drum can be adjusted.

Further, since the supply portion is provided with the screw conveyor that feeds the biomass material into the rotary drum while rotating at the same speed as the rotary drum, the supply amount of the biomass material to be supplied into the rotary drum can be adjusted.

This can solve the problem of variation in the degree of drying and carbonization due to the type of biomass material.

As an aspect of the present invention, the discharge unit preferably includes: an outlet port for discharging the biomass fuel from the rotary drum; an opening/closing cover supported to be openable and closable by the discharge port; an urging member that applies an urging force to the opening/closing cover in a closing direction; and a biasing releasing/restoring mechanism for releasing the biasing member when the rotating drum rotates to position the discharge port on the processing line, and for restoring the biasing force when the discharge port passes through the processing line.

This can prevent outside air from entering the inside of the rotary drum, and therefore, the airtightness of the rotary drum can be improved, and the temperature inside the rotary drum is less likely to change. Therefore, since the temperature of drying and carbonization of the biomass material is less likely to change, drying and carbonization can be performed uniformly and stably.

As an aspect of the present invention, the processing line preferably includes: a conveyor housing in the form of a long tube having an inlet and an outlet; a screw conveyor provided inside the conveyor housing; a pressure plate provided on an outlet side of the conveyor housing so as to be orthogonal to an axial core of the conveyor housing and having a smaller diameter than the conveyor housing; a biasing member that biases the pressure plate from an outlet side to the inlet side of the conveyor housing; and a cylindrical screen which is provided so as to communicate with the outlet side of the conveyor housing, has a predetermined screen aperture diameter, and rotates together with the screw conveyor. Further, "provided in communication with the outlet side of the conveyor housing" does not mean being fixed to the conveyor housing.

Thus, the biomass fuel discharged from the rotary drum in a shape and a size that are not consistent can be ground by the screw conveyor and the pressure plate to be consistent in size and shape. Further, by configuring the processing line as described above, the biomass fuel can be transported to the next step (return line) while being processed, and therefore, the continuous operation of the biomass fuel production apparatus can be performed.

In an aspect of the present invention, it is preferable that a flow resistance providing device that provides flow resistance to the flue gas supplied from the combustion furnace is provided in the flue. This makes the high-temperature exhaust gas more likely to stay in the flue, improves the heating efficiency of heating the rotary drum, and stabilizes the heating temperature.

In an embodiment of the present invention, it is preferable that the inside of the rotary drum is divided into a dry carbonization chamber on the supply side and a cooling chamber on the discharge side, and the combustion furnace and the flue are disposed so as to correspond to the dry carbonization chamber. This can prevent excessive progress of drying and carbonization even in biomass raw materials that are dried and carbonized quickly.

In an embodiment of the present invention, it is preferable that a plurality of heat dissipation plates protruding from the inside to the outside of the rotary drum are provided on the outer periphery of the cooling chamber. This improves the cooling efficiency of the cooling chamber.

In an embodiment of the present invention, it is preferable that the biomass fuel production apparatus includes a steam boiler and a generator for generating electric power from high-temperature and high-pressure steam generated in the steam boiler. Thus, a self-sufficient cycle can be established in which the power source for driving the biomass fuel production apparatus is self-sufficient in the process of producing the biomass fuel.

Effects of the invention

According to the production of biomass fuel of the present invention, it is possible to solve the problem of the produced biomass fuel being inconsistent in shape and size and the problem of the variation in the degree of drying and carbonization due to the type of biomass material.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a partially cut-away side view of a first embodiment of a biomass fuel production apparatus of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the first embodiment of the biomass fuel production apparatus taken transversely at the position of line a-a in fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of the combustion furnace.

Fig. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the structure of the discharge portion.

Fig. 5 is an explanatory view for explaining a damper provided in a flue.

Fig. 6 is an explanatory view for explaining a processing line.

Fig. 7 is a side view, partly in section, of a second embodiment of the biomass fuel production apparatus of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is an explanatory view of a third embodiment of the biomass fuel production apparatus of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the biomass fuel production apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

The present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the following preferred embodiments. The present invention can be modified in various ways without departing from the scope of the present invention, and other embodiments than the present embodiment can be used. Accordingly, all modifications within the scope of the present invention are included in the scope of the claims.

Here, portions shown with the same reference numerals in the drawings are the same members having the same functions. In addition, when a numerical range is denoted by "to" in the present specification, the numerical values of the upper limit and the lower limit denoted by "to" are also included in the numerical range.

[ first embodiment of Biomass Fuel production apparatus ]

Fig. 1 is a partially cross-sectional side view showing the overall structure of a first embodiment of a biomass fuel production apparatus 10. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the biomass fuel production apparatus 10 taken transversely at the position of line a-a in fig. 1.

In the following description, the biomass material is in a state before dry carbonization, and the biomass fuel is in a state after dry carbonization.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the biomass fuel production apparatus 10 is mainly composed of a combustion furnace 12, a rotary drum 14, a tilting device 16, a flue hood 18, a processing line 20, and a return line 22.

