Gas-Solid Contact Device

Abstract

A device (10) for processing a stream of particulate material by contact with a gas flow has a housing (12) defining a processing chamber (18). The chamber (18) has a gas distribution plate (30) having an opening (32). The gas distribution plate (30) separates a lower gas plenum (18) from a solid-gas contact zone (22). The contact zone (22) has at least one cylindrical partition (34) upstanding from the gas distribution plate (30) separating an inner portion (36) from an adjacent annular outer portion (38; 40). The at least one partition (34) includes a transfer opening (50) for the particulate material. The housing (12) also includes an inlet (44) for supplying particulate material to the inner portion (36) and an outlet (42) for discharging processed particulate material from the annular outer portion (40).

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a device for processing a stream of particulate material by contact with a gas flow. [Background technology]

[0002] WO 2006 / 027009 discloses a device for treating granular products. The known device has a processing chamber for receiving and treating the product. Its bottom consists of a plurality of overlapping guide plates, between which an annular slit is formed for the passage of processing air with an essentially horizontal, outer displacement component. The bottom is provided in its center with an annular gap nozzle. The nozzle opening is shaped such that a flat spray cake can be sprayed that is substantially parallel to the height of the bottom.

[0003] Toroidal bed reactors or swirling fluidized bed reactors are well-known devices for gas-solid contact processing, such as chemical reactions, physical processing, and heat exchange actions such as drying and cooling of the solids and / or gases used. In general, such gas-solid contact devices have a processing zone in which solid particles circulate in a gas-induced, circumferential, and toroidal flow pattern. The gas flow is forced into the processing zone through a system of blades (also known as vanes) with gas openings, which have an angled configuration and create gas jets into the processing zone, causing a circular toroidal movement of the particulate material.

[0004] US Patent No. 6,564,472 discloses such a device and its principle of design and proper operation. The toroidal bed reactor known today from Torftech (Моrtimer Technology) (http: / / www.tоrftech.com / tоrbed_technоlоgy.html; see also US Patent Publication No. 2013 / 220790) is still based on this disclosure.

[0005] US 2013 / 220790 A1 discloses a toroidal bed reactor for processing particulate material, which has a means that allows it to operate continuously despite the material being processed. This known reactor has a processing chamber (typically a conventional toroidal bed reactor (defined as a reactor in which the material to be processed is embedded and centrifuged in a compact, turbulent, toroidally circulating bed of particles and processing fluid circulating around the axis of the processing chamber)) with at least one inlet for the particulate material and one or more outlets for the processed particulate material. The processing chamber has an annular processing zone and a number of processing fluid inlets, which are arranged at the base of the annular processing zone and are configured such that, in use, jets of processing fluid enter the annular processing zone through the multiple processing fluid inlets to establish a spiral flow of the particulate material in the annular processing zone. One or more outlets for the processed particulate material are disposed in the base and are surrounded by a plurality of processing fluid inlets such that a spiral flow of the particulate material circulates around the one or more outlets. Means are disposed in the processing chamber for deflecting a portion of the spiral flow of the particulate material in the annular processing zone radially inwardly from the spiral flow such that the particulate material leaves the processing chamber through the one or more outlets for the processed particulate material.

[0006] A practical embodiment of this configuration is 0.25 * π * (D2out - 0.64 *This applies to a process chamber with a maximum contact area determined by D2оut, where D2оut is the diameter of the process chamber, meaning that (only) the outer 20% of the reactor diameter is effectively used. According to the applicant / manufacturer, such a width of the reactor bed is optimal for a toroidal flow pattern and is a prerequisite for imparting heat and mass transfer properties. Similar limitations are set for the bed height in the reactor.

[0007] The mass and heat transfer characteristics of this known toroidal bed are the primary feature of the device, however, reactors with this configuration have practical limitations that generally apply to other toroidal (swirling) bed reactors as well.

[0008] Deflection of part of the vortex flow of particulate material in the annular processing zone in the (radially) inward direction would cause unwanted accumulation due to centrifugal forces and lead to instabilities in the toroidal bed.

