First American Scientific Corp. (fka FASC)

[TRCPA]

BIOMASS TORREFACTION MILL

http://www.sumobrain.com/patents/wipo/Biomass-torrefaction-mill/WO2011031580.html

PRATT & WHITNEY ROCKETDYNE, INC. (6633 Canoga Avenue, Canoga Park, California, 91309, US)
SPROUSE, Kenneth M. (6633 Canoga Avenue, Canoga Park, California, 91309, US)

March 17, 2011

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"[0021] Referring to Figure 2, typical solids failure lines for grinding fibrous and non- fibrous bulk materials are graphically illustrated. For fibrous materials, the shear loads, t, required to cause solids break-up and particulate formation are significant under high compressive loads when compared to non-fibrous materials such as coal. The attempt to grind fibrous biomass in conventional hammer, roller or attrition mills typically results in plugging of the mill since such conventional mills do not develop the required shear loads, t, at normal operating compression, s, conditions. This plugging may result in the subsequent shut-down of the mill for cleaning. Kinetic Disintegration System (KDS) mills such as that manufactured by First American Scientific Corporation (FASC) of British Columbia, Canada provides a pulverization mill that will dry and grind fibrous materials such as biomass. The KDS mill overcomes the breaking up of the fibrous materials with shear loads under very low compression so that the fibrous materials are not squeezed (i.e., compressed) between two metal surfaces but provides the biomass with a free surface where t and s are both zero. Although the KDS mill size reduces the fibrous materials, the KDS mill operates at ambient to 175 F (79 C) operating temperatures and does not upgrade the specific energy content of the predominantly cellulosic material to values above 8,000 Btu/lbm."

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