JP2023523800A - Feedstock processing system and method for producing Fischer-Tropsch liquids and transportation fuels - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of treating feedstock is described, characterized by treating an incoming feedstock to selectively recover biogenic carbon materials from the incoming feedstock. In some embodiments, the incoming feedstock is composed of mixed solid waste, such as municipal solid waste (MSW). In other embodiments, the incoming feedstock consists of woody biomass. In some cases, the incoming feedstock is treated to selectively recover the biogenic carbon material from the incoming feedstock and have a biogenic carbon content of 50% or more that is more suitable for conversion to a biogenic carbon Fischer-Tropsch liquid. processed to produce raw materials. High biogenic carbon Fischer-Tropsch liquids can be upgraded into biogenic carbon liquid fuels. Alternatively, the incoming feedstock is treated to selectively recover plastic material from the incoming feedstock to produce a treated feedstock having a biogenic carbon content of 50% or less.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of priority to US Patent Application No. 16/864,124, filed April 30, 2020, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

This application is further related to the following U.S. Patent Application: U.S. Patent Application No. 13/13, entitled "Processes For Recovering Waste Heat From Gasification Systems For Converting Municipal Solid Waste Into Ethanol," filed Feb. 8, 2011. 023,497 (registered December 10, 2013 as U.S. Patent No. 8,604,088) and United States Patent Application entitled "Gas Recycle Loops in Process For Converting Municipal Solid Waste Into Ethanol" filed February 8, 2011 Patent Application No. 13/023,510 (registered December 10, 2013 as U.S. Patent No. 8,604,089). These applications are incorporated herein by reference.

The subject matter relates generally to processes, systems, and equipment for treating feedstocks and converting them into fuels, including but not limited to organic or carbonaceous materials such as municipal solid waste (MSW). .

Municipal solid waste (MSW) includes all solids disposed of by municipalities. Some of this waste is recycled, but most of it is typically dumped in landfills, where it decomposes over decades or centuries. It is recognized that municipal solid waste contains organic matter with energy content. When MSW is left untreated in a landfill, the energy content can be gradually expelled from the landfill by bacterial processes, thereby dissipating not only the concentrated energy but also methane, a strong greenhouse gas. generated. Some landfills are trying to collect methane that can be used for fuel. However, the conversion to methane takes place over long timescales, wastes much of the MSW's internal energy, and is rather inefficient in recovering much of the MSW's available energy content.

The oldest and most common method of recovering energy from MSW is incineration. Incineration involves burning MSW or refuse solid fuel (RDF) to produce heat, which typically drives a turbine to produce electricity. Incineration by-products include dangerous pollutants including fly ash, bottom ash, and sulfur compounds, the greenhouse gas _CO2 , acid gases, and flue gases containing metals, metal compounds, and particulates. be Fly ash and bottom ash are typically discarded in landfills. Some of the harmful flue gases and particulates can be scrubbed from the flue gas from incineration before being discharged into the atmosphere.

Another method of recovering energy from MSW is pyrolysis. Pyrolysis involves heating the organic portion of the MSW such that thermally labile compounds are chemically decomposed into other compounds. These compounds mix with other volatile components to form pyrolysis gases that typically include tars, alkenes, aromatic hydrocarbons, sulfur compounds, steam, and carbon dioxide. Solid residues from the pyrolysis process include coke (residual carbon), which can then be combusted or used as a gasification feedstock.

A related method of recovering energy from MSW is gasification. Gasification involves converting at least a portion of the MSW to synthesis gas (“syngas”), which consists primarily of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and hydrogen. Gasification technology has existed for centuries. For example, in the 19th century, coal and peat were often gasified into "city gas" to provide a combustible mixture of carbon monoxide (CO), methane ( _CH4 ) and hydrogen ( _H2 ) for cooking and heating. and used for lighting. During World Wars I and II, biomass and coal gasifiers were used to produce CO and _H2 to meet transportation needs. In some cases, the Fischer-Tropsch process was used to convert a portion of the syngas directly to liquid transportation fuels. After World War II, with the discovery of large amounts of domestic oil and natural gas, coal and biomass gasification became cost-competitive and almost disappeared.

Gasification has been applied directly to MSW, but in other cases MSW is first pyrolyzed and then undergoes a secondary gasification process. Gasification of MSW generally involves mechanical processing steps to remove recyclable materials and other materials with low or no energy content. The processed feedstock is then heated in a gasifier in the presence of a gasifying agent (including at least some oxygen and possibly steam). A gasifier may have many configurations. For example, a fixed bed gasifier places feedstock in a fixed bed and then contacts the feedstock with a stream of gasifying agent in either countercurrent (“updraft”) or cocurrent (“downdraft”) fashion. Let The gasifier may also use a fluidized bed reactor.

Another method of gasifying MSW is treatment with a high temperature plasma in the presence of oxygen. Such systems may convert MSW to syngas, leaving vitrified waste and metals as by-products.

A known method of converting syngas to synthetic fuels to make hydrocarbons as synthetic fuels is the catalytic Fischer-Tropsch (FT) process. This process produces a mixture of hydrocarbons that can be further refined to produce liquid transportation fuels.

As the many detrimental effects of greenhouse gases are increasingly demonstrated, the need to reduce energy production from fuel sources derived from fossil fuels, especially oil and coal, is evident. To help reduce the use of fossil fuels, governments are promoting the use of fuels derived from renewable organic resources rather than fossil fuel sources.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mandates the Renewable Fuels Standard (“RFS”), under which cellulosic fuels are designated as cellulose RINs, a form of compliance credit for mandated entities (e.g., refineries, etc.). Generate (renewable identification number). Under the RFS, mandated bodies are required to blend cellulose fuels with fossil-derived fuels, and the amount of cellulose fuels continues to grow.

To determine the biogenic content of fuels, EPA mandates testing using radiocarbon dating. More specifically, the current USEPA regulation, in Section 8.1426(f)(9), requires organizations to use ASTM D 6866 Method B or Mandate to use Method C.

U.S. Patent Application No. 13/023,497 U.S. Patent No. 8,604,088 U.S. Patent Application No. 13/023,510 U.S. Patent No. 8,604,089 U.S. Patent Application No. 14/138,635

The present disclosure relates generally to processes and methods for converting organic materials, such as those contained in MSW, into fuels. More particularly, the present disclosure contains non-biogenic carbon (derived from fossil sources) with relatively high concentrations of biogenic carbon (derived from plants) and relatively low concentrations of other non-carbonaceous materials. Fischer-Tropsch liquids of high biogenic concentration derived from the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (MSW) feedstocks, as well as processes for producing the respective upgraded fuel products. In practice, the relatively high concentration of biogenic carbon is up to about 80% biogenic carbon. Of particular note is that the high biogenic concentration Fischer-Tropsch liquid contains the same relatively high concentration of biogenic carbon as the MSW-derived feedstock.

In another aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to feedstock processing systems and methods for producing separated or processed feedstocks. In some embodiments, the feedstock processing system is configured to produce a processed feedstock containing biogenic carbon materials at a higher concentration than non-biogenic carbon materials. For example, in some embodiments, the processed feedstock has a biogenic carbon content ranging from 50% to 100%, or from 51% to 95% by weight. In other embodiments, the feedstock processing system includes multiple feedstocks, such as, but not limited to, MSW feedstreams, woody biomass or other biomass feedstreams, plastic feedstreams, and mixtures of any of the foregoing streams. configured to process a feed stream; In another embodiment where plastic is included in the feed stream, the processed feedstock may have a biogenic carbon content of 50 wt% or less.

In another embodiment, the present disclosure provides a method of processing a feedstock characterized by treating an incoming feedstock to selectively recover biogenic carbon materials from the incoming feedstock. In some embodiments, the incoming feedstock consists of mixed solid waste. In other embodiments, the incoming feedstock consists of woody biomass. In some embodiments, the mixed solid waste is municipal solid waste (MSW). In some cases, the incoming feedstock is treated to selectively recover the biogenic carbon material from the incoming feedstock and have a biogenic carbon content of 50% or more that is more suitable for conversion to a biogenic carbon Fischer-Tropsch liquid. processed to produce raw materials. High biogenic carbon Fischer-Tropsch liquids can be upgraded into biogenic carbon liquid fuels. In an alternative embodiment, the incoming feedstock is treated to selectively recover plastic material from the incoming feedstock and produce a treated feedstock having a biogenic carbon content of 50% or less.

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein, illustrate one or more exemplary embodiments of the invention disclosed herein and, together with the detailed description, serve to explain principles and examples of these inventions. It serves to describe a typical implementation. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the drawings are exemplary only and that the depicted content can be adapted based on the present disclosure and in light of general knowledge in the field.

Various embodiments of the present invention, including additions and modifications to the illustrated embodiments, are described herein in the context of converting MSW waste-derived feedstock into fuel.