[0009] During operation, a toroidal bed reactor having this configuration utilizes only a small portion of its cross section, the outer annular zone, as processing area, and is therefore bulky, regardless of potential heat and mass transfer properties.

[0010] In continuous operation, the reactor has a short residence time, and therefore, when longer processing times are required, more reactors in series are needed. Commercially available continuous devices are expected to have residence times of 30 to 60 seconds.

[0011] In a toroidal bed reactor with CSTR (continuous stirred tank reactor) behavior (meaning that solids and gases are ideally mixed (or at least have a continuous back and forth mixing pattern)), the reactor does not have separate feed points for the particulate material and the gas streams, because the flow pattern in the processing zone is a closed toroidal shape with infinite (or at least unbounded) length. This seems to result in mass and energy dissipation / exchange that is on average the same everywhere in the processing zone. The advantage is a very constant heat / mass distribution, and the temperature in the bed can be very well controlled. However, CSTR behavior is accompanied by a wide residence time distribution caused by a part of the particulate material taking a shortcut from the inlet to the outlet of the processing zone with a short residence time, and a part that continues to circulate in the processing zone longer than the average. This means that some particles can leave the reactor practically unprocessed, and others are discharged in an over-reacted state. The result is a wide distribution of the processing properties of the particulate material, although the average values ​​are nice. Summary of the Invention

[0012] The present invention aims to at least somewhat reduce one or more of the above disadvantages.

[0013] It is an object of the present invention to improve the utilization of available reactor volume in a gas-solid contacting device.

[0014] Another object of the present invention is to improve the uniformity of residence time (and therefore contact time between the particulate material and the gas) and thereby improve the processing of individual particles.

[0015] Yet another object of the present invention is to extend the residence time beyond the typical values ​​mentioned above, compared to prior art configurations of similar diameter, thereby making it possible to at least partially avoid the need for multiple reactors in series when longer processing times are required.

[0016] According to the invention, a device for processing a flow of particulate material by contact with a gas flow comprises: a housing defining a processing chamber; The processing chamber is a plenum disposed below the processing chamber and having a gas inlet for introducing a gas flow into the plenum; a contact zone disposed above the plenum for contacting the flow of particulate material with the gas flow; The plenum and the contact zone are separated by a gas distribution plate; the contact zone has a contact path for contact of the particulate material flow and the gas flow, the contact zone having at least one cylindrical partition upstanding from the gas distribution plate separating an inner portion of the contact path from an adjacent annular outer portion, the at least one partition including a transfer opening configured to allow the particulate material to pass from the inner portion to the adjacent annular outer portion; the gas distribution plate includes openings configured to allow gas flow to proceed in a direction directed obliquely upward from the plenum into the contact zone to establish displacement of the particulate material in a displacement direction along a contact path in the contact zone; an inlet for feeding particulate material into the inner portion of the contact path at a feeding location upstream of a transfer opening in an adjacent partition as viewed in a direction of particulate material displacement in the inner portion of the contact path; It has an outlet for discharging processed particulate material from the annular outer portion of the contact path at a discharge location downstream of the transfer opening in the adjacent partition as viewed in the direction of particulate material displacement in the annular outer portion of the contact path.

