Classifications

• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C10—PETROLEUM, GAS OR COKE INDUSTRIES; TECHNICAL GASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE; FUELS; LUBRICANTS; PEAT
  • C10F—DRYING OR WORKING-UP OF PEAT
  • C10F5/00—Drying or de-watering peat
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
  • B01D—SEPARATION
  • B01D43/00—Separating particles from liquids, or liquids from solids, otherwise than by sedimentation or filtration
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F26—DRYING
  • F26B—DRYING SOLID MATERIALS OR OBJECTS BY REMOVING LIQUID THEREFROM
  • F26B23/00—Heating arrangements
  • F26B23/001—Heating arrangements using waste heat
  • F26B23/007—Heating arrangements using waste heat recovered from the dried product
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
  • Y02P—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS
  • Y02P70/00—Climate change mitigation technologies in the production process for final industrial or consumer products
  • Y02P70/10—Greenhouse gas [GHG] capture, material saving, heat recovery or other energy efficient measures, e.g. motor control, characterised by manufacturing processes, e.g. for rolling metal or metal working

Definitions

• the present invention relates to upgrading a solid material.
• the present invention relates particularly, although by no means exclusively, to upgrading a solid material which has low thermal conductivity.
• the present invention relates more particularly to upgrading a solid material by removing water from the material in a process that includes:
• One particular application of the present invention is to upgrade carbonaceous material, typically coal, to increase the BT ⁇ value of the carbonaceous material .
• Koppelman discloses thermal dewatering of coal by heating coal under conditions including elevated temperature and pressure to cause physical changes in the coal that results in water being removed from the coal by a "squeeze" reaction. Koppelman also discloses maintaining the pressure sufficiently high during the upgrading process so that the by-product water is produced mainly as a liquid rather than as steam.
• Koppelman also discloses a range of different apparatus options for carrying out the upgrading process .
• the options are based on heating coal in a pressure vessel which includes an inverted conical inlet, a cylindrical body, a conical outlet, and an assembly of vertically or horizontally disposed heat exchange tubes positioned in the body.
• the vertically disposed tubes and the outlet end are packed with coal, and nitrogen is injected to pre-pressurise the tubes and the outlet end.
• the coal is heated by indirect heat exchange with oil that is supplied as a heat transfer fluid to the cylindrical body externally of the tubes. Further heating is promoted by direct heat exchange between the coal and steam that acts as a working fluid within the packed bed.
• the steam pressurises the tubes and the outlet end to a required pressure.
• An object of the present invention is to provide an improved method and apparatus for upgrading coal compared to that described by Koppelman.
• a method of upgrading a solid material which comprises heating the solid material to an elevated temperature to remove water and thereafter cooling the upgraded solid material, and which method is characterised by:
• controlling step(s) comprises selectively connecting the one or more than one heat exchange circuit to the vessels so that the heat transfer recovers heat from the solid material undergoing the cooling cycle in at least one of the vessels in the first group and transfers the recovered heat to the solid material undergoing the heating cycle in at least one of the vessels in the second group .
• the basis of the above-described aspect of the present invention is recovery of energy from the solid material being cooled in one group of vessels and subsequent use of that energy to heat the solid material in another group of vessels.
• a plurality of heat exchange circuits are provided and the heat exchange circuits selectively connect pairs of the vessels so that the heat transfer fluid of each heat exchange circuit cools the solid material in one vessel in each pair and thereafter heats the solid material in the other vessel in each pair by heat exchange with the solid material in the pair of vessels.
• the heat transfer fluid in each heat exchange circuit heats and cools the solid material in the pairs of vessels to respective different temperatures in the heating and cooling cycles, with the result that the solid material in each vessel is heated or cooled by a series of steps by sequentially connecting the heat exchange circuits to the vessel.
• one heat exchange circuit heats solid material in one vessel from an ambient temperature to a temperature x and another heat exchange circuit that is subsequently connected to that vessel heats the solid material from the temperature Ti to a higher temperature T 2 .
• the heat exchange circuits cool the solid material in another vessel from the maximum temperature of the heating cycle to a lower temperature.
• the contents of the vessel be at an elevated pressure during the heating and cooling cycles.
• Solid material may be retained in one vessel during both the heating cycle and the cooling cycle.
• solid material may be heated in one vessel during the heating cycle, transferred hot to another vessel, and cooled in accordance with the cooling cycle in the other vessel.
• the heat exchange circuits heat and cool the solid material by indirect heat exchange.
• the method of the present invention has great flexibility in terms of the heating and cooling cycles that can be applied to the solid material while obtaining the benefit of using heat recovered from the solid material that is undergoing the cooling cycle to heat the solid material that is undergoing the heating cycle.
• the method can be used to upgrade a solid carbonaceous material, such as coal, by the combined application of pressure and temperature which removes water from the coal in two stages, with:
• the heat transfer fluid may be any suitable fluid for transferring energy by indirect heat exchange.
• the heat transfer fluid may be a fluid, such as oil, that is a single phase in the operating temperature range of the heating and cooling cycles.
• the heat transfer fluid may be a fluid, such as water, that is in liquid and gaseous phases in the operating temperature range of the heating and cooling cycles and at suitable pressures.
• the method may comprise one or more additional heating stages to complete the heating cycle.
