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US 2005/0229824 A1Published application
Two-stage wet waste gasifier and burner
OwnerMalcolm Lefcortinventor
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OwnerMalcolm Lefcortinventor
Estimating the term…
In a two-stage wet waste burner, a first-stage combustion chamber has a symmetrical grate arrangement. The grate comprises spaced individual upright air supply tubes with flat horizontal upper surfaces swept by ash-removal plates. The height and width of the air supply tubes are selected to provide an upper surface profile approximating the natural angle of repose of the waste. Twin waste feed distribution augers span the chamber and rotate in mating troughs. The axis of rotation of each auger is sloped so that the discharge end of the auger is higher than the feed inlet end, and the trough sidewalls are inclined downwardly from the inlet end to the discharge end; these attributes promote even discharge of waste across the span of the chamber. Vertical walls of the air supply tubes are provided with air ports for supplying combustion air; the vertical orientation of the apertures and a degree of shielding of the upper surfaces of the air supply tubes inhibit clogging of the air ports. Drivers for the ash-removal plates comprise pendular arms each pivoting about an upper pivot point lying substantially in the vertical plane of symmetry, each arm being pivotally connected directly or indirectly to the ash removers. A burner of the foregoing type may be combined with a dryer for drying a portion of the waste and with a mixer that mixes dried waste with raw wet waste and feeds the mixed waste to the burner. The mixed waste can be efficiently burned yet can be efficiently conveyed. Such combination is particularly suitable for combustion of sewage sludge.
In a two-stage waste burner, a first-stage combustion chamber having disposed therein a grate arrangement having a waste support means geometry approximating the natural angle of repose of the waste.
In a two-stage waste burner, a first-stage combustion chamber having disposed therein a feed arrangement generally spanning the chamber and whose feed mechanism, slope and feed constraint walls are selected to distribute waste in the feed arrangement approximately uniformly across the span of the chamber.
In a two-stage waste burner, a first-stage combustion chamber having disposed therein a grate array comprising spaced waste support elements each having a generally horizontal upper surface;
A method of burning wet waste having a relatively high moisture content, comprising pre-drying a selected portion of the waste to a relatively dry solid consistency such that water binding of the waste is substantially reduced, processing the dry solid waste into lumps or particulate matter, mixing the processed dry solid waste with wet waste in proportions selected to support two-stage combustion of the mixed product and to support ease of conveyance of the mixed product, and burning the combustible portion of the mixed product in a two-stage combustion process.
Apparatus for burning continually flowing wet waste having a relatively high moisture content, comprising
Apparatus for burning wet waste having a relatively high moisture content, comprising
In or for use in a first-stage gasification chamber of a two-stage waste burner, a grate comprising an array of vertically and horizontally spaced and longitudinally aligned waste support means, vertically and horizontally spaced and longitudinally aligned ash support and removal means, and vertically and horizontally spaced and longitudinally aligned air supply means, the air supply means being separate from the ash support and removal means, the air supply means having ports for introducing air into the gasification chamber, the ports being spaced from the ash support and removal means and, in operation, the ports introducing the air into the gasification chamber in streams at a substantial angle to vertically upwards, thereby limiting interference between the air supply means and the ash support and removal means.
In or for use in a first-stage gasification chamber of a two-stage waste burner, a grate comprising ash support and removal means in turn comprising an array of vertically and horizontally spaced and longitudinally aligned horizontally movable ash removal plates substantially symmetrically arrayed about a vertical plane parallel to the longitudinal alignment of the ash removal plates, the ash support and removal means comprising reciprocating means for imparting to the ash removal plates synchronized reciprocating horizontal motion transverse to the longitudinal extension of the ash removal plates, thereby to direct ash downwardly from higher to lower ash removal plates, and wherein the distance of travel of each said ash removal plate imparted by the reciprocating means varies with the width of such ash removal plate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.