[0017] The device according to the invention has a process chamber with a generally circular cross section delimited by the upstanding wall of the housing. At the bottom of the process chamber is arranged a plenum (hereinafter also indicated as lower plenum; also known in the art as wind box) with a gas inlet for feeding gas, which is separated from the contact zone by a gas distribution plate (also known in the art as blades or vanes) and provided with a number of openings (hereinafter also referred to as swirl openings). The swirl openings guide the obliquely rotating components into the gas jet entering the contact zone from the plenum, causing the displacement of the particulate material in a displacement direction from the feed position along the contact path towards the discharge position. Upright from the gas distribution plate in the contact zone, at least one partition is arranged. Typically, there is a large number of partitions, ranging for example from 2 to 10 (for example from 3 to 5), with different diameters, for example (0.2 times, see below), 0.4 times, 0.6 times and 0.8 times the inner diameter of the process chamber. The partitions define a contact path from a feed location of the particulate material to a discharge location, and the gas flow contacts and entrains the particulate material as a moving (sliding) layer or bed across the gas distribution plate. The partitions separate the contact path into an inner contact path portion (typically an inner annular contact path portion) and an adjacent outer annular contact path portion. In the case of multiple partitions, the inner (annular) contact path portion is also referred to as the innermost (annular) contact path portion and the outer annular contact path portion is also referred to as the outermost annular contact path portion, while any annular contact path portion located between the innermost (annular) contact path portion and the outermost annular contact path portion is designated as an intermediate annular contact path portion. The particulate material is fed into the inner (annular) contact path portion through an inlet at the feed location, and the processed particulate material - together with the gas flow, or a portion thereof - is discharged from the outer annular portion through an outlet at the discharge location. Each partition has a transfer opening (also called a port) that allows the transfer of particulate material being processed from an inner portion of the contact path to an adjacent outer portion by centrifugal forces induced by gas flow.Thus, the particulate material being processed moves from the inner part to the discharge outlet in the outer part following a spiral path, the movement being forced by the gas flow through the swirl openings in the gas distribution plate. The feed position of the particulate material in the inner (annular) part is upstream of the transfer openings in the adjacent partition, advantageously such that the fed particulate material is transferred along the (annular) inner contact path part to the transfer openings over substantially its entire length (circular). At that time, a shortcut from the feed position to the transfer openings is prevented. Advantageously, the feed position in the inner (annular) part of the contact path and the transfer openings in the adjacent partition are separated by at least 270° when viewed in the particulate material displacement direction in the inner part of the contact path. Preferably, the feed position is also adjacent to the transfer openings in the adjacent partition when viewed in the direction opposite to the particulate material displacement direction in the inner part of the contact path. An overlap is possible, provided that the rotational component of the velocity is large enough to prevent a shortcut of the particulate material from the feed position to the transfer openings or from the transfer openings to the discharge position. The supplied particulate material is transferred from the supply location to the transfer opening along the annular contact path portion over substantially its entire circular length. The same theory applies to the location of the discharge outlet relative to the transfer opening. Advantageously, the discharge location in the annular outer portion of the contact path and the transfer opening in the adjacent inwardly disposed partition are separated by at least 270° when viewed in the particulate material displacement direction in the annular outer portion of the contact path, and preferably the discharge location is adjacent to the transfer opening in the adjacent partition when viewed in a direction opposite to the particulate material displacement direction in the annular outer portion of the contact path.

[0018] Typically, the particulate material is fed into the inner contact path section alongside the rotating induced gas flow (preferably tangentially to the rotating induced gas flow). More than one feed position in the inner contact path section is feasible.

[0019] Optionally, the process chamber also has an upper discharge section connected to an outlet for removing the gas flow (or the remainder thereof) from the process chamber, as well as any dust and light particles of the entrained particulate material. The dust and light particles may be filtered out of the gas flow and returned to the particle flow, or may be otherwise collected, for example, using a cyclone located in the upper discharge section, taking advantage of the rotational motion already induced in the gas flow. The gas may be recycled to the plenum, optionally after adjusting certain properties such as temperature, pressure, composition and / or moisture content.

[0020] The device according to the invention has a contact zone covering a large cross-sectional area of ​​the process chamber (compared to prior art devices that use only its outer (about 20%) periphery). Thus, operation of the device utilizes the large cross-sectional area of ​​the process chamber for gas-solid contact. Additionally, since the flow of particulate material has plug flow characteristics, residence time can be controlled in a precise manner to ensure that individual particles are exposed to substantially the same processing. Furthermore, by providing a well-defined spiral contact path delimited by the partition, residence time can be extended compared to prior art toroidal bed reactor configurations, while maintaining favorable mass and energy transfer properties through intimate contact.