Fischer-Tropsch liquids with high biogenic concentrations derived from municipal solid waste (MSW) feedstocks containing relatively high concentrations of biogenic carbon and non-biogenic carbon with relatively low concentrations of other non-carbonaceous materials. 1 illustrates one embodiment of an overall system for generating; FIG. FIG. 10 illustrates an example of an embodiment of a gasification island; 1 illustrates an example of an embodiment of a syngas conditioning system; FIG. FIG. 3B (continuation of FIG. 3A) illustrates an example of an embodiment of a syngas conditioning system. 1 illustrates an example of an embodiment of a _CO2 / _H2S removal system; FIG. FIG. 10 illustrates an example of another embodiment of a _CO2 / _H2S removal system; FIG. 2 illustrates an example of one embodiment of a system for generating F-T liquids; 6 illustrates an example of one embodiment of a system for producing purified F-T liquids from the system of FIG. 5. FIG. FIG. 6A shows an example of one embodiment of a system for producing a purified F-T liquid from the system of FIG. 5 (continued from FIG. 6A). 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating one embodiment of a feedstock processing system and method; FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating another embodiment of a feedstock processing system and method; FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram depicting another exemplary embodiment of a feedstock processing system and method; FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating another exemplary embodiment of a feedstock processing system and method; FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating another embodiment of a feedstock processing system and method; FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating another embodiment of a feedstock processing system and method;

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the detailed description that follows is illustrative only and is not intended to be limiting in any way. Other embodiments of the present invention are those that benefit from this disclosure in light of what is known in the relevant art, the provision and operation of information systems for such use, and other related fields. would be readily suggested to those skilled in the art. Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of the invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the interest of clarity, not all given features of the exemplary implementations described herein are shown and described. Of course, the development of any such actual implementation will depend on the specific goals of the developer, such as compliance with regulatory, safety, social, environmental, health, and business-related constraints. In addition, it will be appreciated that various implementation-specific decisions will have to be made, and that these particular goals will vary from implementation to implementation and from developer to developer. Further, it will be appreciated that such development efforts may be complex and time consuming, but nevertheless would be a routine engineering task for those skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.

Throughout this disclosure, related terms should be understood consistent with their typical meanings established in the relevant art. However, without limiting the scope of this disclosure, further clarifications and explanations are provided for related terms and concepts, as set forth below.

As used herein, the term "Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)" has the same meaning as that term is understood by those of ordinary skill in the art. An example of MSW is solid waste from commercial and domestic waste collection. In raw form, MSW need not be completely solid, as it may contain entrained or absorbed liquids, or liquids within a container or other enclosed space. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that MSW has a wide range of compositions and the source of MSW need not necessarily be from municipalities. For the purposes of this disclosure, other organic waste materials and a variety of biomass materials such as plant parts can be equivalent to MSW.

As used herein, the term "flow" means any fluid or solid that is moving, directly or indirectly, from one place to another, or en route. A flow is still a flow even if it is temporarily stationary.

References to a "portion" of a stream or substance refer to any portion of the stream or substance, including the entire stream or substance. Portions of a stream or substance may be mixed with other compositions and the mixture would be considered to include portions of the original stream or substance.

The term "fluid communication" as used herein includes, but is not limited to, both direct and indirect fluid communication, such as through intermediate processing units.

As used herein, the term "unit" means part of a system and may include, for example, a unit operation, a system or group of unit operations, a plant, or the like.

As used herein, the term "syngas" has the same meaning as that term is used by those skilled in the art. For example, syngas includes, but is not limited to, carbon monoxide, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, water vapor, sulfur- or nitrogen-containing compounds, methane and other alkanes, hydrocarbons, acid gases, halogens and particulates, and the like. may include combinations of other ingredients of

As used herein, the term "separator" refers to any processing unit known in the art for performing a separation process. Depending on the situation, the separator may be a distillation column, membrane separation system, ion exchange adsorption system, thermal adsorption, pressure swing adsorption, molecular sieve, flash drum, absorption or adsorption tower, wet scrubber, venturi scrubber, centrifuge, chromatograph. It may also include a graph or a crystallizer. The separator can separate vapor from liquid, liquid from liquid, vapor from liquid from solid, solid from solid, or fluid from solid.

The term "heat exchanger" as used herein includes, but is not limited to, any heat exchanger or heat exchange device known in the art, and more broadly, the first composition any device that raises the enthalpy or internal energy of a second composition, lowers the enthalpy or internal energy of a second composition, and transfers heat from the second composition to the first composition. A wide variety of heat exchange means are disclosed herein, all of which are encompassed by this term. The term also includes a combination of heat exchange means or a series of heat exchange means. Heat exchange means include, but are not limited to, shell and tube heat exchangers, air or "fin fan" coolers, refrigeration units, chillers, cooling towers, steam generators, Includes boilers, plate heat exchangers, adiabatic wheel heat exchangers, plate fin heat exchangers, fluid heat exchangers, any type of waste heat recovery unit, or any type of phase change heat exchanger. These heat exchange means may operate in a countercurrent, parallel, countercurrent configuration, or any other flow configuration, in which two fluids are mixed to transfer heat from one fluid to another. It may involve separation or direct contact between two fluids, or the use of an intermediate fluid (water, hot oil, molten salt, etc.).

As used herein, the term "compressor" includes anything that is understood as a compressor in the ordinary sense of the term. However, in general, the term includes any device that adiabatically or non-adiabatically raises a fluid from a first pressure to a second, higher pressure. The compressor may comprise any type of compressor or pump including, but not limited to, centrifugal or axial, or positive displacement (reciprocating, diaphragm or rotary gear, etc.). The term may also include multi-stage compressors having one or more stages. The term "compressor" used in the singular may also refer to multiple compressors arranged in series and/or in parallel.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 11 denotes biogenic waste derived from municipal solid waste (MSW) feedstock containing relatively high concentrations of biogenic carbon and non-biogenic carbon with relatively low concentrations of other non-carbonaceous materials. Figure 1 shows the overall system for producing Fischer-Tropsch liquids of origin concentration.

The upper portion of system 11 removes non-biogenic carbonaceous and non-carbonaceous materials from the MSW to remove the relatively high concentrations of biogenic carbon and relatively low concentrations of other non-carbonaceous materials found in the MSW. An MSW feedstock production facility (generally designated 13) is provided for producing a separated feedstock containing non-biogenic carbon entrained material.

In a preferred embodiment, feedstock processing facility 13 processes incoming MSW and separates materials into the following categories:
• Selected feedstock material from the MSW stream that is used for conversion into fuel;
- Recoverable materials, including but not limited to ferrous and non-ferrous metals, cardboard, plastics, paper, and other recyclable materials that can be sorted and placed on the commodity market; and - Materials that are not recycled or used as raw materials. Residual material that is the remainder of the waste and can be sent to landfill.

Recycling plastics, especially high density polyethylene (HDPE) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET), reduces the proportion of fossil-based plastics and thus reduces the proportion of non-biogenic carbon in the feedstock. Accordingly, the feedstock processing facility functions to provide a highly biogenic feedstock material that can be gasified into syngas. For the reasons stated above, the biogenic content of feedstocks has a significant impact on the economic value of cellulosic fuels.

In the raw material processing unit 13, waste materials may be sized, separated and treated to remove materials that are not useful in the process or may reduce its efficiency. For example, the system removes metals, inorganic materials, and wet materials such as food waste or produce. Such material may, for example, be recycled or sent to a landfill. A portion of the high biogenic content food waste and produce may be dried and re-added to the feed stream along with other materials.

As shown in this figure, the feedstock processing facility 13 can be a physically separate facility from the rest of the system shown in FIG. By way of example, the feedstock processing facility 13 may be as described in co-pending US patent application Ser. No. 14/138,635 (Product Recycle Loops in Process for Converting Municipal Solid Waste into Ethanol), the disclosure of which incorporated herein by reference. In another example, the feedstock processing facility 13 may be as described below and shown in FIGS. 7-12 herein. The feedstock processing equipment can be co-located with the rest of the system shown in FIG. 1 or located separately.

Although feedstocks can vary widely in composition, in one exemplary embodiment, the incoming material (reference number 1200 in FIGS. 7-12), also referred to as the feedstock, initial material, or feedstock, is diverse and heterogeneous. It is a mixture of MSW. The composition of MSW typically spans a wide range. For the purposes of this disclosure, all percentage (%) values set forth herein are percent by weight (wt%) unless otherwise indicated. For example, in some embodiments, but not limited to, the plastic content ranges from 10% to 30%, the mixed paper content ranges from 10% to 40%, the wood content ranges from 5% to 20%, the textile and textiles in the range 1% to 15%, food and garden waste in the range 5% to 20%, ferrous metals in the range 1% to 10%, non-ferrous metals in the range 0.1% to 1.5%, 2 inch in size 1% to 15% inert material and less than 2 inches in size residual material can range from 5% to 40%. The moisture content of the incoming MSW can range from 5% to 50%.

An example of the nominal elemental composition of the material remaining after recycling and sorting the feedstock is listed in Table 1 below.

Residual materials that are preferably removed by treatment, storage and handling processes may include, for example, metals, rocks, soils, glass, concrete, and PVC. Preferably, under normal conditions the rejection rate is carried out between about 10% and about 55% of the total feed rate to the material processing unit. Preferably, the material is separated from the raw material, packaged and transported to a landfill or composting operation, or sent for recycling or off-site disposal in accordance with applicable governmental regulations. FIGS. 7-12 illustrate methods for producing processed or separated feedstocks containing selective concentrations of biogenic and non-biogenic carbon from various feedstocks, starting or incoming feedstocks. 4 illustrates a further embodiment of a feedstock processing system; FIGS. 7-12 are described in detail later below.

An important point is that the biorefinery, generally designated 17, has relatively high concentrations of biogenic carbon from municipal solid waste and abiogenic carbon with relatively low concentrations of other non-carbonaceous materials. to provide a containing stream 15; In practice, the relatively high concentration of biogenic carbon is up to about 80% biogenic carbon.

The remaining part of the system depicted in FIG. 1 is a biorefinery 17 that converts the processed feed stream 15 into a Fischer-Tropsch liquid stream 19 . Of particular note is that the high biogenic concentration Fischer-Tropsch liquid contains the same relatively high concentration of biogenic carbon as the input stream 15 . In other words, proportionately, non-biogenic carbon is not added to the Fischer-Tropsch liquid in the manufacturing system, and in fact some amount may be removed.

