# US 5,680,824 A · Process for burning solids with a sliding firebar system > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 5,680,824 A - Document ID: US5680824A - Status: Granted - Kind: A - Application number: 08/532,675 - Filed: 1995-12-06 - Granted: 1997-10-28 - Earliest claimed: 1994-02-07 - Assignees: Techform Engineering AG - Inventors: Andreas Kemter; Thomas Nikolaus; Jakob Stiefel - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US5680824A ## CPC - F23G 5/50: Control or safety arrangements - F23H 3/02: internally cooled - F23G 2207/101: for temperature - F23G 2207/103: for oxygen - F23G 2207/50: Cooling fluid supply - F23G 2900/55009: Controlling stoker grate speed or vibrations for waste movement - F23H 2900/03021: Liquid cooled grates - F23G: CREMATION FURNACES; CONSUMING WASTE PRODUCTS BY COMBUSTION - F23H: GRATES (inlets for fluidisation air for fluidised bed combustion apparatus F23C10/20); CLEANING OR RAKING GRATES ## Abstract A process for burning solids on a sliding fire grate system where each of the combustion control criteria are measured and controlled individually for each grate plate comprising the grate system. ## Claims ### Claim 1 In a process for burning solids on a sliding fire grate system comprising a plurality of grate plates through which a cooling liquid flows separately and half of which grate plates are individually movable, the improvement comprising: cooling at least one of said plurality of grate plates, individually supplying primary air to at least one of said grate plates, wherein combustion-enhancing materials are directedly metered into each said individual supply of primary air, as necessary, applying stoking movements individually and timed to each of the grate plates, applying conveying movements individually and timed to each of the grate plates, and applying timed feed movements for feeding the grate plates, wherein at least the cooling liquid temperatures of the individual grate plates are used as control variables for the control of said sliding fire grate system. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) A process in accordance with claim 1, wherein the cooling liquid temperatures of the individual grate plates are used as control variables for controlling the stoking and conveying movements of the individually movable grate plates, which are timed and locally independent of each other, the feed movements and the primary air supply, which is timed and individually metered and supplied separately to each grate plate. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) A process in accordance with claim 2, wherein by varying the stoking, conveying and feed movements, a cooling water temperature distribution is approximated to a theoretical ideal, and, while maintaining said cooling water temperature distribution as close as possible, the primary air supply is reduced while maintaining a prescribed CO threshold value and reduction in NO.sub.x value until the CO value begins to rise, whereby an operating point below the CO threshold value is defined, which is afterwards maintained by varying all possible parameters. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) A process in accordance with claim 3, wherein, in case of a falling cooling water temperature of one grate plate, stoking movement is immediately started at said grate plate and, if the cooling water temperature does not increase thereafter, primary air supply to said grate plate is increased and, if the cooling water temperature still does not increase after said stoking movement, said conveying movement is started in order to convey material to be burned to the respective grate plate, such that when a reference value of the cooling water temperature has been reached, the conveying movement is stopped and the primary air supply is returned to an initial value. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) A process in accordance with claim 4, further comprising detecting data of returned cooling energy and using said data for controlling and regulating combustion; feeding of the grate as necessary timed separated from the stoking and conveying of the material to be burned on the grate in accordance with the setting of the control and regulation; timed and individually separately stoking and conveying the material to be burned onto the grate as necessary in accordance with the setting of the control and regulation; directing a supply of primary air as necessary to discrete locations on each grate plate, each in metered amounts and lengths of time; and adjusting the individual temperature of each grate plate of the fire grate using the medium flowing through it. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) A process in accordance with claim 5, wherein fire data are determined by a plurality of temperature sensors (T.sub.1 . . . T.sub.n), a plurality of flow-through measuring devices (Q.sub.1 . . . Q.sup.m) and a plurality of measuring devices (H.sub.1 . . . H.sub.k) for determining local garbage bed height, and by a combustion chamber thermometer (TF), and are subsequently entered in a temperature, energy and garbage bed profile computer (PR); feeding is controlled by a coordination computer (BFSK), which receives its data from the profile computer (PR) and a feed regulator (BR), which take into consideration the ratio of O.sub.2 to CO in the flue gas, by varying the stroke and the stroke speed of the feed installation; the timed and individually separated stoking and/or conveying of the material to be burned on the grate is controlled by a variation of the stroke and the stroke speed of the grate plate drives by said coordination computer (BFSK), which receives its data from the profile computer (PR), and from a stoking (SS) and conveying control (FS) which take into consideration the ratio of O.sub.2 to CO in the flue gas; the directed supply of primary air over a plurality of zones in said system, each with separate air supply nozzles, occurs in the grate plates, wherein the respectively supplied amount of air is controlled by an air distributor (LV), which takes into consideration the data of a steam regulator (DR), which makes comparison between a reference value of the amount of steam and an effectively generated value; and the separate grate plates are individually temperature-adjusted whereby a cooling water distributor (WV) controls at least one directional control valve (WWS) of the individual liquid circuits of the individual grate plates, so that freshly supplied cooling liquid is metered in or cooling liquid is heated, as necessary, wherein the regulated quantities are set by the temperature, energy and garbage bed profile computer PR. