The invention relates to a device for treating organic material at increased process temperature, for instance biomass and/or waste which may or may not comprise plastic, which device comprises: a reactor with a feed for material for treating, a first discharge for treated material and a second discharge for combustible gas resulting from the treatment; a combustion chamber in which the combustible gas is combusted with oxygen, for instance with air, to which combustion chamber connects a discharge for the resulting flue gas.

According to the invention the device comprises: temperature adjusting means for adjusting the temperature of this flue gas for the purpose of obtaining heating gas; and heating means for heating the wall of the reactor, and thereby also the material present therein, with the heating gas; such that the process in the reactor, after an initial heating with external energy, takes place autothermally.

The device is intended for the purpose of treating, at increased temperature {> 100 ⁰ C) , feed (organic material} including biomass, but also waste products comprising plastics and the like, and producing a more readily processable material. This treatment has the object of drying or otherwise processing the material in order to make the material suitable for simpler and cheaper grinding by means of existing carbon mills.

The invention will now be elucidated on the basis of the accompanying drawings, in which: figure 1 shows a block diagram representation of a device for treating organic material; figure 2 shows a block diagram representation of such a device comprising a dryer; figure 3 shows a block diagram representation of such a device comprising a dryer and a configuration for external heat exchange; and figure 4 shows a block diagram representation of such a device comprising a dryer, a configuration for external heat exchange and a bypass for hot gas.

The device comprises an assembly of a minimum of two vessels {reactor 1 and combustion chamber 2) , shown schematically in figure 1, wherein the chambers are connected to each other such that combustible gases extracted from the reactor chamber (heating gas 8} , are guided by means of pipes to the combustion chamber, there brought to combustion together with separately introduced oxygen (combustion air, preferably ambient air 5) , after which the gases leaving the combustion chamber (flue gas 7} are guided in heat-exchanging contact with the reactor wall round reactor 1 via a system of pipes such that the reactor is heated, and the reactions resulting in the production of combustible gas are maintained without supply of external energy.

The process in the reactor can take place autothermally, i.e. after an initial heating step the process can itself produce the heat for maintaining the process and, if desired, also for an (pre-) drying of the feed. The processes in the reactor take place so that oxygen is fed to the system such that combustion of the organic matter in the reactor is prevented as far as possible.

In order to prevent the flue gas containing (traces of) organic contaminants, the temperature in the combustion chamber is higher than 800 ⁰ C, preferably higher than 850 ⁰ C. The temperature in the reactor can, together with the residence time of organic matter in the reactor, be adjusted independently of other process parameters. In a specific embodiment this is possible by adjusting the quantity of air 5 to the combustion chamber.

The temperature of the reactor can be set in a range of 100 ⁰ C to in the order of 85O ⁰ C by cooling the gas from the combustion chamber by admixing additional ambient air or water in the form of a flow 6 of cooling air, water or atomized water. The residence time in the reactor can be set in a range of about 1 to 15 minutes.

A particular feature of the device is moreover that, in order to allow the different gas flows to flow from reactor to combustion chamber, and subsequently to the outside of the reactor, a suction device is coupled to the flue gas discharge 18, and the absolute pressure in the reactor-combustion chamber is lower than that of the outside pressure. The underpressure is preferably about -5 mbar to -0.5 mbar. The gas released from suction device 9 can be discharged to the atmosphere.

In a special embodiment the device comprises a dryer 14, wherein the hot heating gases from the combustion chamber first heat the reactor and are subsequently employed as flow 16 for the purpose of drying the incoming organic matter 3 with the production of a dry feed 1 (shown schematically in figure 2) . The heat available in the gases can also be guided indirectly to the dryer, via hot gas or steam 12 (for instance via an air/air-heat exchange system or an air/hot water system) , wherein a separate chamber 13 is present for the transfer of heat (shown schematically in figure 3) . A flow 16 of heat carrier 11 (water or air) is herein heated by the (still hot) air used to heat the reactor, this heat carrier subsequently being guided to the dryer as hot steam 12. The cooled heat carrier is then preferably fed back again to the heat transfer chamber .

Under controlled conditions the amount of heat in flow 16 is so high that it can be used for other applications. One embodiment can be that it is used to dry more wet organic matter than is necessary for the relevant installation. In that case only a part of the dried organic matter can be guided to the reactor, while the other part 10 is stored separately or used (shown in figures 2 and 3 with flow 10) . Finally, the installation can be operated such that only a part of the gas brought to the desired temperature (flow 20) is guided to the reactor, and the remaining part is guided round the reactor (flow 15) and used for further drying in dryer 14, directly or indirectly, or otherwise employed outside the process {flow 19 as indicated in figure 4) in the case the option of indirect drying is chosen.