In the illustrated embodiment, the biorefinery 17, indicated generally at 21, converts the MSW-derived feedstock, sometimes referred to herein as a gasification island (GI), into syngas and further converts the syngas into syngas. is processed by a hydrocarbon reformer (HR) as described below to produce a high biogenic content syngas. Note that gasification system 21 receives streams 231 and 235 that carry recycled hydrocarbon products and intermediates to the HR, respectively. GI 21 also receives stream 27 that carries recycled _CO2 to stages 1 and 2 of GI 21, which are described in detail below. Also, as explained further below, recycled _CO2 is used to mitigate the water gas shift reaction in the steam reformer of GI 21 and as a purge gas for equipment, equipment systems and MSW feeder systems. used. Additionally, GI 21 receives oxygen stream 273 and FT exhaust gas stream 25 .

At gasification island 21, generally speaking, biogenic carbon is converted to biogenic syngas by a combination of steam reforming, substoichiometric carbon oxidation and hydrocarbon reforming. A syngas product comprising CO, _H2 and _CO2 is carried by stream 29 in the illustrated embodiment. The gasification reactions that occur in GI 21 are further described below.

Syngas stream 29 is processed in syngas conditioning system 41 to provide syngas feed stream 31 to FT reactor system 33, as described in more detail below. Note that syngas conditioning system 41 provides CO ₂ recycle stream 27 for recycling CO ₂ back to GI 21 .

The output from F-T reactor system 33 includes F-T fluids containing medium Fischer-Tropsch liquids (MFTL) stream 520 and heavy Fischer-Tropsch liquids (HFTL) stream 540, both of which are F-T hydrocarbons. Any unreacted syngas may be recycled to the F-T reactor 33, as described below. Additionally, the output of the F-T reactor system 33 includes the F-T exhaust gas stream 25 previously described.

The biorefinery includes a hydrogen recovery system to remove the hydrogen required for upgrading from the conditioned syngas. A portion of the conditioned syngas flows through a combined membrane/PSA unit to produce a high purity hydrogen stream for the upgrading unit. The recovered hydrogen from the membrane (permeate) is fed to the PSA unit and the retentate is combined with the bypass syngas and fed to the FT reactor. The recovered hydrogen is fed to a PSA unit where a relatively high purity hydrogen stream (>99.5% _H2 ) is produced and the PSA reject stream is sent to the inlet of the syngas compressor to recover the rejected syngas. Sent.

Biorefinery 17 of FIG. 1 further includes an upgrading system 54 for receiving F-T fluids from F-T system 33 . In the illustrated embodiment, both a heavy Fischer-Tropsch liquids (HFTL) stream 540 and a medium Fischer-Tropsch liquids (MFTL) stream 520 are supplied to the upgrading system 54 . The F-T liquid output liquid from upgrading system 54 is carried by stream 58 in the illustrated embodiment. In practice, F-T liquids may include naphtha, diesel, synthetic paraffin kerosene (SPK), isoalkanes, heavy alkanes with oxygenates and olefins, or a combination of all these components. Other outputs from the upgrading system 54 are the naphtha stream 231 and the offgas stream 233 described above.

Gasification island system 21 implements a three-stage gasification process, as shown in detail in FIG. In a preferred embodiment, the three-stage gasification process includes:
a. Stage 1 - steam reforming;
b. Stage 2 - substoichiometric carbon oxidation to gasify unreacted carbon after steam reforming; and
c. Stage 3 - Hydrocarbon reforming.

In the illustrated embodiment, the gasification unit, generally designated 211, includes stage 1 and 2 units, generally designated 251 and 271, respectively. It can be seen that unit 251 is a steam reformer in which gasification is achieved. Further, unit 271 can be understood to be a carbon oxidation system in which unreacted carbon from stage 1 gasification is substoichiometrically converted to syngas. Also at gasification island 21 , hydrocarbon reforming is provided in a third stage by a hydrocarbon reforming system generally designated 215 .

Steam reformer 251 selectively receives processed feed stream 15 and produces syngas stream 219 . Gasification unit 211 also receives recycled CO ₂ stream 27 . In the gasification unit 211, the recovered high biogenic _CO2 in stream 27 helps fluidize the fluidizing medium in the sub-stoichiometric carbon oxidation unit 271 and the hydrocarbon reformer 215 to support the water gas shift reaction. It can be used to relieve and purge equipment within the steam reformer 251 . The recovered high biogenic _CO2 in stream 27 may also be added to the treated feedstock stream 15 as shown.

As mentioned above, gasification unit 211 in the embodiment of FIG. 2 includes steam reformer 251 and substoichiometric carbon oxidation unit 271 . Steam reformer 251 first receives the processed feedstock vapor 15 . It is also the steam reformer 251 that first receives the oxygen vapor 273 . Preferably, steam reformer 251 includes an indirect heat source 253 . The output streams from steam reformer 251 include syngas stream 254 and solids stream 256 . Syngas stream 254 is conveyed to hydrocarbon reforming unit 215 along with stream 219 . Solids stream 256 , composed primarily of ash and fine char, is conveyed to substoichiometric carbon oxidation unit 271 .

In a preferred embodiment, the steam reformer 251 is a fluidized bed system utilizing superheated steam, _CO2 and _O2 as fluidized bed media. In another embodiment, only steam and _O2 are used as fluid bed media. Preferably, the externally fired indirect heater 253 provides most of the energy to maintain the reformer bed temperature and support the endothermic reactions required in the gasification process. The process gas stream can exit the steam reformer 251 by a series of cyclones. Preferably, the inner cyclone separates most of any entrained bed media back to the fluidized bed of the reformer for further conversion to syngas in the substoichiometric carbon oxidation unit 271, followed by a second outer cyclone. collects unreacted char. Preferably, the flue gas from the indirect heater of the steam reformer is used in the fire tube boiler to produce steam for use in the plant.

The illustrated hydrocarbon reformer unit 215 receives the syngas stream 219 and produces the primary syngas stream 29 described above containing CO, _H2 and _CO2 along with minor components. Additionally, hydrocarbon reformer unit 215 receives oxygen stream 273 and FT tail gas stream 25 . Finally, the hydrocarbon reformer unit 215 receives the naphtha stream 231 and offgas stream 233 described above.

The hydrocarbon reformer unit 215 operates to recover biogenic carbon by thermally dissociating hydrocarbons at temperatures above 2200°F. Heat for the hydrocarbon reformer is provided by the oxidation of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. Note that these reactions are exothermic.

The hydrocarbon reformer unit 215 in the embodiment of FIG. 2 includes a syngas cooling section 225 . The syngas cooling section may include, for example, a radiant slagging cooler or a recirculating syngas slagging quencher.

In a preferred implementation, the hydrocarbon reforming unit 215 is a refractory-lined vessel with an oxygen gas burner/mixer operating in the range of 1800°F to 3000°F to remove all carbonization, including tar, in the gas stream. Hydrogen compounds are converted to syngas and sulfur compounds are converted to _H2S to ensure that the water gas shift reaction approaches equilibrium. In the hydrocarbon reforming unit 215, the FT tail gas is purged from the FT reaction loop, reconverting the refinery system offgas and the vaporized naphtha stream 231 to CO and _H2 .

Substoichiometric carbon oxidation unit 271 receives, in addition to receiving solids stream 256 , recycled CO ₂ stream stream 27 and oxygen stream 273 . Heating in carbon substoichiometric oxidation unit 271 is provided by substoichiometric oxidation of unreacted carbon. Low pressure steam stream 275 is superheated in a substoichiometric carbon oxidation unit and used as fluidizing steam for gasification in both Stage 1 and Stage 2. The output of substoichiometric carbon oxidation unit 271 is syngas stream 277, which in the illustrated embodiment is combined with syngas stream 254 from steam reformer 251 and fed to hydrocarbon reformer unit 215. form a syngas stream 219 to be processed.

In a preferred embodiment, substoichiometric carbon oxidation unit 271 utilizes a fluidized bed in which oxygen is added along with fluidizing steam and _CO2 to further convert fine char to syngas. Gases produced in and passed through the substoichiometric carbon oxidation unit 271 pass through an external cyclone and re-enter the main syngas stream 219 . Preferably, the cyclone-removed ash is cooled and transported to a collection silo for off-site disposal. A heat exchanger submerged in the fluidized bed of the substoichiometric carbon oxidation unit 271 superheats the low pressure steam to 1100°F for use in the fluidized bed of the fluidized bed steam reformer 251 and unit 271 itself. Remove some heat from the event.

In operation of the system of FIG. 2, within the fluidized bed of the steam reformer 251, an external combustion heater rapidly heats the circulating bed media and feedstock entering the vessel. Almost immediately, the feedstock undergoes drying and pyrolysis, thereby producing gaseous and solid (char) products. The gaseous pyrolysis products undergo a water-gas shift reaction, with concomitant steam reforming of the solid char material, to produce syngas consisting primarily of _H2 , CO, _CO2 , and some hydrocarbons. Most of the residual char reacts with the superheated steam and oxygen to produce syngas. The char exiting the steam reformer is separated by a cyclone and dropped into a substoichiometric carbon oxidation unit for further gasification and conversion. Steam reformers and substoichiometric carbon oxidation units utilize internal and external cyclones to keep bed media separate as it becomes entrained in the process gas stream. From steam reformer 251 and substoichiometric carbon oxidation unit 271, the syngas flows via stream 219 to hydrocarbon reformer unit 215 to convert any residual char, hydrocarbons and tar to syngas.

As noted above, the output of hydrocarbon reformer unit 215 is syngas stream 29, which is fed to syngas conditioning system 41, now described in conjunction with FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, an exemplary syngas conditioning system, generally designated 41, receives a primary syngas stream 29 and conditions the stream to produce a gaseous feed stream 31 to the FT reactor. do. In the illustrated embodiment, the syngas conditioning system 41 includes, in continuous fluid communication, a syngas heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) unit 411 for waste heat recovery, a syngas scrubber unit 421, and a syngas compressor. 431 , primary guard bed 436 , water gas shift reactor 441 , ammonia removal unit 446 , secondary guard bed 451 and CO ₂ /H ₂ S removal system 461 . One output of the _CO2 / _H2S removal system 461 is the syngas feed stream 470 in the illustrated embodiment. Another output of CO ₂ /H ₂ S removal system 461 is recycled CO ₂ stream 27 .