[0021] In a preferred embodiment, the contact zone has a plurality of upright cylindrical partitions, each partition having a transfer opening configured to allow particulate material to pass from an inner portion of the contact path to an adjacent outer portion, the transfer opening of the inner partition being upstream of the transfer opening of the adjacent outer partition when viewed in the direction of particulate material displacement in the annular portion of the contact path between adjacent partitions, preferably the transfer opening of the inner partition and the transfer opening of the adjacent outer partition are separated by at least 270° when viewed in the direction of particulate material displacement in the annular portion of the contact path between adjacent partitions, and more preferably the transfer opening of the outer partition is adjacent to the transfer opening of the adjacent inner partition when viewed in a direction opposite to the direction of particulate material displacement in the annular portion of the contact path between adjacent partitions. In these arrangements, the particulate material is forced to flow the entire circular length of each annular flow section path section from when it enters until when it exits, and a shortcut via a straight line of sight directly from the transfer opening in one partition to the transfer opening in the adjacent outer partition is prevented by bypassing intermediate annular contact path sections between adjacent partitions.

[0022] In a further advantageous embodiment, the gas inlet has a central duct extending vertically through the contact zone into the gas plenum, which duct defines the inner extent of the inner annular contact path portion. In this embodiment, the central duct, for example having a diameter of 0.2 times the diameter of the processing chamber, acts as the inner boundary of the inner annular contact path portion, thereby contributing to the initial rotational movement of the particulate material and the gas flow. Furthermore, feeding the gas flow into the plenum in a vertical direction opposite to the upward gas flow through the swirl opening improves the gas distribution in the plenum. Typically, the central duct extends downward from the top of the processing chamber to the lower plenum. Preferably, the gas flow is at least partially removed from the processing chamber via a gas outlet that concentrically surrounds the central duct at the top of the processing chamber.

[0023] Advantageously, the swirl openings with an angled configuration are adapted to the annular contact path section they feed. In a preferred embodiment, the gas distribution plate has outwardly directed slit-like openings arranged in annular sections, in each annular section said openings being arranged at a radial angle with respect to the radius of the gas distribution plate. The slit shape of the swirl openings covers substantially the entire width of the annular contact path section and ensures the displacement of the particulate material by the gas flow prevention dead zone. The radial angle, typically in the range of 15-30°, takes into account the tendency of the particulate material to accumulate on the partition or housing wall due to centrifugal forces and forces the particulate material to move forward. In the annular section, the radial angle is generally constant. The radial angle from section to section may be different, in particular the radial angle of the slit-like swirl openings decreases stepwise from the innermost annular section to the outermost section.

[0024] In a preferred embodiment, the gas distribution plate has outwardly directed slit-like openings arranged in the annular portion, the openings having an axial angle with respect to the axis of the contact zone in the direction of flow of the particulate material to provide a gas flow having an obliquely upward direction to establish a displacement of the particulate material along the contact path in the contact zone. Typically, the axial angle is in the range of 45-60°.

[0025] In a preferred embodiment, the gas distribution plate has slit-like openings arranged in the annular portion, the width of the slit-like openings increasing from their inner end to their outer end, in this embodiment the through-flow area of ​​the swirl openings increases outwardly to compensate for the greater flow of particulate material in the outer part of the annular portion.

[0026] Most preferably, the swirl opening is disposed at a radial angle, an axial angle, as described above, and has a trapezoidal shape with a smaller base at its inner end and a larger base at its outer end.

[0027] To improve and / or control the gas distribution in the plenum to the gas distribution plate, the plenum preferably has a manifold, which is located below the gas distribution plate and has adjustable manifold openings of adjustable size. The adjustable manifold openings make it possible to adapt the gas flow to the ratio required in a particular contact path section. For example, when drying particulate material with (heated) air, the wet particulate material is delivered to the intermediate section (if any) where the particulate material enters in a partially dry state, and to the innermost annular contact path where more heat is required to dry the particulate material than the outermost annular contact path.

