WO2019049266A1

WO2019049266A1 - Pretreatment method for frond of oil palm and manufacturing process for biomass fuel

Info

Publication number: WO2019049266A1
Application number: PCT/JP2017/032290
Authority: WO
Inventors: 裕太田原; 鈴木　崇幸; 靖訓田中; 裕司福田
Original assignee: 太平洋セメント株式会社; リマテックホールディングス株式会社; 株式会社関西再資源ネットワーク
Priority date: 2017-09-07
Filing date: 2017-09-07
Publication date: 2019-03-14
Also published as: MY194802A; JP6289789B1; JPWO2019049266A1

Abstract

The present invention provides an oil palm frond pretreatment method with which it is possible to efficiently remove alkali metals and chlorine from fronds of an oil palm (OPF). The oil palm frond pretreatment method according to the present invention comprises: step (a) for heating fronds of an oil palm; step (b) for squeezing the oil palm fronds heated in step (a); step (c) for washing the fronds squeezed in step (b) with water while a physical impact is being applied to the fronds; and step (d) for straining the oil palm fronds washed with water in step (c) and then subjecting the fronds to water spray cleaning.

Description

Pretreatment method of oil palm stem and leaf, production method of biomass fuel

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a method for pretreating oil palm leaves and leaves and a method for producing biomass fuel, in effective use of oil leaves and leaves as biomass fuel.

The world palm oil production amount exceeds 55 million tons, and in Japan, about 700,000 tons of palm oil is used for foods such as instant noodles and non-foods such as detergents and soaps.

By the way, from the production process of palm oil and the plantation of oil palm producing palm oil, empty fruit bunch (Empty Fruit Bunches, hereinafter referred to as "EFB") which remains after defruiting fruit from oil palm fruit bunch, Oil palm trunks (Oil Palm Trunk, hereinafter sometimes referred to as "palm trunks" or "OPT") may be harvested and renewed every 25 to 30 years, and 2-3 oil palm harvests may be cut off. In addition, at the time of palm trunk harvesting, a large number of oil palm stems and leaves (sometimes referred to as “palm stems and leaves” or “OPF” hereinafter), which are 30 to 50 palm trees per tree, are excreted. .

EFB is under development for the effective utilization technology for pulp for papermaking and biomass fuel, and OPT is under development for the effective utilization technology for converting squeezed liquid into ethanol. For example, Patent Document 1 below discloses a technique for effectively using EFB as a biomass fuel.

However, oil palm stems and leaves (OPF) exceed EFB and OPT quantitatively, for example, despite being discharged to plantations in spite of more than 40 million tons of dry weight per year in dry weight in Malaysia. In addition to composting, it is not used. The reason for this is that OPF is not only large in quantity, but because individual lengths exceed 5 m, it is difficult to carry it manually and while it needs to be carried by a vehicle, This is largely due to the transportation problem that there is not enough space in the palm fields in which oil palms live to allow large vehicles to travel.

JP, 2010-270320, A

By the way, from the viewpoint of carbon neutrality, biomass power generation is expected to have the effect of suppressing the progress of global warming. For this reason, if it is understood that oil palm stems and leaves (OPF) that are not effectively used at present can be effectively used as a fuel for biomass power generation, momentum for actively using OPF is increased, and the transportation as described above There is a good possibility that the problem of can be solved by policy reasons.

Under such circumstances, the present inventors conducted intensive studies as to whether it is possible to use OPF as a biomass fuel. As a result, it was confirmed that OPF has a heat quantity equivalent to that of EFB and is sufficiently usable as a biomass fuel. On the other hand, the present inventors confirmed that OPF contains a large amount of alkali metal and chlorine, which are repellent components when used as fuel.

When a biomass fuel containing a large amount of alkali metal is used as a fuel for power generation, the alkali metal causes a chemical reaction in the heating device (power generation boiler) to generate a low melting point substance, and the low melting point substance produced is, for example, There is a risk of causing problems such as obstructing the flow of the fluidized bed in the fluidized bed heating device. In addition, when biomass fuel containing a large amount of chlorine is used as a fuel for power generation, there is a possibility that a low melting point substance may be generated in the power generation boiler or the power generation boiler may be corroded as the alkali metal.

Therefore, in order to effectively utilize OPF as a biomass fuel, the present inventors considered that pretreatment for removing alkali metals and chlorine from OPF is necessary. Specifically, the alkali metal content in the fuel is preferably 0.2% by mass or less, and the chlorine content in the fuel is preferably 0.1% by mass or less. However, at present, there is no discussion about actively using OPF as a biomass fuel, but at present there is no method for efficiently removing alkali metals and chlorine contained in this OPF.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method for pretreatment of oil palm stem and leaves, which can efficiently remove alkali metals and chlorine from oil palm stem and leaves (OPF). Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing a biomass fuel using the oil palm leaves obtained by the pretreatment method.

The method for pre-treating the stems and leaves of oil palm according to the present invention is
Heating the stems and leaves of oil palm (a),
Squeezing the stems and leaves of the oil palm heated in the step (a) (b)
Washing the leaves and leaves of the oil palm squeezed in the step (b) while applying physical impact (c);
It comprises a step (d) of draining and then washing the leaves and leaves of the oil palm washed in the step (c) with water.

