WO2009002089A1

WO2009002089A1 - Carbonizing oven and preparation method of pyroligenous liquor using the same

Info

Publication number: WO2009002089A1
Application number: PCT/KR2008/003631
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jong Hyun Nam
Original assignee: Jong Hyun Nam
Priority date: 2007-06-27
Filing date: 2008-06-25
Publication date: 2008-12-31
Also published as: CN101715476A; KR100865027B1; CN101715476B; JP2010531381A

Abstract

Disclosed herein are a carbonizing oven for processing pyroligneous liquor and a method for preparing pyroligneous liquor using the same. More specifically, the present invention provides a carbonizing oven which exhibits a high yield of pyroligneous liquor due to no thermal loss and is not only capable of improving working efficiency due to the feasibility of a continuous process but is also capable of significantly preventing environmental contamination. For this purpose, the carbonizing oven is so configured that a raw material is processed into a proper size using a grinder chopper, the chopped raw material is introduced into an airtight combustion chamber, the thus-transferred raw material is carbonized and dried using an ignition device such as a burner, and the dried material is cooled and stored, while main ingredients of pyroligneous liquor, contained in combustion gases generated during the carbonization process, are subjected to low-temperature condensation to thereby recover the pyroligneous liquor, the residue is re-combusted in the recombustion chamber to thereby minimize the emission of noncombustible volatile materials in combustion gases discharged to the outside, and simultaneously the combustion gases are recycled into the combustion chamber such that a temperature of the combustion chamber can be elevated.

Description

CARBONIZING OVEN AND PREPARATION METHOD OF PYROLIGENOUS LIQUOR USING THE SAME

[Technical Field] The present invention relates to a carbonizing oven for processing pyroligneous liquor and a method for preparing pyroligneous liquor using the same. More specifically, the present invention relates to a carbonizing oven for processing pyroligneous liquor, which is capable of processing wood carbide and pyroligneous liquor from a carbonizable material to be introduced therein or the like, and a method for preparing pyroligneous liquor using the same.

[Background Art]

Generally, carbides are produced from burning of various kinds of organic materials. That is, heating of the organic material at a high temperature (800 to 850 ^"C) under anoxic or hypoxic conditions results in chemical degradation of the organic material into three groups, e.g. a combustible gas fraction containing hydrogen, hydrocarbon (such as methane) and carbon monoxide, a liquid tar fraction containing organic compounds (such as acetic acid, acetone, and methanol) or an oil fraction, and finally a charcoal fraction containing pure carbon, glass, metal, and earth and sand.

The remaining charcoal fraction, except for the combustible gas fraction and the liquid tar fraction or oil fraction, consists mainly of a high-carbon (C) carbide with a carbon content of 70 to 80% and also contains various other components such as incombustible glass, metal materials and earth and sand, which may greatly vary depending on kinds of organic materials.

Charcoal is a blackish charred material which is obtained conventionally by carbonizing of a tree or wood into a reduced volume of about 1/3 of the initial volume, and scorching of the cell membrane. It may exhibit a variety of morphologies and constituents depending on carbonization temperatures and burning (charring) methods. Charcoal is broadly classified into white charcoal and black charcoal and consists of carbon (ca. 85%), water (ca. 10%), ash (ca. 3%), and others (2%).

Such a charcoal, i.e. the wood carbide, consists mainly of carbon ingredients and therefore is not vulnerable to oxidation and degradation by light or organisms. Particularly ash, which is contained at a level of about 3% in the charcoal, is a mineral component which is essential for the growth and fructification of plants and is extracted from soil by plants. Ash is the pH-determining factor of the wood carbide and serves to furnish trace elements to animals and plants. Therefore, it is known to have significant effects on the proliferation of microorganisms.

When the wood carbide is examined under a microscope, a myriad of thin pipe-like pores are observed which are connected to each other in all directions and have a size of several microns to several hundreds of microns. Due to the presence of such minute pores, the wood carbide exhibits pronounced water holding capacity and water permeability. Further, such pores provide a structure favorable for the growth and proliferation of microorganisms such as bacteria, Actinomycetes, and the like, which results from the corresponding small size of the pores. As a consequence, decomposition of organic materials is facilitated by the microorganisms multiplied in those pores.