[0028] In one embodiment, the manifold is of the diaphragm type that allows the size of the openings to be controlled from section to section, for example, the manifold has a lower annular plate section having a lower manifold opening and an upper annular plate section having an upper manifold opening, the cooperating lower and upper annular plate sections being concentrically displaceable relative to one another.

[0029] In yet another embodiment, each annular contact path portion or some of the total number of portions is fed by a dedicated gas flow (which may be provided with a dedicated gas from a suitable source) with respect to temperature, humidity, pressure and / or composition, for example using a gas manifold of annular channels (each with its own gas inlet). Such an embodiment allows different processing operations to be performed sequentially on the particulate material in the annular contact path portions from the inside to the outside of the contact zone.

[0030] The manifold openings may have a radially slotted configuration. In an advantageous embodiment, the manifold openings have an arcuately spaced slotted configuration.

[0031] To force the particulate material through the discharge outlet in the outer annular contact path portion, the annular outer contact path portion may have a deflector for directing the processed particulate material towards the discharge outlet and, advantageously, for separating the inwardly adjacent partition from the discharge location of the outlet.

[0032] The transfer opening in the partition, through which the particulate material is transferred from the annular contact path section to the adjacent annular contact path section arranged therefrom on the outside, advantageously has an adjustable size. In an embodiment, its height above the gas distribution plate is adjustable, for example by means of a slide. To allow a certain hold-up of the particulate material in the annular contact path section, the transfer opening may be positioned at a certain height above the plane of the gas distribution plate. The displacement pattern of the particulate material, its hold-up and the gas flow rate are then coupled. To avoid stalling of the moving bed layer of particulate material, it is advantageous to allow an adjustment of the opening height, especially the lower edge of the transfer opening, preferably automatically. The lowest height of the lower edge is the height of the gas distribution plate. Then no hold-up occurs.

[0033] In yet another preferred embodiment, the downstream part of the wall defining the transfer opening in the partition is arranged obliquely upwards. When particles with long dimensions, such as wire-like particles (e.g., fibers), strike the vertical edge of the partition wall defining the transfer opening, they tend to wrap around this edge and stick. Over time, the number of stuck particles will rise and accumulate into clusters, which can become an obstacle to the transfer of other particles through the partition opening. Thus, the outlet annular contact path section may begin to stall. This problem is avoided by providing an upward-facing oblique section (e.g., 45°). Instead of sticking at the point of impact, the disintegrating particles will slide to a higher position above the moving bed layer of the particulate material so as not to block the transfer opening. After a certain growth, the clusters become too large and can fall down and break up. In a further embodiment, adjacent to the upward-facing oblique section, there is a downward-facing inclined section. In this embodiment, any particle sliding over the upward-facing diagonal will loosen ("jump") on its top due to the sudden loss of support.

[0034] To prevent the escape of particulate material from one annular contact path over the adjacent outer edge of the partition, the upper portion of the partition advantageously comprises a retainer (e.g., an inwardly oriented strip that partially covers the adjacent inner contact path portion).

[0035] The device according to the invention can be used for many treatments of particulate materials such as thermally processed biomass materials or associated gases, including their cooling, drying, roasting, pyrolysis, combustion and / or vaporization, chemical processing including catalytic processing, and cooling or drying of feed or food. Other applications include the partitioning of particulate materials into small portions based on shape, mass, size and / or density, such as screening, with the device according to the invention being used as a wind shifter. Generally, particulate materials are bulk commodities such as biological materials such as biomass, food and feed. Plastic materials can also be processed in the device according to the invention. In the case of wet materials that have a high tendency to (temporarily) adhere to the partitions, the partitions can be provided with a non-stick coating (particularly the partition walls at the inner contact path portion). When processing abrasive particulate materials, a wear-resistant coating can be applied. Such a coating can be provided as a separate insert (e.g., sheet, etc.) that can be easily replaced and / or replaced. One or more of the partitions can themselves be heated and / or cooled (e.g., double-walled partitions). Heating the partitions (especially the innermost partition) reduces the risk of unwanted condensation build-up and sticking on each partition. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0036] The invention is further illustrated by the accompanying drawings.

