Method and apparatus for purifying process waste emissions

Abstract

The vapor emissions from process exhausts, containing one or more contaminants of the solid, liquid and gaseous types, are delivered to the inlet of a firebox which, in one embodiment, has a cylindrical side wall and a tangentially arranged oxidizing air-fuel burner. The hot gas outlet of the firebox is so arranged that the hot gases of combustion are retained within the firebox a sufficient length of time to insure substantially complete combustion of combustibles within the firebox. The portions of the firebox which are contacted by the gases of combustion are of a material or combination of materials having a surface capable of being heated to a temperature exceeding the ignition temperature of the air-fuel mixture of the burner and of combustible materials from the process, and an external mass capable of insulating said surface against external cooling below said ignition temperature. A tangentially arranged outlet through the cylindrical wall of the firebox serves to remove non-combustible solids centrifuged to said side wall by the high speed circulating gases of combustion. The purified hot gases may be recycled from the hot gas outlet to the process equipment, used for other purposes, or discharged to the atmosphere as a non-pollutant. In another embodiment, the firebox is an elongated cylinder having an inlet end for the process exhausts and burner, a downwardly directed outlet at the opposite, closed end for removal of non-combustible solids separated from the gases by linear momentum differences, and an upwardly directed vapor outlet intermediate the ends of the cylinder.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.