Method and apparatus for the energy densification of a material in the form of divided solids, with a view to obtaining pyrolysis oils for energy purposes

1. A method of energy densification for a material in the form of divided solids for the purpose of obtaining pyrolytic oils for energy purposes that have high net calorific values in a range of 4000 kilocalories per kilogram to 7000 kilocalories per kilograms, wherein the method comprises the following successive steps:

preconditioning the material by heating and drying in order to raise said material to a temperature close to 100° C. and to relative humidity not exceeding about 10% in a dedicated preconditioning device;

pyrolyzing the material that is subsequently caused to flow through a substantially hermetic reactor containing at least one transfer screw or vibrating tube heated by the Joule effect, said reactor being distinct, independent and downstream from the dedicated preconditioning device, said material being heated progressively up to a temperature lying in the range 300° C. to 850° C. and with a fast temperature rise of several hundreds of degrees Celsius per second, the electrical power passing through the transfer screw or the vibrating tube for providing heating by the Joule effect being regulated as a function of the material in order to obtain the desired temperature level during the transit time of said material through said reactor;

extracting pyrolysis gas from a high portion of the reactor for rapid condensation thereof in a vertical condenser; and

recovering pyrolytic oils that have the high net calorific values from a low portion of the vertical condenser.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the transit time of the material in the pyrolysis reactor lies in the range a few seconds to a few tens of minutes.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein, prior to the preconditioning step, the material in the form of divided solids is stored with a grain size lying in the range of 10 μm to 1 mm, and at relative humidity lying in the range of 1% to 12%.

4. The method according to claim 3 , wherein pyrolytic gas extraction is performed in the last portion of the reactor relative to the travel direction of the material, with temperature being maintained until the gas reaches the vertical condenser.

5. The method according to claim 4 , wherein the pyrolysis gas is cooled rapidly on entering into the vertical condenser by said gas passing between tubes having a refrigerant fluid flowing therethrough at a temperature of about 0° C.

6. The method according to claim 5 , wherein the pyrolysis gas passes between a bundle of vertical tubes so that the trickling of the condensates serves to clean said tubes.

7. The method according to claim 5 , including removing non-condensable fractions of the pyrolysis gas from the high portion of the vertical condenser for the purpose of rapidly burning said fractions in a burner or in order to recycle them in a hot air dryer used for preconditioning the material.

8. The method according to claim 7 , wherein the non-condensable fractions are removed by forced extraction via a droplet-remover.

9. The method according to claim 1 , also including extracting the residual coke at the outlet from the reactor in a low portion thereof for the purpose of cooling said coke in the absence of oxygen in a sealed cooler.

10. The method according to claim 9 , wherein the residual coke is cooled progressively in the sealed cooler so as to leave it in the form of biochar or the like at a temperature not exceeding about 50° C.

11. The method according to claim 1 , wherein, prior to the preconditioning step, the material in the form of divided solids is stored with a grain size lying in the range of 100 μm to 300 μm and at relative humidity lying in the range of 5% to 10%.