(Combustion furnace)

The combustion furnace 12 uses biomass fuel as fuel, and the structure thereof is not particularly limited, and for example, a combustion furnace shown in fig. 3 can be suitably used.

In the combustion furnace 12 shown in fig. 3, the screw conveyor 26 connected by the

universal joints

24 and 24 is rotated by the motor 28, and thereby the biomass fuel 32 stored in the fuel tank 30 is supplied vertically upward from the central lower portion of the combustion bowl 36 provided inside the combustion can 34 into the combustion bowl 36 and is combusted. This prevents the dust of the biomass fuel 32 from scattering inside the combustion can 34 and hindering combustion.

The shaft distal end portion 26A disposed in the vertical direction of the screw conveyor 26 is suspended from the shaft suspended portion 38, thereby ensuring smooth rotation of the shaft distal end portion 26A.

Further, the biomass fuel 32 in the combustion dish 36 is pushed out in the peripheral direction from the central portion of the combustion dish 36 by the combustion diffusion blade 40. This prevents the biomass fuel 32 supplied vertically upward into the combustion dish 36 from being raised toward the center, and realizes smooth combustion. Then, the biomass fuel 32 is forcibly burned by forcibly supplying air 44 from an air duct 42 at the lower part of the peripheral edge of the combustion dish 36. The burned combustion ash 46 is pushed out by the biomass fuel 32 continuously supplied to the central portion of the combustion pan 36, and falls from the peripheral portion of the combustion pan 36 into the ash pan 48.

(rotating drum)

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the rotary drum 14 includes a supply portion 50 for supplying the biomass material W on one end side in the axial direction, and a discharge portion 52 for discharging the biomass fuel 32 obtained by drying and carbonizing the biomass material W on the other end side. The biomass raw material W is dried and carbonized by the heat of the exhaust gas generated by the combustion in the combustion furnace 12. Although the rotary drum 14 is illustrated as a single cylindrical pipe in fig. 1, it is preferable that a plurality of cylindrical pipes are detachably connected by an annular connecting member 15 (e.g., a flange) as illustrated in fig. 5.

The rotary drum 14 is supported on a support frame 58 formed of a plurality of pipes in a rectangular parallelepiped shape in a horizontal direction in a state of being rotatable around an axial core of the rotary drum 14. The support frame 58 is disposed on the base frame 56 on the floor 54.

The rotary drum 14 is placed on a pair of

front rollers

60, 60 fixed to a front position (the supply portion 50 side of the rotary drum 14) on the support frame 58 and a pair of

rear rollers

60, 60 fixed to a rear position (the discharge portion 52 side of the rotary drum 14). Thereby, the rotary drum 14 is supported by the support frame 58 in a state of being rotatable around the axis. The front roller 60 and the rear roller 60 are also disposed on the back side in fig. 1 (see fig. 6).

Further, the bearing portions of the

front rollers

60, 60 and the bearing portions of the rear rollers are engaged with annular grooves formed by

flanges

64, 64 formed at the front end and the rear side of the rotary drum 14, respectively, to prevent the rotary drum 14 from shifting in the axial direction.

Further, since the rotary drum 14 is tilted by the tilting device 16 so that the supply portion 50 side is higher than the discharge portion 52 side, as a method of preventing the deviation in the axial direction of the rotary drum 14, for example, a pressing roller (not shown) for pressing the rotary drum 14 toward the supply portion 50 side in the axial direction may be provided on the rear end side surface 14A of the rotary drum.

In the following description, the front side (or front end) refers to the supply portion 50 side of the rotary drum 14, and the rear side (or rear end) refers to the discharge portion 52 side of the rotary drum 14. In the rotary drum 14, a drum rotation shaft 66 penetrates in the axial direction, and both ends of the drum rotation shaft 66 are supported by a front bearing 68 and a rear bearing 70.

Further, the rear end of the drum rotation shaft 66 protrudes from the rear bearing 70, and the first gear 72 is provided on the protruding portion 66A. A stepless motor 74 for rotationally driving the rotary drum 14 is fixed to a lower portion of the support frame 58 below the first gear 72, and a second gear 76 is provided on the motor shaft 74A. An endless chain 78 is disposed between the first gear 72 and the second gear 76. Thus, if the continuously variable motor 74 is driven, the rotary drum 14 can be rotated in the direction around the axis, and the rotation speed can be adjusted.

The supply section 50 of the rotary drum 14 is mainly constituted by a screw conveyor 80 that feeds the biomass material W into the drum 14 while rotating at the same speed as the rotary drum 14. Further, a raw material hopper 82 is disposed above the screw conveyor 80.

That is, the drum rotation shaft 66 between the front end of the rotary drum 14 and the front bearing 68 is covered with a cylindrical conveyor housing 84, and a spiral blade 80A of the screw conveyor 80 is formed on the drum rotation shaft 66.

