Slurry suspension comprising torrefied wood particles

Abstract

A slurry suspension comprises: a) carbonaceous material particles having an average diameter D 50 comprised between 0.1 μm and 200 μm; b) a non-ionic surfactant; c) an aqueous phase; and d) an organic phase.

1 . A slurry suspension comprising:
 (a) carbonaceous material particles having an average diameter D 50  from 0.1 μm to 200 μm;   (b) a non-ionic surfactant;   (c) an aqueous phase; and   (d) an organic phase.   
     
     
         2 . The suspension according to  claim 1  wherein said suspension is an oil-in-water emulsion. 
     
     
         3 . The suspension according to  claim 1  wherein said carbonaceous material particles are selected from a group consisting of a vegetal biomass, a coal, a coke, a graphite, a char, a biocoal and a mixture thereof. 
     
     
         4 . The suspension according to  claim 3  wherein the vegetal biomass is a torrefied vegetal biomass. 
     
     
         5 . The suspension according to  claim 1  wherein carbonaceous material particles provide the size distribution as follows:
 D 10  is from 1 to 50 μm, and 
 D 90  is from 50 to 500 μm. 
 
     
     
         6 . The suspension according to  claim 1  wherein the carbonaceous material particles represent from 5% to 50% by weight of the total weight of the suspension. 
     
     
         7 . The suspension according to  claim 1  wherein the non-ionic surfactant is selected from a group consisting of ether-based non-ionic surfactants, ester-based non-ionic surfactants, amine-based and amide-based non-ionic surfactants, and fluoro-surfactants. 
     
     
         8 . The suspension according to  claim 7  wherein the ether-based non-ionic surfactant is an alkoxylated phenol surfactant. 
     
     
         9 . The suspension according to  claim 8  wherein the alkoxylated phenol surfactant is selected from a group comprising consisting of an alkoxylated alkylphenol, an alkoxylated alkylarylphenol, an alkoxylated sulfated and/or phosphate alkylphenol and alkoxylated sulfated and/or phosphate alkylarylphenol. 
     
     
         10 . The suspension according to  claim 1  wherein the non-ionic surfactant represents from 0.1% to 5% by weight of the total weight of the suspension. 
     
     
         11 . The suspension according to  claim 1  wherein the non-ionic surfactant has an HLB from about 10 to about 14. 
     
     
         12 . The suspension according to  claim 1  wherein the aqueous phase represents from 10 to 30% by weight of the total weight of the suspension. 
     
     
         13 . The suspension according to  claim 1  wherein the organic phase is selected from a group consisting of a fossil-based liquid and a derivative thereof, a biomass-based liquid, a synthetic organic liquid and a derivative thereof, and a mixture thereof. 
     
     
         14 . The suspension according to  claim 13  wherein the fossil-based liquid is a petroleum-based liquid or a derivative thereof. 
     
     
         15 . The suspension according to  claim 1  wherein the organic phase represents from 50% to 75% by weight of the total weight of the suspension. 
     
     
         16 . A method for the preparation of a slurry suspension according to  claim 1 , the method comprising the steps of:
 i. mixing at least ingredients (b), (c) and (d) to form an emulsion;   ii. mixing ingredient (a) with the emulsion obtained in step i. to form a slurry suspension.   
     
     
         17 . The method according to  claim 16 , wherein the emulsion is an oil-in-water emulsion. 
     
     
         18 . A method for generating power, the method comprising combustion of the slurry suspension according to  claim 1 . 
     
     
         19 . A method for stabilizing an emulsion comprising carbonaceous material particles having an average diameter D 50  from 0.1 μm to 200 μm, the method comprising using a non-ionic surfactant. 
     
     
         20 . The method according to  claim 19 , wherein the emulsion is an oil-in-water emulsion. 
     
     
         21 . The suspension according to  claim 4 , wherein torrefied vegetal biomass is torrefied wood particles. 
     
     
         22 . The suspension according to  claim 3 , wherein said carbonaceous material particles are biocoal. 
     
     
         23 . The suspension according to  claim 3 , wherein said carbonaceous material particles are coal. 
     
     
         24 . The suspension according to  claim 23 , wherein the coal is selected from a group consisting of anthracite, semi-anthracite, charcoal, solvent refined coal, medium and high-volatile bituminous, sub-bituminous and lignite coals.