Solids reduction processor

A solids reduction processor comprising:

• a housing having an inlet opening for receiving solid material to be reduced in size and an outlet opening through which size-reduced sold material may outwardly pass;
• a rotor assembly supported within said housing and being operatively rotatable to impact and reduce the size of solid material received in said housing, said rotor assembly including a shaft, a longitudinally spaced series of disc structures rotationally locked to said shaft and being axially movable along its length for selective removal therefrom, hammer members removably secured to the disc structures in circumferentially spaced arrays thereon and projecting outwardly past their peripheries, a series of spacer members coaxially mounted on said shaft in an interdigitated relationship with said disc structures and being axially removable from said shaft, and a retaining structure removably associated with said shaft in a manner preventing axial movement of said disc structures and said spacer members relative to said shaft;
• and
• a drive system for operatively rotating said rotor assembly.

A solids reduction processor comprising:

• a housing having an upper inlet opening for receiving solid material to be reduced in size, a lower outlet opening, vertically separated from said upper inlet opening, through which size-reduced solid material may outwardly pass, a top wall portion and a side wall portion extending downwardly from said top wall portion;
• a rotor assembly supported within said housing between said inlet and outlet openings and being operatively rotatable about a generally horizontal axis to impact and reduce the size of solid material received in said housing, said rotor assembly including a circumferentially spaced series of hammer members having outer end portions which, during operative rotation of said rotor assembly, rotate through a circular path;
• a drive system for operatively rotating said rotor assembly;
• and
• a breaker member supported within said housing on one of said top and side wall portions and positioned to be struck on an impact surface thereof by solid objects thrown from the rotating hammer members in an ejection direction generally parallel to a line tangential to said circular path and transverse to said impact surface.

A solids reduction method comprising the steps of:

• providing a solids reduction processor comprising a housing having an inlet opening for receiving solid material to be reduced in size and an outlet opening through which size-reduced solid material may outwardly pass, a rotor assembly supported within said housing in a parallel relationship and being operative to impact and reduce the size of solid material received in said housing, said rotor assembly including a shaft, a longitudinally spaced series of disc structures coaxially mounted on the shaft, and a circumferentially spaced series of hammer members mounted on each disc structure for rotation relative thereto about an axis parallel to the length of the shaft, each hammer member having an outer end portion projecting outwardly beyond the periphery of the disc structure and being transversely enlarged in a direction parallel to the length of the shaft so that circumferentially spaced peripheral portions of the disc structure act as abutments for the outer hammer end portion to limit the available rotational arc of the hammer member;
• and a drive system for rotating said rotor assembly;
• introducing a solid material into said inlet opening;
• and
• operating said solids reduction processor to reduce in size the received solid material and discharge the size-reduced solid material through said outlet opening.

A solids reduction method comprising the steps of:

• providing a solids reduction processor having a housing having an inlet opening for receiving solid material to be reduced in size and an outlet opening through which size-reduced sold material may outwardly pass, a rotor assembly supported within said housing and being operatively rotatable to impact and reduce the size of solid material received in said housing, said rotor assembly including a shaft, a longitudinally spaced series of disc structures rotationally locked to said shaft and being axially movable along its length for selective removal therefrom, hammer members removably secured to the disc structures in circumferentially spaced arrays thereon and projecting outwardly past their peripheries, a series of spacer members coaxially mounted on said shaft in an interdigitated relationship with said disc structures and being axially removable from said shaft, and a retaining structure removably associated with said shaft in a manner preventing axial movement of said disc structures and said spacer members relative to said shaft, and a drive system for operatively rotating said rotor assembly;
• introducing a solid material into said inlet opening;
• and
• operating said solids reduction processor to reduce in size the received solid material and discharge the size-reduced solid material through said outlet opening.

A solids reduction method comprising the steps of:

• providing a solids reduction processor having a housing having an upper inlet opening for receiving solid material to be reduced in size, a lower outlet opening, vertically separated from said upper inlet opening, through which size-reduced solid material may outwardly pass, a top wall portion and a side wall portion extending downwardly from said top wall portion, a rotor assembly supported within said housing between said inlet and outlet openings and being operatively rotatable about a generally horizontal axis to impact and reduce the size of solid material received in said housing, said rotor assembly including a circumferentially spaced series of hammer members having outer end portions which, during operative rotation of said rotor assembly, rotate through a circular path, a drive system for operatively rotating said rotor assembly, and a breaker member supported within said housing on one of said top and side wall portions and positioned to be struck on an impact surface thereof by solid objects thrown from the rotating hammer members in an ejection direction generally parallel to a line tangential to said circular path and transverse to said impact surface;
• introducing a solid material into said inlet opening;
• and
• operating said solids reduction processor to reduce in size the received solid material and discharge the size-reduced solid material through said outlet opening.