[0037] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 shows a diagram of one embodiment of a gas-solid contact device according to the invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 shows a cross section of the contact zone of the embodiment of FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a plan view of the swirl openings in the gas distribution plate. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 shows the cross section AA of FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 shows the cross section BB of FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 illustrates one embodiment of a manifold. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 shows the manifold opening in detail. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 shows an embodiment of a transfer opening in a partition. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0038] In Figure 1 an embodiment of a gas-solid contact device is diagrammatically shown and generally designated by the reference numeral 10. Figure 2 shows a cross section thereof at a height just above the gas distribution plate.

[0039] The gas-solid contact device 10 has a cylindrical housing 12 having a bottom wall 14 and a top wall 16 that define a process chamber 18. The process chamber 18 defines a lower plenum 20, a contact zone 22, and a gas header portion 24. The housing 12 includes a gas inlet 26 that is connected to a vertical central duct 28 that extends into the lower plenum 20 through a gas distribution plate 30. The gas distribution plate 28 includes a plurality of swirl openings 32 that are configured to inject a directed gas jet from the gas plenum 20 into the contact zone 22. The swirl openings 32 are sized to prevent particulate material 31 (shown as two dashed lines in FIG. 1 ) from entering the plenum 20 from the contact zone 22. A cylindrical partition 34 is disposed on top of the gas distribution plate 30 in the contact zone 22, thereby forming a contact path having an inner (innermost) annular contact path portion 36 with adjacent intermediate annular contact path portions 38' and 38'', respectively, and an outer (outermost) contact path portion 40 having a tangential outlet 42 for discharging the processed particulate material to a discharge position. The particulate material is fed by a feed injector 44 (see also FIG. 2), the outlet 46 of which at the feed position is positioned in the innermost portion 36 between the central duct 28 and the innermost partition 34, and which delivers the particulate material as a layer in a direction co-flowing with the gas flow through the swirl openings 32. The particulate material is forced by the gas flow in a spiral contact path (indicated by the thick arrows with reference to FIG. 2 ) from the outlet 46 along the innermost portion 36, through the transfer opening 50 in the innermost partition 34, along the intermediate portion 38', through the transfer opening 50' in the intermediate partition 34', along the intermediate portion 38'' through the transfer opening 50'' in the outermost partition 34'', and along the outermost portion 40 through the outlet 42.As shown, the transfer opening 50 in the innermost partition 34 is approximately adjacent to the outlet 46 of the feed injector 44 in the innermost annular contact path portion 34, such that a portion of the particulate material displaced through the transfer opening 50 creates a gap in the flow of particulate material in the innermost annular contact path portion 34, which gap is then filled by new particulate material provided by the feed injector 44. This type of transfer and subsequent refilling is repeated in the intermediate portion and in the outermost portion relative to the discharge outlet 42. The transfer opening 50' in the intermediate partition 34' is located adjacent to but downstream of the transfer opening 50 in the innermost partition 34. The staggered configuration of the feed location, transfer opening and discharge location relative to each other forces the particulate material to complete almost the entire annular contact path portion (arc > 270°) before being transferred to the adjacent portion located outside. Optionally, a deflection wall 54 is positioned in the outermost annular contact path portion 40 to direct the processed particulate material, or a portion thereof, through the outlet 42 at the exit location. In this embodiment, at the top of the processing chamber 18, the gas header portion 22 contains one or more separators 60, such as a cyclone, to separate dust and light particles from the gas flow. The gas flow leaves the housing 12 through a gas outlet 62. FIG. 1 also shows that the inner partition 34 includes a retainer 64 for preventing the flow of particulate material from the innermost annular contact path portion 36 to the adjacent intermediate annular contact path portion 38'. In the illustrated embodiment, the plenum 20 includes a gas manifold 66.

[0040] 2 shows diagrammatically that the swirl openings 32 have a slit shape. The length of the slits is close to the width of each annular contact path portion. The slits are disposed at a radial angle α, which decreases stepwise from the innermost portion 36 to the outermost portion 40.

