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EP3433342A1 - Method and system for hydrothermal production of activated carbon - Google Patents

Method and system for hydrothermal production of activated carbon

Info

Publication number
EP3433342A1
EP3433342A1 EP17717207.9A EP17717207A EP3433342A1 EP 3433342 A1 EP3433342 A1 EP 3433342A1 EP 17717207 A EP17717207 A EP 17717207A EP 3433342 A1 EP3433342 A1 EP 3433342A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
carbon
activation
product
raw material
unit
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Pending
Application number
EP17717207.9A
Other languages
German (de)
French (fr)
Inventor
Tuomo Hilli
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Valmet Technologies Oy
Original Assignee
Valmet Technologies Oy
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Valmet Technologies Oy filed Critical Valmet Technologies Oy
Publication of EP3433342A1 publication Critical patent/EP3433342A1/en
Pending legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C01—INORGANIC CHEMISTRY
    • C01B—NON-METALLIC ELEMENTS; COMPOUNDS THEREOF; METALLOIDS OR COMPOUNDS THEREOF NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASS C01C
    • C01B32/00—Carbon; Compounds thereof
    • C01B32/30—Active carbon
    • C01B32/312—Preparation
    • C01B32/318—Preparation characterised by the starting materials
    • C01B32/324—Preparation characterised by the starting materials from waste materials, e.g. tyres or spent sulfite pulp liquor
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C01—INORGANIC CHEMISTRY
    • C01B—NON-METALLIC ELEMENTS; COMPOUNDS THEREOF; METALLOIDS OR COMPOUNDS THEREOF NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASS C01C
    • C01B32/00—Carbon; Compounds thereof
    • C01B32/30—Active carbon
    • C01B32/312—Preparation
    • C01B32/318—Preparation characterised by the starting materials
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C01—INORGANIC CHEMISTRY
    • C01B—NON-METALLIC ELEMENTS; COMPOUNDS THEREOF; METALLOIDS OR COMPOUNDS THEREOF NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASS C01C
    • C01B32/00—Carbon; Compounds thereof
    • C01B32/30—Active carbon
    • C01B32/312—Preparation
    • C01B32/336—Preparation characterised by gaseous activating agents
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C01—INORGANIC CHEMISTRY
    • C01B—NON-METALLIC ELEMENTS; COMPOUNDS THEREOF; METALLOIDS OR COMPOUNDS THEREOF NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASS C01C
    • C01B32/00—Carbon; Compounds thereof
    • C01B32/30—Active carbon
    • C01B32/39—Apparatus for the preparation thereof
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C10—PETROLEUM, GAS OR COKE INDUSTRIES; TECHNICAL GASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE; FUELS; LUBRICANTS; PEAT
    • C10B—DESTRUCTIVE DISTILLATION OF CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS FOR PRODUCTION OF GAS, COKE, TAR, OR SIMILAR MATERIALS
    • C10B53/00—Destructive distillation, specially adapted for particular solid raw materials or solid raw materials in special form
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C10—PETROLEUM, GAS OR COKE INDUSTRIES; TECHNICAL GASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE; FUELS; LUBRICANTS; PEAT
    • C10L—FUELS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; NATURAL GAS; SYNTHETIC NATURAL GAS OBTAINED BY PROCESSES NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C10G OR C10K; LIQUIFIED PETROLEUM GAS; USE OF ADDITIVES TO FUELS OR FIRES; FIRE-LIGHTERS
