Chamber for treating wastes and removing the treated wastes following treatment

An improved cleaning chamber, comprising:

• a) a generally cylindrical chamber body, having a continuous sidewall and first and second end portions, all defining a chamber space therewithin;
• b) a central opening in the chamber wall for depositing wastes into and removing wastes from the chamber space;
• c) a first vane along an inner surface of the sidewall within the chamber space, the vane extending from a point adjacent the central chamber opening to the first end of the chamber;
• d) a second vane spiraling along the inner surface of the sidewall within the chamber space, the vane likewise extending from a point adjacent the central chamber opening to the second end of the chamber;
• e) means for rotating the chamber in a first direction so that the wastes within the chamber is moved to the first and second ends of the chamber by the first and second spiralling vanes, so that the wastes are evenly distributed within the chamber during cleaning;
• f) means for rotating the chamber in a second direction so that the wastes within the chamber are moved to the center of the chamber by the first and second spiralling vanes to be deposited through the central opening following the cleaning process;
• and
• g) means to inject steam or hot water into the chamber space under pressure during cleaning.

An improved waste-treatment chamber, comprising:

• a) a generally cylindrical horizontally-disposed chamber body, having a continuous sidewall and first and second end portions, all defining a chamber space therewithin;
• b) an central opening in the chamber wall for depositing wastes into and removing wastes from the chamber space;
• c) a first vane spiraling along an inner surface of the sidewall within the chamber space, the vane extending from a point adjacent the central chamber opening to the first end of the chamber;
• d) a second vane spiraling along the inner surface of the sidewall within the chamber space, the vane likewise extending from a point adjacent the central chamber opening to the second end of the chamber;
• e) means for rotating the chamber in a first direction so that the wastes within the chamber are moved to the first and second ends of the chamber by the first and second spiralling vanes, and are evenly distributed within the chamber during cleaning;
• f) means for injecting steam or heated water into the chamber under pressure to clean the wastes within the chamber;
• g) means for rotating the chamber in a second direction so that, following the cleaning process, the wastes within the chamber are moved to the center of the chamber by the first and second spiralling vanes, to be deposited through the central opening.

A method of distributing wastes within a treatment vessel, comprising the following steps:

• a. providing a cylindrically-shaped vessel body, having a continuous sidewall, and a central opening into an internal vessel space;
• b. providing a first vane means within the internal vessel space, said vane means extending along an inner surface of said vessel wall from a point adjacent the central opening to a first end of the vessel space;
• c. providing a second vane means within the internal vessel space, said vane means extending along an inner surface of said vessel wall from a point adjacent the central opening to a second end of the vessel space;
• d. inserting a quantity of cellulose-containing waste through the central opening into the internal vessel space;
• e. sealing the central opening;
• f. rotating the vessel in a first direction so that the quantity of waste within the internal vessel space are distributed by the first and second vanes along a substantially level layer throughout the length of the vessel space;
• g. subjecting the internal vessel space to steam or other heated fluid to treat the waste within the vessel space;
• h. removing a predetermined quantity of moisture from the waste within the vessel space through vacuuming of the like;
• i. opening the sealed lid and rotating the chamber in a second direction so that the evenly distributed wastes within the chamber are moved by the vanes to the center of the vessel to a point adjacent the central opening;
• j. rotating the central opening to a lower point so that the waste adjacent the opening exit the vessel space through the opening;
• and
• k. repeating step (j) until substantially all of the wastes have exited the vessel space through the opening.