JP2010065154A - Solid fuel and method for producing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a solid fuel produced by effectively utilizing a by-product generated in production of a biodiesel fuel or an oilseed vegetable residue left after pressing oil and fat from a production raw material of the biodiesel oil and to provide a solid fuel having a high caloric value and utilizable e.g. in a thermal power generation plant by using biomass. <P>SOLUTION: The solid fuel includes at least any one of glycerol, oil and fat and a fatty acid alkyl ester and includes biomass, and is produced by mixing at least one of the glycerol, the oil and fat and the fatty acid alkyl ester with the biomass and compression molding the mixture. It is preferable to use at least any one of glycerol obtained as a by-product generated in production of the biodiesel fuel, the fatty acid alkyl ester containing the glycerol, and the fatty acid alkyl ester containing the glycerol and the oil and fat. The biomass is preferably an oilseed vegetable residue left after pressing the oil. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a solid fuel and a method for producing the same. More specifically, the present invention relates to a solid fuel using biomass and a method for producing the same.

  In recent years, since global warming accompanying an increase in carbon dioxide emissions has become a serious problem, reduction of carbon dioxide emissions has been positioned as an important issue. In addition, since the RPS Law, which is a special measures law concerning the use of new energy by electric power companies, has been enforced, the need to use biomass as an energy source is rapidly increasing.

  As a technique for using a wide variety of biomass as an energy source, a technique for producing biodiesel fuel (hereinafter also referred to as BDF), which is a liquid fuel, from biomass is particularly attracting attention. BDF is a fatty acid alkyl ester obtained by esterifying vegetable oils and animal fats (triglycerides, etc.) (transesterification reaction), and is generally composed mainly of fatty acid methyl esters. BDF has a very high economic value as an alternative fuel for oil, and various researches on BDF production technology have been conducted in recent years.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a method for producing BDF, which includes a step of producing a fatty acid methyl ester by causing a transesterification reaction between fats and oils in the presence of an alkali catalyst. Specifically, at least one selected from palm oil, palm kernel oil, palm oil product and palm kernel oil product is 0.25 to 1% by mass of sodium hydroxide, sodium methoxide and BDF is produced by esterification with at least one alcohol of methanol and ethanol at a temperature of 60 to 65 ° C. for 45 minutes to 1 hour in the presence of at least one alkali catalyst selected from potassium hydroxide. I am doing so.

  Here, when an esterification reaction is performed using an alkali catalyst or the like, the final removal treatment of the alkali catalyst is difficult, and enormous costs are required before use as a BDF. Therefore, Patent Document 2 proposes a method for producing BDF by applying supercritical fluid technology without using an alkali catalyst. Specifically, an alcohol component is mixed with fats and oils, pressurized and heated to perform an esterification reaction in a supercritical state of the alcohol and a subcritical water state in which water is a liquid, and then the supercritical state of the alcohol And BDF is manufactured by making it react on the conditions from which water will be in a dry steam state.

  Patent Document 3 proposes a method for producing BDF using an enzyme (lipase) without using an alkali catalyst. Specifically, BDF is produced by performing esterification reaction in one step using lipase in the presence of fats and oils and alcohol.

JP 2004-359766 A JP-A-2005-350628 JP 2002-233393 A

  By the way, when producing BDF, a by-product is generated simultaneously with the fatty acid alkyl ester. That is, when fats and oils are reacted and esterified, glycerin is generated as a by-product simultaneously with the fatty acid alkyl ester. In addition, as a by-product, a low-purity fatty acid alkyl ester, that is, a fatty acid alkyl ester that cannot be used as BDF because it contains impurities in a predetermined amount or more is generated. Since these by-products have few uses and cause water pollution and the like, they cannot be disposed of untreated and have been difficult to process.

  In addition, the oily plant residue after squeezing the fats and oils used as the raw material for BDF also has problems in terms of handling properties, storage properties, and transportation costs due to its bulkiness, and a method for effective use has been established. The current situation is not.

  Furthermore, to expand the use of biomass to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, facilities that use fossil fuel as an energy source need to consider the use of fuel using biomass. is there. For example, in a thermal power generation business or the like, it is conceivable to use an energy source using biomass instead of coal that is a fossil fuel. However, there is currently no biomass fuel that is so high in calories as can be used in the thermal power generation business.

  An object of this invention is to provide the solid fuel which utilized effectively the by-product generated when manufacturing BDF, and the oily plant residue after squeezing fats and oils from the manufacturing raw material of BDF.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a high-calorie solid fuel that uses biomass and can be used in, for example, a thermal power generation business.