As can be seen, steam is produced from several sources within the process. The HRSG recovers steam from the flue gas produced by the indirect fired heater unit 253 of the steam reformer unit 251 . Steam is also produced in the HRSG unit 411 which recovers heat from the syngas stream 29 leaving the gasification island and steam is produced in the power boiler. Steam from all three sources is combined and superheated to provide intermediate pressure steam that is used as the power fluid in either the syngas compressor (unit 431) steam turbine or steam turbine generator (Figure 1). . The composite medium pressure steam may have a biogenic content equal to the MSW feed, depending on the amount of natural gas used to burn the external heater. In a preferred embodiment, a portion of the syngas produced is fed to a gas turbine/steam turbine (combined cycle power plant) to produce the high biogenic content power used to supply the plant's electrical needs. do. In another embodiment, all of the syngas is used to produce steam for biogenic power and the syngas compressor unit 431 is driven by a steam turbine drive.

The syngas scrubber unit 421 is a conventional gas scrubbing device that receives a syngas stream 420 and a corrosive or other suitable alkaline solution stream 424 . Liquid removed from the scrubber unit 421 includes an acid water stream 426 that can be conveyed to the wastewater treatment system. Acidic water can contain undesirable contaminants such as, for example, ash particles, acids, mercury, and acidic compounds such as hydrochloric acid (HCl) and hydrogen sulfide ( _H2S ) that have been removed from the syngas. It will therefore be appreciated that the syngas scrubber unit 421 is provided to remove contaminants that could potentially damage downstream equipment and affect the performance of the FT synthesis catalyst.

Preferably, the syngas scrubber unit has three main sections - a venturi scrubber, a packed tower section and a direct contact cooler section. When a syngas quench cooler is utilized, about half of the cleaned syngas leaving the syngas scrubber unit is recycled back to the hydrocarbon reformer quench cooler by the quench blower, while the other half is used for F-T synthesis. Compressed in syngas compressor 431 to meet process requirements. If a radiant slagging cooler is used, no recycle gas blower is required and the flow into the scrubber is equal to the flow leaving the gasification island 21. Syngas scrubbing is further described in co-pending US patent application Ser. No. 14/138,635, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. The scrubbed syngas is carried in stream 428 .

In the illustrated embodiment, the syngas compressor stage 431 comprises one or more conventional compressors arranged in series to raise the pressure of the compressor inlet stream comprising at least a portion of the syngas stream to a predetermined level. It includes a stage 433 that outputs a compressed syngas stream 434 . In practice, the final pressure of syngas stream 434 may range from about 400 psig to about 600 psig to meet the process requirements of the FT synthesis process. Preferably, after all but the final stage, the heat of compression is removed in an intercooler and all condensate is collected and sent to a wastewater treatment plant for recovery. The compressor outlet stream is sent hot to primary guard bed 436 where any COS and HCN are hydrolyzed to H ₂ S and NH ₃ and then sent to shift reactor 441 .

In one embodiment, the syngas compressor drive is an extraction/condensation turbine driven by high pressure steam superheated with a portion of the low pressure extracted steam for process requirements. Also, the F-T recycle compressor (unit 511 in FIG. 5) is on the syngas compressor shaft and can be driven by the syngas compressor steam turbine drive. In another embodiment, the syngas compressor is driven by an electric motor that is energized from power produced in a combined cycle power plant that uses syngas as fuel to produce high biogenic power.

As also shown in FIG _. 3, the water gas shift reactor 441 receives a portion of the pressurized primary syngas stream 440 and processes an aqueous A gas shift reaction shifts some of the steam and CO to _H2 and _CO2 . The pressurized primary syngas substream 442 may subsequently bypass the water gas shift reactor 441 and may be recombined with the outlet stream 450 from the water gas shift reactor 441 . High pressure steam is produced in the water gas shift unit to remove shift heat from the reaction. The steam produced is fed back into the syngas stream 440 that is sent to the reactor to provide a source of hydrogen for the shift reaction. Any required additional steam can be supplied by the plant steam system.

In the embodiment of FIG. 3, the syngas outlet stream 450 from the water gas shift reactor 441 is fed to a conventional ammonia removal unit 446 . In the ammonia removal unit 446, the syngas is cooled until excess water condenses along with the absorbed ammonia. The syngas then leaves condenser 446 as stream 448 . Acid water from the condenser 446 can be conveyed to the wastewater treatment system. Stream 448 is conveyed to the inlet of secondary guard bed 451 where any volatilized Hg is removed.

As further shown in FIG. 3, the pressurized primary syngas from secondary guard bed 451 is conveyed as stream 460 to CO ₂ /H ₂ S removal system 461 . _CO2 / _H2S removal system 461 is further described in conjunction with Figures 4A and 4B. One output of CO ₂ /H ₂ S removal system 461 is sulfur stream 464 . Another output is a syngas stream 470 from which sulfur has been removed. A third output is the CO ₂ recycle stream 27 .

In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 3, syngas feed stream 470 is conveyed to H ₂ S and final guard arsine bed 471 and then to H ₂ recovery unit 481 .

The syngas from the H ₂ S/arsine guard bed enters hydrogen recovery unit 481 . Hydrogen recovery unit 481 extracts vapor 482 of high purity _H2 required for the hydrocracking upgrading process, as described below. The output of H ₂ recovery unit 481 is syngas feed stream 31 to FT reactor 33 . A third output from the hydrogen recovery unit 481 is the rejected syngas stream 483 . Stream 483 can be recycled to join stream 428 .

In a preferred embodiment, the hydrogen recovery unit (HRU) 481 extracts _H2 using a combined membrane and pressure swing adsorption (“PSA”) system. The HRU membrane retention gas is remixed with the bulk syngas stream and sent to the FT liquid reactor. The HRU PSA purge gas is sent to the suction of the syngas compressor 431 and the purified _H2 stream 482 is sent to upgrading.

As shown in FIG. 5, system 33 for producing F-T liquids receives syngas feed stream 31 . The system includes one or more F-T reactors 533 to provide a fluid output stream 535 comprising F-T liquids and F-T exhaust gas, as described above. The F-T reactor output stream 535 is fed to a thermal separation system, generally designated 500, which separates the F-T liquids into their heavy F-T liquids (HFTL), medium FT liquids (MFTL), water and F-T tail gas. .

In a preferred embodiment as shown in FIG. 5, thermal separation system 500 includes two condensers 501 and 531 and two separators 503 and 504. HFTL separator 503 has outlets 518 and 520, respectively. In practice, the condenser 501 operates using a regulated hot water loop as the cooling medium to condense and separate the HFTL liquid fraction from the FT water and MFTL liquid fractions. Both MFTL water and FT flue gas remain in the vapor phase. The HFTL stream is conveyed from outlet 520 for storage in tank 521 for further processing. In practice, HFTL stream 520 consists primarily of heavy hydrocarbon waxes that are solid at room temperature. These waxes are kept warm above 230°F to prevent solidification.

Also shown in FIG. 5, thermal separation system 500 includes a second condenser 531 that receives F-T water and MFTL from stream 518 from HFTL separator 503 . In practice, the second condenser 531 uses cooling water to condense and separate F-T water and MFTL from unreacted syngas and non-condensable hydrocarbons (ie, methane, etc.). The condensed F-T water and MFTL stream phases are separated in a second separator 504, the MFTL stream is sent via stream 540 to storage unit 522 and the F-T water is sent via stream 542 to wastewater treatment.

As further shown in FIG. 5, F-T exhaust gas can be recycled to F-T reactor 533 via stream 537 . In the illustrated embodiment, the F-T exhaust gas is separated in MFTL separator 504 and conveyed by stream 550 to compressor 511 whose output is conveyed to syngas recycle line 537 . Purge stream 552 branches from stream 550 prior to recycle compressor 511 . Purge stream 552 is directed by stream 25 to hydrocarbon reformer 215 to control the hydrocarbon content in the recycle syngas (FIG. 2), and also to power generation to purge inert gases from the recycle syngas. You can go to the boiler.

FIG. 6 shows an example embodiment of the upgrading system 54 in FIG. More specifically, this figure shows a system for producing purified F-T liquids from the system of FIG. The illustrated system includes a hydrocracker reactor unit 643 that receives liquid from a hydrocracker charge vessel 524 fed by tanks 521 and 522 (FIG. 5) previously described. In a preferred embodiment, hydrocracker reactor unit 643 uses a high temperature, high pressure catalytic process to upgrade HFTL and MFTL hydrocarbon streams to transportation fuels (SPK or diesel). Hydrotreating and hydrocracking occur in one reactor because the upgrading is less stringent. Olefins and alcohols are first saturated and then alkanes are cracked to products in the SPK range. A hydrogenolysis mechanism involving a protonated cyclopropane intermediate forms isomeric products along with linear products. In hydrocracker reactor unit 643, the feed mixture passes through a series of catalyst beds for conversion to shorter chain hydrocarbons.

In an alternative embodiment, the MFTL can be pre-fractionated to remove the light fraction overhead of the hydrocarbon reformer; transported to This embodiment removes most of the oxygenates from the stream flowing to the hydrocracker and reduces the hydroprocessing load of the hydrocracker.

As further shown in FIG. 6, the hydrocracker reactor unit 643 provides an output stream 644 that is fed to a hydrocarbon thermal separation system generally designated 701, the cracks of which are subjected to a series of thermal Using an exchanger and separation vessel, it is cooled, condensed and separated into two separate heavy and light cracked streams.

In the illustrated embodiment of hydrocarbon thermal separation system 701 , the cracks are cooled in feed/outlet heat exchanger 702 and the heavy cracks are separated from the light cracks in heavy crack separator 703 . From heavy cracker separator 703 , heavy cracked synthetic petroleum is sent to fractionator 853 via streams 704 and 750 . In addition, a portion of the heavy cracking product is recycled to the hydrocracker 643 to maintain material flow into the hydrocracker during start-up and in the event of a fractionator malfunction. can be done.