By heating the stems and leaves of the oil palm in the step (a), the plant cells in the stems and leaves of the oil palm become soft. As a result, in the subsequent pressing step (b) and washing step (c), the plant cells of the leaves and leaves of the oil palm are easily destroyed, and alkali metals and chlorine can be efficiently removed from the leaves and leaves of oil palm .

The heating step (a) can be a step of heating using steam. As an example, saturated steam can be used.

In the method of the present invention, in the pressing step (b), the stems and leaves of oil palm are squeezed to destroy plant cells in the stems and leaves, and a certain amount of water contained in the stems and leaves of oil palm is removed. After the completion of this step (b), the water is preferably removed so that the water content in the stems and leaves of oil palm is 60% by mass or less. In the squeezing step (b), alkali metals and chlorine contained in the stems and leaves of the oil palm are removed from the stems and leaves of the oil palm together with the squeezed compressed water. Furthermore, in the squeezing step (b), the plant cells constituting the stems and leaves of the oil palm are destroyed, whereby alkali metals and chlorine are easily removed from the stems and leaves of the oil palm efficiently in the next water washing step (c).

In the method of the present invention, in the washing step (c), the leaves and leaves of the oil palm are subjected to washing while being physically shocked. That is, in this step (c), the plant cells in the stems and leaves of oil palm are washed with water while being destroyed. Thereby, the alkali metal and chlorine in the stems and leaves of oil palm that were not squeezed out in the pressing step (b) can be eluted into the washing water.

The physical impact in the washing step (c) may be by continuous (continuous) pressurization, but may be by intermittent application of instantaneous impact. By employing the latter, the time required for the water washing step (c) can be minimized.

In the method of the present invention, in the water sprinkling and washing step (d), the stems and leaves of the oil palm after the water washing step (c) is completed are drained and then water washing is performed. By this step (d), alkali metals and chlorine dissolved in water adhering to the surface of the leaves and leaves of oil palm can be removed.

In addition, in this water sprinkling washing step (d), the water (water after washing) after being sprinkled on the oil palm leaves is dissolved as compared with the water after water rinsing the oil palm leaves in the water washing step (c). The amount of alkali metal and chlorine is low. For this reason, after recovering the water used at the sprinkling water washing process (d), it does not matter as what is used for the flush water of a water washing process (c). As a result, the total amount of water used in the method of the present invention is reduced, and drainage treatment of water after being used in the water washing step can be omitted or simplified.

By the way, among the stems and leaves of oil palm, there are large ones exceeding 5 m. The squeezing step (b) is carried out, for example, by putting the oil palm stems and leaves into a squeezer and operating it. For this reason, when the stems and leaves of a large oil palm are put into the press as it is, the stems and leaves themselves of the oil palm itself are too large to be able to sufficiently squeeze in the press, or it may occur in the first place. For this reason, in the above method, it is possible to include the step (e) of crushing the palm leaves of oil palm so as to have a long fiber length of 300 mm or less before performing the pressing step (b). The crushing step (e) may be performed before the heating step (a), or may be performed after the heating step (a) and before the pressing step (b). .

In the above method, in the washing step (c), the leaves and leaves of the oil palm are washed with water in an amount of 3 parts by mass or more and 22 parts by mass or less with respect to 1 part by mass (dry mass) of the leaves and leaves It does not matter as a thing to do. Similarly, in the water sprinkling and washing step (d), the stem and leaves of the oil palm are sprayed in an amount of 3 parts by mass or more and 20 parts by mass or less with respect to 1 part by mass (dry mass) of the oil palm to be watered. It does not matter as what is sprayed and washed. By performing water washing / sprinkling washing with the amount of water within this range, the effect of removing alkali metals and chlorine is exhibited while suppressing the amount of water used within a certain range.

In the above method, after the step (d), a step (f) of further squeezing the stems and leaves of the oil palm may be included.

As described above, at least a part of the plant cells of the leaves and leaves of oil palm is destroyed through the squeezing step (b) and the water washing step (c). For this reason, a part of the water (wash water / wash water) supplied to the leaves and leaves of oil palm by the water washing step (c) and the water washing step (d) may be taken into plant cells of the leaves and leaves of oil palm . As described above, after the completion of the water spray washing step (d), the squeezing step (f) is performed again to extract the water contained in the plant cells of the leaves and leaves of oil palm, so it is dissolved in the water. Alkali metals and chlorine are removed. As a result, alkali metals and chlorine can be further removed from the stems and leaves of oil palm.

In the above method, after the step (f), a step (g) of further washing the leaves and leaves of the oil palm with water;
After the step (g), a step (h) of squeezing the stems and leaves of the oil palm may be further included.

By performing the steps (g) and (h), alkali metals and chlorine adhering to the surface of the leaves and leaves of oil palms can be further removed, and they can be contained in the disrupted plant cells etc. It is also possible to further remove trace amounts of alkali metals and chlorine remaining inside the leaves and leaves of oil palm.

Moreover, the method for producing biomass fuel according to the present invention is
After completion of the above-described method for pre-treatment of oil palm stem and leaf, drying the oil palm stem and leaf until the water content in the oil palm stem and leaf is 20% by mass or less;
After the step (i), the method comprises the steps of: (j) shaping the dried leaves and leaves of the oil palm into a pellet.