[0041] Figure 3 shows in more detail one embodiment of the slit-like swirl opening 32. As is evident from the cross sections AA and BB shown in Figures 4 and 5, the slit-like swirl opening also has an axial angle γ, while the width of the slit gradually increases from the inner end 68 to the outer end 70.

[0042] FIG. 6 partially illustrates one embodiment of a diaphragm-type manifold 66. The manifold 66 has an upper manifold plate with multiple upper manifold sections 72 held in place in a profiled beam 74, below which a similar annular lower manifold section 76 is disposed in a sliding manner. The upper manifold section 72 and the lower manifold section 76 each include upper and lower manifold openings (typically sector-like openings). As shown in FIG. 7, by rotating the lower manifold section 76 (indicated by the arrows), the through-flow area for the gas can be adjusted so that the lower manifold openings 80 are not perfectly aligned with the upper manifold openings 78.

[0043] FIG. 8 shows an embodiment of the transfer opening 50 in the partition 34 in more detail. The transfer opening 50 is delimited by an upright upstream edge 90, an upper edge 92, a part of the upper surface of the gas distribution plate 30 adjacent to the upright upstream edge, an upwardly facing oblique downstream edge 94 of the partition 34 and an adjacent downwardly facing inclined part 96. The angled part 94 serves as a sliding surface for particles (especially long particles such as fibers) and prevents blocking of the transfer opening 50. At the bottom, a displaceable (e.g. sliding) lower edge 98 is arranged, by means of which the transfer cross section of the opening 50 can be adjusted. An actuator for positioning the lower edge 98 is not shown. The same arrangement can be applied to the discharge outlet for the processed particulate material.

Claims

1. A device (10) for processing a stream of particulate material by contact with a gas flow, the device (10) comprising: a housing (12) defining a process chamber (18) and having a gas inlet (26) for introducing a gas flow into a plenum (20) of the process chamber (18); The processing chamber (18) comprises: The plenum (20) is disposed in a lower portion of the processing chamber (18), a contact zone (22) disposed above the plenum (20) for contacting the flow of particulate material with the gas flow; The plenum (20) and the contact zone (22) are separated by a gas distribution plate (30); The contact zone (22) has a contact path for contact between the flow of particulate material and the gas flow, the contact path having an annular innermost portion (36), at least one annular intermediate portion (38', 38'') and an annular outermost portion (40), the contact zone having a number of cylindrical partitions (34) upstanding from the gas distribution plate (30), each partition (34) separating an annular inner portion (36; 38', 38'') of the contact path from an adjacent annular outer portion (38', 38''; 40), each partition (34) having a transfer opening (50, 50', 50''). ), the transfer openings (50, 50', 50'') are configured to allow passage of the particulate material from the annular inner portion (36; 38', 38'') of the contact path separated by each partition to the adjacent annular outer portion (38', 38''; 40), and the transfer openings (50, 50') of an inner partition and the transfer openings (50', 50'') in an adjacent outer partition are at least 270° apart in a direction of displacement of the particulate material in the contact path between the inner partition and the adjacent outer partition, the gas distribution plate (30) comprises openings (32) configured to allow passage of the gas flow from the plenum (20) in an upwardly oblique direction to the contact zone (22) to establish a displacement of particulate material in the contact zone (22) in a displacement direction along the contact path; The housing (12) further has an inlet (44) for supplying particulate material to the annular innermost portion (36) of the contact path at a supply location upstream of the transfer opening (50) in an adjacent partition (34) when viewed in a direction of displacement of the particulate material in the annular innermost portion (36) of the contact path; the supply location in the annular innermost portion (36) of the contact path and the transfer opening (50) in the adjacent partition (34) are at least 270° apart when viewed in a direction of displacement of the particulate material in the annular innermost portion (36) of the contact path; The housing (12) further has an outlet (42) for discharging processed particulate material from the outermost annular portion (40) of the contact path at a discharge location downstream of the transfer opening (50'') in an adjacent partition (34) when viewed in a direction of displacement of the particulate material in the outermost annular portion (40) of the contact path, the discharge location in the outermost annular portion (40) of the contact path and the transfer opening (50'') in the adjacent partition (34) being at least 270° apart when viewed in a direction of displacement of the particulate material in the outermost annular portion (40) of the contact path. The device.

