Gasifier charging system

Abstract

A refuse feeder and charging system is provided for a solid waste destruction system wherein a high temperature disposal of waste materials occurs. In such a destruction system, waste materials must be fed or charged to the upper end of a vertical gasification chamber from which the waste materials move downwardly under the force of gravity as the combustible materials are converted to molten slag and resultant gases and vapors. The refuse feeder includes a storage hopper for uniformly feeding solid waste material contained therein to a conduit means which conveys the waste material to the aforesaid gasification chamber. The storage hopper further includes an inclined vibrating pan in the bottom thereof for facilitating the uniform conveyance of waste material to the conduit means and a first set of sealing doors which may be opened and closed for purposes of batch filling the storage hopper. The refuse feeder or charging system additionally includes a second set of sealing doors disposed between the storage hopper and the conduit means which normally open only during conveyance of waste material to the conduit means. The combination of the first and second set of sealing doors insures the sealing of the charging system from the ambient atmosphere so that a minimum amount of external air is entrained in the waste material fed to the destruction system. A third set of doors is provided on the conduit means which serves as an alternative method of feeding waste material directly into the conduit means and gasification chamber should the storage hopper and first and second set of doors be out of service for any reason. The third set of doors also provides a mechanism for pressure release should an explosion of any sort take place within the gasification chamber and connected conduit means thereby protecting the system from structural damage.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.