According to the above method, the leaves of oil palm can be suitably used as a biomass fuel in a state where alkali metals and chlorine are sufficiently removed. In the step (j), the size of the pellets may be a bulk density of 0.50 kg / L or more. The size of the pellet can be appropriately set in consideration of transport efficiency and handling.

In the above method, the step (k) may be performed between the step (i) and the step (j) to crush the stems and leaves of the oil palm until the long fiber length becomes 20 mm or less. By performing this step (k), the foliage of the oil palm is miniaturized and the execution of the forming step (j) is facilitated.

In the step (j), the oil and fat derived from the leaves and leaves of the oil palm obtained after completion of the method for pre-treating the leaves and leaves of oil palm described above may be used as a molding aid. By using this fat and oil, it is possible to increase the heat quantity of the pellet while enhancing the utilization efficiency of the oil and palm leaves.

According to the method of the present invention, since alkali metals and chlorine can be efficiently removed from oil palm leaves and leaves (OPF), oil leaves and leaves that have not been effectively used at present can be used for utilization of biomass fuel.

It is a flow chart which shows typically the pretreatment method of the foliage of oil palm concerning the present invention, and the manufacturing method of biomass fuel. It is a block diagram which shows typically an example of the apparatus which implements the method shown by the flowchart of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows typically the aspect of another embodiment of the pre-processing method of the foliage of an oil palm which concerns on this invention, and the manufacturing method of a biomass fuel. FIG. 4 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an example of an apparatus that implements the method illustrated in the flow chart of FIG. 3;

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a method for pre-treating foliage leaves and a method for producing biomass fuel according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings as appropriate.

FIG. 1 is a flow chart schematically showing one embodiment of a method for pre-processing a foliage of an oil palm according to the present invention and a method for producing a biomass fuel. Moreover, FIG. 2 is a block diagram which shows typically an example of the apparatus (It calls a "biomass fuel-ized apparatus".) Which implements the pre-processing method of the foliage of oil palm which concerns on this invention, and the manufacturing method of biomass fuel. is there. In FIG. 2, the flow of biomass material is indicated by a solid line with an arrow, and the flow of liquid (water and oil) is indicated by a dotted line with an arrow.

As shown in FIG. 1, the method for producing a biomass fuel according to the present invention includes step S10 corresponding to the pre-treatment step and step S20 corresponding to the post-treatment step.

In the example shown in FIG. 1, the pretreatment step S10 includes a heating step S11, a pressing step S12, a water washing step S13, a water spray washing step S14, and a pressing step S15. The post-processing step S20 includes a drying step S21, a crushing step S22, and a molding step S23.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the biomass fueling device 1 of the present embodiment is configured to include a pretreatment device 2 and a post-treatment device 3. The pretreatment device 2 includes a heater 11, a hopper 12, a squeezing machine 13, a water washing device 14, a vibrating sieve (sieve) 15, a vibrating sieve 16, a washing water supply device 17, a flush water tank 18, a water pump 19, and flush water. It comprises the supply apparatus 21, the oil-water separator 22, the waste water treatment apparatus 24, and the press 25. The post-processing device 3 includes a dryer 32, a crusher 33, a molding machine 34, and an oil feed pump 35.

Each step will be described in detail below with reference to FIG. 2 as appropriate.

[Pretreatment process]
First, the pretreatment step S10 will be described.

(Heating process S11)
First, the stem and leaf e1 of oil palm collected from a plantation or the like is introduced into the heater 11 and heated by the heater 11. The palm leaf e1 of the oil palm is particularly rich in potassium among alkali metals, and the content thereof is 0.2 to 0.5% by mass of the leaf part and 0.8 to 1.3% by mass of the stem part . The chlorine content is 0.2 to 0.4% by mass in the leaf part and 0.1 to 0.6% by mass in the stem part. And, the stem and leaf e1 of this oil palm contains 60 to 70% by mass of water.

After heating, the stem and leaf e2 of the oil palm becomes a state in which the plant cells are softened. It is preferable that the degree of softness of the stem and leaf e2 of the oil palm after heating be made flexible as a whole so as not to affect the handling in the subsequent steps. More specifically, in the heating step S1, it is preferable to heat for 15 to 60 minutes using saturated steam at 100 to 200 ° C.

The heating device 11 is not limited to the device mode or heating principle as long as the stem and leaf e2 of the heated oil palm becomes soft and easy to handle, but heating is performed using steam or saturated steam. Is preferred. As an example, the heater 11 may be a general device for softening plants, such as a steamer, a steamer, a hot air device (dryer), a hot water reservoir (pan), and the like. Among these, it is preferable to use a steamer or a steamer because it can sufficiently soften the palm leaf e1 of oil palm in a short time.

By the way, oil palms inhabit in tropical rain forest climate areas such as Malaysia and Indonesia. In these areas, plant cells may be able to be sufficiently softened by simply piling palm leaves e1 in the field for a period of about two weeks. In such a case, the step of laying the stems and leaves e1 of the oil palm over a fixed period corresponds to the heating step S11, and the pretreatment device 2 may not necessarily include the heater 11.

The heating step S11 corresponds to the step (a).

