STTR Phase I: Mineral Removal from Biocoal Produced from Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) for Power Generation

这个小企业技术转让第一阶段项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是碳化生物质的矿物处理技术。该技术使城市固体废物作为一种可行的可再生燃料在燃煤电厂实现商业化。如果成功，现有的焙烧技术可以与拟议的矿物处理一起部署，在现有废物基础设施附近的任何地点提供燃料。有了这项技术，碳化技术将能够接受低成本的原料，并生产出具有成本竞争力的可再生燃料。这类燃料公司的增长可以创造许多新的就业机会，并促进相关的经济发展。由于城市生活垃圾是一种可在任何地方产生的现有燃料来源，因此有可能通过创造就业机会、利用可再生能源发电和减少社会废物流来促进城市和农村地区的发展。第一阶段研究项目的目标是去除或显著减少碳化生活垃圾中的矿物质含量。烘烤是一种温和的热处理，将生物质转化为类似煤炭的燃料，是一种经过验证的技术。焙烧的一个主要障碍是生物质原料的成本。废物的使用，如城市生活垃圾，可以使碳化生物质（生物煤）在成本上与化石煤具有竞争力。然而，城市生活垃圾含有很大一部分矿物，会导致燃料锅炉结渣、结垢和腐蚀。为了克服这一障碍，实现城市生活垃圾利用的经济效益，Treamin能源公司开发了一种方法，可以快速、廉价地去除几乎100%的可溶性和不可溶性矿物质，并试图证明该技术的概念验证。利用现有的焙烧和矿物处理设备，除了在工业潜力的经济评估工具中使用测量的过程数据外，还将从过程蒸汽的矿物、质量和能量特征来演示该过程。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project is for the mineral treatment technology for torrefied biomass. This technology enables the use of municipal solid waste (MSW) as a viable, and renewable fuel in coal power plant to commercialization. If successful, existing torrefaction technology can be deployed with the proposed mineral treatment to provide fuel generation at any site near existing waste infrastructure. With the addition of this technology, torrefaction technologies will be able to accept low-cost feedstock and produce cost competitive renewable fuels. This growth in such fuel companies could create many new jobs and the associated economic development. Because of the nature of MSW as an existing fuel source that is generated in all locations, there is potential to boost development around urban and rural areas through job creation, the utilization of renewable power generation, and reduction of society's waste streams. The objectives of this Phase I research project are to remove or significantly reduce the mineral content within torrefied MSW. Torrefaction is a mild thermal treatment that transforms biomass to a fuel similar to coal, and is a proven technology. One major hurdle for torrefaction is the cost of the raw biomass materials. The use of wastes, such as MSW, can make the torrefied biomass (biocoal) cost competitive with fossil coal. MSW, however, contains a large fraction of minerals which cause slagging, fouling, and corrosion in fuel boilers. To overcome this barrier and realize the economic benefits from MSW utilization, Treamin Energy, Inc. has developed a method to remove nearly 100% of soluble and insoluble minerals quickly and inexpensively, and seeks to demonstrate Proof of Concept for the technology. With existing torrefaction and mineral treatment equipment, the process will be demonstrated from mineral, mass, and energy characterizations of the process steams, in addition to using measured process data in economic assessment tools for industrial potential.