US 4,655,146 AGranted

Reaction apparatus and method

OwnerJerome H. Lemelsoninventor

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Abstract

An apparatus and method for continuously treating material for performing such functions as burning, roasting, smelting, coking, melting, high temperature chemical reactions and the like in a combustion chamber wherein the chamber or an extension thereof, is tuned to permit combustion gases therein to resonate and to thereby effect maximum combustion efficiency. In particular, the invention concerns controllably varying the geometry of the combustion chamber, such as the length of a pipe or tubed section thereof in accordance with the variables of combustion occuring therein, so as to optimize efficiency of combustion and the reaction which takes place between the burning material and the material being treated or reacted on. In addition to effecting such reactions, the apparatus is also operable to effect the transfer of the heat of combustion to a heat transfer medium, such as water for generating steam or other form of heat transfer medium to maximize the utilization of the energy generated.

Claims18

Dependent claims

A method of burning matter in a reactor comprising:

(a) controllably admitting select amounts of a reaction material to be burned and a fuel for burning said reaction material to a combustion zone of an elongated combustion reactor having at least one walled gas column defining an exhaust region operatively coupled to said combustion zone for receiving and conducting hot gases of combustion from said reaction zone, wherein said gas column is operatively dimensioned so as to cause hot combustion gases flowed thereto from said combustion zone during the combustion of said fuel to resonate at the natural sonic frequency of said gas column,
(b) continuously burning said fuel and said reaction material in said combustion zone and generating and maintaining a gas-dynamic resonating movement of hot gas in said gas column and causing, by means of the resonating movement of said hot gas in said gas column, the inducement of flow of ambient air into said combustion zone so as to sustain said combustion at a high combustion efficiency,
(c) causing reaction material burned in said reaction zone to flow through said reactor downstream of said reaction zone and to be subjected to the hot gases of said resonating gas column in travel beyond said reaction zone, and
(d) continuously removing the products of reaction from said reactor beyond said reaction zone.

1 more element

A method of burning matter in a reactor comprising:

controllably admitting select amounts of a reaction material and a fuel for burning said reaction material to a combustion zone of a combustion reactor having at least one walled gas column coupled to said combustion zone for receiving and conducting hot gases of combustion from said reaction zone, wherein said gas column is operatively dimensioned so as to cause hot combustion gases, flowed thereto from said combustion zone during the combustion of said fuel, to resonate at the natural sonic frequency of said gas column,
continuously burning said fuel and said reaction material in said combustion zone and generating and maintaining a gas-dynamic resonating movement of hot gas in said gas column and causing, by means of said resonating movement of said hot gas in said gas column, the inducement of flow of ambient air into said combustion zone so as to sustain combustion in said reactor at a high combustion efficiency,
transferring a portion of the heat generated during the reaction from the gas in said hot gas column to a heat transfer medium disposed adjacent said hot gas column, and
continuously removing the products of reaction from said reactor as they are formed.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.