2. 2. The device of claim 1, wherein the gas inlet (26) has a central duct (28) extending through the contact zone (22) into the gas plenum (20), the duct (28) defining an inner extent of the annular innermost portion (36) of the contact path.

3. 3. The device of claim 1, wherein the transfer openings (50', 50'') in the outer partition are adjacent to the transfer openings (50, 50') in the adjacent inner partition when viewed in a direction opposite to the displacement direction of the particulate material in the contact path between the adjacent inner partition and the outer partition.

4. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the gas distribution plate (30) has outwardly oriented slit-like openings (32) arranged in an annular portion.

5. 5. The device according to claim 4, wherein in each annular portion, the openings (32) are arranged at a radial angle relative to a radius of the gas distribution plate (30).

6. 6. The device of claim 5, wherein the radial angle of the opening (32) decreases stepwise from the annular innermost portion (36) to the annular outermost portion (40).

7. 7. The device according to claim 1, wherein the gas distribution plate (30) has outwardly oriented slit-like openings (32) arranged in an annular portion, the openings (32) having an axial angle with respect to the axis of the contact zone in the direction of flow of the particulate material.

8. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the gas distribution plate (30) has slit-like openings (32) arranged in an annular portion, the width of the slit-like openings (32) increasing from their inner end to their outer end.

9. The device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the plenum (20) comprises a manifold (66) arranged below the gas distribution plate (30) and having manifold openings (78; 80) of adjustable size.

10. 10. The device of claim 9, wherein the manifold (66) has a lower annular plate portion (76) having a lower manifold opening (80) and an upper annular plate portion (72) having an upper manifold opening (78), the cooperating lower and upper annular plate portions (72, 76) being concentrically displaceable relative to one another.

11. 11. The device of claim 9 or 10, wherein the manifold opening (78, 80) has a slot configuration spaced along a circular arc.

12. 12. The device of any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the annular outermost portion (40) of the contact path has a deflector (52) for directing processed particulate material towards the outlet (42).

13. A device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the transfer opening (50, 50', 50'') has an adjustable size.

14. 14. The device according to claim 13, wherein the lower edge (98) of the transfer opening (50, 50', 50'') in the partition (34) has an adjustable height above the gas distribution plate (30).

15. A device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the downstream upright edge of the transfer opening (50, 50', 50'') has a portion (94) that is oblique to the direction of flow of the particulate material adjacent the opening.

16. 16. The device of any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein an upper portion of the partition (34) comprises a retainer (64) for preventing particulate material from passing over an upper edge from the annular inner portion (36; 38', 38'') to the adjacent annular outer portion (38', 38''; 40).

17. A device (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 16, comprising a method for processing a particulate material by contacting said particulate material with a gas or a method for processing said gas in association, said processing being selected from the group comprising: thermal processing of said particulate biomass material comprising cooling, drying, roasting, pyrolysis, combustion and / or gasification of said particulate biomass material; chemical processing including catalytic processing; and cooling or drying of feed or food products; fractionating particulate material into small portions based on shape, mass, size and / or density, said method comprising: - feeding the particulate material into the annular innermost portion (36) of the contact path at a feed location upstream of the transfer opening (50) in an adjacent partition (34) as viewed in a direction of displacement of the particulate material in the annular innermost portion (36) of the contact path; introducing a gas flow through the gas inlet (26) in the plenum (20) of the processing chamber (18) and passing the gas through the openings (32) in the gas distribution plate (30) into the contact zone (22); - displacing the particulate material by the gas flow from the supply location along the contact path to the discharge location at the annular outermost portion (40); and - discharging processed particulate material from said annular outermost portion (40) at said discharge position through an outlet (42); The method.

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