The aforesaid wood carbide has high adsorptivity due to a large internal surface area and therefore can well adsorb water-scarcely soluble environmental contaminants such as agrochemicals and the like. Further, the wood carbide is beneficial for the purification of water or soil/air through the formation of a large microbial film when microorganisms adhere to the wood carbide. In addition, the wood carbide has moisture-proof properties and thus can be used for a variety of applications, for example as a humidity conditioning agent for prevention of dew condensation which may occur underneath beds furnished in wooden buildings or the like place. With recent wide propagation and generalization of household charcoal consumption in Korea, a role of the wood carbide becomes important as an environmentally-friendly agricultural material.

Pyroligneous liquor, which was obtained by liquefying and collecting smoke produced during manufacture of the wood carbide, followed by an aging process of more than 6 months to eliminate toxicity and hazardous substances, may be used as a substitute for agrochemicals in the agricultural industry and may also be used as a deodorant for removing a malodor of feces and urine or as a feed for domestic animals in the livestock industry. Further, pyroligneous liquor is effective for dermatophytosis (athlete's foot) and atopic dermatitis, when it is used as a raw material for the preparation of pharmaceutical products.

In addition, pyroligneous liquor may be used for other applications such as horticulture, mushroom cultivation, health drinks, deodorant, and the like. Meanwhile, a conventional apparatus for manufacturing of the wood carbide and pyroligneous liquor suffer from non-uniform heating of raw materials due to significant thermal loss, thus resulting in a low recovery rate (yield) of pyroligneous liquor.

Further, the conventional manufacturing apparatus is accompanied by inconvenience associated with repeated disassembly and installation of the apparatus, because installation of the apparatus should be made again from the beginning whenever the pyroligneous liquor is recovered.

[Disclosure]

[Technical Problem]

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel carbonizing oven for processing pyroligneous liquor which exhibits a high yield of pyroligneous liquor due to no thermal loss and is not only capable of improving working efficiency due to the feasibility of a continuous process but is also capable of significantly preventing environmental contamination. For this purpose, the carbonizing oven is so configured that a raw material is processed into a proper size using a grinder chopper, the chopped raw material is introduced into an airtight combustion chamber, the thus-transferred raw material is carbonized and dried using an ignition device such as a burner, and the dried material is cooled and stored, while main ingredients of pyroligneous liquor, contained in combustion gases generated during the carbonization process, are subjected to low- temperature condensation to thereby recover the pyroligneous liquor, the residue is re-combusted in the recombustion chamber to thereby minimize the emission of noncombustible volatile materials in combustion gases discharged to the outside, and simultaneously the combustion gases are recycled into the combustion chamber such that a temperature of the combustion chamber can be elevated.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for preparing pyroligneous liquor using the aforesaid carbonizing oven.

[Technical Solution]

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, the above and other objects can be accomplished by the provision of a carbonizing oven for processing pyroligneous liquor, comprising: a raw material inlet 10 for introducing a raw material chopped by a grinder chopper; a feed screw 15 for transferring the raw material introduced through the inlet 10; a combustion chamber 20 for providing a carbonization space to carry out carbonization of the transferred raw material using an ignition device 30; a cooling screw 40 spaced at a distance from the combustion chamber 20 and transferring a carbide for a given time while being rotated at a constant rotation speed such that the transferred carbide is cooled to a given temperature, and an outlet pipe 41 connected to the cooling screw 40 and discharging the carbide; and a cooling tower 50 for subjecting the high-specific gravity combustion gases discharged from the cooling screw 40 to low-temperature condensation to extract pyroligneous liquor.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the carbonizing oven further comprises a recombustion chamber 60 for forcible collection and re-combustion of the non-condensed combustion gases from the cooling tower 50 and simultaneously recycling of high-temperature combustion gases into the combustion chamber 20.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for preparing pyroligneous liquor using the aforesaid carbonizing oven, wherein carbide and pyroligneous liquor are prepared with continuous transfer of a carbonizable raw material by a screw conveyor rotating at a constant speed, and the conveyer is composed of a carbonization section, a drying section, a cooling section and a transfer section and is under airtight conditions. Specifically, the method comprises carbonizing and drying the raw material introduced through a raw material inlet 10 under combustion conditions of 10 to 500 rpm and 85 to 800 ^°C by carbonizing and drying screws 21,25 of a combustion chamber 20; cooling the carbide to a temperature of 30 to 50 "C by a cooling screw 40; discharging and recycling the cooled carbide; and subjecting the combustion gases forcibly discharged from the combustion chamber 20 to low-temperature condensation in a cooling tower 50 to extract pyroligneous liquor.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the method further comprises forcibly collecting the non-condensed combustion gases from the cooling tower 50 and transferring the collected gases into a recombustion chamber 60; and simultaneously recycling the resulting high-temperature combustion gases from the recombustion chamber 60 into the combustion chamber 20.