  In order to solve this problem, the inventors of the present application have made extensive studies. As a result, by mixing glycerin, which is a by-product generated during BDF production, with oil plant residues after oil extraction, compression molding to form a pellet-like solid fuel, the volume of oil plant residues after oil extraction is reduced. The present inventors have found that the problems of handling property, storage property and transportation cost can be solved. Moreover, it discovered that the calorie and combustibility of solid fuel could be improved by mixing glycerin with the oily plant residue after oil extraction. Furthermore, it has been found that mixing glycerin with oily plant residues after oil extraction can prevent microorganisms from growing in the solid fuel and prevent deterioration of the quality of the solid fuel. Further, it has been found that the same effect can be obtained when oil or fatty acid alkyl ester is used instead of glycerin. Based on these findings, it has been found that a new solid fuel using biomass can be provided, and the present invention has been achieved.

  The solid fuel of the present invention based on such findings includes at least one of glycerin, fats and fatty acid alkyl esters, and biomass.

  Moreover, the manufacturing method of the solid fuel of this invention based on this knowledge mixes at least any one of glycerol, fats and oils, and a fatty-acid alkylester, and is compression-molded.

  Furthermore, in the method for producing a solid fuel of the present invention based on such knowledge, after biomass is compression-molded, at least one of glycerin, fats and oils and fatty acid alkyl esters is infiltrated.

  Therefore, according to the solid fuel and the solid fuel production method of the present invention, the bulk of the biomass can be reduced, and the handling property, storage property, and transportability can be improved. Moreover, it becomes a solid fuel having high calories and high combustibility by the action of glycerin, fats and oils or fatty acid alkyl esters. Furthermore, by the action of glycerin, fats and oils or fatty acid alkyl esters, the growth of microorganisms is suppressed, and the solid fuel is hardly deteriorated in quality.

  In addition, the method for producing a solid fuel according to the present invention comprises a biomass comprising at least one of glycerin, a fatty acid alkyl ester containing glycerin, and a fatty acid alkyl ester containing glycerin and fats and oils, which are by-products generated when producing biodiesel fuel. After mixing, compression molding is performed.

  Furthermore, the method for producing a solid fuel according to the present invention includes glycerin, a fatty acid alkyl ester containing glycerin, and a fatty acid alkyl ester containing glycerin and fats and oils, which are byproducts generated when the biodiesel fuel is produced after compression molding of biomass. To penetrate at least one of the above.

  Here, in the solid fuel of the present invention and the method for producing the same, it is preferable to use an oil plant residue after oil extraction as biomass.

  As mentioned above, according to this invention, the volume of biomass can be made small and it can be set as a solid fuel with favorable handling property, storage property, and transportability. Moreover, since at least any one of glycerin, fats and oils, and fatty acid alkyl ester is mixed, the solid fuel which has a high calorie and high combustibility can be obtained. Furthermore, by the action of glycerin, fats and oils or fatty acid alkyl esters, it is possible to obtain a solid fuel in which the growth of microorganisms is suppressed and the quality is hardly deteriorated.

  In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to effectively use by-products generated in the production process of BDF and oil plant residues after oil extraction, which have been difficult for conventional disposal, as raw materials.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

  The solid fuel of the present invention contains at least one of glycerin, fats and oils and fatty acid alkyl esters and biomass.

  And, as shown in FIG. 1, the solid fuel of the present invention is manufactured by mixing (S1) at least one of glycerin, fat and fatty acid and fatty acid alkyl ester and then performing compression molding (S2). is there.

  As glycerin, fats and oils and fatty acid alkyl esters, industrially produced ones may be used, or wastes generated as by-products in the industrial production process may be used. Moreover, you may make it use the surplus by overproduction. In addition, you may use glycerin, fats and oils, and fatty-acid alkylester individually, respectively, and may use them as a mixture which mixed these. Further, glycerin, fats and oils and fatty acid alkyl esters may contain impurities within a range that does not significantly reduce the calories and the like of the produced solid fuel.

  Here, as glycerin, fats and oils and fatty acid alkyl esters, it is preferable to use glycerin generated when producing BDF, fatty acid alkyl esters containing glycerin, fatty acid alkyl esters containing glycerin and fats and oils.

  BDF is a fatty acid alkyl ester (fatty acid alkyl ester whose main component is a fatty acid methyl ester) obtained by transesterification of fats and oils (triglyceride) and alcohol (for example, methanol). In general, the reaction solution produced when producing BDF is separated into three layers, the uppermost layer is a high-purity fatty acid alkyl ester, the lowermost layer is glycerin, and the boundary layer between the uppermost layer and the lowermost layer is of low quality. Become oil. That is, when BDF is produced, glycerin and low-quality oil are generated as by-products.

  Since glycerin generated as a by-product has few uses and causes water pollution, it cannot be disposed of untreated.

  The low-quality oil generated as a by-product contains glycerin, although it contains fatty acid alkyl esters (mainly fatty acid methyl esters when methanol is used as the alcohol for the transesterification reaction) as the main component. In some cases, unreacted fats and oils, alkalis, and the like are contained, and therefore cannot be used as BDF. Moreover, since there is almost no other use and it causes water pollution like glycerin, it cannot be discarded as it is untreated.