(Squeeze process S12)
The stems and leaves e2 of the oil palm softened through the heating step S11 are charged into the hopper 12 and stored. And the stem and leaf e2 of this oil palm is suitably supplied to the expression machine 13 from the hopper 12 by predetermined flow volume (speed).

The press 13 destroys the plant cells of the oil palm stem and leaf e2 which has already been softened by pressurizing the oil palm stem and leaf e2, which has been input, and removes the alkali metal and chlorine contained in the plant cells. Squeeze out with. At this time, it is preferable to squeeze the water content of the stem and leaf e3 of the oil palm after squeezing to 60% by mass or less, and the squeezing machine 13 is not limited to that type as long as it can squeeze within this range. As an example, the press 13 can use general-purpose apparatuses, such as a hydraulic press (vertical type and horizontal type), a uniaxial press (screw type), and a biaxial press (extruder). Among these, it is preferable to use a twin-screw press (extruder) because the time required is short and continuous processing is possible.

In the squeezing step S12, water in which a part of the alkali metal and chlorine contained in the plant cells of the stem and leaf e2 of the oil palm is dissolved is extracted from the stem and leaf e2 of the oil palm and discharged. As a result, as for the stem and leaf e3 of an oil palm after completion of pressing process S12, content of an alkali metal and chlorine falls compared with the stem and leaf e2 of oil palm before execution of pressing process S12.

By the way, the alkali metal and chlorine contained in the stem and leaf e3 of the oil palm after the pressing step S12 is completed are mostly dissolved in the water contained in the stem and leaf e3 of the oil palm. Therefore, it can be said that the content of alkali metal and chlorine in the stem and leaf e3 of the oil palm is proportional to the residual water content of the stem and leaf e3 of the oil palm. In other words, the residual water content of the oil and pepper e3 can be used as an indicator of the content of alkali metal and chlorine contained in the oil and fat e3. Furthermore, the residual water content of the oil palm stem and leaf e3 is also an indicator of the degree of destruction of the plant cells of the oil palm stem and leaf e2 by the press 13. The smaller the residual water content, the greater the amount of the destroyed plant cells. Means

The residual water content of the stem and leaf e3 of this oil palm is preferably 60% by mass or less, more preferably 55% by mass or less, and 50% by mass from the viewpoint of reducing the alkali metal and chlorine contents and from the viewpoint of destroying many plant cells. The following are particularly preferred. If the residual water content of the stem and leaf e3 of the oil palm is 60% by mass or less, the alkali metal content is 0.2% by mass or less by passing through the water washing step S13 and the water sprinkling cleaning step S14 performed later. It is possible to obtain an oil palm stem and leaf having a chlorine content of 0.1% by mass or less. The alkali metal content of the stem and leaf e3 of the oil palm having a residual water content of 60% by mass is 0.2 to 0.8% by mass, and the chlorine content is 0.1 to 0.5% by mass.

In the present embodiment, the discharged water (hereinafter referred to as “pressed water”) SW1 obtained by execution of the pressing step S12 is sent to the oil / water separator 22. The oil-water separator 22 separates the supplied compressed water SW1 into the water content W3 and the fat and oil content O1. The oil-water separator 22 is not limited to this type as long as it can realize the function of separating water and fat from the liquid in which water and fat are mixed. For example, as the oil / water separator 22, an oil / water separator or a centrifugal deoiling machine can be used, but from the viewpoint of cleaning the water W3 discharged out of the system after waste water treatment, the centrifugal deoiling machine by high speed centrifugal separation It is preferred to use

This squeezing step S12 corresponds to the step (b).

(Washing process S13)
The stem and leaf e3 of the oil palm after the pressing step S12 is completed is delivered to the water washing device 14, where the water washing step S13 is performed. The water washing step S13 is a step of washing the oil palm stem and leaf e3 while washing the oil palm stem and leaf e3 with physical impact to destroy plant cells of the oil palm stem and leaf e3. The flush device 14 is supplied with flush water W1 from the flush water supply device 21, and flushes the stems and leaves e3 of the oil palm using the flush water W1. The flush water supply device 21 includes a tank for storing flush water W1 and a water injection port for delivering the stored flush water W1 to the flush device 14 at a predetermined flow rate.

More preferably, the water washing apparatus 14 is preferably configured to be able to perform water washing while intermittently applying an instantaneous physical impact to the stem and leaf e3 of the oil palm. For example, the water washing device 14 is a cylindrical device to which the flush water W1 is supplied from the flush water supply device 21, and it is physically applicable to the rotation mechanism which rotates in the axial direction and the stems and leaves e3 of the oil palm housed in this device. It is possible to adopt a configuration including an impact medium for giving a dynamic impact.

As a specific example, the washing device 14 is a cylindrical device to which the washing water W1 is supplied from the washing water supply device 21, and has a shaft provided with a plurality of paddles inside the device, and The shaft is configured to be rotatable. Such devices are sometimes referred to as paddle mixers. The leaves and leaves e3 of the oil palm are supplied into the apparatus from the vicinity of one end of the apparatus, and flow to the vicinity of the other end of the apparatus according to the flow of the flush water W1. In this way, while the palm leaf e3 of the oil palm moves in the water washing device 14, it is crushed by the paddle at the time when it passes through the installation site of the paddle. As a result, each time the paddle passes through the portion where the paddles are provided, the stems and leaves e3 of the oil palm are washed in the water washing device 14 while receiving an instantaneous impact. In this aspect, the paddles correspond to the impact media.

