EP1261827B8

EP1261827B8 - Reactor and method for gasifying and/or melting materials

Info

Publication number: EP1261827B8
Application number: EP01911636A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Eckhardt Tischer; Frank Wuchert
Original assignee: KBI INTERNAT Ltd; KBI INTERNATIONAL Ltd
Current assignee: KBI INTERNATIONAL Ltd
Priority date: 2000-02-17
Filing date: 2001-02-13
Publication date: 2006-01-25
Anticipated expiration: 2021-02-13
Also published as: KR100770889B1; DE10007115C2; HUP0300690A2; EP1261827B1; CA2400234C; WO2001061246A1; EA004195B1; CN1404566A; AU4061501A; JP4426150B2; CZ20022908A3; US20030010267A1; DK1261827T3; BR0108578A; KR20020093806A; ATE310208T1; BR0108578B1; ZA200206571B; CZ305021B6; JP2003527554A

Abstract

A reactor used for gasifying and/or melting feed materials comprises a feed section, a pyrolysis section, gas feed devices, and a melting and super heating section. A reactor comprises a feed section (1) having an opening (2) for the feed materials; a pyrolysis section (8) connected to the preceding section to expand the cross-section so that a debris cone (9) of the feed materials is formed; gas feed devices (10) which open out into the plane of the expanded cross-section in the pyrolysis section and feed hot gases to the debris cone; a melting and super heating section (14) connected to the pyrolysis section; upper feeding devices (15) for introducing an energy-rich medium into the melting and super heating section; a reaction section (20) connected to the melting and super heating section and containing gas suction devices (21) for removing excess gases; a hearth (25) with a tap (27) for collecting and deviating metal melts and slag melts; and lower feeding devices for introducing an energy-rich medium to prevent solidification of the melts. An independent claim is also included for a process for carrying out gasifying and/or melting of feed materials. Preferred Features: A pre-tempering section (5) is arranged between the feed section and the pyrolysis section and has double walls to create a hollow chamber (6) into which a heat transfer medium is fed.

Description

Reactor and process for gasifying and / or melting substances

The present invention relates to a reactor and a method for gasifying and / or melting substances. In particular, the invention relates to the material and / or energy recovery of any waste, e.g. with predominantly organic components but also special waste. However, the reactor according to the invention and the method are also suitable for gasifying and melting feedstocks of any composition or for energy generation through the use of organic substances.

Solutions for the thermal disposal of various types of waste and other substances have been sought for some time. In addition to combustion processes, various gasification processes are known which primarily aim to achieve results with a lower pollutant load in the environment and to reduce the effort involved in treating the starting materials and also the gases produced in the process. However, the known methods are characterized by complex and difficult to control technology, and the associated high disposal costs for the feedstock or waste to be treated.

DE 43 17 145 Cl describes a method based on the principle of degassing for disposal of waste materials of different compositions. In accordance with the stated process, any dust-containing gases that are formed are to be completely removed as recycle gas and subsequently burned with oxygen in the melting and superheating zone. This recycle gas flow and the still described However, as experiments have shown, even suctioning off the excess gas between the cycle gas suction opening and the melting and superheating zone does not achieve the desired goal of obtaining an excess gas which is contaminated with only a few pollutants. If the cycle gas cupola furnace also specified in this publication is used to carry out the process, the pollutant load in the excess gas is so great, among other things, that the gas management required for cleaning the excess gas becomes so complex that it is no longer possible to dispose of appropriate waste materials economically is.

DE 196 40 497 C2 describes a coke-heated cycle gas cupola furnace for recycling waste materials. This cycle gas cupola is characterized in that an additional gas vent is arranged below the charging funnel. The pyrolysis gases drawn off at this point are fed back in via a recycle gas duct in the lower furnace section in order to cause the gases to be burnt there. Since the discharge zone for the excess gases is arranged above the hot zone, not only excess gases but also a large proportion of pyrolysis gases are sucked off, so that, among other things, difficult to remove hydrocarbons are included. This makes the subsequent gas industry extremely complex and increases the environmental impact.