  In the present invention, by using these by-products generated in the production process of BDF as a raw material for solid fuel, it becomes possible to effectively use these by-products that have been difficult to dispose of.

  Here, the calories of glycerin, fats and oils and fatty acid alkyl esters are higher than the calories of biomass. Therefore, by mixing glycerin, fats and oils or fatty acid alkyl esters with solid fuel, calories can be improved and combustibility can be improved as compared with solid fuel produced with only biomass. In addition, the growth of microorganisms in the solid fuel can be suppressed, and quality deterioration can be prevented. That is, the calorie fall of the solid fuel resulting from fermentation by the action of microorganisms can be suppressed.

  Next, as the biomass used in the present invention, it is preferable to use an oil plant residue after oil extraction. The oily plant residue after oil extraction has problems in terms of handling property, storage property and transportation cost due to its bulkiness, and its effective use method has not been established. According to the solid fuel of the present invention and the method for producing the same, the bulk of the oily plant residue after the oil extraction can be reduced, and the handling property, the storage property and the transportability can be improved. Effective use can be achieved.

  Examples of oil plants include those that can be used as a raw material for producing BDF by extracting oil from the seeds and grains. Specifically, oil palm, pearl coconut palm, pequi, safflower, sea oyster, palm deer, peanut, coconut palm, avocado, brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, cucumber, cinnamon abragiri, papas palm, jojoba, pecan nuts, crabwood, pakry , Canton abragi, forsythia, brazil elephant palm, olives, oilseed rape, poppy, hazelnut, persian walnut, peanut, cacao, sunflower, okra, cinnamon bragili, abyssinian mustard, mustard, rice, almond, buffalo goat, safflower, oyster nut , Clambe, sesame, neem, Korean thistle, red sprout, white pepper, sesame, coriander, pewkin pumpkin, black pepper, tonka bean, oil -Ladder, Hazel, Hazel, Flax, Coffee, Soybean, Abragiri, Meadowfoam, Asa, Cotton, Rurigiku, Pequia, Yellow-bellied, Calendula, Lesquerella, Nigerseed, Kenaf, Para rubber tree, Pistachio, Quinoa, White-bellied rubin, Koroha Examples include, but are not limited to, ayu, oats, borage, inond, japonica, cashew nut, corn, kuzuimo, chickpea, fennel and alfalfa.

  However, the biomass used in the present invention is not limited to the above. For example, woody biomass such as forest land residue, which is unused biomass, or fibrous biomass such as rice straw or rice husk may be used. Moreover, you may make it use the biomass residue after bioethanol fuel manufacture. Furthermore, sewage sludge or the like may be used, or waste such as garbage may be used. That is, various types of solid biomass that can be used as fuel can be used.

  In the step (S1) of mixing biomass with at least one of glycerin, fats and oils and fatty acid alkyl esters, glycerin, fats and fatty acids and fatty acid alkyl esters are liquid at room temperature, so that they can be used for production of solid fuel as they are. On the other hand, with respect to biomass, it is preferable that the moisture content is sufficiently reduced and the solid fuel is sufficiently subjected to processing such as crushing so as to sufficiently increase the density of the solid fuel when it is compression-molded, and then supplied to the production of the solid fuel. . If biomass having a high water content is used as it is, the processability of the solid fuel is hindered. Moreover, unless the density of the solid fuel is sufficiently increased when compression molding, the calories per unit volume of the solid fuel cannot be sufficiently increased. However, the moisture content lowering process of biomass and processing such as pulverization are not essential steps. For example, if the moisture content is low and the biomass is in a form in which the density of the solid fuel is sufficiently increased upon compression molding, it may be used as it is.

  The mixing ratio of glycerin, fats and oils, fatty acid alkyl ester and biomass is appropriately determined according to the calories required as a solid fuel. That is, the higher the content of glycerin, fats and fatty acid alkyl esters in the solid fuel, the more calories in the solid fuel. Conversely, the lower the content of glycerin, fats and fatty acid alkyl esters in the solid fuel, the lower the calories of the solid fuel. Here, since the calories of biomass of glycerin, fats and fatty acid alkyl esters are known, it is necessary to change the mixing ratio of glycerin and low-quality oil and biomass in solid fuel based on this known data. It is possible to obtain a solid fuel having calories.

  For example, the calorie of the oil plant residue after oil extraction is 4000 to 5000 kcal / kg, and the glycerin is 9000 Kcal / kg. Therefore, when oil plant residue after oil extraction and glycerin are mixed in an equivalent amount, a solid fuel of about 7000 kcal / kg is obtained, and a solid fuel having calories comparable to coal is obtained.