The circumferential surface of the conveyor housing 84 and the lower portion of the hopper 82 communicate with each other through the inlet 82A. Thus, the biomass raw material W charged into the raw material hopper 82 is supplied into the rotary drum 14 from a supply port (not shown) on the side surface of the rotary drum 14 while being rotated at the same speed as the rotary drum 14 by the screw conveyor 80.

This enables the biomass raw material W supplied to the raw material hopper 82 to be uniformly and stably supplied to the inside of the rotary drum 14 by the screw conveyor 80. Further, since the supply portion 50 is constituted by the screw conveyor 80, the supply port of the rotary drum 14 is not always opened to the outside air, and therefore, the airtightness of the inside of the rotary drum 14 can be ensured.

Further, since the raw material hopper 82 is usually disposed at a position higher than the height of a person, it is preferable to provide a raw material conveying line 83 for conveying the biomass raw material W to the height of the raw material hopper 82.

The raw material transfer line 83 may be suitably configured, for example, as follows: a storage tank 86 for storing the biomass raw material W is provided near the support frame 58 and on the ground 54 on the back side of the rotary drum 14 in fig. 1, and the biomass raw material W stored in the storage tank 86 is fed to the raw material hopper 82 by a conveying device such as a screw conveyor 88.

As shown in fig. 4, the discharge portion 52 of the rotary drum 14 is configured to include a discharge port 90 for discharging the biomass fuel 32 dried and carbonized in the interior of the rotary drum 14 from the rotary drum 14, an open/close cover 92 supported openably and closably by the discharge port 90, an urging member 94 for urging the open/close cover 92 in a closing direction, and an urging cancellation/restoration mechanism 96, wherein the urging cancellation/restoration mechanism 96 cancels the urging force of the urging member 94 when the rotary drum 14 rotates to position the discharge port 90 on the processing line 20, and the urging cancellation/restoration mechanism 96 restores the urging force of the urging member 94 after the discharge port 90 passes on the processing line 20.

That is, a discharge port 90 is formed on the rear end side peripheral surface of the rotary drum 14, and an opening-closing cover 92 is supported openably and closably at the end of the discharge port 90 via a pivot pin 100. In fig. 4, although the discharge port 90 is provided at one position on the rear end side peripheral surface of the rotary drum 14, it is preferable to provide one discharge port 90 at the opposite side.

The urging member 94 is mainly constituted by the main body block 98, the swing arm 102, the spring 104, and the opening/closing lever 106. That is, the main body block 98 is supported by the rear end side face 14A of the rotary drum 14, and the base end portion of the swing arm 102 is swingably supported by the main body block 98 via the pivot pin 100. On the other hand, one end of a spring 104 is coupled to a distal end portion of the arm 102, and the other end of the spring 104 is coupled to the main body block 98.

The swing arm 102 is swung in a direction to approach the main body block 98 by an urging force of the spring 104. An opening/closing lever 106 parallel to opening/closing cover 92 is provided at a front end of swing arm 102.

Thus, if the arm 102 receives the biasing force of the spring 104 and rocks in a direction to approach the main body block 98, the opening/closing lever 106 presses the open/close cover 92 in the closing direction, and the open/close cover 92 is maintained in the closed state.

The biasing release/return mechanism 96 is mainly constituted by an annular guide rail 108, a clamping member 110, and an arc-shaped auxiliary guide rail 112.

In fig. 4, the auxiliary guide rail 112 is formed by forming one of four sides of the upper end of the discharge bucket 124 provided above the processing line 20, which is located below the guide rail 108, into an arc shape.

Both ends of the guide rail 108 are disposed in parallel to the rear end side surface 14A of the rotary drum 14 in a state of being supported by the pair of support arms 114, and a notch portion 116 is formed at a position of the processing line 20 to break the circular ring by a predetermined distance. As shown in fig. 1, the processing line 20 is provided below the rear end of the rotary drum 14, and the annular guide rail 108 has a notch 116 formed at a lower position of the annular ring.

The gripping member 110 is provided on a projecting plate 118 projecting in the vertical direction from the main body block 98 of the biasing member 94 with respect to the rear end side surface 14A of the rotary drum, and is composed of a roller 120 and a gripping bar 122 that grip the guide rail 108. That is, the urging member 94 and the pinching member 110 rotate together with the rotation of the rotary drum 14, and the pinching member 110 is disengaged from the guide rail 108 at the position of the notch portion 116 of the guide rail 108, thereby releasing the urging force of the urging member 94.

Here, in the drawing, when the clamping rod 122 rotates together with the rotation of the rotary drum 14, it looks like colliding with the support arm 114, but this is because the clamping rod 122 is drawn long for easy understanding and looks like it, and actually the clamping rod 122 is short and does not contact with the support arm 114.

When rotary drum 14 rotates and gripping member 110 is disengaged from guide rail 108 at the position of notch 116 of guide rail 108, gripping member 110 rotates together with rotary drum 14 while contacting arc-shaped auxiliary guide rail 112. This can prevent the opening/closing cover 92 from being opened excessively, and can prevent the opening/closing cover 92 from swinging in the opened state. Thereafter, the clamping member 110 clamps again on the rail 108. That is, the auxiliary rail 112 guides the clamping member 110 to be clamped again on the rail 108.