    • C10L9/00—Treating solid fuels to improve their combustion
    • C10L9/08—Treating solid fuels to improve their combustion by heat treatments, e.g. calcining
    • C10L9/086—Hydrothermal carbonization
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C10—PETROLEUM, GAS OR COKE INDUSTRIES; TECHNICAL GASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE; FUELS; LUBRICANTS; PEAT
    • C10L—FUELS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; NATURAL GAS; SYNTHETIC NATURAL GAS OBTAINED BY PROCESSES NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C10G OR C10K; LIQUIFIED PETROLEUM GAS; USE OF ADDITIVES TO FUELS OR FIRES; FIRE-LIGHTERS
    • C10L2290/00—Fuel preparation or upgrading, processes or apparatus therefore, comprising specific process steps or apparatus units
    • C10L2290/42—Fischer-Tropsch steps
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C10—PETROLEUM, GAS OR COKE INDUSTRIES; TECHNICAL GASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE; FUELS; LUBRICANTS; PEAT
    • C10L—FUELS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; NATURAL GAS; SYNTHETIC NATURAL GAS OBTAINED BY PROCESSES NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C10G OR C10K; LIQUIFIED PETROLEUM GAS; USE OF ADDITIVES TO FUELS OR FIRES; FIRE-LIGHTERS
    • C10L3/00—Gaseous fuels; Natural gas; Synthetic natural gas obtained by processes not covered by subclass C10G, C10K; Liquefied petroleum gas
    • C10L3/06—Natural gas; Synthetic natural gas obtained by processes not covered by C10G, C10K3/02 or C10K3/04
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C10—PETROLEUM, GAS OR COKE INDUSTRIES; TECHNICAL GASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE; FUELS; LUBRICANTS; PEAT
    • C10L—FUELS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; NATURAL GAS; SYNTHETIC NATURAL GAS OBTAINED BY PROCESSES NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C10G OR C10K; LIQUIFIED PETROLEUM GAS; USE OF ADDITIVES TO FUELS OR FIRES; FIRE-LIGHTERS
    • C10L5/00—Solid fuels
    • C10L5/02—Solid fuels such as briquettes consisting mainly of carbonaceous materials of mineral or non-mineral origin
    • C10L5/04—Raw material of mineral origin to be used; Pretreatment thereof
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C10—PETROLEUM, GAS OR COKE INDUSTRIES; TECHNICAL GASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE; FUELS; LUBRICANTS; PEAT
    • C10L—FUELS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; NATURAL GAS; SYNTHETIC NATURAL GAS OBTAINED BY PROCESSES NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C10G OR C10K; LIQUIFIED PETROLEUM GAS; USE OF ADDITIVES TO FUELS OR FIRES; FIRE-LIGHTERS
    • C10L5/00—Solid fuels
    • C10L5/40—Solid fuels essentially based on materials of non-mineral origin
    • C10L5/44—Solid fuels essentially based on materials of non-mineral origin on vegetable substances
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C10—PETROLEUM, GAS OR COKE INDUSTRIES; TECHNICAL GASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE; FUELS; LUBRICANTS; PEAT
    • C10L—FUELS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; NATURAL GAS; SYNTHETIC NATURAL GAS OBTAINED BY PROCESSES NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C10G OR C10K; LIQUIFIED PETROLEUM GAS; USE OF ADDITIVES TO FUELS OR FIRES; FIRE-LIGHTERS
    • C10L5/00—Solid fuels
    • C10L5/40—Solid fuels essentially based on materials of non-mineral origin
    • C10L5/44—Solid fuels essentially based on materials of non-mineral origin on vegetable substances
    • C10L5/442—Wood or forestry waste

