Process and products using a rotary compression unit
A fertilizer/soil conditioner or a fuel source material is formed by processing animal waste by-products through the use of a rotary biomass dryer system. The animal waste by-product includes without limitation manure obtained from cattle or swine; feed lot bedding, poultry litter, a digestate of animal waste by-products obtained from an anaerobic digester, municipal waste, waste meat renderings, waste meat, or a mixture thereof. The processed material may comprise a higher amount of ash and a lower amount of volatile material than the animal waste by-product. The processed material may be stored as a powder or processed into pellets, logs, pucks, briquettes or another convenient shape form.
1. A method, comprising:
providing an animal waste by-product having a moisture content between about 2 wt. % and about 90 wt. %;
processing the animal waste by-product through a rotary compression unit (RCU) having a screw and a barrel, the processing including applying compression and friction to the animal waste by-product, in an increasing manner, as the animal waste by-product moves through the RCU;
separating the animal waste by-product into steam and a processed material;
removing the steam; and
collecting the processed material.
2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the applying further comprises applying the compression and friction in manner that maintains a temperature of the animal waste by-product below 350 degrees Fahrenheit to provide non-destructive drying to form a fertilizer/soil conditioner as the processed material.
3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the applying further comprises applying the compression and friction in the increasing manner sufficient to cause hydrothermal carbonization and pyrolysis of the animal waste by-product.
4. The method according to claim 3 , wherein the applying the compression and friction, to cause hydrothermal carbonization and pyrolysis, raises a temperature of the animal waste by-product at or above 350 degrees Fahrenheit to provide destructive drying to form any one of bio-oil, bio-fuel, bio-char, bio-coal, and combinations thereof, as the processed material.
5. The method according to claim 1 , the method further comprising cooling the processed material at an aftercooler zone.
6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the animal waste by-product is manure obtained from at least one of cattle, swine, feed lot bedding, poultry litter, a digestate of animal waste by-products obtained from an anaerobic digester, municipal waste, waste meat renderings, waste meat, or a mixture thereof.
7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the animal waste by-product is poultry litter.
8. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the processed material is a bio-oil, a bio-fuel, bio-char, or bio-coal.
9. The method according to claim 8 , further comprising subjecting the bio-coal, bio-fuel, or bio-char to a second energy source and an activation agent in order to form activated carbon.
10. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the animal waste by-product is a digestate of animal waste obtained from an anaerobic digester and the processed material formed is bio-coal.
11. The method according to claim 1 , the method further comprises:
dewatering the animal waste by-product;
breaking down compacted or matted animal waste by-product;
sizing the animal waste by-product; and
adding fiber in the form of sawdust to the animal waste by-product; and
converting the processed material to a dried product in a transportable geometric form.
12. The method according to claim 11 , further comprising shaping the dried product into a transportable geometric form corresponding to at least one of: a pellet, a log, a puck, or a briquette.
13. The method according to claim 1 , the method further comprising operating at a temperature and pressure that kills bacteria, prions, and other microbes.
14. The method according to claim 1 , the method further comprising adding organic and inorganic additives to the animal waste by-product to at least one of: (i) reduce boiler slagging and corrosion; (ii) boost a BTU output of the processed material when formed as a fuel source material; or (iii) sequester nutrients and metals in the processed material when formed as a fertilizer/soil conditioner to provide for timed or slow release.
15. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises moving one or more gases away from the processed material in order to form bio-char.
16. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the processed material represents a fuel source material that comprises a bio-coal or bio-fuel and the method further comprises pretreating the fuel source material to remove inorganic compounds in order to form coke.
17. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises mixing and drying of the animal waste by-product by disrupting the flow and folding the animal waste by-product over.
18. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising pelletizing the processed material without a separate densification process.
19. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the processed material is bio-char and the bio-char is operable to adsorb hazardous waste materials to produce a solid waste product.
20. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the processing further comprises processing the animal waste by-product through the RCU having a tapered compression screw.
21. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the processing further comprises processing the animal waste by-product through the RCU having an adjustable nozzle to apply compression and friction to the animal waste by-product.
22. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the processing further comprises processing the animal waste by-product through the RCU having a choke flange to apply compression and friction to the animal waste by-product.
23. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the processing further comprises feeding the animal waste by-product to the RCU at a uniform feed rate.