The water washing apparatus 14 is not limited to the paddle mixer as described above as long as it can wash water while applying physical impact to the stems and leaves e3 of the oil palm. As another example, it is possible to use a desalt separator in which the flush water W1 is supplied from the flush water supply device 21. The desolate separator is a drum-shaped container having a lifter attached to its inner surface, which rotates about an axis extending in the horizontal direction or an axis slightly inclined from the horizontal direction, and is housed movably in this container This device is equipped with multiple iron rods and combines the functions of both the drum washer and the rod mill. The impact of the iron rod falling after being lifted by the lifter destroys the plant cells of the oil palm stem and leaf e3 and, due to the weight of the iron rod and the stirring effect by the rotation of the container, the oil palm stem and leaf e3 can be crushed efficiently.

When the water washing apparatus 14 is constituted by a desolate separator, the iron rod as an impact medium has a length substantially the same as the length of the sample room of the water washing apparatus 14 with respect to the volume Am ³ of the sample room of the water washing apparatus 14 Preferably, 4 to 10 rod-like members having a volume of 0.015 A to 0.04 Am ³ are used, and more preferably 5 to 8 are used. Further, the impact medium may be a spherical member, and in this case, it is preferable to use a member having a diameter of 25 mm or more at a filling rate of 7 to 15%.

As another example of the washing device 14, a wet trommel can be employed. In addition, the water washing device 14 does not necessarily have to be provided with an impact medium, and is provided with only the rotating device, and by stirring the stem and leaf e3 of the oil palm in the rotating device, It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which physical impact is given to the stem and leaf e3 of the oil palm by dropping it several times.

The amount of flush water W1 used in the flush step S13 is an oil palm to be cleaned from the viewpoint of efficiently removing the alkali metal and chlorine from the stems and leaves e3 of oil palm and from the viewpoint of suppressing the amount of flush water W1 used. Preferably 2 to 13 parts by mass with respect to 1 part by mass of the stems and leaves e3 (hereinafter referred to as "dry base" with respect to 1 part by mass of the palm leaves e3 on a dry mass basis (hereinafter referred to as "dry base") And more preferably 3 to 5 parts by mass (5 to 8 parts by mass on a dry basis).

Moreover, since this wash water W1 is used to dissolve and remove the alkali metal and chlorine contained in the stem and leaf e3 of oil palm, it is most preferable that the water does not contain alkali metal and chlorine. . However, as described above, the concentration of alkali metal and chlorine in the water contained in the stem and leaf e3 of oil palm is as high as 0.2 to 0.8% by mass and 0.1 to 0.5% by mass, respectively. The alkali metal and chlorine content of the flush water W1 may be 0.1% by mass or less. Therefore, from the viewpoint of suppressing the amount of waste water treated by the waste water treatment apparatus 24 described later, in the present embodiment, the waste washing water W5 after being used in the water washing step S14 of the next step is used as the washing water W1. be able to. In addition, as described later, the alkali metal and chlorine content of the waste cleaning water W5 is 0.02 mass% or less, and is within the range which can be used as the washing water W1.

The water washing step S13 corresponds to the step (c).

(Sprinkler cleaning step S14)
The stem and leaf e4 of the oil palm after the completion of the water washing step S13 is subjected to water washing after being drained. More specifically, it is as follows.

The stem and leaf e4 of the oil palm after the completion of the water washing step S13 is supplied to the vibrating sieve 15 together with the water (drain water wash water W2) used in the water washing step S13. In the vibrating screen 15, the stem and leaf e4 of the oil palm are not allowed to pass through, and a plurality of holes with a size that allows passage of water (drainage flush water W2) are provided. For this reason, the mixture of oil palm stem and leaf e4 and drained flush water W2 supplied to the vibrating screen 15 is drained and washed out of the oil palm stem and leaf e4 remaining on the upper surface of the vibrating screen 15 and drained drained on the lower surface of the vibrating screen 15. It is separated into water W2.

Thereafter, the stem and leaf e4 of the oil palm remaining on the upper surface of the vibrating screen 15 is moved to the vibrating screen 16 provided so as to be connected to the vibrating screen 15. In the vibrating screen 16, the washing water W4 supplied from the washing water supply device 17 is sprayed to the stem and leaf e4 of the oil palm. The washing water supply device 17 includes a tank for storing the washing water W4, and a water spouting water inlet for sprinkling the stored washing water W4 toward the vibrating screen 16.

It is preferable to use that whose alkali metal and chlorine content are 0.01 mass% or less as washing water W4 used at this water spray washing process S14. In addition, the amount of the water W4 sprayed is preferably 2 to 12 parts by mass (3 to 20 parts by mass on a dry basis), and more preferably 3 to 5 parts by mass, with respect to 1 part by mass of the stems and leaves e4 of oil palm Part (5 to 8 parts by mass on a dry basis).