Definitions

  • the invention relates to a method for producing activated carbon.
  • the invention further relates to a system for producing activated carbon.
  • a method for producing activated carbon comprising subjecting carbon-containing raw material to hydro thermal (HT) process for obtaining carbon product having increased carbon content, and as a secondary product, off-gas comprising carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and water (H 2 0), subjecting carbon product to activation process, comprising physical activation carried out by activation medium comprising carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and/or water (H 2 0), wherein said activation medium comprises carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and/or water (H 2 0) produced in said hy- drothermal (HT) process.
  • HT hydro thermal
  • a system for producing activated carbon comprising a hydrothermal (HT) process unit for producing carbon product having increased carbon content from carbon-containing raw material, the hydrothermal (HT) process unit comprising a discharge channel for discharging off-gas comprising carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and/or water (H 2 0) from said unit, an activation unit for producing activated carbon form said carbon product by means of a physical activation process, the discharge channel being arranged to feed said off-gas in the activation unit, and said physical activation process being adapted to use said off-gas as a physical activation medium of said carbon product.
  • a hydrothermal (HT) process unit for producing carbon product having increased carbon content from carbon-containing raw material
  • the hydrothermal (HT) process unit comprising a discharge channel for discharging off-gas comprising carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and/or water (H 2 0) from said unit
  • an activation unit for producing activated carbon form said carbon product by means of a physical activation process the discharge channel being arranged to feed said off
  • inventive embodiments are also disclosed in the specification and drawings of this patent application.
  • inventive content of the patent application may also be defined in other ways than defined in the following claims.
  • inventive content may also be formed of several separate inventions, especially if the invention is examined in the light of expressed or implicit sub-tasks or in view of obtained benefits or benefit groups. Some of the definitions contained in the following claims may then be unnecessary in view of the separate inventive ideas.
  • Features of the different embodiments of the invention may, within the scope of the basic inventive idea, be applied to other embodiments.
  • the carbon product is obtained and the activation medium produced by hydro thermal carbonization (HTC) process.
  • HTC hydro thermal carbonization
  • the carbon product is obtained and the activation medium produced by hydro thermal liquefaction (HTL) process.
  • HTL hydro thermal liquefaction
  • An ad- vantage is that char, which is unavoidable secondary product of the HTL process, can be utilized as a high quality raw material for activation process.
  • the carbon product is obtained and the activation medium produced by hydro thermal gasification (HTG) process.
  • HTG hydro thermal gasification
  • the carbon product is obtained and the activation medium produced by super critical (SC) process.
  • SC super critical
  • Figure 1 is a process flow chart of a method for producing activated carbon
  • FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of a system for producing activated carbon.
  • some embodiments are shown simplified for the sake of clarity. Similar parts are marked with the same reference numbers in the figures.
  • Figure 1 is a process flow chart of a method for producing activated carbon.
  • a carbon-containing raw material 1 is fed to hydro thermal (HT) process 2.
  • the carbon-containing raw material comprises wood material, such as sawdust, wood chip, bark etc.
  • the carbon-containing raw material comprises lignin.
  • the carbon-containing raw material comprises lignocellulosic materials, such as cellulose, hemicellulose and/or lignin, or processed lignocellulosic materials, such as black liquor.
  • lignocellulosic materials such as cellulose, hemicellulose and/or lignin
  • processed lignocellulosic materials such as black liquor.
  • the carbon-containing raw material comprises peat.
  • the carbon-containing raw material comprises coal.
  • the carbon-containing raw material comprises waste material, such as waste of animal and/or fish industry, municipal waste, industrial waste or by-products, agricultural waste or by-products, waste or byproducts of wood-processing industry, waste or by-products of food industry.
  • waste material such as waste of animal and/or fish industry, municipal waste, industrial waste or by-products, agricultural waste or by-products, waste or byproducts of wood-processing industry, waste or by-products of food industry.
  • the hydro thermal process 2 converts the carbon-containing raw material 1 into carbon product having increased carbon content.
  • the term "in- creased carbon content” means that the carbon product has higher carbon content than the carbon-containing raw material.
  • the carbon content of the carbon product is at least 2 - 15 wt% higher than the carbon content of the carbon-containing raw material.
  • the carbon product is removed 3 from the process 2.
  • the hydro thermal (HT) process 2 may be e.g. hydro thermal carbonization (HTC) process, hydro thermal liquefaction (HTL) process, hydro thermal gasification (HTG) process, or super critical (SC) process.
  • HTC hydro thermal carbonization
  • HTL hydro thermal liquefaction
  • HOG hydro thermal gasification
  • SC super critical