In the illustrated embodiment, a light cracking product separator 705 is provided to separate the light cracking products from the heavy cracking water and hydrogen. The separated light cracks are sent by stream 750 to fractionator 853 . The heavy cracked water is sent by line 706 to the biorefinery's wastewater treatment plant for treatment. Separated hydrogen gas is sent for recycle via streams 708 , 741 and 742 .

The fractionation process of Figure 6 will now be described in more detail. As previously described, fractionator 853 receives heavy cracker stream 704 and light cracker stream 750 . The purpose of fractionator 853 is to separate SPK or diesel from the heavy cracker and naphtha fractions. Sidestream 856 is fed into stripper column 857 to remove lights from the SPK/diesel feed and provide final washing and recovery of the SPK/diesel product. In fractionator 853, the incoming heavy and light cracked streams are combined and heated by natural gas fired heaters for initial separation in the fractionator. Preferably, fractionator 853 uses direct steam injection to strip low boiling hydrocarbons from high boiling hydrocarbons without utilizing a high temperature reboiler configuration.

The output from fractionator 853 includes overhead stream 23 which carries recyclable hydrocarbon products. Preferably, overhead stream 823 is fed to condenser unit 860, where it is condensed into three streams: main fractionator (“MF”) water stream 862, the aforementioned light phase (naphtha) stream 231, and An off-gas stream 233 is separated. In practice, the naphtha can be refluxed back into the fractionator 53 and/or sent to the naphtha vaporizer for injection into the hydrocarbon reformer. Offgas stream 233 is recycled by the offgas compressor to the hydrocarbon reformer for reprocessing. The bottoms from fractionator 853 are pumped via stream 855 to hydrocracking charge vessel 560 for further hydrocracking. The MF water is sent to the biorefinery's wastewater treatment plant for treatment.

The naphtha from the fractionator OH separator is pumped into the naphtha vaporizer where it is vaporized using low pressure steam. The naphtha vapor then enters the hydrocarbon reformer 215 of FIG. 2 for recovery. The overhead pressure of the fractionator floats with the offgas compressor discharge rate. The offgas compressor provides the motive force to move the fractionator overhead separator offgas to the outlet of the naphtha vaporizer. The combined stream then enters the hydrocarbon reformer.

The SPK product withdrawn by stream 856 from the top of fractionator 853 is sent to product stripper column 857 for separation of the final product. Heat to the product stripper column 857 is provided, for example, by a natural gas fired product stripper reboiler. The product stripper overhead stream is recycled back to fractionator 853 . Bottoms stream 800 is cooled and sent to storage unit 803 as SPK product via stream 58 .

As shown in FIG. 4A, one embodiment of an exemplary CO ₂ /H ₂ S removal system 461 includes a sulfur removal unit 463 that receives stream 460 . One output of sulfur removal unit 463 is sulfur stream 464 . Another output of the removal unit 463 is a syngas stream 466 from which sulfur has been removed.

Syngas stream 466 is fed to an amine solvent system generally designated 491 . In the illustrated embodiment, the amine solvent system 491A includes an absorption unit 493 and a regeneration unit 495 connected in countercurrent relationship. The output of the regeneration unit 493 is the syngas feed stream 470 described above. The output of absorption unit 495 is the recycled _CO2 stream 27 described above.

In the preferred embodiment of Figure 4A, absorption unit 493 is a tower in which _CO2 is removed by contact with a circulating amine/water solution. In this embodiment, the amine absorber can remove _H2S from stream 466 when the sulfur removal unit is running. The treated syngas is washed with water to remove any accompanying amine solution. In a preferred embodiment, the clean syngas leaving the solvent absorber 493 is heated using medium pressure (MP) saturated steam and sent as stream 470 to a guard bed where trace amounts of Removes _H2S and arsenic catalyst poisons.

As shown in FIG. 4B, another exemplary _CO2 / _H2S removal system 461 includes an amine unit, where syngas stream 460 is fed to an amine solvent system generally designated 491B. In the illustrated embodiment, the amine solvent system 491B includes an absorption unit 493 and a regeneration unit 495 connected in countercurrent relationship. The output of regeneration unit 495 is fed to sulfur removal unit 463 . The output of absorber unit 493 is the syngas feed stream 470 described above. In this embodiment, absorption unit 493 is a column in which _CO2 and _H2S are removed by contact with a circulating amine/water solution. The treated syngas is then washed with water to remove any entrained amine solution and sent as stream 470 to final guard bed 471 .

In the embodiment of Figure 4B, the regenerator overhead output stream 466 is fed to a sulfur removal unit 463 where _H2S is removed from the reject _CO2 stream. One output of the sulfur removal unit 463 is the recycled _CO2 stream 27 and sulfur stream 464 described above. A portion of the overhead _CO2 reject stream from the sulfur removal unit is compressed and recycled back to the gasification island and the excess is vented to the atmosphere.

In operation of the _CO2 / _H2S removal system in Figures 4A and 4B, the "rich" amine (i.e., amine after _CO2 absorption) from the absorber tower passes through a lean/rich exchanger and then the rich solvent. Flash into the flash drum. The CO and _H2 rich flash gas enters the syngas compressor suction and is recycled in the process. The flashed rich liquid stream enters the solvent regeneration tower. In the solvent regenerator, the rich solvent is heated in a steam reboiler to drive off the absorbed _CO2 / _H2S . The "lean" solvent exiting the bottom of the solvent regenerator is recycled back to the absorber for reuse by the lean/rich exchanger and solvent cooler. A portion of the overhead _CO2 reject stream from the solvent regenerator is compressed and recycled back to the gasification island and the excess is vented to the atmosphere. Preferably, the system is designed to reduce _CO2 content to <1 mol% and _H2S content to <5 ppmv in the syngas stream while minimizing CO and _H2 losses.

In the overall operation of the system described above, multiple reactions occur as the MSW is gasified. The main reaction is when char (carbon) reacts with steam to produce syngas, which consists mainly of hydrogen ( _H2 ), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide ( _CO2 ) and some hydrocarbons. , which occurs at elevated temperatures:
C+ _H2O → _H2 +CO
2C+ _O2 →2CO
C+ _O2 → _CO2 .
At the same time, the reversible "water-gas shift" reaction
CO+ _{H2O⇔CO2 + H2}
approaches equilibrium with CO/ _H2O and _CO2 / _H2 ratios based on equilibrium constants at the gasifier operating temperature. The gasification system may be configured and conditioned such that at least the following gasification reaction occurs: C+ _H2O → _H2 +CO. At the same time, conditions may preferably be provided such that the reversible "aqueous shift" reaction below reaches an equilibrium state determined primarily by the temperature of the gasifier and the pressure is preferably near atmospheric pressure. :
CO+ _H2O ⇔ _CO2 + _H2 .
The primary FT reaction converts syngas to higher molecular weight hydrocarbons and water in the presence of a catalyst:
nCO+(2n+1) _H2 → _{CnH2n +2} + _nH2O .

Further, with respect to the overall operation of the system, it should be noted that the syngas produced at gasification island 21 has an insufficient amount of hydrogen for effective production and upgrading of FT liquid. Acid shift reactor 441 produces additional hydrogen to increase the _H2 :CO ratio in the syngas from about 0.8 to about 2.0. The water gas shift reaction converts some of the CO and _H2O in the syngas to _H2 and _CO2 . This reaction is exothermic and takes place over an acidic shift catalyst. This reaction is an "acid shift" because _H2S is still present in the syngas stream. The steam produced by the multi-use steam and shift reactor 441 is mixed with the syngas to provide water for the water gas shift reaction and moderate the temperature rise in the reactor. Hydrogen production and syngas _H2 :CO ratio are controlled by bypassing a portion of the syngas flow around the shift reactor. Shift reactor effluent heat is recovered by exchanging reactor inlet syngas to produce shift reactor steam and preheating boiler feed water.

7-12, a further embodiment of a feedstock processing system (sometimes referred to as a feedstock processing facility (FPF)) 1000 is shown. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating one embodiment of a feedstock processing system 1000 and associated method. Although FIG. 7 and the description refer to specific examples using MSW feedstock, such examples are for illustrative purposes only and the present invention is limited to any specific example. not a thing Those skilled in the art will appreciate that other starting materials or raw materials may be used and processed in system 1000 . Further, the terms "source" or "initial" or "incoming" are used interchangeably to describe the raw materials or materials that are input or supplied to the system 1000. These terms are for convenience and do not limit the content or properties of the raw materials or substances input or supplied to the system 1000 . For example, a feedstock or material input to system 1000 may undergo pretreatment and then be sent to system 1000 for further processing. Raw materials input to the system 1000 may come directly from municipalities without pretreatment. In the example of a woody biomass feedstock, this feedstock may, but need not, be shredded or chopped prior to entering system 1000 . Those skilled in the art will recognize that many types of ingredients or materials may be input into system 1000 and the invention is not limited to any particular type or delivery.

In general, the feedstock processing system 1000 may be configured to process feedstock or other materials, such as waste, to produce a processed feedstock having a selective biogenic carbon content. The feedstock processing system 1000 provides flexible processing of one or more feedstocks to produce processed feedstocks tailored to a particular facility, application, or need. For example, in some embodiments, the feedstock processing system 1000 optimizes or maximizes the recovery of biogenic carbon materials from the feedstock or initial feedstock input to the system 1000, resulting in processed feedstocks having high biogenic carbon content. may be configured to produce a raw material. In other embodiments, the biogenic carbon content in the processed feedstock is selectively controlled to be within a particular range, not necessarily maximized. For example, in addition to biogenic carbon material, it may be desirable to produce a processed feedstock that contains an amount of non-biogenic carbon material, such as, but not limited to, carbon derived from plastics. Also, in further embodiments, it may be desirable to process a higher content of non-biogenic carbon materials, such as waste plastics, such that the biogenic carbon content of the processed feedstock is less than 50% by weight. As noted above, all percentage (%) values are weight percent (wt%) unless otherwise indicated.