• the method may comprise one or more additional cooling stages to complete the cooling cycle.
• the additional heating stage (s) may be provided by any suitable means, such as by oxidative heating in the vessels by supplying an oxygen-containing gas to the vessels .
• the additional cooling stage(s) may be provided by any suitable means, such as by direct contact of coal with dry or wet air in the same or other vessel.
• the method further comprises supplying a working fluid to the vessels to heat and cool the solid material by direct heat exchange with the solid material and to contribute to pressurising the contents of the vessels.
• (d) means for selectively changing the connections between the heat exchange circuits and the vessels to heat and cool the solid material in the vessels in accordance with the heating and cooling cycles .
• the heat exchange circuit may be of any suitable configuration.
• the heat exchange circuit comprises :
• each vessel comprises:
• the plates have minimal thermal mass.
• the means for selectively changing the connections between the heat exchange circuit and the vessels includes a suitable control means .
• a method of upgrading a solid material which comprises:
• heating and pressurising the solid material to remove water from the solid material comprising heating the solid material by indirect heat exchange with a heat transfer fluid
• the basis of the above-described second aspect of the present invention is a multi-function vessel which receives a charge of the solid material and thereafter retains the solid material in a packed bed through the heating and cooling cycles.
• Another advantage is that the multi-function vessel minimises the cycle time associated with emptying, filling, pressure-up and pressure-down, compared to that required by Koppelman.
• the heating step further comprises heating the solid material by direct heat exchange with a working fluid.
• the energy recovery first aspect of the present invention may be carried out with or without using the multi-function vessel of the second aspect of the present invention.
• the multi-function vessel of the second aspect of the present invention may be used with or without the energy recovery first aspect of the present invention.
• 5 vessels A, B, C, D, E contain packed beds of coal at elevated pressure and are at different stages of heating and cooling cycles of a method to upgrade the coal by removing water from the coal.
• the heating cycle of the method comprises:
• the coal in each packed bed is heated and thereafter cooled by indirect heat exchange with heat transfer fluids that are pumped through heat exchange circuits that are sequentially connected to pairs of the vessels.
• the heat exchange circuit for each pair of vessels includes an assembly of heat exchange plates having one or more passageways for heat transfer fluid in each vessel and a means for circulating the heat transfer fluid through the heat exchange assemblies in the pair of vessels .
• This arrangement of a pair of vessels and heat exchange circuit is shown in Figure 1.
• the vessel 3a contains a packed bed of coal that is in a heating cycle and the vessel 3b contains a packed bed of coal that is in a cooling cycle.
• the heat exchange plates in the vessels are identified by the numeral 5.
• the heat transfer circulation means includes the lines and pump which are identified by the numerals 7, 9.
• the vessels and the heat exchange circuits may be any suitable type of pressure vessel, such as described in International applications PCT/AU98/00005 “A Reactor”, PCT/AU98/00142 entitled “Process Vessel and Method of Treating a Charge”, PCT/AU98/00204 entitled “Liquid/Gas/Solid Separation”, and PCT/AU98/00324 entitled “Enhanced Heat Transfer” and the Australian provisional application P08767, all in the name of the applicant.
• PCT/AU98/00005 A Reactor
• PCT/AU98/00142 entitled “Process Vessel and Method of Treating a Charge”
• PCT/AU98/00204 entitled “Liquid/Gas/Solid Separation”
• PCT/AU98/00324 entitled “Enhanced Heat Transfer” and the Australian provisional application P08767, all in the name of the applicant.
• the disclosure in these patent applications is incorporated herein by cross-reference.
• the heating and cooling of the coal in the vessels is further promoted by supplying a working fluid to the packed beds in the vessels.
• the working fluid The working fluid:
• Working fluid circulation circuits are identified by the numeral 11 in Figure 1.
• the connections of the heat exchange circuits to the vessels are selected so that the heat transfer fluid recovers heat from one vessel that contains coal undergoing the cooling cycle and thereafter transfers heat to another vessel that contains coal undergoing the heating cycle.
• FIG. 2 One example of a sequence of connections of a single heat exchange circuit to pairs of the vessels A, B, C, D, E is illustrated in Figure 2. This is an example of a single stage energy recovery cycle.
• FIG. 2 illustrates that, while vessel A contains a packed bed of coal at the final required product temperature of 371°C and vessel D contains a packed bed of coal at an ambient temperature of 25°C, the connection of a heat exchange circuit to vessels A and D results in:
• FIG. 2 also illustrates that subsequently providing additional cooling and heating to vessels A and D, respectively results in:
• the additional cooling and heating may be provided by a chiller and a boiler or any other suitable means .
• the first aspect of the present invention is not restricted to the single stage energy recovery cycle with 5 reactors described in relation to Figure 1.
• the first aspect extends to a 2 stage energy recovery cycle with additional heating and cooling in 3 vessels.
• the heating and cooling stages are arranged countercurrent in time and there are 2 approach temperatures, typically 240°C and 150°C.
• the 2 stage energy recovery cycle is as follows. A hot vessel A which has just completed a heating cycle is connected to a colder vessel B and transfers heat which heats vessel B in the second stage of heating. When the higher of the two approach temperatures is reached, vessel A is connected to a cold vessel C and transfers heat which heats vessel C in the first stage of heating.
• vessel A is connected to a chiller to complete cooling of the coal in the vessel and deliver cold final coal.
• Vessel B which has been heated in the second stage of heating to the higher approach temperature is connected to a steam supply circuit to complete the heating cycle of the coal in the vessel. It can readily be appreciated that this sequence of heating and cooling the vessels with fresh packed beds of coal can be repeated.