  • the hydro thermal carbonization (HTC) process is based on the carbonization of organic matter at an elevated temperature and at a high pres- sure in an aqueous phase.
  • the hydro thermal liquefaction (HTL) process is a thermal depoly- merization process used to convert wet biomass into crude-like oil -sometimes referred to as bio-oil or biocrude- under moderate temperature and high pressure. The reaction usually involves homogeneous and/or heterogeneous cata- lysts to improve the quality of products and yields.
  • HMG hydro thermal gasification
  • wet biomass and organic wastes are gasified under hy- drothermal conditions.
  • the super critical (SC) process utilizes supercritical water, i.e. water at conditions where the temperature is above 374°C and the pressure is at least 221 bar, in gasifying organic matter.
  • the reaction usually involves catalysts to improve the quality of products and yields.
  • the main product of the HTL process, the HTG process and the SC process is in liquid form.
  • char which is used as the carbon product subjected to the activation process for producing activated carbon.
  • off-gas that comprises inter alia carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and/or steam (H 2 0).
  • the off-gas is removed 4 from the process 2.
  • the carbon product is fed to an activation process 7, which comprises a physical activation of the carbon product.
  • the carbon product is handled or processed 10 prior to feeding to the activation process 7. This may comprise e.g. drying, separation, granulation and/or pelletizing of the carbon product. Then, pro- Dead carbon product is fed to the activation process 7.
  • the carbon product is treated with an activation medium that comprises carbon dioxide and/or steam developed in the hydro thermal process 2 and removed therein as off-gas.
  • all of the activation medium needed in the activa- tion process 7 is created in the hydro thermal process 2.
  • the activation medium needed in the activation process 7 comprises activation medium produced in and originating from the hydro thermal process 2 and additional activation medium originating from an external source 8, e.g. in case the hydro thermal process 2 having no ca- pacity for producing the activation medium enough.
  • the additional activation medium may be e.g. steam, CO2 or flue gas generated in the external source 8.
  • the off-gas Prior to feeding to the activation process 7, the off-gas may be submitted to a handling process 6 for optimizing its properties as activation medi- urn, and the handled off-gas is fed to the activation process 7.
  • the handling process 6 may comprise one or more of the following processes: cleaning, such as filtering, temperature controlling, pressure controlling, adding additional activation medium, etc.
  • the activation process 7 produces activated carbon that is removed 9 from the process for further processing, such as granulation, pelletizing, impregnating with an active chemical, sieving, and/or packaging.
  • Figure 2 is a schematic side view of a system for producing activated carbon.
  • the system 100 may be used for carrying out e.g. the method shown in Figure 1 .
  • a carbon-containing raw material 1 is fed by a raw material feeding channel 20 to a HT (hydro thermal) reactor 21 .
  • the reactor 21 may comprise one or more reactor apparatuses for carrying out the process in one or more steps.
  • the carbon-containing raw material 1 is converted into carbon prod- uct having increased carbon content.
  • the carbon product 3 is removed from the process 2 via a carbon product channel 22. Furthermore, off-gas 4 produced in the process 2 is recovered and removed by an off-gas channel 26.
  • the carbon product 3 is processed in a carbon product handling means 23.
  • the carbon product handling means 23 may com- prise e.g. drying apparatus for removing excessive moisture form the carbon product 3, an additive feeding means for adding auxiliary compound(s) or substance ⁇ ), removing of ash by e.g. acid washing or other type of washing, and/or means for feeding reactant(s) into the carbon product 3.
  • carbon product handling means 23 are just optional means and thus the system 100 may be realized without the handling means 23.
  • the carbon product 3, handled or not, is forwarded to an activation process reactor 24, where it is subjected to the physical activation process described earlier in this description.
  • Activated carbon 9 is removed by an activated carbon removal channel 25 for use or further processing.
  • At least part of the activation medium needed in the activation process taking place in the activation process reactor 24 is the off-gas removed from the HT reactor 21 and fed in the off-gas channel 26.
  • said off-gas as such is fed to the activation process reactor 24 without any handling or pre-processing.
  • said off-gas is pre- processed in an off-gas handling means 27 prior to feeding in the activation process reactor 24.
  • An external source 8 may be used for feeding activation medium in the system 100, for instance in cases where the HT reactor 21 is not able to create enough activation medium for purposes of the activation process carried out in the reactor 24.
  • system 100 may comprise one, two or more HT reactors 21 connected to the activation process reactor 24.
  • the disclosed method and system may have several advantages. Firstly, expenses of producing activated carbon may be lowered because the need for producing activation medium by an external supplier can be limited or totally avoided. According to an idea, 30 - 100 % of the activation medium needed in the activation process may be obtained from the HT -process.
  • the temperature of off-gas is typically at least 200 °C and its pressure is typically high enough for use in the activation process. Thus there is limited need to heat and/or pressurize the off-gas before its feeding in the activation process.