In the water spray cleaning step S14, the alkali metal and / or the chlorine dissolved water adhering to the surface of the stem and leaf e4 of the oil palm after the completion of the water cleaning step S13 is washed away. As a result, after completion of the water spray cleaning step S14, that is, the stem and leaf e5 of the oil palm supplied from the vibrating screen 16 has an alkali metal content of 0.2 mass% or less and a chlorine content of 0.1 mass% or less descend.

Like the vibrating sieve 15, the vibrating sieve 16 does not allow the stem and leaf e5 of the oil palm to pass through, and a plurality of holes with a size that allows passage of water (waste water W5) is provided. Thereby, a certain amount or more of the washing water W4 (waste water W5) attached to the surface of the stem and leaf e5 of the oil palm is shaken off by the vibrating sieve 16, and the stem and leaf e5 of the oil palm is drained. The vibrating sieve 16 applies vibration to the oil palm stem and leaf e5 placed on the sieve and the water attached to the oil palm stem and leaf e5 to such an extent that large water droplets do not remain on the oil palm stem and leaf e5. You can remove it.

The sieves of the vibrating sieve 15 and the vibrating sieve 16 separate and collect water and stems and leaves of oil palm. More specifically, the drainage wash water W2 and the oil palm stem and leaves e4, the drainage washing water W5 and the oil palm In order to separate and collect the stems and leaves e5, the nominal opening is preferably 4 mm or less, more preferably 2.8 mm or less.

Further, in the present embodiment, it has been described that the vibrating screen 15 and the vibrating screen 16 are provided so as to be connected to each other. However, if it is possible to drain the oil palm stem and leaf e4 and rinse the oil palm stem and leaf e4 after draining with water, if it is possible to drain the oil palm stem and leaf e5 after water spray cleaning processing is completed, it is realized with one vibrating sieve. It does not matter. That is, it does not matter if the foliage e4 of the oil palm is drained on the upstream side of one vibrating sieve and the irrigation and drainage on the foliage e4 of the palm is performed on the downstream side.

In the present embodiment, the drainage wash water W2 distributed by the vibrating screen 15 is delivered to the oil / water separator 22 described above. The oil / water separator 22 separates the mixed fluid of the press water SW1 discharged from the press 13 and the drained flush water W2 into the water W3 and the fat and oil portion O1. The mechanism for separating the squeezed water SW1 from the oil water and the mechanism for separating the drainage water W2 from the oil water may be separately provided.

Further, in the present embodiment, the waste cleaning water W5 distributed by the vibrating screen 16 is collected and stored in the waste cleaning water tank 18. A part of the waste washing water W5 stored in the waste washing water tank 18 is supplied to the washing water supply device 21 by the water feeding pump 19 and circulated and used as the washing water W1. Further, the other part of the waste cleaning water W5 is supplied to the waste water treatment device 24. The water pump 19 is not particularly limited as long as it is a liquid pump, and a general-purpose device such as a spiral pump or a piston pump can be used.

The water spray cleaning step S14 corresponds to the step (d).

(Squeeze process S15)
In the present embodiment, the stem and leaf e5 of the oil palm after the water spray cleaning step S14 is completed is supplied to the press 25 and the pressing step is executed again. The press 25 is provided to pressurize the stem and leaf e5 of the oil palm to squeeze out the washing water W4 or the drainage washing water W5 contained in the stem and leaf e5 of the oil palm. The press 25 is not particularly limited as long as it can press the water content of the stem and leaf e6 of the oil palm after pressing to 70% by mass or less, and the hydraulic press (vertical type, horizontal type) General-purpose devices such as uniaxial press (screw type), twin-screw press (extruder) and the like can be used.

The stem and leaf e6 of the oil palm whose water content has been reduced to 70% by mass or less by the press 25 has an alkali metal content of 0.1% by mass or less and a chlorine content of 0.05% by mass or less.

The compressed water SW2 discharged from the squeezer 25 is supplied to the waste water treatment device 24. The water W3 separated by the oil-water separator 22 and the drainage cleaning water W5 stored in the drainage tank 18 are also supplied to the drainage processing device 24. The water W3 supplied to the waste water treatment device 24, the waste wash water W5 and the squeezed water SW2 are discharged to the outside of the system as waste water W6 after being subjected to appropriate waste water treatment. Thereby, drainage treatment can be performed collectively in one place in the drainage treatment device 24. Here, the above-mentioned water W3, waste cleaning water W5 and compressed water SW2 have high BOD (biological oxygen demand), COD (chemical oxygen demand) and SS (suspension substance), so waste water treatment equipment 24 It is preferable to use a settling tank or an activated sludge tank (aeration tank).

This squeezing step S15 corresponds to the step (f).

According to the pretreatment step S10 of the present invention, it is possible to obtain an oil palm stem and leaf e5 having an alkali metal content of at most 0.2 mass% and a chlorine content of at most 0.1 mass%. Furthermore, as in the present embodiment, by performing the squeezing step S15 after the water spray cleaning step S14, the oil palm having an alkali metal content of 0.1 mass% or less and a chlorine content of 0.05 mass% or less A stem and leaf e6 can be obtained.

[Post-processing process]
Next, post-processing step S20 will be described.