DE 198 16 864 AI, on the other hand, shows a coke-heated cycle gas cupola furnace in which the excess gas extraction is arranged below the melting and superheating zone. Although the quality of the excess gases can be increased in this way, since the extracted gases are largely reduced as they flow through the overheating zone, the spatial ones result Proximity of the overheating zone to very hot excess gases, which subsequently have to be cooled in a complex manner. It is also problematic that the chosen arrangement leads to sintering of slag and dusts in subsequent components of the gas path connected downstream. On the other hand, the temperatures in the range below the gas extraction are no longer high enough to keep the metal melts and slag melts there under various conditions of use. The necessary racking is disturbed or made completely impossible.

The solutions known from the abovementioned prior art are always based on the basic principle of recycle gas guidance for a partial flow of the gases formed, the gases being drawn off in the upper region of the furnace and fed back in in the lower region. Experts have previously assumed that this gas flow is also necessary to heat the column using the countercurrent principle. However, the recycle gas principle has the following disadvantages: The gases rising in the shaft furnace cool down in the pouring column, so that condensation of pyrolysis products in the gas extraction areas, in the recycle gas lines and in the gas jet compressors required to recycle the recycle gases leads to the function of the Recycle gas oven is disrupted. In the case of the cycle gas extraction according to the prior art, dusts and smaller waste particles are inevitably also extracted, which lead to deposits which are difficult to remove within the entire cycle gas duct with the condensed pyrolysis products. Furthermore, the bulk column can only be heated relatively slowly by the rising recycle gas, so that it becomes sticky and adherent, particularly in the gasification of waste with higher proportions of plastics There are pieces of waste on the wall of the shaft, which can ultimately lead to complete blockages of the furnace.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved reactor and a process for gasifying and melting feedstocks which avoid the disadvantages of the prior art. A special task is to enable simple, inexpensive and environmentally friendly material and / or energy recovery of waste. In particular, the aim is to increase the functional reliability of a corresponding reactor by largely avoiding the operational uncertainties associated with the recycle gas flow. Another object of the invention is to significantly reduce the pollution in the excess gas to be extracted, so that the effort in a subsequent gas cleaning can be minimized.

These and other objects are achieved by the reactor specified in claim 1. According to the invention, the approach of the cycle gas process which has been pursued in the prior art for a long time is abandoned and instead a shaft furnace is used as the reactor, which works according to the direct current principle. By completely dispensing with the conventional recycle gas flow, all the problems associated with the condensation of pyrolysis products and the formation of undesirable deposits are completely avoided. Furthermore, a partial conglomeration of the feedstocks already takes place in the upper part of the reactor, due to the shock-like heating of the pouring column, so that buildup on the inner wall of the reactor is largely excluded. The double injection of oxygen or fuel gas (gas mixtures) enables combustion on the one hand of the pyrolysis gases and, on the other hand, allows a sufficiently high temperature to be maintained in the lower reactor section so that the melts which collect there are kept liquid. A reduction section is formed between the two injection means, through which all gases have to flow before suction and in which they are consequently largely reduced.

In one embodiment, which is particularly suitable for the gasification of waste, a preheating section is added to the feed section, in which the waste is pre-dried, for example, at temperatures around 100.degree. In modified embodiments, the feedstocks can also be cooled in this section under certain circumstances if this is useful for the overall process.

An advantageous embodiment of the reactor is characterized in that the total length of the feed section and pre-tempering section is several times greater than the diameter of the feed section. As a result of this design, the pouring column in the feed and pre-tempering section acts as a plug which closes at the top and prevents large amounts of ambient air from being drawn into the reactor.

In a modified embodiment, the reactor can be closed at its upper end by a lock, a double flap system or a similar device. This prevents the uncontrolled entry of ambient air and the escape of gases from the bed even better.