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  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Organic Chemistry (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Inorganic Chemistry (AREA)
  • Oil, Petroleum & Natural Gas (AREA)
  • Materials Engineering (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Thermal Sciences (AREA)
  • Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
  • Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
  • Carbon And Carbon Compounds (AREA)

Abstract

A method and a system for producing activated carbon. The method comprises:- subjecting carbon-containing raw material to hydro ther-mal (HT) process for obtaining carbon product having in-creased carbon content,- and as a secondary product, off-gas comprising carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H20),- subjecting carbon product to activation process, compris-ing physical activation carried out by activation medium comprising carbon dioxide (CO2) and/or water (H20),- wherein said activation medium comprises carbon diox-ide (CO2) and/or water (H20) produced in said hydrother-mal (HT) process.

Description

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR HYDROTHERMAL PRODUCTION OF
ACTIVATED CARBON
Background
The invention relates to a method for producing activated carbon. The invention further relates to a system for producing activated carbon.
It is commonly known to produce activated carbon by using physical activating mediums, such as steam or carbon dioxide.
A problem with these is that the known methods are fairly expensive to use because of high demand of physical activating medium. Brief description
Viewed from a first aspect, there can be provided a method for producing activated carbon, the method comprising subjecting carbon-containing raw material to hydro thermal (HT) process for obtaining carbon product having increased carbon content, and as a secondary product, off-gas comprising carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H20), subjecting carbon product to activation process, comprising physical activation carried out by activation medium comprising carbon dioxide (CO2) and/or water (H20), wherein said activation medium comprises carbon dioxide (CO2) and/or water (H20) produced in said hy- drothermal (HT) process.
Thereby a method for producing activated carbon having lower expenses may be achieved.
Viewed from a further aspect, there can be provided a system for producing activated carbon, the system comprising a hydrothermal (HT) process unit for producing carbon product having increased carbon content from carbon-containing raw material, the hydrothermal (HT) process unit comprising a discharge channel for discharging off-gas comprising carbon dioxide (CO2) and/or water (H20) from said unit, an activation unit for producing activated carbon form said carbon product by means of a physical activation process, the discharge channel being arranged to feed said off-gas in the activation unit, and said physical activation process being adapted to use said off-gas as a physical activation medium of said carbon product.
Thereby a system that is able to be run with low costs may be achieved.
The method and the system are characterised by what is stated in the independent claims. Some other embodiments are characterised by what is stated in the other claims. Inventive embodiments are also disclosed in the specification and drawings of this patent application. The inventive content of the patent application may also be defined in other ways than defined in the following claims. The inventive content may also be formed of several separate inventions, especially if the invention is examined in the light of expressed or implicit sub-tasks or in view of obtained benefits or benefit groups. Some of the definitions contained in the following claims may then be unnecessary in view of the separate inventive ideas. Features of the different embodiments of the invention may, within the scope of the basic inventive idea, be applied to other embodiments.
In one embodiment, the carbon product is obtained and the activation medium produced by hydro thermal carbonization (HTC) process. An advantage is that the HTC process produces stable carbon product that is containing low amount of volatilizing components and thus a better total yield may be achieved. Furthermore, most of the water soluble inorganic components may be removed from product in the HTC process, and thus said inorganic components cannot impair the quality of activated carbon.
In one embodiment, the carbon product is obtained and the activation medium produced by hydro thermal liquefaction (HTL) process. An ad- vantage is that char, which is unavoidable secondary product of the HTL process, can be utilized as a high quality raw material for activation process.
In one embodiment, the carbon product is obtained and the activation medium produced by hydro thermal gasification (HTG) process. An advantage is that char, which is unavoidable secondary product of the HTG pro- cess, can be utilized as a high quality raw material for activation process.