[Description of Drawings]

FIG. 1 is a structural block diagram showing a carbonizing oven for processing pyroligneous liquor in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a combustion chamber in a carbonizing oven for processing pyroligneous liquor in accordance with the present invention; and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a mounting state of a cooling screw in the combustion chamber of FIG. 2.

[Mode for Invention] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a structural block diagram showing a carbonizing oven for processing pyroligneous liquor in accordance with the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view showing a combustion chamber in a carbonizing oven for processing pyroligneous liquor in accordance with the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a mounting state of a cooling screw in the combustion chamber of FIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 1, a tree or fruits thereof, which is used as a raw material for extraction of pyroligneous liquor, is chopped into a proper size (0.2 to 1 cm) using a grinder chopper, and the chopped raw material is introduced through a raw material inlet 10 with a wide mouth. The raw material introduced through the raw material inlet 10 is transferred into a combustion chamber 20 by a feed screw 15 which is driven by a motor (not shown). The feed screw 15 controls an input rate of the first-processed raw material according to the operation conditions of the combustion chamber 20, e.g. a constant rotation speed (10 to 500 rpm) and an operation temperature (85 to 800 ^"C). The combustion chamber 20 is formed of a highly heat-resistant material and is configured to have an airtight structure. In the lengthwise direction of the combustion chamber 20, a carbonizing screw 21 and a drying screw 25 are stacked parallel to each other on upper and lower sides of the chamber 20. An elliptical sealing member 22 is hermetically sealed around the carbonizing and drying screws 21,25, thus offering a double hermetic sealing structure. The carbonizing and drying screws 21,25 are composed of a screw conveyor such that the raw material is carbonized and dried in sequential stages during a transfer process of the raw material without thermal loss while maintaining the above-specified temperature by combustion flame of an ignition device 30, such as a burner, installed on one side of the combustion chamber 20.

The carbonizing and drying screws 21,25 perform a carbonization and drying process in a manner that the introduced raw material is sequentially carbonized in the order of introduction while being rotated in a given region by the screw conveyor, and the condensed water, which did not escape from the raw material during carbonization while being transferred, is dried. A power transmission device (not shown) which will drive the carbonizing and drying screws 21,25 is set to appropriately control its rotation speed and temperature according to the length and outer diameter of the carbonizing and drying screws 21,25. These conditions are intended for complete combustion of the carbide in the combustion chamber 20 while being transferred for a given period of time.

In order to carry out the process at the above-specified rotation speed, a role of the power transmission device is significantly important because transmission of the turning force to the screw conveyor should be carried out with application of a proper deceleration rate.

More specifically, a pair of the carbonizing and drying screws 21,25 parallel to each other on upper and lower sides of the chamber 20 is axially fixed extending from an end of the front feed screw 15 to the rear feed connecting pipe 23a. The screw conveyor consisting of stirring blades is formed along the lengthwise direction of the chamber 20 and stirs the carbide such that discharge of moisture and gas of the carbide is facilitated during the transfer process.

The outer periphery of the screw conveyor is completely hermetically sealed with a metal cylinder member, such that the screw conveyor is completely isolated from the external air. In this connection, it is to be understood that airtight sealing is made except for the inlet/outlet while maintaining a given gap between the screw conveyor and the sealing member.

