Apparatus and method for disposal of hazardous waste material

A method for the disposal of waste material by combustion wherein the waste material is subjected to combustion in a rotary combustion unit, with ash and hot combustion gases, containing residual solid waste constituents and uncombusted residual vaporous waste constituents, produced comprising;

• discharging said hot combustion gases directly from the combustion unit into a refractory lined filter housing having a plurality of tubular ceramic filter elements disposed therein extending into said refractory lined filter housing having a catalytic material incorporated therein effective to decompose vaporous waste consituents present in said combustion gases;
• maintaining said hot combustion gases in said refractory lined filter housing, while directing said hot combustion gases along a tortuous path by baffles on the interior surfaces of said refractory lined filter housing between said discharge from the combustion unit and passage through said ceramic filters, for a period of time sufficient to affect combustion of the major portion of said uncombusted residual vaporous waste constituents;
• passing said hot combustion gases, after combustion of the major portion of said vaporous waste constituents through said ceramic filters to remove the remainder of said residual vaporous waste constituents and said residual solid waste constituents therefrom and produce a substantially uniformly high temperature waste-free gas;
• periodically cleaning said ceramic filters using jet pulse cleaning to dislodge solids collected thereon into said filter housing;
• and
• recovering heat from said hot waste-free gas.

A method for the decontamination of soil contaminated with a toxic chemical waste by combustion comprising:

• charging said contaminated soil as a portion of a charge of combustible waste material to a rotary combustion unit;
• subjecting said charge to combustion within the combustion unit to decontaminate said soil by combustion of toxic chemical wastes therein;
• discharging ash, decontaminated soil, and hot combustion gases, containing residual solid waste constituents and uncombusted residual vaporous waste constituents directly from the combustion unit into a refractory lined filter housing having a plurality of tubular ceramic filter elements therein extending into said refractory lined filter housing having a catalytic material incorporated therein effective to decompose vaporous waste constituents present in said combustion gases;
• maintaining said hot combustion gases in said refractory lined filter housing, while directing said hot combustion gases along a tortuous path by baffles on the interior surfaces of said refractory lined filter housing between said discharge from the combustion unit and passage through said ceramic filters, for a period of time sufficient to affect combustion of the major portion of said uncombusted residual vaporous waste constituents;
• passing said hot combustion gases, after combustion of the major portion of said vaporous waste constituents through said ceramic filters to remove the remainder of said residual vaporous waste constituents and said residual solid waste constituents therefrom and produce a substantially uniformly high temperature waste-free gas;
• periodically cleaning said ceramic filters using jet pulse cleaning to dislodge solids collected thereon into said filter housing;
• and recovering heat from said hot waste-free gas.