Since the discharge portion 52 is configured as described above, when the rotary drum 14 rotates and the discharge port 90 reaches the processing line 20, the opening/closing cover 92 is automatically opened, and the biomass fuel 32 dried and carbonized in the rotary drum 14 can be discharged into the processing line 20. That is, when rotary drum 14 rotates and nip member 110 reaches the position of notch 116 of guide rail 108, nip member 110 is disengaged from guide rail 108. Thereby, the biasing force of the biasing member 94 is released, the opening/closing cover 92 is opened, and the biomass fuel 32 falls from the discharge port 90 into the discharge hopper 124.

The clamp member 110 disengaged from the guide rail 108 rotates together with the rotary drum 14 while being guided by the auxiliary guide rail 112, and is clamped again on the guide rail 108. Thereby, the biasing force of the biasing member 94 is restored, and therefore the discharge port 90 is closed by the opening/closing cover 92.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, a plurality of agitating plates 126 protruding from the inner circumferential surface of the rotary drum 14 in the direction of the drum rotation shaft 66 are provided inside the rotary drum 14. Thereby, the agitation plate 126 rotates together with the rotation of the rotary drum 14, and lifts the biomass material W supplied into the rotary drum 14, thereby promoting drying and carbonization. The number of the agitating plates 126 is not particularly limited, but preferably three (see fig. 2) or four agitating plates are provided at intervals of 120 ° in the circumferential direction of the rotary drum 14 or at intervals of 90 °.

(tilting device)

The tilting device 16 may be any device as long as it can tilt so that the supply portion 50 side of the rotary drum 14 is higher than the discharge portion 52 side, and in the present embodiment, a hydraulic cylinder is used as an example.

As shown in fig. 1, a cylinder body 16A is provided on the front side of the base frame 56 and at the center position in the width direction of the base frame 56, and the front end of the cylinder rod 16B is connected to the front side of the support frame 58 and at the center position in the width direction of the support frame 58. The rear end of the base frame 56 and the rear end lower portion of the support frame 58 are rotatably coupled by a rotating shaft 128. Thus, if the cylinder rod 16B is extended, the rotary drum 14 tilts about the rotation shaft 128 so that the supply portion 50 side of the rotary drum 14 is higher than the discharge portion 52 side. Therefore, since the rotating drum 14 has a downward slope from the supply portion 50 side toward the discharge portion 52 side, the biomass material W supplied into the rotating drum 14 repeats the lifting and dropping by the agitating plate 126 and moves from the supply portion 50 side toward the discharge portion 52 side by its own weight.

(cover for flue)

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the flue hood 18 is provided outside the rotary drum 14 so as not to obstruct the rotation of the rotary drum 14, and forms a flue 130 for exhaust gas generated in the combustion furnace 12 between the rotary drum 14 and the flue hood 18. Although the flue duct cover 18 is shown as a single cylindrical pipe in fig. 1, it is preferable that a plurality of cylindrical pipes are detachably connected by an annular connecting member 19 (e.g., a flange) in the same manner as the rotary drum 14 shown in fig. 5.

The combustion furnace 12 is provided on the lower surface of the rear end portion of the flue cover 18, and exhaust gas generated in the combustion furnace 12 flows into the flue 130 from the upper surface opening 131 of the combustion can 34. A chimney 132 for discharging exhaust smoke from the flue 130 is provided on the upper surface of the front portion of the flue cover 18.

In this way, combustion furnace 12 can indirectly heat rotary drum 14 by high-temperature exhaust gas via flue 130, as well as directly heat rotary drum 14. That is, the high-temperature exhaust gas generated by burning the biomass fuel 32 in the combustion furnace 12 is caused to flow through the flue 130, and is heat-exchanged with the biomass raw material W supplied to the inside of the rotary drum 14 to dry and carbonize the biomass raw material W.

In this case, as shown in fig. 5, it is preferable to provide a flow resistance providing device for providing flow resistance to the flue gas supplied from the combustion furnace 12 in the flue 130. As the flow resistance providing means, the annular baffle 134 may be newly provided in the flue 130 vertically, but the annular connecting member 15 configured as the detachable rotary drum 14 and the annular connecting member 19 configured as the detachable flue cover 18 may be used as the flow resistance providing means.

When the flue 130 has heat retaining properties, a heat retaining material such as glass wool may be wound around the outside of the flue cover 18.

In fig. 5, reference numeral 136 denotes an annular seal member for sealing a contact portion between the flue cover 18 and the circumferential surface of the rotary drum 14, and the seal member is formed of a member having a sliding property.

(processing line)

Fig. 6 is a partial sectional view illustrating the processing line 20.