In general, the feedstock input to system 1000 can be any type of material. In some embodiments, the feedstock comprises organic waste materials. For the purposes of this disclosure, the term “organic waste material” or “organic waste” is understood broadly and includes, but is not limited to, any organic or carbonaceous material such as MSW, woody biomass, cellulosic material, plastics, etc. intended to include.

Generally, for the purposes of this disclosure, the term "high" biogenic carbon in relation to processed feedstock consists of at least 51% biogenic carbon material by mass. Embodiments of the feedstock processing system 1000 may be configured to produce processed feedstock having a biogenic carbon content in the range of 50% to 100%. In other embodiments, feedstock processing system 1000 may be configured to produce a processed feedstock having a biogenic carbon content in the range of 51% to 95%. Alternatively, the feedstock processing system 1000 may be configured to process plastic to produce a processed feedstock having a biogenic carbon content in the range of 50% or less.

The feedstock processing system 1000 may be configured to process a wide variety of feedstock materials that are input to the system 1000 by one or more feedstreams 1200 . In some embodiments, source material 1200 may comprise mixed solid waste, such as wet organic waste, dry organic waste, and inorganic waste, mixed in one or more waste streams. In other embodiments, the source material may comprise biomass material, such as woody biomass or plant material, or mixtures thereof. In another embodiment, the raw material may include plastic. Plastics can be mixed with mixed solid waste or can be input in a separate waste stream (as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 and further described below). Those skilled in the art will recognize that the source material that enters system 1000 is not intended to be limiting, the only criterion being that the source material contains some amount of carbonaceous material. would do.

A raw material or substance 1200 may be transferred to a raw material processing facility or system 1000, as shown in FIG. In this example, feedstock 1200 is composed of MSW. For example, raw material 1200 may be delivered by carrier truck, unloaded on floor sort 1210, and sorted. In an exemplary embodiment, the floor sort 1210 sorts oversized bulky items such as water heaters, refrigerators, propane tanks, large pieces of metal, hazardous materials, and other items that are not compatible with the rest of the processing sequence into a heavy residue. It may be removed in stream 1202 to material depot 1290 to produce stream 1205 . Note that heavy residue storage unit 1290 may also be referred to simply as residue storage 1290 or sometimes as inerts station 1290 . Floor sort 1210 separates larger materials from smaller materials. In one embodiment, material greater than or equal to 10 inches in size is separated from smaller materials (material less than 10 inches in size) to produce stream 1205 . Other sizes may be used to distinguish between large and small substances.

After this initial sorting, the MSW (stream 1205) may be fed to a size reduction unit 1230 where 10 inches or more of material in stream 1205 may be reduced. For example, size reduction unit 1230 may include a conveyor (not shown) that feeds a shear-type (or equivalent) shredder. The MSW (stream 1205) may be chopped to minus 10 inch size to produce material in stream 1235. The size-reduced/shredded MSW in stream 1235 may be sent to fractionation unit 1240 . Any suitable type of fractionation device may be incorporated herein. Fractionation unit 1240 may be used to remove non-biogenic carbon along with other non-carbonaceous materials from stream 1235 to produce stream 1245 . Stream 1245 may include biogenic carbon material and other carbonaceous material. The reject stream 1242 from fractionation unit 1240 may range in size from 1 to 4 inches and contains a high percentage of non-carbonaceous materials. Any suitable type of fractionation unit may be incorporated. For example, stream 1245 may be screened with cascading finger screen unit 1240 to remove fines smaller than 2 inches. Fine matter may include dirt, glass, wet organic matter, and other inert ingredients. Wet organic matter may include, for example, grass clippings and food waste. For the purposes of this specification, the term "inert material" or "inert ingredient" refers to any non-carbonaceous material.

The material in stream 1245 is further processed in fine fraction density separation unit 1250 configured to separate heavy/medium fractions from light fractions in stream 1245 . A heavy/medium fraction containing materials such as soil, gravel, glass, metals, yard waste, and food waste is separated from the light fraction as stream 1255 (with a density separation ratio of 2:2 to 5:1). ), may be sent to residual material station 1290 . The light or fines fraction in stream 1257 typically contains carbonaceous materials such as paper, plastics and textiles. A type of unit suitable for fine fractionation would be a density type air separation unit.

The MSW stream 1257 output from the fine fractionation and density separation unit 1250 can be further processed by removing iron material in an iron removal unit 1270 (sometimes referred to as a magnetic separator). A magnetic separator in iron removal unit 1270 removes ferrous metals to produce a high carbonaceous matter output (stream 1277). The ferrous material separated in stream 1275 may be recovered at recovery metal station 1278 and ultimately sent to a recycling station.

MSW stream 1277 output from iron removal unit 1270 may be further processed by removing non-ferrous metals in non-ferrous removal unit 1280 to produce higher carbonaceous MSW output stream 1287 . The non-ferrous metal material separated in stream 1285 may be recovered at recovery non-ferrous metal station 1288 and ultimately sent to a recycling station. Non-ferrous metals 1288 may include, for example, aluminum, copper, and non-magnetic steel. In some embodiments, an eddy current separator may be used to remove non-ferrous metals and produce a high carbonaceous material output stream 1287 .

Additionally, MSW stream 1287 may be further processed to remove and recover plastics from stream 1287 in plastic removal unit 1300 to produce MSW output stream 1307 . Plastic removal unit 1300 may include a set of near-infrared optical sorters configured to separate plastics in stream 1305 . Plastic 1305 may comprise a mixture of polyethylene terephthalate (“PET”) plastic streams and polyvinyl chloride (“PVC”), high density polyethylene (“HDPE”) and low density polyethylene (LDPE) composite plastic streams. , but not limited to. Polystyrene (“PS”) and polypropylene (“PP”) may be recovered with the HDPE/PVC stream by adjusting the optical sorter settings. The separated plastics in stream 1305 may be packaged and stored at a recovery plastics station 1308 for offsite shipping and sale. At this point, inerts, ferrous metals, non-ferrous metals, "wet" organics and plastics have been removed from the treated feedstock stream 1307 so that the carbonaceous material in stream 1307 is processed for final grinding. 2 to size reduction unit 1310 . The material in stream 1307 can be ground to any desired size, depending on the requirements of the final processed feedstock. For example, the source material may be chopped into sizes ranging from 0.75 to 1.5 inches, depending on process requirements.

Once comminuted to the desired size, the sized and processed feedstock material in stream 1315 is typically dried to feedstock specifications in drying unit 1320 to yield the final treated feedstock in stream 1325. Generate. The final processed feed stream 1325 may be transferred to a biorefinery where it is converted to F-T liquids and liquid fuels as described above. In some embodiments, the final processed feedstock may consist of material ranging in size from 0.75 to 1.25 inches. The final processed feedstock has a low moisture content, generally in the range of about 8%-15%. Specifically, the final processed feedstock may have a low moisture content of less than about 10%. The final processed feedstock may contain a low inerts content. For example, the low inerts content may range from 0.5-2.5%. Alternatively, the low inerts content may be less than 2%. The recovery of carbonaceous material is 35-40%.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating an alternative embodiment of a feedstock processing system 1020 and associated methods. The embodiment of FIG. 8 provides more carbonaceous material recovery from the initial feedstock and produces a further processed final feedstock 1325 than the embodiment shown in FIG.

In general, the feedstock processing system 1020 may be configured to process feedstock, such as waste, to produce a processed feedstock having a selective biogenic carbon content. The raw material processing system 1020 provides flexible processing of raw materials to produce processed raw materials tailored to specific equipment, applications, or needs. The feedstock processing system 1020 of FIG. 8 includes similar components as the feedstock processing system 1000 of FIG. 7, with the following additions and/or differences for further processing of the feedstock.

For example, a feedstock processing system 1020 as shown in FIG. 8 may include a coarse separation unit 1220. After initial sorting, the MSW stream 1205 may be fed to a coarse separation or primary size separation unit 1220 where larger materials are separated from smaller materials in a coarse separation. In one embodiment, larger materials (eg, materials greater than 10 inches in size) may be separated into stream 1225 . Smaller materials (eg, materials less than 10 inches in size) are separated into stream 1215 . Other sizes may be used to distinguish between large and small substances.

The larger material in stream 1225 is fed to a size reduction unit 1230 where the 10 inch or larger material in stream 1225 is further processed by being fed onto a conveyor (not shown) that feeds a shear-type shredder. pulverized. Shear-type shredders can shred larger materials into minus 10 inch size product material. Chopped minus 10 inch size MSW material is produced in stream 1235 .

Smaller material (eg, less than 10 inches) in stream 1215 is sent from coarse separation unit 1220 to fractional density separation unit 1260 where the heavy/medium fraction is separated from the light fraction. A heavy/medium fraction is separated in stream 1267 and generally contains materials such as dirt, gravel, glass, metals, yard waste, and food waste. A light fraction is separated in stream 1265 and generally contains paper, plastics, textiles and other carbonaceous materials. Separation of the light fraction from the heavy fraction is achievable at density separation ratios ranging from 2:2 to 5:1.

Heavy/medium fraction stream 1267 is sent to first fractional density separation unit 1250 where it is combined with stream 1245 . The light fraction from density fractionator 1260 (stream 1265) may contain paper, plastics and textiles and may be sent to a final milling step at 1310 where the raw product is dried before drying. It is mixed with other product streams. This embodiment increases the recovery of carbonaceous material to 44-50%.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating an alternative embodiment of a feedstock processing system 1030 and associated methods. The embodiment of FIG. 9 increases the recovery of carbonaceous material from stream 1200 to approximately 50-55% and produces more processed final feedstock 1325 than the embodiments shown in FIGS. . The feedstock processing system 1030 of FIG. 9 includes similar components as the feedstock processing system 1020 of FIG. 8, with the following additions and/or differences for further processing of the feedstock.