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• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Sustainable Development (AREA)
• Oil, Petroleum & Natural Gas (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
• Organic Chemistry (AREA)
• Solid Fuels And Fuel-Associated Substances (AREA)
• Physical Or Chemical Processes And Apparatus (AREA)
• Thermotherapy And Cooling Therapy Devices (AREA)
• Non-Alcoholic Beverages (AREA)
• Devices And Processes Conducted In The Presence Of Fluids And Solid Particles (AREA)
• Fats And Perfumes (AREA)
• Processing Of Solid Wastes (AREA)
• Mattresses And Other Support Structures For Chairs And Beds (AREA)

Priority Applications (9)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

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Family Applications (1)

Country Status (16)

Cited By (2)

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Citations (3)

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• 1997
  • 1997-08-25 AU AUPO8766A patent/AUPO876697A0/en not_active Abandoned
• 1998
  • 1998-08-25 ZA ZA987735A patent/ZA987735B/xx unknown
  • 1998-08-25 JP JP2000507456A patent/JP2001513431A/ja active Pending
  • 1998-08-25 TR TR2000/00518T patent/TR200000518T2/xx unknown
  • 1998-08-25 CN CN98808426A patent/CN1094777C/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1998-08-25 KR KR1020007001962A patent/KR20010023326A/ko not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1998-08-25 WO PCT/AU1998/000689 patent/WO1999010079A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1998-08-25 GE GEAP19985275A patent/GEP20032917B/en unknown
  • 1998-08-25 SK SK215-2000A patent/SK2152000A3/sk unknown
  • 1998-08-25 CZ CZ20000457A patent/CZ301172B6/cs not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1998-08-25 HU HU0002762A patent/HU224249B1/hu not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1998-08-25 PL PL98338809A patent/PL338809A1/xx unknown
  • 1998-08-25 TW TW087114010A patent/TW401314B/zh not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1998-08-25 CA CA002301768A patent/CA2301768C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1998-08-25 UA UA2000021105A patent/UA50845C2/uk unknown
  • 1998-08-25 CO CO98048483A patent/CO5040163A1/es unknown

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