As shown in fig. 6, the processing line 20 is mainly composed of: a long tubular conveyor casing 138 having an inlet 138A and an outlet (not shown); a screw conveyor 140 provided inside the conveyor housing 138; a cylindrical screen (filter) 146 which is disposed on the outlet side of the conveyor housing 138, has an inlet 146A and an outlet 146B, and has a predetermined screen diameter on the circumferential surface; a pressure plate 142 disposed on the inlet 146A side of the screen 146 orthogonally to the axial core of the screen 146 and having a smaller diameter than the inlet 146A side of the screen 146; and a spring 144 that applies a force to the pressure plate 142 from the outlet 146B side to the inlet 146A side in the axial direction of the screen 146. The cylindrical screen 146 is formed in a tapered shape such that the diameter of the screen on the outlet 146B side is larger than the diameter of the screen on the inlet 146A side.

That is, an inlet 138A of a long conveyor housing 138 disposed in the lateral direction is connected to a lower end outlet of the discharge hopper 124. A screw conveyor 140 is disposed inside the conveyor housing 138, and both ends of the screw shaft 140A are supported by a pair of bearings 147, and one end of the screw shaft 140A is coupled to a motor 148.

On the other hand, the other end of the screw shaft 140A protrudes through the outlet portion of the conveyor housing 138. A cylindrical sieve 146 is provided in a portion of the protruding screw shaft 140A, and the sieve 146 communicates with the conveyor housing 138, is supported by the screw shaft 140A, and rotates together with the screw shaft 140A. Further, the screen 146 is not fixed to the conveyor housing 138, but is inserted into the conveyor housing 138 in such a manner that an outlet portion of the conveyor housing 138 overlaps with an inlet 146A of the screen 146.

The pressure plate 142 is disposed at an inlet 146A of the screen 146, with a center portion thereof penetrated by the screw shaft 140A. The pressure plate 142 is slidable along the screw shaft 140A, and a gap 150 through which the biomass fuel 32 can pass is formed between the inner peripheral surface of the screen 146 and the outer edge of the pressure plate 142.

In addition, a flange member 152 is fixedly provided at a position of the outlet 146B of the sieve 146 in the screw shaft 140A, and a spring 144 spirally wound around the screw shaft 140A is provided between the flange member 152 and the pressure plate 142.

Further, a product tank 154 for storing the processed biomass fuel 32 is provided below the screen 146, and the processed and thinned biomass fuel 32 falls into the product tank 154 from the peripheral surface of the screen 146. Further, the biomass fuel 32 having a larger particle size than the mesh of the screen 146 is discharged from the outlet 146B of the screen 146 to the outside of the system. The biomass fuel 32 having a relatively large particle size discharged to the outside of the system is collected in, for example, a tray or the like. Of the pair of

bearings

147 and 147 that support both ends of the screw shaft 140A, the bearing 147 on the screen (also referred to as a filter) 146 side is not shown, but is supported by a support member extending from the support bracket 58.

(Return wire)

As shown in fig. 1, the return line 22 is a line for returning a part of the biomass fuel 32 stored in the product tank 154 to the fuel tank 30 of the combustion furnace 12, and may be configured, for example, by providing a screw conveyor 158 in a conveyor housing 156 connecting the product tank 154 and the fuel tank 30.

(control panel)

The overall control of the biomass fuel production apparatus 10 such as the combustion furnace 12, the rotary drum 14, the tilting device 16, the processing line 20, and the return line 22 is performed by a control panel 160 provided on the support frame 58.

[ method of operating Biomass Fuel production apparatus ]

Next, an operation method of the biomass fuel production apparatus 10 configured as described above will be described.

First, the cylinder rod 16B, which is a hydraulic cylinder of the tilting device 16, is extended to tilt the rotary drum 14 so that the supply portion 50 side is higher than the discharge portion 52 side.

Next, while rotating rotary drum 14, processed biomass fuel 32 having a uniform shape and size through processing line 20 is burned in combustion furnace 12. The rotary drum 14 is directly heated by the combustion furnace 12, and the high-temperature exhaust gas generated by the combustion furnace 12 is sent to the flue 130 to heat the inside of the rotary drum 14 from the outside.

In this state, the biomass material W is supplied from the material hopper 82 to the inside of the rotary drum 14 by the screw conveyor 80 of the supply unit 50. The biomass material W supplied into the rotary drum 14 is fed from the supply portion 50 side to the discharge portion 52 side of the rotary drum 14 while being stirred by the stirring plate 126, and a part thereof is carbonized at the final stage of drying.

In the drying and carbonization of the biomass material W in the rotary drum 14, the biomass fuel production apparatus 10 of the present embodiment is provided with a flow resistance providing device such as a baffle 134 and

annular connection members

15 and 19 for providing flow resistance to the exhaust gas supplied from the combustion furnace 12 in the flue 130. As a result, the high-temperature flue gas flowing through the flue 130 is likely to stay in the flue 130, and the heat exchange efficiency between the high-temperature flue gas and the air inside the rotary drum 14 and the biomass raw material W moving inside the rotary drum 14 is improved. Therefore, the efficiency of drying and carbonizing the biomass raw material W to produce the biomass fuel 32 is improved.