The reactor is expediently essentially cylindrical and the gas supply space and the gas extraction space are - D ~

designed in a ring shape so that the gas supply and the gas extraction take place on the entire circumference of the pouring column. This embodiment is particularly suitable for recycling predominantly organic feedstocks. Other embodiments, e.g. are more expedient for other feedstocks, can have non-cylindrical basic shapes and differently positioned and shaped means for gas extraction and supply.

It is particularly advantageous if the pyrolysis section of the reactor is also double-walled and a heat transfer medium is guided in the wall cavity. On the one hand, the wall can be cooled thereby, which reduces the material stress, on the other hand, depending on the feedstock used and the resulting heat requirement, additional heat can be supplied to or derived from the bulkhead as required.

The above Objects of the invention are also achieved by the process for gasifying and / or melting feedstocks, which is u.a. advantageous for material and / or energy recovery of waste and other input materials.

The process steps essential to the invention can advantageously be further developed by pre-drying the feed material by heating the pouring column above the level in which the shock-like heating takes place to about 100 ° C. In the process, water components of the feedstock are largely evaporated, which also improves the desired automatic downward movement of the feedstock. In a modified process variant, there is no predrying of the feedstocks or even one Cooling of the starting materials, the latter being useful in order to avoid sticking to the wall of the feed section in the case of hot starting materials.

It is also particularly advantageous if the negative pressure for extracting the excess gases can be regulated, the extraction being carried out in such a way that on the one hand no gas escapes from the top of the reactor and on the other hand only minimal amounts of additional ambient air are sucked in through the bulk column. The aim of minimizing the amount of false air present in the reactor is to reduce the proportion of nitrogen oxides in the excess gas and also to keep the total amount of gas small in order to make the subsequent gas economy simple.

Further advantages, details and further developments result from the following description of preferred embodiments of the invention, with reference to the attached drawing.

The single figure shows a simplified sectional view of a reactor according to the invention.

A preferred embodiment of a reactor is described below with reference to FIG. 1. In connection with the explanation of the details of the reactor, the process steps that occur in the treatment of waste with organic constituents as starting materials in this reactor are also given. However, as can be seen from the attached patent claims, the implementation of the method according to the invention is not necessarily linked to the reactor explained, but can also be carried out using modified systems, if necessary. When using others Input materials may be useful modifications of the reactor and / or the process (eg flexible arrangement and design of the technical design of the gas supply and discharge, the heating or cooling of the reactor jacket or the like). In general, different feedstocks can also be combined, for example by adding feedstocks with a higher energy value (e.g. organic waste, contaminated waste wood or the like) when gasifying / melting non-organic feedstocks.

The reactor shown in the figure has at its upper end a feed section 1 with at least one feed opening 2, through which the feedstock to be used in terms of material and / or energy is fed. Preferably, the proportion of organic constituents predominates with this feed material, so that the reactor and the process described are particularly suitable for the treatment of normal household garbage and commercial garbage. If the combustible constituents of certain feedstock compositions are not high enough to carry out the combustion and gasification processes, combustible additives or energy sources can be added to the feedstock. It is possible to add a certain amount of coke in a conventional manner or to increase the total calorific value by adding wood. Under certain circumstances, it can also be useful to add other additives, for example to influence the pH that is set. Such measures are known to the person skilled in the art 3, however, so that a detailed description is not given here.

The feedstock and possibly the aggregates are fed into the feed opening 2 via a suitable delivery device 3 Reactor introduced. A pillar 4 is thus formed. The height of the pouring column 4 is monitored using fill level measuring devices which are not specifically designated. This bed height is to be kept between a minimum and a maximum level. The minimum level is chosen so that the pouring column 4 acts in the upper section of the reactor as a barrier layer, which prevents larger amounts of ambient air from entering the reactor.