  However, if the content of glycerin in the solid fuel is increased too much, the moldability of the solid fuel may be affected. Therefore, the content of glycerin, fats and fatty acid alkyl esters is within a range that does not affect the moldability of the solid fuel. The content is determined as appropriate.

  Glycerin, oil and fat and fatty acid alkyl ester and biomass may be mixed with, for example, a mixer, etc., or after being immersed in at least one of glycerin, fat and fatty acid and fatty acid alkyl ester, glycerin, Biomass may be impregnated with at least one of fats and oils and fatty acid alkyl esters.

  Next, in the compression molding step (S2), a mixture of at least one of glycerin, fats and oils and fatty acid alkyl esters and biomass is accommodated in a predetermined mold, and compressed into, for example, a pellet-shaped solid fuel. To do. By compression molding, the density of the solid fuel is increased, the calories per unit volume is improved, and a high-calorie solid fuel is easily obtained.

  The solid fuel of the present invention obtained by the above steps has good handling properties, storage properties, and transportability. In addition, by mixing at least one of glycerin glycerin, fats and oils and fatty acid alkyl esters and compression molding, a solid fuel with high calories and high combustibility can be obtained. Furthermore, by mixing at least one of glycerin, fats and oils, and fatty acid alkyl esters, the growth of microorganisms in the solid fuel can be suppressed. Therefore, deterioration of solid fuel (for example, calorie reduction) due to fermentation by microorganisms can be suppressed.

  In addition, the manufacturing method of the solid fuel of this invention is not limited to said method. For example, the biomass may be compressed and solidified and then impregnated with at least one of glycerin, fats and fatty acid alkyl esters. The method for infiltrating glycerin, fats and oils and fatty acid alkyl ester is not particularly limited.For example, after solidified biomass is put in a sealed container and brought into a vacuum state, the solid fuel void is reduced to vacuum, It is preferable that at least one of glycerin, fats and oils, and fatty acid alkyl ester is brought into contact and penetrated into the voids.

  Since the solid fuel of the present invention is mixed with at least one of glycerin, fats and oils and fatty acid alkyl esters to increase calories and combustibility, it is used not only in thermal power generation business but also as private fuel in various factories. It can also be used. It can also be used as a fuel for household pellet stoves.

  In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to promote the expansion of the use of biomass, as well as glycerin, fats and oils and fatty acid alkyl esters, which are by-products at the time of BDF production, which have been difficult to dispose of in the past, It is possible to effectively use the oily plant residue after squeezing the fat that is the production raw material, and it is possible to use resources without waste.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, a very excellent biofuel production system can be configured by combining with biomass energy production technology by plantation. That is, fats and oils are extracted from biomass such as oil plants cultivated by plantation, and BDF is produced using the fats and oils as a raw material. On the other hand, oil plant residues after oil extraction and glycerin and low-quality oil, which are by-products generated during the production of BDF, are used for the production of solid fuel. As a result, it is possible to configure a lean fuel production system that can use all residues and by-products. Moreover, since the solid fuel of the present invention is small in volume and excellent in handling properties, storage properties, and transportability, it can be efficiently transported even if the solid fuel is produced at the plantation crop production site. Furthermore, since the solid fuel of the present invention suppresses the growth of microorganisms, the quality is unlikely to deteriorate during transportation and storage. Thus, this invention has various advantages by combining with biomass energy production technology by plantation.

The above-described embodiment is an example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but is not limited thereto, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, the solid fuel of the present invention may contain substances other than biomass, glycerin, fats and oils and fatty acid alkyl esters as long as calories and combustibility are not reduced.

It is a manufacturing process schematic diagram of the solid fuel of the present invention.

Claims (7)

  A solid fuel comprising at least one of glycerin, fats and oils and fatty acid alkyl esters and biomass.   The solid fuel according to claim 1, wherein the biomass is an oil plant residue after extraction.   A method for producing a solid fuel, comprising mixing biomass with at least one of glycerin, fats and oils, and fatty acid alkyl esters, and then compressing the mixture.   A method for producing a solid fuel, characterized in that after compression-molding biomass, at least one of glycerin, fats and fatty acid alkyl esters is permeated.   It is characterized by compression molding after mixing biomass with at least one of glycerin, a fatty acid alkyl ester containing glycerin, and a fatty acid alkyl ester containing glycerin and fats, which are by-products generated when producing biodiesel fuel. Solid fuel manufacturing method.   After compression molding of biomass, it is characterized in that at least one of glycerin, a fatty acid alkyl ester containing glycerin, and a fatty acid alkyl ester containing glycerin and fats and oils, which are by-products generated when producing biodiesel fuel, is infiltrated Solid fuel manufacturing method.   The method for producing a solid fuel according to any one of claims 3 to 6, wherein an oil plant residue after oil extraction is used as the biomass.

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