The degree of drying and carbonization of the biomass raw material W is adjusted by changing the inclination angle of the rotary drum 14 and the number of revolutions of the rotary drum 14 by controlling the tilting device 16 and the stepless motor 74 via the control panel 160. This allows adjustment of the residence time of the biomass material W in the rotary drum 14, and thus the degree of drying and carbonization of the biomass material W can be adjusted.

In the biomass fuel production apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, the rotation speed of the rotary drum 14 and the rotation speed of the screw conveyor 80 of the supply unit 50 are set to be the same. Accordingly, if the rotation speed of the rotary drum 14 is increased, the rotation speed of the screw conveyor 80 is also increased, the supply amount of the biomass raw material W supplied from the raw material hopper 82 into the rotary drum 14 is increased, and the speed of movement from the supply portion 50 to the discharge portion 52 is increased. As a result, the amount of heat per unit mass of the biomass material W that moves from the supply portion 50 to the discharge portion 52 of the rotary drum 14 is reduced, and therefore the biomass material W that is dried and carbonized quickly can be dried and carbonized without being excessively advanced.

Further, if the rotation speed of the rotary drum 14 is reduced, the rotation speed of the screw conveyor 80 is also reduced, the supply amount of the biomass material W supplied from the material hopper 82 into the rotary drum 14 is reduced, and the speed of movement from the supply portion 50 to the discharge portion 52 is reduced. As a result, the amount of heat per unit mass of the biomass material W that moves from the supply portion 50 to the discharge portion 52 of the rotary drum 14 increases, and therefore the biomass material W that has been dried and carbonized slowly can be sufficiently dried and carbonized.

Next, the biomass fuel 32 produced by drying and carbonizing inside the rotary drum 14 is discharged from the discharge portion 52 to the discharge hopper 124.

In the biomass fuel production apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, the discharge portion 52 is configured as described above, and the open-close cover 92 is automatically opened and closed only when the discharge port 90 reaches the processing line 20 by the rotation of the rotary drum 14, in terms of the discharge of the biomass fuel 32 from the discharge portion 52.

This prevents the discharge port 90 of the rotary drum 14 from being opened to the outside air at all times, and thus the airtightness inside the rotary drum 14 is easily ensured. Therefore, the decomposition heat generated when the biomass material W is carbonized is less likely to escape from the discharge portion 52, and therefore the drying and carbonization efficiency can be improved.

Next, the biomass fuel 32 discharged to the discharge hopper 124 is processed in the processing line 20 because the shape is not uniform but also large.

That is, in the biomass fuel production apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, since the processing line 20 is configured as described above, only the carbonized portion is finely pulverized by the grinding action of the force F1 in the conveying direction generated by the screw conveyor 140 and the force F2 in the direction opposite to the conveying direction generated by the pressure plate 142 supported by the spring 144 of the biomass fuel 32 supplied from the discharge hopper 124 into the cylindrical conveyor housing 138. The biomass fuel 32, which is a part of the pulverized and thinned biomass fuel that has been carbonized, passes through the gap 150 between the pressure plate 142 and the inner peripheral surface of the conveyor housing 138 to reach the screen 146, and falls as processed biomass fuel 32 from the holes of the screen 146 into the product tank 154. The large biomass fuel 32 remaining without being pulverized is discharged to the outside of the system through the outlet 146B of the screen 146.

This enables the biomass fuel 32 to be manufactured in a thin and constant shape and size. Thus, not only the combustion efficiency at the time of combustion in the combustion furnace 12 is improved, but also the product value at the time of sale as a product is improved.

In the processing line 20, the conveyor housing 138 has a cylindrical shape, and the pressure plate 142 is preferably a polygonal shape (e.g., a hexagonal shape) having corners contacting the inner peripheral surface of the conveyor housing 138, as compared to a circular plate shape. Thus, a semicircular gap through which the biomass fuel 32 passes is formed between the inner peripheral surface of the conveyor housing 138 and the outer edge of the pressure plate 142. Thus, the biomass fuel 32 processed into a thin and constant shape and size can easily pass through.

Further, since the biomass fuel 32 is formed into a thin and constant shape and size in the processing line 20, a trouble such as a conveyance jam does not occur in the return line 22 for returning a part of the biomass fuel 32 to the combustion furnace 12.

As described above, the biomass fuel production apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention can solve the problem of the inconsistency in the shape and size of the produced biomass fuel 32 and the problem of the variation in the carbonization degree due to the type of the biomass material, which are conventional problems.

[ second embodiment of Biomass Fuel production apparatus ]

The second embodiment of the biomass fuel production apparatus 10 according to the present invention is further improved to solve the problem of variation in the degree of drying and carbonization due to the type of the biomass raw material W.

Note that the same configuration as that of the first embodiment of the biomass fuel production apparatus 10 will not be described.