In one embodiment, the carbon product is obtained and the activation medium produced by super critical (SC) process. An advantage is that char, which is unavoidable secondary product of the SC process, can be utilized as a high quality raw material for activation process. Brief description of figures
Some embodiments illustrating the present disclosure are described in more detail in the attached drawings, in which
Figure 1 is a process flow chart of a method for producing activated carbon, and
Figure 2 is a schematic side view of a system for producing activated carbon. In the figures, some embodiments are shown simplified for the sake of clarity. Similar parts are marked with the same reference numbers in the figures.
Detailed description
Figure 1 is a process flow chart of a method for producing activated carbon.
A carbon-containing raw material 1 is fed to hydro thermal (HT) process 2. In an embodiment, the carbon-containing raw material comprises wood material, such as sawdust, wood chip, bark etc.
In an embodiment, the carbon-containing raw material comprises lignin.
In an embodiment, the carbon-containing raw material comprises lignocellulosic materials, such as cellulose, hemicellulose and/or lignin, or processed lignocellulosic materials, such as black liquor.
In an embodiment, the carbon-containing raw material comprises peat.
In an embodiment, the carbon-containing raw material comprises coal.
In an embodiment, the carbon-containing raw material comprises waste material, such as waste of animal and/or fish industry, municipal waste, industrial waste or by-products, agricultural waste or by-products, waste or byproducts of wood-processing industry, waste or by-products of food industry.
The hydro thermal process 2 converts the carbon-containing raw material 1 into carbon product having increased carbon content. The term "in- creased carbon content" means that the carbon product has higher carbon content than the carbon-containing raw material. In an embodiment, the carbon content of the carbon product is at least 2 - 15 wt% higher than the carbon content of the carbon-containing raw material. The carbon product is removed 3 from the process 2.
The hydro thermal (HT) process 2 may be e.g. hydro thermal carbonization (HTC) process, hydro thermal liquefaction (HTL) process, hydro thermal gasification (HTG) process, or super critical (SC) process.
The hydro thermal carbonization (HTC) process is based on the carbonization of organic matter at an elevated temperature and at a high pres- sure in an aqueous phase. The hydro thermal liquefaction (HTL) process is a thermal depoly- merization process used to convert wet biomass into crude-like oil -sometimes referred to as bio-oil or biocrude- under moderate temperature and high pressure. The reaction usually involves homogeneous and/or heterogeneous cata- lysts to improve the quality of products and yields. In the hydro thermal gasification (HTG) process, wet biomass and organic wastes are gasified under hy- drothermal conditions.
The super critical (SC) process utilizes supercritical water, i.e. water at conditions where the temperature is above 374°C and the pressure is at least 221 bar, in gasifying organic matter. The reaction usually involves catalysts to improve the quality of products and yields.
It is to be noted, that the main product of the HTL process, the HTG process and the SC process is in liquid form. As a secondary product there is produced char, which is used as the carbon product subjected to the activation process for producing activated carbon.
As a secondary product of said hydro thermal process 2, there is developed off-gas that comprises inter alia carbon dioxide (CO2) and/or steam (H20). The off-gas is removed 4 from the process 2. The carbon product is fed to an activation process 7, which comprises a physical activation of the carbon product.
In an embodiment, the carbon product is handled or processed 10 prior to feeding to the activation process 7. This may comprise e.g. drying, separation, granulation and/or pelletizing of the carbon product. Then, pro- cessed carbon product is fed to the activation process 7.
In the physical activation, the carbon product is treated with an activation medium that comprises carbon dioxide and/or steam developed in the hydro thermal process 2 and removed therein as off-gas.
In an embodiment, all of the activation medium needed in the activa- tion process 7 is created in the hydro thermal process 2.
In another embodiment, the activation medium needed in the activation process 7 comprises activation medium produced in and originating from the hydro thermal process 2 and additional activation medium originating from an external source 8, e.g. in case the hydro thermal process 2 having no ca- pacity for producing the activation medium enough. The additional activation medium may be e.g. steam, CO2 or flue gas generated in the external source 8.