(Drying step S21)
The leaves and leaves e6 of the oil palm after the pretreatment step S10 is carried out is introduced into the drier 32 so that its water content in the drier 32 is preferably 20% by mass or less, more preferably 17% by mass or less Be dried. The dryer 32 is not particularly limited in its type and the like, as long as it can dry the palm leaves e6 of the oil palm to a water content of 20% by mass or less, but a rotary dryer capable of continuous operation can be suitably used.

In addition, depending on the environment such as temperature and humidity, it is possible to dry the stem and leaf e6 of oil palm to a water content of 20% by mass or less even by sun drying. In this case, it is not necessary to use the dryer 32 to carry out the drying step S21.

According to the dried stems and leaves e7 of the dried oil palm obtained through the drying step S21, the contained water is reduced, so that the working efficiency of the crushing step S22 and the forming step S23 in the latter stage can be improved. Thereby, the quality of the obtained biomass fuel is equalized, and the quality change due to the moisture of the obtained biomass fuel is suppressed.

The drying step S21 corresponds to the step (i).

(Crushing process S22)
After the completion of the drying step S21, the stem and leaf e7 of the oil palm is supplied to the crusher 33 and transformed into the stem and leaf e8 of oil palm having a long fiber length of 20 mm or less. As the crusher 33, general equipment such as a uniaxial crusher or a twin-screw crusher can be used.

The crushing step S22 is a step for crushing the stem and leaf e7 of the oil palm after the completion of the drying step S21 to improve the working efficiency of the subsequent forming step S23. Since the stem and leaf e7 of the oil palm after completion of the drying step S21 may include those having a long fiber length reaching about 300 mm, the stem and leaf e7 of oil palm is crushed in this crushing step S22, preferably 20 mm Hereinafter, it is more preferably deformed into stem and leaf e8 of oil palm of 10 mm or less. However, in the below-mentioned forming process S23, when forming is possible with the stem and leaf e7 of the oil palm after completion of the drying process S21, the crushing process S22 may be omitted.

The crushing step S22 corresponds to the step (k).

(Molding step S23)
After the completion of the crushing step S22, the palm leaves e8 of the oil palm are supplied to the molding machine 34 and transformed into pellets (biomass fuel) e9. By this molding step S23, a pellet-like biomass fuel e9 having a bulk density of 0.50 kg / L or more, a compressive strength of 1.5 N / mm ² or more, and a heat amount of 3500 kcal / kg or more is produced. The bulk density is the test method specified in JIS Z 7302-9 "Waste solidified fuel-Part 9: Bulk density test method", and the crushing strength is JIS Z 8841 "granulate-strength test method". In the specified test method, the heat quantity is a measured value obtained by the test based on the test method specified in JIS Z 7302-2 “Waste solidified fuel-Part 2: calorific value test method”.

In the present embodiment, a sludge-like fat and oil component O1 obtained by being separated by the oil-water separator 22 is supplied to the stem and leaf e8 of the oil palm in the molding machine 34 by the oil feeding pump 35. The oil component O1 is used as a molding aid in the molding machine 34. Since the oil component O1 has a heat quantity, it can be increased by supplying it to the stems and leaves e8 of oil palm to mold the biomass fuel e9 after molding. However, when the content of the alkali metal and / or chlorine contained in the oil and fat portion O1 is large, the oil and fat portion O1 can not be used as a molding aid.

The size of the pellet can be appropriately determined in consideration of transport efficiency and handling. The biomass fuel e9 after molding can be used as a solid fuel in a CFB (circulating fluidized bed) boiler apparatus or the like for power generation, or can be used as a coal alternative fuel in a cement burning apparatus or the like.

The molding step S23 corresponds to the step (j).

[Example]
An embodiment of the pretreatment method using the pretreatment device 2 will be described with reference to Table 1. In addition, the potassium content shown in Table 1 is the result of measuring the solution obtained by completely dissolving the sample with an acid by ICP emission spectrometry. The chlorine content is the test result obtained in accordance with the test method of JIS Z 7302-6 "Waste solidified fuel-Part 6: Total chlorine content test method". Also, the values without brackets in the column of removal rates of potassium and chlorine in Table 1 indicate the total removal rates (mass%) up to each step, and the values in the parentheses are removal rates from the previous step (mass%) Is shown.

According to Table 1, when the water spray cleaning step S14 is completed, the alkali content of the leaves and leaves of the oil palm is 0.16% by mass, and the chlorine content is 0.075% by mass. Furthermore, when pressing process S15 is performed after that, the alkali content of the foliage of an oil palm is 0.08 mass%, and the chlorine content is 0.025 mass%.

As mentioned above, according to pre-processing process S10 of this invention, the alkali content of the foliage of oil palm can be reduced to 0.2 mass% or less, and chlorine content to 0.1 mass% or less.

[Another embodiment]
Hereinafter, another embodiment will be described.

<1> In the embodiment described above, the squeezing step S15 is performed after the completion of the water spray cleaning step S14 in the pretreatment step S10, but the squeezing step S15 may be omitted. FIG. 3 is a flow chart corresponding to this alternative embodiment and is shown following FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is an example of the configuration of an apparatus for carrying out the method of this alternative embodiment according to FIG. It is illustrated. As shown in FIG. 4, in this configuration, the stem and leaf e5 of the oil palm after the water has been distributed by the vibrating sieve 16 is supplied to the dryer 32, and the drying step S21 is performed.