As shown in fig. 7, the second embodiment of the biomass fuel production apparatus 10 divides the rotary drum 14 into a dry carbonization chamber 161 on the supply unit 50 side and a cooling chamber 163 on the discharge unit 52 side, and arranges the combustion furnace 12 and the flue 130 corresponding to the dry carbonization chamber 161.

That is, a flue gas duct cover 18 is formed from the front end of the rotary drum 14 in the axial direction to the substantially central position, the portion of the rotary drum 14 having the flue gas duct cover 18 is defined as a dry carbonization chamber 161, and the combustion furnace 12 is disposed on the lower surface of the rear end of the flue gas duct cover 18. In addition, the stirring plate 126 is provided in the dry carbonization chamber 161.

On the other hand, a portion of the rotary drum 14 from the position where the combustion furnace 12 is disposed (substantially the center position of the rotary drum 14) to the rear end where the flue hood 18 is not provided is defined as a cooling chamber 163.

In this way, since the front side of the rotary drum 14 is defined as the drying and carbonizing chamber 161 and the rear side is defined as the cooling chamber 163, the biomass raw material W which is dried and carbonized quickly can be prevented from being excessively carbonized. Further, the biomass fuel 32 in the high-temperature state after being dried and carbonized in the drying and carbonizing chamber 161 is cooled in the cooling chamber 163, and then discharged from the discharge portion 52. This can prevent the biomass fuel 32 from being ignited when the biomass fuel 32 is discharged from the discharge portion 52 and comes into contact with the outside air.

In the second embodiment of the biomass fuel production apparatus 10, the screw conveyor 165 is preferably disposed along the axial direction inside the cooling chamber 161.

By disposing the screw conveyor 165 in the cooling chamber 163 in this manner, the screw blade 165A suppresses the inflow of the hot air in the drying and carbonizing chamber 161 into the cooling chamber 163, and thus the cooling effect can be improved. Since the effect of suppressing the inflow of hot air into the cooling chamber 163 increases with each turn of the spiral blade 165A, the larger the number of spiral blades 165A, the better, and preferably five or more spiral blades, for example.

In the second embodiment of the biomass fuel production apparatus 10, it is preferable that a plurality of heat dissipation plates 162 protruding outward of the rotary drum 14 be provided on the outer periphery of the cooling chamber 163. This can improve the cooling efficiency of the biomass fuel 32 in the cooling chamber 163.

Further, a plurality of agitating plates 141 protruding into the rotary drum 14 are preferably provided on the inner periphery of the cooling chamber 163. This can stir the biomass fuel 32 in the cooling chamber 163 to improve the cooling efficiency.

When the biomass fuel 32 is discharged from the discharge portion 52, low-temperature outside air enters the inside of the rotary drum 14. However, by providing the cooling chamber 163, the cooling of the biomass fuel in the cooling chamber 163 can be promoted by the low-temperature outside air entering the cooling chamber 163. On the other hand, the outside air entering the cooling chamber 163 is warmed by heat exchange with the biomass fuel 32 and then enters the dry carbonization chamber 161, and therefore the temperature of the dry carbonization chamber 161 is less likely to decrease.

[ third embodiment of Biomass Fuel production apparatus ]

A third embodiment of the biomass fuel production apparatus 10 according to the present invention incorporates a home self-generating mechanism in the biomass fuel production apparatus 10 to provide a power source for the biomass fuel production apparatus 10.

As shown in fig. 8, the third embodiment of the biomass fuel production apparatus 10 is provided with a combustion furnace 12, a steam boiler 164, and a thermal generator 166 that generates electric power from superheated steam generated in the steam boiler 164.

The steam boiler 164 is constructed by a circulating bath boiler, and mainly includes a dome-shaped water tank 168 covering the combustion furnace 12 and the flue cover 18, and a steam pipe 170 provided near the upper surface opening 131 of the combustion furnace 12. The water fed from the water tank 168 is converted into superheated steam necessary for power generation by a steam pipe 170, and fed to the thermal power generator 166 to rotate a steam turbine (not shown), thereby generating power and being used as a power source of the biomass fuel production apparatus 10.

Thus, the third embodiment of the biomass fuel production apparatus 10 can establish the self-sufficient cycle in which the fuel and the power source of the combustion furnace 12 are self-sufficient in the process of producing the biomass fuel 32. Therefore, the power supply device can be used in remote places such as mountains where no power is supplied and foreign countries.