To provide further recovery of carbonaceous material from the feedstock, system 1030 includes a further fine fractionation unit. In the example shown, three differential density separation units (two primary units and one secondary unit) are used. Primary units 1250 and 1260 are configured as described for material processing system 1020 . Secondary fractionation density separation unit 1244 is configured to increase the recovery of carbonaceous material from fractionation unit 1240 reject stream 1242 . In this embodiment, the basic fractionation unit 1240 produces two output streams 1242 and 1245 of different sizes. Generally, the output stream 1242 contains smaller fines (<2 inches), which are sent to a secondary fractionation density separation unit 1244, where the material is sorted based on density, and the fractionation unit A portion of the carbonaceous material that was screened at 1240 along with the inactive fraction is recovered from stream 1242 . Materials in stream 1242 removed in unit 1240 may include paper, textiles, as well as dirt, glass, wet organics, and other inerts. Wet organic matter may include, for example, grass clippings and food waste. The heavy/medium fraction, stream 1246, from unit 1244 is sent to retentate and the light fraction, stream 1248, is combined with the light fraction from unit 1250 and sent to iron removal unit 1270. . The light fraction from secondary density fractionator 1244 (stream 1248) may contain paper, plastics, and textiles. For purposes of this specification, the terms "inert materials" 1202, 1246 and 1255 or "inert ingredients" refer to any non-carbonaceous material. Inactive materials 1202 , 1246 and 1255 are sent to inert material station 1290 . Inert components may be removed to produce high carbonaceous material outputs (streams 1248 and 1257). Streams 1248 and 1257 are sent to iron removal station 1270 for further processing as described above with respect to FIGS.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating an alternative embodiment of a material processing system 1040 and associated method. The embodiment of FIG. 10 recovers more carbonaceous material from the initial feedstock and produces a further processed final feedstock 1325 than the embodiments shown in FIGS. The embodiment of FIG. 10 produces more final processed feedstock 1325 (55-60% recovery) than the embodiments shown in FIGS. By adding additional processing steps, greater recovery of carbonaceous material from the original feed stream 1200 can be achieved. The feedstock processing system 1030 of FIG. 10 includes similar components as the feedstock processing system 1030 of FIG. 9, with the following additions and/or differences for further processing of the feedstock.

The feedstock processing system 1040 includes one additional secondary fractional density separation unit 1090 downstream from one of the primary fractional density separation units 1260 . Inert stream 1267 from primary fractional density separation unit 1260 is sent to secondary fractional density separation unit 1090 for recovery of additional carbonaceous material. Due to the wider achievable density range, more carbonaceous material is recovered when two fractional density separators are operated in series. Inert material 911 is sent to residual material station 1290 and carbonaceous material stream 912 is sent to first fractional density separation unit 1250 and combined with stream 1245 . Operations downstream of unit 1260 are described as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 above.

In a further aspect of the invention, a feedstock processing system configured to process a plurality of initial feedstock streams containing carbonaceous material is provided. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating an alternative embodiment of a material processing system 1050 and associated methods. FIG. 11 is an example of a feedstock processing system configured to process multiple feedstock streams and different types of feedstock streams.

Generally, feedstock processing system 1050 is configured to process one or more initial feedstocks or feedstock streams to produce a processed feedstock having a selective biogenic carbon content. The feedstock processing system 1050 provides flexible processing of multiple feedstocks to produce processed feedstocks tailored to a particular facility, application, or need. The feedstock processing system 1050 of FIG. 11 includes some of the same components as the feedstock processing system 1040 of FIG. 10, with the following differences and/or additions.

The feedstock processing system 1050 is configured to receive and process recovered plastics 1201 (such as previously recovered or recycled plastics) and/or woody biomass 1202, in addition to other carbonaceous feedstocks 1200 such as MSW. Recovered plastics 1201 include, but are not limited to, polyethylene terephthalate (“PET”) plastic streams and polyvinyl chloride (“PVC”), high density polyethylene (“HDPE”) and low density polyethylene (“LDPE”) composite plastic streams. Woody biomass 1202 may include, but is not limited to, wood biomass, straw, switchgrass, construction and demolition waste, and other similar biomass materials Plastic 1201 and woody biomass The streams of 1202 may be separately injected into the system 1050, as shown in Figure 11, or the streams may be mixed and then injected into the system in one feed stream. The streams of 1201 and woody biomass 1202 are sent to a size reduction unit 1203, and material over 10 inches in plastic 1201 and woody biomass 1202 is sent to a shear-type (or similar) shredder on a conveyor (not shown). A shear type shredder is capable of shredding larger material into minus 10 inch size product material.Shredded minus 10 inch size MSW material is passed through stream 992 generated in

The shredded material may be sent to a fractional density separation unit 1150 where the light/medium fraction is separated from the heavy material. Heavy matter may include dirt, glass, wet organic matter, and other inert ingredients. Wet organic matter may include, for example, grass clippings and food waste. Inert material 996 may include any non-carbonaceous material. Inert material 996 may be sent to residual material station 1290 . After most inert components are removed, stream 994 is produced. The light/medium fraction (stream 994) is sent to an iron removal unit 1270 (sometimes called a magnetic separator) and mixed with other streams to remove iron material from streams 1248, 1257 and 1265. The process steps described above may then be continued. Thus, in this embodiment, further carbonaceous waste feedstock is processed to provide a processed feedstock 1325 that is later used to make F-T liquids and transportation fuels.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating an alternative embodiment of a feedstock processing system 1060 and associated methods. FIG. 12 is an example feedstock processing system configured to process multiple feedstock streams and different types of feedstock streams, and also provides an anaerobic digester to recover methane from system 1060 .

In general, feedstock processing system 1060 may be configured to process feedstock, such as waste, to produce a processed feedstock having a selective biogenic carbon content. The feedstock processing system 1060 provides flexible processing of feedstocks to produce processed feedstocks tailored to specific equipment, applications, or needs. The feedstock processing system 1060 of FIG. 12 includes similar components as the feedstock processing system 1050 of FIG. It is

As shown in FIG. 12, rejects from the various streams 996, 1246, 911 and 1255 fed to residuals station 1290 are output in stream 1295 and sent to anaerobic digester station 1296. FIG. Anaerobic digestion may include the process by which microorganisms degrade biological material in the absence of oxygen. Anaerobic digester station 1296 for digesting sewage biosolids, low solids or screened animal manure, and low suspended or highly soluble solids in an anaerobic filter bed or upflow sludge bed digester. may include one or more anaerobic digesters used for The fire extinguisher also removes particulate organic waste, especially pre- and consumable waste such as fat, grease, grease, food processing waste, yard waste, leaves, paper, and other inert ingredients from residue station 1290. It can also be used for the digestion of solid waste (the digestible fraction of municipal waste), including later food waste. Anaerobic digester station 1296 produces biogas (methane) by-product 1297, which is recovered and used as an energy source for process heating.

The four basic stages of anaerobic digestion that produce biogas (methane) by-products are: (1) hydrolyzing large particulate solids; (2) fermenting large polymers to intermediates, namely acids and alcohols; (3) converting these acids and alcohols into carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and (4) reduction of carbon dioxide, hydrogen and acetate to methane. Hydrolytic bacteria may be used as a digestive biomass producing enzymes to break down all the different solids into smaller particles and then produce a liquid that releases carbon dioxide and hydrogen into the fermentation broth. Enzymes produced by hydrolytic bacteria can cleave large polymers of cellulose, proteins, and fats.

Thus, in this embodiment, the carbonaceous portion of the material within residual material unit 1290 is processed to produce biogas (methane). The biogas can be used as an energy source for process heaters or recycled back to the gasification island and reformed into syngas, which is later used to make F-T liquids and transportation fuels. used. Methane produced from residuals in landfills is reduced and carbon recovery is maximized.

Making fuel from MSW, woody biomass, plastics and other carbonaceous feedstocks with the systems described above has great advantages. The system provides an energy efficient system with a very low emissions profile, reducing MSW, plastics and other materials entering landfills (thus dramatically reducing harmful methane emissions from landfills). and reduce the need for new or expanded landfill sites) and reduce greenhouse gases associated with the use of petroleum- and coal-derived combustion products by replacement. The system increases the biogenic content of cellulosic fuels, thus substantially increasing the value of such fuels.

The exemplary embodiments have been described with reference to specific configurations. The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments and examples have been presented for purposes of illustration and description only, and the present invention is illustrated by, but is not limited to, the foregoing specific examples. Not intended.

