Apparatus and method for controlled processing of materials

An apparatus for controlled processing of materials, comprising:

• (a) a casing having outer and inner spaced walls forming an airtight vessel inside of said inner walls thereof and a channel between said outer and inner walls surrounding said vessel and containing a flow of coolant fluid through said channel;
• (b) means for forming a first chamber in said airtight vessel of said casing being capable of receiving feed materials to be processed;
• (c) means in communication with said first chamber for producing heating in said first chamber to cause pyrolyzing of the feed materials into fluid materials;
• (d) means for forming a second chamber in said airtight vessel of said casing communicating with said first chamber;
• (e) a discharge location formed through said walls of said casing communicating said second chamber to the exterior of said casing, said second chamber being capable of receiving the fluid materials from said first chamber and communicating the fluid materials to said discharge location;
• (f) means in communication with said second chamber for producing heating in said second chamber to cause oxidizing of the fluid materials into discharge gases;
• (g) means for producing separate variable flows of primary and secondary air through said walls of said casing and respectively into and through said first and second chambers and from said second chamber to said discharge location, said variable air flow producing means including
• (i) first air flow regulating means connected in communication with said first chamber for regulating the flow of air into said first chamber,
• (ii) second air flow regulating means connected in communication with said second chamber for regulating the flow of air into said second chamber, and
• (iii) air flow generating means coupled in flow communication between said second chamber and the exterior of said casing and being operable to draw said primary flow of air through said first air flow regulating means into and through said first chamber and therefrom through said second chamber to said air flow generating means and said discharge location and to draw said secondary flow of air through said second air flow regulating means into and through said second chamber to said air flow generating means and said discharge location;
• (h) means for sensing the temperatures in said first and second chambers;
• (i) means for sensing the temperature of said coolant flow through said channel between said outer and inner walls of said casing;
• (j) means for sensing the concentration of a predetermined gas in the discharge gases;
• (k) air flow proportioning means coupled to said respective first air flow regulating means and second air flow regulating means and being operable to control said respective first air flow regulating means and second airflow regulating means so as to proportion the respective amounts of primary and secondary flows of air drawn through said respective first air flow regulating means and second air flow regulating means into said respective first and second chambers to said air flow generating means and said discharge location;
• and
• (l) means responsive to the temperatures sensed in said first and second chambers and in said coolant flow through said channel between said outer and inner walls of said casing and to the concentration of the predetermined gas sensed in the discharge gases for controlling speed of operation of said air flow generating means to control the amount of flow of air drawn through said respective first air flow regulating means and second air flow regulating means into said respective first and second chambers and for controlling said airflow proportioning means to proportion the respective amounts of primary and secondary air flows drawn through said respective first air flow regulating means and second air flow regulating means into said respective first and second chambers and thereby to control the heating in the first and second chambers in order to maintain effective pyrolyzing and oxidizing of the feed materials therein.