Description of the reference numerals

10: a biomass fuel production device; 12: a combustion furnace; 14: rotating the drum; 14A: the rear end side surface of the rotary drum; 15: a connecting member of the rotary drum; 16: a tilting device; 16A: a hydraulic cylinder main body part; 16B: a hydraulic cylinder rod; 18: a hood for a flue; 19: a connecting member of the flue hood; 20: processing lines; 22: returning the wire; 24: a universal joint; 26: a screw conveyor; 26A: a shaft top end portion; 28: a motor; 30: a fuel tank; 32: a biomass fuel; 34: a combustion can; 36: a combustion vessel; 38: a shaft suspension portion; 40: a combustion diffusion scraper; 42: an air duct; 44: air; 46: burning ash; 48: an ash tray; 50: a supply section; 52: a discharge unit; 54: a ground surface; 56: a base frame; 58: a support frame; 60: a front (rear) roller; 64: a flange; 66: a drum rotating shaft; 66A: a protruding part of the drum rotating shaft; 68: a front bearing; 70: a rear bearing; 72: a first gear; 74: a stepless motor; 74A: a motor shaft; 76: a second gear; 78: a cyclic chain; 80: a screw conveyor; 80A: a helical blade; 82: a raw material hopper; 82A: a throwing port; 83: a raw material conveying line; 84: a conveyor housing; 86: a storage tank; 88: a screw conveyor; 90: an outlet port; 92: an opening and closing cover; 94: a force application member; 96: a force application release/recovery mechanism; 98: a main body block; 100: a rotation pin; 102: swing arms; 104: a spring; 106: an opening/closing lever; 108: a guide rail; 110: a clamping member; 112: an auxiliary guide rail; 114: a support arm; 116: a notch portion; 118: a projecting plate; 120: a roller; 122: a clamping rod; 124: a discharge hopper; 126: a stirring plate; 128: a rotating shaft; 130: a flue; 131: the upper surface is open; 132: a chimney; 134: a baffle plate; 136: a sealing member; 138: a conveyor housing; 138A: an inlet; 140: a screw conveyor; 140A: a screw shaft; 141: a stirring plate; 142: a pressure plate; 144: a spring; 146: screening; 147: a bearing; 148: a motor; 150: a gap; 152: a flange member; 154: a product box; 156: a conveyor housing; 158: a screw conveyor; 160: a control panel; 161: a drying carbonization chamber; 162: a heat dissipation plate; 163: a cooling chamber; 164: a steam boiler; 165: a screw conveyor; 166: a thermal power generator; 168: a water tank; 170: and (7) a steam pipe.

Claims

1. A biomass fuel manufacturing device is characterized in that,

the biomass fuel production device comprises:

a combustion furnace;

a rotary drum having a supply portion for supplying a biomass material on one end side in a shaft center direction and a discharge portion for discharging a biomass fuel obtained by drying and carbonizing the biomass material on the other end side, wherein a drum rotating shaft penetrates through the rotary drum in the shaft center direction;

a flue hood which is provided outside the rotary drum so as not to obstruct rotation of the rotary drum, and which forms a flue for exhaust fumes generated in the combustion furnace with the rotary drum to heat the rotary drum;

a tilting device that tilts the rotary drum at an arbitrary tilt so that the supply portion side is higher than the discharge portion side;

a processing line for pulverizing a portion of the biomass fuel discharged from the discharge portion of the rotary drum, which has been carbonized; and

a return line that returns a part of the biomass fuel processed in the processing line to the combustion furnace,

the supply unit includes a first screw conveyor that feeds the biomass material into the rotary drum while rotating at the same speed as the rotary drum, a rotation shaft of the first screw conveyor being a part of the one end side of the drum rotation shaft,

the processing line is provided with: a conveyor housing having an elongated tubular shape with an inlet and an outlet; a second screw conveyor provided inside the conveyor housing; and a pressure plate provided on an outlet side of the conveyor housing so as to be orthogonal to an axial core of the conveyor housing and having a diameter smaller than that of the conveyor housing.

2. The biomass fuel production apparatus according to claim 1,

the discharge unit includes:

an outlet port for discharging the biomass fuel from the rotary drum;

an opening/closing cover supported to be openable and closable by the discharge port;

a first urging member that urges the opening/closing cover in a closing direction; and

and a biasing releasing/restoring mechanism that releases the biasing force of the biasing member when the rotating drum rotates to position the discharge port on the processing line, and restores the biasing force when the discharge port passes through the processing line.

3. The biomass fuel production apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein,

the processing line further comprises:

a second urging member that applies an urging force to the pressure plate from the outlet side to the inlet side of the conveyor housing; and

and a cylindrical screen which is provided so as to communicate with the outlet side of the conveyor housing, has a predetermined screen diameter, and rotates together with the second screw conveyor.

4. The biomass fuel production apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein,

a flow resistance providing device that provides flow resistance to the flue gas supplied from the combustion furnace is provided in the flue.

5. The biomass fuel production apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein,

the interior of the rotary drum is divided into a dry carbonization chamber on the supply side and a cooling chamber on the discharge side, and the combustion furnace and the flue are disposed so as to correspond to the dry carbonization chamber.

6. The biomass fuel production apparatus according to claim 5, wherein,

the cooling chamber has a third screw conveyor disposed along the axial direction of the rotary drum.

7. The biomass fuel production apparatus according to claim 5, wherein,

a plurality of heat dissipation plates protruding from the inside to the outside of the rotary drum are provided on the outer periphery of the cooling chamber.

8. The biomass fuel production apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein,

the biomass fuel production device is provided with a steam boiler and a generator for generating electricity from high-temperature and high-pressure steam generated in the steam boiler.