Starved air inclined hearth combustor

An inclined hearth combustor comprising:

• a primary combustion chamber having a plurality of stepped hearths, wherein at least one of said hearths of said primary combustion chamber comprises at least two spaced rows of air feed-tubes longitudinally embedded therein, said air feed-tubes terminating at a front face of said hearth for delivering a combustion gas into said combustion chamber;
• a secondary combustion chamber in communication with said primary combustion chamber, said secondary combustion chamber including a refractory-lined cyclone separator for removing fly ash from combustion gases exiting said primary combustion chamber;
• a boiler having an inlet in communication with said secondary combustion chamber, said boiler inlet being surrounded by said cyclone separator;
• and
• an air distribution plenum extending transversely across and intersecting with at least one row of said air feed-tubes embedded in said hearth for simultaneously delivering the combustion gas to at least one row of said air feed-tubes, wherein said air distribution plenum further comprises an elongate member having a central bore and a plurality of transverse holes communicating with said central bore for providing fluid communication between said central bore and said air feed-tubes, and wherein said air distribution plenum further comprises a filter connected with said central bore for filtering the combustion gas fed into said central bore.

An inclined combustor comprising:

• a primary combustion chamber having a plurality of stepped hearths;
• a secondary combustion chamber in communication with said primary combustion chamber, said secondary combustion chamber including a refractory-lined cyclone separator for removing fly ash from combustion gases exiting said primary combustion chamber;
• and
• a boiler having an inlet in communication with said secondary combustion chamber, said boiler inlet being surrounded by said cyclone separator,
• wherein said primary combustion chamber comprises:
• a top-most hearth;
• a loader ram hopper disposed rearward of said top-most hearth, said hopper having a floor surface;
• and
• a reciprocating loader ram movably disposed on said floor surface of said hopper for pushing combustible material forward on to said top-most hearth, said loader ram having a bottom surface and at least one longitudinally extending replaceable wear strip disposed thereon, said wear strip making sliding contact with said floor surface of said hopper,
• wherein said floor surface of said hopper includes at least one longitudinally extending guide strip disposed thereon and said bottom surface of said loader ram includes two wear strips spaced apart to receive said guide strip therebetween for guiding longitudinal travel of said loader ram.

An inclined hearth combustor comprising:

• a primary combustion chamber having a plurality of stepped hearths;
• a secondary combustion chamber in communication with said primary combustion chamber, said secondary combustion chamber including a refractory-lined cyclone separator for removing fly ash from combustion gases exiting said primary combustion chamber;
• and
• a boiler having an inlet in communication with said secondary combustion chamber, said boiler inlet being surrounded by said cyclone separator,
• wherein at least one of said hearths comprises:
• a row of laterally spaced air feed-tubes longitudinally embedded in said hearth below a top surface thereof, said air feed-tube terminating at a front face of said hearth for delivering a combustion gas into said combustion chamber;
• and
• an air distribution plenum extending transversely across and intersecting with said row of air feed-tubes for simultaneously delivering the combustion gas to said air feed-tubes, wherein said air distribution plenum further comprises an elongate member having a central bore and a plurality of transverse holes communicating with said central bore for providing fluid communication between said central bore and said air feed-tubes, and wherein said air distribution plenum further comprises a pinch control valve connected with said central bore for controlling the mixture of the combustion gas fed into said central bore.

An inclined hearth combustor comprising:

• a primary combustion chamber having a plurality of stepped hearths;
• a secondary combustion chamber in communication with said primary combustion chamber, said secondary combustion chamber including a refractory-lined cyclone separator for removing fly ash from combustion gases exiting said primary combustion chamber;
• and
• a boiler having an inlet in communication with said secondary combustion chamber, said boiler inlet being surrounded by said cyclone separator,
• wherein at least one of said hearths comprises:
• a row of laterally spaced air feed-tubes longitudinally embedded in said hearth below a top surface thereof, said air feed-tube terminating at a front face of said hearth for delivering a combustion gas into said combustion chamber;
• and
• an air distribution plenum extending transversely across and intersecting with said row of air feed-tubes for simultaneously delivering the combustion gas to said air feed-tubes, wherein said air distribution plenum further comprises an elongate member having a central bore and a plurality of transverse holes communicating with said central bore for providing fluid communication between said central bore and said air feed-tubes, and wherein said air distribution plenum further comprises a filter connected with said central bore for filtering the combustion gas fed into said central bore.