Apparatus and method for treatment of soil contaminated with hydrocarbons

High temperature, soil decontamination apparatus for decontaminated soil, the soil decontamination apparatus comprising:

• a furnace having an outer wall and a porous, refractory inner wall spaced inwardly therefrom, an annular plenum chamber being formed between the furnace outer and inner walls;
• b. means for dividing the furnace into a plurality of separately controllable axial heating zones, said dividing means also dividing said annular plenum chamber into a corresponding plurality of separate plenum chambers;
• c. means for transporting contaminated soil in a substantially continuous manner through the plurality of furnace heating zones;
• d. means for supplying a fuel/air mixture to said individual plenum chambers and for causing the fuel/air mixture to diffuse inwardly through the refractory inner wall;
• e. control means for controlling the ratio of fuel-to-air in said fuel/air mixture and the flow of the fuel/air mixture into the individual annular plenum chambers so as to cause a plurality of different temperatures in the furnace, the refractory inner wall, the fuel/air mixture and the flow of the fuel/air mixture into the individual plenum chambers causing each of the plurality of heating zones to radiate heat energy in the near-infrared region and thereby having a wavelength substantially between about 0.75 and about 3.0 .mu.m;
• and
• f. seal means for sealing the furnace to maintain a negative pressurized, combustion environment.

A method for decontaminating soil that is contaminated with hydrocarbons, the method comprising the steps of:

• a. providing in an elongate furnace a plurality of separate heating zones;
• b. providing a refractory inner wall for the furnace;
• c. providing a mixture of a combustible gas and air to each of said heating zones and burning the gas/air mixture;
• d. transporting hydrocarbon contaminated soil through the furnace in a substantially continuous manner;
• e. controlling the mixture of gas and air, the flow rate of the gas/air mixture to the furnace heating zones and the soil transporting rate through the furnace so as to cause the heating zones to radiate heat energy in the near-infrared spectrum, the wavelength of the radiation being substantially between about 0.75 and about 3.0 .mu.m.