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US 4,072,130 AGranted
Apparatus and method for generating steam
AssigneeThe Ducon Company, Inc.
InventorFrederick A. Zenz
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Steam is generated in a controlled manner as a function of the steam demand by way of a combustor adapted to burn a fuel such as high sulfur coal in a fluidized bed. The steam demand and the steam available to supply the demand are modulated to change the rate of production of steam as a function of controlling the fluidization of fuel beds and/or the height of fuel in the beds. Any fuel beds which are slumped are maintained at a temperature slightly above the flash point temperature of the fuel.
Claims11
A method of generating steam comprising:
- a. providing a combustor housing with a plurality of discrete chambers side by side and separated by upright walls,
- b. flowing water upwardly through a separate vertically disposed tube bundle in each chamber, collecting the steam output from the upper end portion of said tube bundles for distribution,
- c. fluidizing a fuel bed in each of said chambers to a height so that at least the lower end of the tube bundle in each chamber is disposed in its respective bed,
- d. introducing fluidizing air to the bed of each chamber through a discrete independently operable downshot grid, the number of grids corresponding to the number of chambers and with each grid being adjacent the lower end of its respective chamber,
- e. using a good heat conductive material for said walls, maintaining the temperature of any slumped bed in excess of the flashpoint of the fuel,
- f. using at least one draw-off hopper below the elevation of the grids with the hopper being tapered to the angle of friction of the ash solids so that ash solids therein descend as a mass,
- g. igniting the fluidized beds,
- h. modulating at least one of the following as the amount of said collected steam and/or the demand for steam changes to thereby change the rate of production of steam in said tube bundles:
- i. controlling fluidization of said beds whereby one or more non-adjacent beds are slumped,
- ii. changing the height of fuel in one or more of said fluidized beds.
7 more elements
Apparatus for generating steam comprising:
- a. a combustor housing having a plurality of discrete chambers side by side and separated by upright walls of good heat conductive material,
- b. a discrete vertically disposed tube bundle in each chamber, conduit means for supplying water to each tube bundle, conduit means for collecting steam from the upper end of each tube bundle,
- c. a discrete independently operable downshot air fluidizing grid in each chamber for fluidizing a fuel bed thereabove, means for feeding fuel to each chamber,
- d. at least one draw-off hopper below the elevation of said grids with the hopper being tapered to the angle of friction of ash solids so that the solids descend as a mass,
- e. means for separately igniting the fluidized bed in each chamber, and
- f. means for modulating the amount of steam collected and the steam demand changes to thereby change the rate of production of steam in said steam bundles in a manner so that one or more nonadjacent beds may be slumped and/or the height of fuel in one or more of said beds may be changed.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.