13 Raw material processing (off-site)
21 Gasification Island Figure 2
25FT flue gas
27 _CO2 recirculation
29 Syngas
31 syngas (to FT reactor)
33 FT process Figure 5
41 Syngas Adjustment Figure 3
54 Upgrading Figure 6
58 Products
150 PSIG Vapor
211 units
215 Gasification Stage 3 Hydrocarbon Reforming
215 units
225 syngas cooling
231 Naphtha
233 Off Gas
251 Gasification Stage 1 Steam Reformer
253 Indirect Fire Heater
271 Gasification Stage 2 Carbon Oxidation
273 Oxygen
275 Low Pressure Steam
277 Syngas
421 Syngas Scrubber
424 Alkaline Solution
426 Acidic water (to wastewater treatment)
428 Syngas
431 Syngas Compressor
436 Guard Floor
441 Water Gas Shift Reactor
446 Ammonia Removal
451 Guard Floor
461 _CO2 / _H2S Removal
461 _CO2 / _H2S Removal System Embodiment 1
461 _CO2 / _H2S Removal System Embodiment 2
464 Sulfur
471 Guard Floor
481 _H2 recovered
482 H ₂ (to upgrade)
483 Exclusion Syngas
493 Absorber
495 Playback Equipment
511 FT Recirculation Compressor
520 Hydrogen
521 HFTL liquid storage
522 MFTL liquid storage
533 FT Reactor
537 Recirculating Syngas
542 FT water (to wastewater treatment)
643 Hydrocracker
704 Heavy decomposition products
803 Product Storage
853 Fractionator
857 Stripper
1090 fractional density separation
1150 fractional density separation
1201 Recovered plastic
1202 Woody biomass
1203 size reduction
1210 Floor Sort
1220 first size separation
1230 size reduction
1230 Grinding
1240 fractions
1244 fractional density separation
1250 fractional density separation
1260 fractional density separation
1270 Iron removal
1278 Recovered Metals
1280 Non-ferrous removal
1288 Recovered non-ferrous metals
1290 Heavy residue
1296 Anaerobic digester
1297 Biogas
1300 plastic removal
1308 Recovered plastic
1310 final size reduction
1320 drying

Claims (56)

A method of treating a feedstock comprising treating an incoming feedstock to selectively recover biogenic carbon materials from the incoming feedstock. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the incoming feedstock consists of mixed solid waste. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the incoming feedstock consists of woody biomass. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the mixed solid waste is municipal solid waste (MSW). 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the mixed solid waste consists of mixed wet organic waste, dry organic waste and inorganic waste. A process in which an incoming feedstock is treated to selectively recover biogenic carbon materials from the incoming feedstock and has a biogenic carbon content of 50% or more suitable for conversion to a biogenic carbon Fischer-Tropsch liquid. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the method produces a processed raw material. 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the high biogenic carbon Fischer-Tropsch liquid is upgraded to a biogenic carbon liquid fuel. separating the combined mixed solid waste into a first stream containing mixed solid waste material that is greater than or equal to a predetermined size and a second stream containing mixed solid waste material that is less than or equal to a predetermined size. 6. The method of claim 5, further comprising. 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising pulverizing the first stream to produce an output stream containing mixed solid waste that is less than or equal to a predetermined size. combining the output stream and a second stream to form a combined stream; and fractionating the combined stream by size to remove small size carbon-poor material having a size of 2 inches or less from the carbon-rich material. 10. The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of: 11. The method of claim 10, further comprising further fractionating the carbon-rich material (overs) to remove inert materials and produce a carbonaceous material stream. 12. The method of claim 11, further comprising pulverizing the carbonaceous material stream to produce an output stream containing carbonaceous material having a size of 1 inch or less. 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising drying the output stream to produce a treated feedstock containing carbonaceous material and having a moisture content in the range of 8% to 15%. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the incoming feedstock is treated to selectively recover plastic material from the incoming feedstock to produce a treated feedstock having a biogenic carbon content of 50% or less. 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the processed feedstock contains a biogenic carbon content ranging from 50% to 100%. 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the processed feedstock contains 51% or more biogenic carbon content. 9. The method of claim 8, wherein separating the commingled mixed solid waste is performed using a trommel. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the shredding step is performed using a shredder having a shredder opening ranging from 6 to 15 inches. 3. The step of fractionating the composite stream is performed with a vibrating screen to remove fractions of 2 inches or less for further fractionation into inert low biogenic carbon material and high biogenic content material. The method described in 10. 12. A method according to claim 11, wherein the further fractionation step is performed by an air separator in which the heavy fraction is separated from the light fraction by density difference. 20. The heavy fraction from the air separator is further fractionated in another air separator that further separates the heavy fraction into a medium fraction and a heavy-heavy fraction by density difference. The method described in . 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the heavy-heavy fraction is removed as inactive low biogenic material. 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the light fraction is combined with the medium fraction and the combined stream is passed over a magnet to remove ferrous material from the combined stream. 21. The method of claim 20, wherein the heavy fraction is further fractionated with a vibrating screen to remove non-carbonaceous (ie, inert) materials having a size of 1 inch or less. 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the light, medium and heavy fractions are combined to produce a combined fraction stream and then passed through an eddy current to remove non-ferrous materials. 26. The method of claim 25, wherein the combined fraction stream is passed through an optical sorter to remove at least a portion of the plastic content in the combined fraction stream to produce a treated feedstock. 27. The method of claim 26, wherein the plastic content in the composite fraction stream is selectively removed such that the processed feedstock has a biogenic carbon content of up to 95%. 27. The method of claim 26, wherein the plastic content in the composite fraction stream is selectively removed such that the processed feedstock has a biogenic carbon content of up to 50%. 27. The method of claim 26, wherein the plastic content in the composite fraction stream is selectively removed such that the processed feedstock has a biogenic carbon content of 51% or greater. 27. The method of claim 26, wherein the plastic content in the composite fraction stream is selectively removed such that the processed feedstock has a biogenic carbon content of 50%-95%. A system for treating an incoming feedstock to selectively recover biogenic carbon materials from the incoming feedstock, the system comprising:
A sorter configured to separate incoming feedstock into a first stream containing mixed solid waste material that is greater than or equal to a predetermined size and a second stream containing mixed solid waste material that is less than or equal to a predetermined size. station;
In communication with a sorting station, the first stream is pulverized to produce an output stream containing mixed solid waste that is less than or equal to a predetermined size, and the output stream and the second stream are combined to produce a combined stream. a first crushing unit, configured to;
a fractionation unit in communication with the comminution unit and configured to fractionate the composite stream by size to remove small sized carbon-poor material having a size of 2 inches or less from the carbon-rich material;
a fine fraction density unit in communication with the fractionation unit and configured to further fractionate the carbon-rich material and remove inerts to produce a carbonaceous material stream;
an iron removal unit in communication with the fine fraction density unit and configured to remove iron material from the carbonaceous material stream;
a non-ferrous removal unit in communication with the iron removal unit and configured to remove non-ferrous material from the carbonaceous material stream;
a plastic removal unit in communication with the non-ferrous removal unit and configured to remove plastic material from the carbonaceous material stream;
a second crushing unit in communication with the plastic removal unit and configured to crush the carbonaceous material stream to produce an output stream containing carbonaceous material having a size of 1 inch or less; a drying unit in communication with the grinding unit and configured to dry the output stream to produce a treated feedstock containing carbonaceous material and having a moisture content in the range of 8% to 15%; system. 32. The system of claim 31, wherein the incoming feedstock comprises mixed solid waste. 32. The system of claim 31, wherein the incoming feedstock consists of woody biomass. 32. The system of claim 31, wherein the mixed solid waste is municipal solid waste (MSW). 32. The system of Claim 31, wherein at least a portion of the non-biogenic carbon and non-carbonaceous matter comprises soil, glass, wet organic matter, and other inert components. An incoming feedstock is treated to selectively recover biogenic carbon materials from the incoming feedstock to have a high biogenic carbon content suitable for conversion to a high biogenic carbon Fischer-Tropsch liquid. 32. The system of claim 31, which produces feedstock. 37. The system of claim 36, wherein the high biogenic carbon Fischer-Tropsch liquid is upgraded to a high biogenic carbon liquid fuel. 32. The system of Claim 31, wherein the iron removal unit comprises a magnetic separator. used to digest sewage biosolids, low solids or screened animal manure, and low suspended solids or highly soluble solids in anaerobic filter beds or upflow sludge bed digesters, one or 32. The system of claim 31, further comprising an anaerobic digester station including a plurality of anaerobic digesters. 32. The system of claim 31, wherein the processed feedstock contains up to 50% biogenic carbon content. 32. The system of claim 31, wherein the processed feedstock contains biogenic carbon content ranging from 50% to 100%. 32. The system of claim 31, wherein the processed feedstock contains 51% or more biogenic carbon content. 32. The system of Claim 31, wherein the sorting station comprises a trommel. 32. The system of claim 31, wherein the first crushing unit comprises a shredder having a shredder opening ranging from 6 to 15 inches. 32. The system of claim 31, wherein the fractionation unit comprises a vibrating screen and fractions of 2 inches or less are removed for further fractionation into inert low biogenic carbon material and high biogenic content material. 32. The system of claim 31, wherein the fractionation unit further comprises an air separator, the heavy fraction being separated from the light fraction by density differences. 46. The heavy fraction from the air separator is further fractionated in another air separator that further separates the heavy fraction into a medium fraction and a heavy-heavy fraction by density difference. The system described in . 48. The system of claim 47, wherein the heavy-heavy fraction is removed as inert low biogenic material. 49. The system of claim 48, wherein the light fraction is combined with the medium fraction and the combined stream is sent to the iron removal unit. 50. The fine fraction density unit according to claim 49, wherein the fine fraction density unit is configured to fractionate the heavy fraction with a vibrating screen to remove non-carbonaceous (i.e. inert) material having a size of less than 1 inch. System as described. The light, medium and heavy fractions are combined to form a combined fraction stream which is then sent to a non-ferrous removal unit which includes eddy currents to remove non-ferrous material. 51. The system of claim 50, configured. The combined fraction stream is sent to a plastic removal unit, the plastic removal unit comprising an optical sorter configured to remove at least a portion of the plastic content in the combined fraction stream to produce a treated feedstock 52. The system of claim 51, wherein: 53. The system of claim 52, wherein the plastic content in the composite fraction stream is selectively removed such that the processed feedstock has a biogenic carbon content of up to 95%. 53. The system of claim 52, wherein the plastic content in the composite fraction stream is selectively removed such that the processed feedstock has a biogenic carbon content of up to 50%. 53. The system of claim 52, wherein the plastic content in the composite fraction stream is selectively removed such that the processed feedstock has a biogenic carbon content of 51% or greater. 53. The system of claim 52, wherein the plastic content in the composite fraction stream is selectively removed such that the processed feedstock has a biogenic carbon content of 50%-100%.

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