As described above, even if the squeezing step S15 is not performed, the efoliated palm oil e5 obtained after completion of the water sprinkling washing step S14 has an alkali content of 0.2% by mass or less and a chlorine content of 0.1 It can be less than mass%. In addition, in this another embodiment, since the pressing machine 25 shown in FIG. 2 is not provided, the water W3 and the waste cleaning water W5 are supplied to the waste water treatment apparatus 24.

<2> The step of crushing the stems and leaves of oil palm may be further included before the execution of the pressing step S12. Specifically, the pretreatment device 2 is provided with a crusher similar to the crusher 33, and before the crusher is inserted into the stems and leaves e1 of oil palm before being introduced into the heater 11 or into the press 13. The stem and leaf e2 of the oil palm may be crushed so as to have a long fiber length of 300 mm or less. Thereby, the pressing process in the pressing machine 13 can be performed efficiently.

This crushing step corresponds to step (e).

<3> In FIG. 1, after the execution of the squeezing step S15, the water spray washing step S14 and the squeezing step S15 may be repeated one or more times. As a result, it is possible to further remove a trace amount of alkali metal and chlorine remaining in the stem and leaf e6 of the oil palm. Sprinkling washing process S14 performed again after execution of squeezing process S15 corresponds to a process (g), and squeezing process S15 performed after that corresponds to a process (h).

<4> In the above embodiment, the waste washing water W5 is described as being used as the washing water W1 by circulating and supplying it to the washing water supply device 21, but this aspect is optional. In other words, all the drainage cleaning water W5 may be discharged to the drainage processing device 24.

<5> In the above embodiment, although the configuration is such that the pressed water SW2 discharged from the pressing machine 25 is supplied to the drainage treatment device 24, the water W3 passes through the oil / water separator 22 similarly to the pressed water SW1. May be supplied to the waste water treatment apparatus 24, and the oil and fat content O1 may be supplied to the molding machine 34.

<6> In the above embodiment, whether or not the oil component O1 separated by the oil / water separator 22 is supplied to the molding machine 34 is optional.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1: Biomass fueling apparatus 2: Pre-processing apparatus 3: Post-processing apparatus 11: Heating machine 12: Hopper 13: Press machine 14: Water washing apparatus 15: Vibrating sieve 16: Vibrating sieve 17: Washing water supply apparatus 18: Waste water Tank 19: Water feed pump 21: Flush water supply device 22: Oil / water separator 24: Waste water treatment device 25: Presser 32: Dryer 33: Crusher 34: Molding machine 35: Oil transfer pump

Claims

Heating the stems and leaves of oil palm (a),
Squeezing the stems and leaves of the oil palm heated in the step (a) (b)
Washing the leaves and leaves of the oil palm squeezed in the step (b) while applying physical impact (c);
And d) removing the leaves and leaves of the oil palm washed in the step (c) with water and then washing the leaves and leaves in the step (d).
The stem and leaf of oil palm according to claim 1, comprising a step (e) of crushing the stem and leaf of the oil palm so as to have a long fiber length of 300 mm or less at a stage prior to the step (b). Pre-treatment method.
The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the step (a) is a heating step using steam.
The stem and leaf of oil palm according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the step (b) is a step of removing water contained in the stem and leaf of the oil palm to be 60% by mass or less. How to preprocess
5. The foliar leaf of oil palm according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the step (c) is a step of washing while repeatedly giving momentary physical impact to the foliage of the oil palm. Pre-treatment method.
The step (c) is a step of rinsing the leaves and leaves of the oil palm in a water amount of 3 parts by mass or more and 22 parts by mass or less with respect to 1 part by mass (dry mass) of the leaves and leaves of the oil palm The method for pretreating the leaves and leaves of oil palm according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that
The step (d) is a step of sprinkling the leaves and leaves of the oil palm in an amount of 3 parts by mass or more and 20 parts by mass or less with respect to 1 part by mass (dry mass) of the leaves and leaves of the oil palm The method for pretreating the leaves and leaves of oil palm according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that
The stem and leaf of oil palm according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein in the step (c), water after the washing water used in the step (d) is recovered is used. Pre-treatment method.
The method for pre-treating stems and leaves of oil palm according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising the step (f) of squeezing stems and leaves of the oil palm after the step (d).
After the step (f), the stem and leaves of the oil palm are further washed with water (g);
The method for pretreatment of oil palm leaves and leaves according to claim 9, further comprising the step (h) of further compressing the leaves and leaves of the oil palm after the step (g).
A step of drying stems and leaves of the oil palm after completion of the method of pre-treating stems and leaves of oil palm according to any one of claims 1 to 10 until the water content in the stems and leaves of the oil palm becomes 20% by mass or less i) with
After the step (i), a step (j) of molding the dried leaves and leaves of the oil palm into a pellet.
The biomass according to claim 11, characterized in that there is a step (k) of crushing the palm leaves of the oil palm until the long fiber length becomes 20 mm or less between the step (i) and the step (j). Fuel production method.
The step (j) uses the oil and fat derived from the leaves and leaves of the oil palm obtained after completion of the method for pre-treating the leaves and leaves of oil palm according to any one of claims 1 to 10 as a molding aid The method for producing a biomass fuel according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that