Prior to feeding to the activation process 7, the off-gas may be submitted to a handling process 6 for optimizing its properties as activation medi- urn, and the handled off-gas is fed to the activation process 7. The handling process 6 may comprise one or more of the following processes: cleaning, such as filtering, temperature controlling, pressure controlling, adding additional activation medium, etc.
The activation process 7 produces activated carbon that is removed 9 from the process for further processing, such as granulation, pelletizing, impregnating with an active chemical, sieving, and/or packaging.
Figure 2 is a schematic side view of a system for producing activated carbon. The system 100 may be used for carrying out e.g. the method shown in Figure 1 .
A carbon-containing raw material 1 is fed by a raw material feeding channel 20 to a HT (hydro thermal) reactor 21 . The reactor 21 may comprise one or more reactor apparatuses for carrying out the process in one or more steps.
The carbon-containing raw material 1 is converted into carbon prod- uct having increased carbon content. The carbon product 3 is removed from the process 2 via a carbon product channel 22. Furthermore, off-gas 4 produced in the process 2 is recovered and removed by an off-gas channel 26.
In an embodiment, the carbon product 3 is processed in a carbon product handling means 23. The carbon product handling means 23 may com- prise e.g. drying apparatus for removing excessive moisture form the carbon product 3, an additive feeding means for adding auxiliary compound(s) or substance^), removing of ash by e.g. acid washing or other type of washing, and/or means for feeding reactant(s) into the carbon product 3.
It is to be noted, however, that the carbon product handling means 23 are just optional means and thus the system 100 may be realized without the handling means 23.
The carbon product 3, handled or not, is forwarded to an activation process reactor 24, where it is subjected to the physical activation process described earlier in this description.
Activated carbon 9 is removed by an activated carbon removal channel 25 for use or further processing. At least part of the activation medium needed in the activation process taking place in the activation process reactor 24 is the off-gas removed from the HT reactor 21 and fed in the off-gas channel 26. In an embodiment, said off-gas as such is fed to the activation process reactor 24 without any handling or pre-processing. In another embodiment, said off-gas is pre- processed in an off-gas handling means 27 prior to feeding in the activation process reactor 24.
An external source 8 may be used for feeding activation medium in the system 100, for instance in cases where the HT reactor 21 is not able to create enough activation medium for purposes of the activation process carried out in the reactor 24.
It is to be noted that the system 100 may comprise one, two or more HT reactors 21 connected to the activation process reactor 24. Alternatively, it is possible to connect one HT reactor 21 to two or more activation process re- actors 24.
The disclosed method and system may have several advantages. Firstly, expenses of producing activated carbon may be lowered because the need for producing activation medium by an external supplier can be limited or totally avoided. According to an idea, 30 - 100 % of the activation medium needed in the activation process may be obtained from the HT -process.
Secondly, off-gas inevitably produced in the HT -process needs not to be sent in waste, but it can be utilized in the activation process.
Thirdly, the temperature of off-gas is typically at least 200 °C and its pressure is typically high enough for use in the activation process. Thus there is limited need to heat and/or pressurize the off-gas before its feeding in the activation process.
The invention is not limited solely to the embodiments described above, but instead many variations are possible within the scope of the inventive concept defined by the claims below. Within the scope of the inventive concept the attributes of different embodiments and applications can be used in conjunction with or replace the attributes of another embodiment or application.
The drawings and the related description are only intended to illustrate the idea of the invention. The invention may vary in detail within the scope of the inventive idea defined in the following claims. Reference symbols
1 raw material
2 hydro thermal process
3 carbon product
4 off-gas
5 activation medium feeding
6 off-gas handling
7 activation process
8 external source
9 activated carbon
10 carbon product handling
20 raw material feeding channel
21 HT reactor
22 carbon product channel
23 carbon product handling means
24 activation process reactor
25 activated carbon removal channel
26 off-gas channel
27 off-gas handling means
100 system