As described above, the raw material which was introduced through the raw material inlet 10 is carbonized at constant rotation speed and temperature by the carbonizing screw 21 formed on the upper side of the chamber 20 and then transferred to the drying screw 25 through the feed connecting pipe 23a.

Preferably, the feed connecting pipe 23a is configured to provide connection between a flow path of the carbonizing screw 21 and a flow path of the drying screw 25, and has a proper diameter such that the carbide transferred from the carbonizing screw 21 by the screw conveyor can be directly transferred without accumulation to the drying screw 25.

As described before, the drying screw 25 is a device that dries the condensed water which did not escape from the carbonized and transferred raw material during carbonization. The drying screw 25 transfers the carbide while it rotates at the same rotation speed as the carbonizing screw 21. The thus-transferred carbide is transferred to the cooling screw 40 and then discharged through the outlet pipe 41. The cooling screw 40 is provided spaced apart from the combustion chamber 20 where the carbonizing and drying screws 21,25 were installed.

That is, the high-temperature carbide transferred by the drying screw 25 is not directly discharged, but is transferred to the cooling screw 40 through another feed connecting pipe 23b.

Herein, the cooling screw 40 is also composed of the same type of the screw conveyor as the carbonizing and drying screws 21,25. The outer periphery of the screw conveyor is completely hermetically sealed with a metal cylinder member, such that the screw conveyor is completely isolated from the external air. In this connection, it is to be understood that airtight sealing except for the inlet/outlet is made maintaining a given gap between the screw conveyor and the sealing member.

That is, such a configuration is intended to ensure that the cooling screw rotates at a constant rotation speed whereby the carbide is cooled for a given period of time, because when the discharged carbide continuously emits high-temperature heat for a considerable period of time, this may result in difficulty to obtain a high-quality carbide, cause potential risk to the operator upon extraction of the carbide, and increase the likelihood of fire.

Upon transferring of the carbide in the cooling screw 40, the high-temperature carbide is cooled over time. The carbide is cooled to a temperature of 30 to 50 ^°C . In order to avoid the risk of fire that may possibly occur, the carbide carbonized and discharged as above is stored in a separate storage device for at least 20 days under airtight conditions. The carbide stored in the storage device may be recycled as a filter material and compost.

In this manner, the carbide is stored in the storage device, whereas combustion gases with high specific gravity separated as a gas phase are forcibly blown to flow into a cooling tower 50 along a flow line 51 by a high-pressure blower (not shown) because they are heavier than air.

The combustion gases flowed into the cooling tower 50 carry out low-temperature condensation of main components of the pyroligneous liquor such as volatile components and oil components, which allows for easy extraction of the pyroligneous liquor.

An internal temperature of the cooling tower 50 is maintained below 35 ^°C to minimize discharge of smoke to the outside. The cooling system used herein circulates cooling water in a reflux cooling mode to lower the internal temperature of the cooling tower 50.

The bottom of the cooling tower 50 is provided with a filter 55 which carries out first filtration of the condensed and extracted pyroligneous liquor to thereby afford higher-purity pyroligneous liquor.

When the pyroligneous liquor which passed through the filter 55 is discharged through the outlet pipe 41, the pyroligneous liquor is stored at a low temperature of 2 to 4°C for 3 weeks to one year. For this purpose, pure pyroligneous liquor is stored which was free from impurities and was subjected to the layer separation based on specific gravity difference.

Meanwhile, since the combustion gases introduced through the cooling tower 50 contain large amounts of noncombustible volatile materials which are responsible for environmental contamination, the non-condensed combustion gases are forcibly collected from the cooling tower 50 and then transferred to the recombustion chamber 60.

As described above, the combustion gases transferred to the recombustion chamber 60 are re-combusted in the recombustion chamber 60 by a combustion device (not shown). As a result, noncombustible volatile materials in the combustion gases are completely oxidized and only the pure smoke is then discharged through the exhaust pipe 62. Therefore, it is possible to fundamentally prevent environmental contamination which may possibly occur.

At the same time, the carbide in the combustion chamber 20 is carbonized at a temperature higher than the initial temperature by the configuration to ensure that the high- temperature combustion gases coming from the recombustion chamber 60 are recycled back to the combustion chamber 20 through a recycling pipe 61, thus elevating the temperature of the combustion chamber 20. Accordingly, the carbide is discharged after it has undergone a uniform carbonization process, whereby pyroligneous liquor with high quality can be extracted.