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) A process in accordance with claim 6, wherein for the stoking, conveying and feed movements, the respective stroke, stroke speeds and stroke frequencies are varied respectively independently of each other and timed and individually separated. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) A process in accordance with claim 7, wherein operation in a drying zone of the grate system is run without any supply of primary air and cooling of the grate system is exclusively provided by a medium flowing through it. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) A process in accordance with claim 8, wherein in a final combustion zone of the grate system, the operation is run substantially without primary air supply, primary air being supplied only if the cooling water temperature from the final combustion zone does not fall below the cooling water temperature in a main combustion zone of the grate system, the supply of primary air being stopped as soon as the cooling water temperature from the final combustion zone drops. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) A process in accordance with claim 9, wherein pure oxygen is admixed with the primary air. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) A process in accordance with claim 1, wherein by varying the stoking, conveying and feed movements, a cooling water temperature distribution is approximated to a theoretical ideal, and, while maintaining said cooling water temperature distribution as close as possible, the primary air supply is reduced while maintaining a prescribed CO threshold value and reduction in NO.sub.x value until the CO value begins to rise, whereby an operating point below the CO threshold value is defined, which is afterwards maintained by varying all possible parameters. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) A process in accordance with claim 1, wherein, in case of a falling cooling water temperature of one grate plate, stoking movement is immediately started at said grate plate and, if the cooling water temperature does not increase thereafter, primary air supply to said grate plate is increased and, if the cooling water temperature still does not increase after said stoking movement, said conveying movement is started in order to convey material to be burned to the respective grate plate, such that when a reference value of the cooling water temperature has been reached, the conveying movement is stopped and the primary air supply is returned to an initial value. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) A process in accordance with claim 1, further comprising detecting data of returned cooling energy and using said data for controlling and regulating combustion; feeding of the grate as necessary timed separated from the stoking and conveying of the material to be burned on the grate in accordance with the setting of the control and regulation; timed and individually separately stoking and conveying the material to be burned onto the grate as necessary in accordance with the setting of the control and regulation; directing a supply of primary air as necessary to discrete locations on each grate plate, each in metered amounts and lengths of time; and adjusting the individual temperature of each grate plate of the fire grate using the medium flowing through it. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) A process in accordance with claim 1, wherein fire data are determined by a plurality of temperature sensors (T.sub.1 . . . T.sub.n), a plurality of flow-through measuring devices (Q.sub.1 . . . Q.sub.m) and a plurality of measuring devices (H.sub.1 . . . H.sub.k) for determining local garbage bed height, and by a combustion chamber thermometer (TF), and are subsequently entered in a temperature, energy and garbage bed profile computer (PR); feeding is controlled by a coordination computer (BFSK), which receives its data from the profile computer (PR) and a feed regulator (BR), which take into consideration the ratio of O.sub.2 to CO in the flue gas, by varying the stroke and the stroke speed of the feed installation; the sequentially and individually separated stoking and/or conveying of the material to be burned on the grate is controlled by a variation of the stroke and the stroke speed of the grate plate drives by said coordination computer (BFSK), which receives its data from the profile computer (PR), and from a stoking (SS) and conveying control (FS) which take into consideration the ratio of O.sub.2 to CO in the flue gas; the directed supply of primary air over a plurality of zones in said system, each with separate air supply nozzles, occurs in the grate plates, wherein the respectively supplied amount of air is controlled by an air distributor (LV), which takes into consideration the data of a steam regulator (DR), which makes comparison between a reference value of the amount of steam and an effectively generated value; and the separate grate plates are individually temperature-adjusted whereby a cooling water distributor (WV) controls at least one directional control valve (WWS) of the individual liquid circuits of the individual grate plates, so that freshly supplied cooling liquid is metered in or cooling liquid is heated, as necessary, wherein the regulated quantities are set by the temperature, energy and garbage bed profile computer PR. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) A process in accordance with claim 1, wherein for the stoking, conveying and feed movements, the respective stroke, stroke speeds and stroke frequencies are varied respectively independently of each other and timed and individually separated. ### Claim 16 (depends on 1) A process in accordance with claim 1, wherein operation in a drying zone of the grate system is run without any supply of primary air and cooling of the grate system is exclusively provided by a medium flowing through it. ### Claim 17 (depends on 1) A process in accordance with claim 1, wherein in a final combustion zone of the grate system, the operation is run substantially without primary air supply, primary air being supplied only if the cooling water temperature from the final combustion zone does not fall below the cooling water temperature in a main combustion zone of the grate system, the supply of primary air being stopped as soon as the cooling water temperature from the final combustion zone drops. ### Claim 18 (depends on 1) A process in accordance with claim 1, wherein pure oxygen is admixed with the primary air. ### Claim 19 (depends on 1) A process in accordance with claim 1, wherein the primary air is pure oxygen.