Claims

Claims
1 . A method for producing activated carbon, the method comprising
- subjecting carbon-containing raw material to hydro thermal (HT) process for obtaining carbon product having increased carbon content,
- and as a secondary product, off-gas comprising carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H20),
- subjecting carbon product to activation process, comprising physical activation carried out by activation medium comprising carbon dioxide (CO2) and/or water (H20),
- wherein said activation medium comprises carbon dioxide (CO2) and/or water (H20) produced in said hydrothermal (HT) process.
2. The method as claimed in claim 1 , obtaining carbon product by hydro thermal carbonization (HTC) process.
3. The method as claimed in claim 1 , obtaining carbon product by hydro thermal liquefaction (HTL) process.
4. The method as claimed in claim 1 , obtaining carbon product by hydro thermal gasification (HTG) process.
5. The method as claimed in claim 1 , obtaining carbon product by super critical (SC) process.
6. The method as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the carbon-containing raw material comprises wood material.
7. The method as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the carbon-containing raw material comprises lignin.
8. The method as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the carbon-containing raw material comprises peat.
9. The method as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the carbon-containing raw material comprises coal.
10. The method as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the carbon-containing raw material comprises waste material.
11. The method as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the carbon-containing raw material comprises lignocellulosic materials.
12. A system for producing activated carbon, characterised in that the system comprises
- a hydrothermal (HT) process unit for producing carbon product having increased carbon content from carbon-containing raw material
- the hydrothermal (HT) process unit comprising a discharge channel for discharging off-gas comprising carbon dioxide (CO2) and/or water (H20) from said unit,
- an activation unit for producing activated carbon form said carbon product by means of a physical activation process,
- the discharge channel being arranged to feed said off-gas in the activation unit, and
said physical activation process being adapted to use said off-gas as a physical activation medium of said carbon product.
13. The system as claimed in claim 12, characterised in that the hydrothermal (HT) process unit comprising a HTC unit.
14. The system as claimed in claim 12, characterised in that the hy- drothermal (HT) process unit comprising a HTL unit.
15. The system as claimed in claim 12, characterised in that the hydrothermal (HT) process unit comprising a HTG unit.
16. The system as claimed in claim 12, characterised in that the hydrothermal (HT) process unit comprising a SC unit.
EP17717207.9A 2016-03-23 2017-03-17 Method and system for hydrothermal production of activated carbon Pending EP3433342A1 (en)

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FI20165246A FI127496B (en) 2016-03-23 2016-03-23 Method and system
PCT/FI2017/050184 WO2017162914A1 (en) 2016-03-23 2017-03-17 Method and system for hydrothermal production of activated carbon

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CN110194981A (en) * 2019-05-07 2019-09-03 江苏大学 Sludge, microalgae are total to hydro-thermal liquefaction and waste liquid culture microalgae integration cyclic utilization system

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