That is, the combustion chamber 20 needs no further heat after heat necessary for initial heat generation is supplied. Further, because the combustion chamber temperature is elevated by the heat of the high-temperature combustion gases supplied from the recombustion chamber 60, carbonization of the carbide is performed at a higher temperature as described above.

As a consequence, the carbonizing oven for processing pyroligneous liquor in accordance with the present invention will contribute to the reduction of fuel consumption.

[ Industrial Applicability ]

As apparent from the above description, a carbonizing oven for processing pyroligneous liquor in accordance with the present invention and a method for preparing pyroligneous liquor using the same perform carbonization and drying processes through airtight combustion and recombustion chambers. Therefore, it is possible to achieve a high recovery rate of pyroligneous liquor due to no thermal loss, improved working efficiency due to the feasibility of a continuous process, and significant reduction of environmental contamination due to recombustion and recycling of combustion gases.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.

Claims

[CLAIMS]

[Claim 1 ] A carbonizing oven for processing pyroligneous liquor, comprising: a raw material inlet 10 for introducing a raw material chopped by a grinder chopper; a feed screw 15 for transferring the raw material introduced through the inlet 10; a combustion chamber 20 for providing a carbonization space to carry out carbonization of the transferred raw material using an ignition device 30; a cooling screw 40 spaced at a distance from the combustion chamber 20 and transferring a carbide for a given time while being rotated at a constant rotation speed such that the transferred carbide is cooled to a given temperature, and an outlet pipe 41 connected to the cooling screw 40 and discharging the carbide; and a cooling tower 50 for subjecting the high-specific gravity combustion gases discharged from the cooling screw 40 to low-temperature condensation to extract pyroligneous liquor.

[Claim 2] The carbonizing oven according to claim 1, further comprising a recombustion chamber 60 for forcible collection and re-combustion of the non-condensed combustion gases from the cooling tower 50 and simultaneously recycling of high-temperature combustion gases into the combustion chamber 20.

[Claim 3] The carbonizing oven according to claim 1, wherein the combustion chamber 20 is formed of a highly heat-resistant material and is configured to have an airtight structure, a carbonizing screw 21 and a drying screw 25 are stacked on upper and lower sides of the chamber 20 in the lengthwise direction thereof, such that the raw material is sequentially carbonized in the order of introduction while being rotated in a given region by a screw conveyor, and the condensed water, which did not escape from the raw material during carbonization while being transferred, is dried, and an elliptical sealing member 22 is hermetically sealed around the carbonizing and drying screws 21,25, thus offering a double hermetic sealing structure.

[Claim 4] The carbonizing oven according to claim 1, wherein the bottom of the cooling tower 50 is provided with a filter 55 which carries out first filtration of pyroligneous liquor to afford higher-purity pyroligneous liquor.

[Claim 5] A method for preparing pyroligneous liquor using a carbonizing oven for processing pyroligneous liquor, wherein carbide and pyroligneous liquor are prepared with continuous transfer of a carbonizable raw material by a screw conveyor rotating at a constant speed, and the conveyer is composed of a carbonization section, a drying section, a cooling section and a transfer section and is under airtight conditions, wherein the method comprises: carbonizing and drying a raw material introduced through a raw material inlet 10 under combustion conditions of 10 to 500 rpm and 85 to 800 ^°C by carbonizing and drying screws 21,25 of a combustion chamber 20; cooling the carbide to a temperature of 30 to 50 ^°C by a cooling screw 40; discharging and recycling the cooled carbide; and subjecting the combustion gases forcibly discharged from the combustion chamber 20 to low-temperature condensation in a cooling tower 50 to extract pyroligneous liquor.

[Claim 6] The method according to claim 5, further comprising: forcibly collecting the non-condensed combustion gases from the cooling tower 50 and transferring the collected gases into a recombustion chamber 60; and simultaneously recycling the resulting high-temperature combustion gases from the recombustion chamber 60 into the combustion chamber 20.