Method and apparatus for treating waste and for obtaining usable by-product
AssigneeConsolidated Fusion Technologies, Inc.
InventorCharles L. Pierce
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention is directed to the art of treating waste using laser technology. Industrial and toxic waste materials are irradiated with a laser inside a spherical reactor chamber such that they are heated to high temperatures. Organic compounds are thermally destroyed and chemical bonds are broken. Cool oxygen is pumped into the reactor to provide a refractory protective shield. Silica is added into the vessel at the high temperatures and encapsulates any heavy metals into its crystal matrix. The resulting solidified product may have a hardness of at least 8 on the Knoops scale of hardness and may be used as tooling, road material, oven lining, building materials and the like.
Claims10
An assembly for treating waste, comprising:
- a primary spherical reactor defining an opening for receiving waste;
- a 20 kW laser for emitting a beam for breaking down waste to a molecular level in the primary spherical reactor and for producing a gas plasma and liquid melt;
- an oxygen source for supplying oxygen into the spherical reactor to act as a refractory shield within the reactor;
- a port for receiving silica into the spherical reactor vessel for providing a crystalline matrix for encapsulating hazardous materials present in the liquid melt;
- and
- a bin for cooling the liquid melt.
A waste treatment apparatus, comprising:
- a spherical reactor vessel defining an opening for receiving waste therein;
- a laser having sufficient power to heat the waste in combination with the spherical reactor sufficiently to form a gas and cause a neutronic reaction to occur within said spherical reactor vessel;
- and
- an internal lining or surface within the spherical reactor vessel comprised of a material suited to withstand the temperatures achieved during the neutronic reaction.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.