At the bottom of the feed section 1 there is a pre-tempering section 5 which, in the example shown, serves to pre-dry the starting materials. The feed section and the pre-tempering section are advantageously cylindrical or conical with a slight increase in cross-section downwards. The pre-tempering section 5 has a double wall, wherein a wall cavity 6 is formed, in which a heat transfer medium is guided. With the help of the heat transfer medium, heat can be supplied to the bulkhead in the region of the double-walled predrying section 5, so that the feed material is preheated or predried. Possibly. the wall cavity can be omitted and the heat can be supplied directly from the hotter zones of the reactor, for example by conduction. The heat supply is dimensioned in such a way that the adherence of certain ingredients to the wall is largely excluded. In addition, water components can be removed by the pre-drying, so that they do not additionally burden the further gasification process. In the pre-tempering section 5, the pouring column 4 can be tempered to approximately 100 ° C.

The pre-tempering section may be omitted entirely if predrying is due to the composition of the Feed material is not required, or the pre-tempering section is used in special cases to cool the feed materials.

A pyrolysis section 8 adjoins below the pre-tempering section 5, the cross-section widening abruptly at the transition between the pre-tempering section (or the feed section if the pre-tempering section is omitted) and the pyrolysis section. The free shaft cross section in this transition region is preferably increased by at least twice, which on the one hand reduces the sinking speed of the feed materials and on the other hand forms a pouring cone 9. The pouring cone 9 is fed centrally from the pouring column 4 in the predrying section. At the edge areas the cone flattens out, so that a free space is created there. In this upper edge region of the pyrolysis section 8 there are gas supply means 10, which in the example shown is designed as an annular gas supply space 10 which is opened approximately in the plane of the cross-sectional expansion in the pyrolysis section 8. The purpose of the gas supply space 10 is to bring hot gases to the pouring cone 9. The gas supply means can also be designed as nozzles, wall openings or other devices which enable the supply of hot gases to the pouring column. For this purpose, in the example shown, at least one combustion chamber 11, which is equipped with at least one burner 12, opens into the gas supply space 10. The burner 12 generates the required hot gas, which is preferably brought tangentially to the debris cone 9 via the combustion chambers and the gas supply space , In modified embodiments, multiple combustion chambers or multiple burners can be used if this is for one heating the cone as evenly as possible is desirable.

The combustion in burner 12 is expediently carried out with a lack of oxygen, so that an inert combustion gas with temperatures of approximately 1000 ° C. is provided by an almost stoichiometric combustion. At least during start-up, the burner will need foreign fuels that are not obtained directly from the reactor. For example, natural gas, oil, the excess gas generated and temporarily stored by a previous gasification process, gas mixture, liquid-gas mixture, dust-gas mixture or other media that are suitable from an energy point of view are used. As soon as the reactor has assumed its operating state described in the following, the burner 12 can also be operated with a possibly previously cleaned excess gas. By supplying the combustion gas, which with suitable control largely consists of carbon dioxide and water vapor, the feed material present in the cone area is heated in a shock-like manner. The very rapid heating of the material to temperatures between 800 ° C and 1000 ° C causes this material to dry very quickly, avoiding sticking and sticking to the wall. Rather, there is at least some conglomeration of the starting materials. In addition, the expulsion of pyrolysis products is already started in this upper section of the reactor. Since the gas supplied is largely inert, these pyrolysis products are only incinerated to a small extent, insofar as air can be sucked in through the pouring column 4 piled above the pouring cone or carried along by the feed material. Due to the rapid and strong heating of the input materials, fine dusts and smaller particles are also quickly gasified or burned, so that the previously in Problems arising in the prior art in dust treatment can be avoided. Rather, dust and fractions can now be added to the feedstocks in certain ratios.

The feed material then drops further down in the pyrolysis section 8, the pyrolysis being continued, among other things. also with the materials in the center, which are also heated by heat transfer. The wall of the pyrolysis section is preferably heat-insulated and / or double-walled, so that, if necessary, a heat transfer medium can also be guided in the wall cavity formed. The heat insulation or the additional supply of heat with the aid of the heat transfer medium are dimensioned such that the starting materials have a temperature of preferably above 500 ° C. in the lower region of the pyrolysis section 8. The temperature required at this point can be specifically controlled depending on the special feed materials.

A melting and superheating section 14 follows below the pyrolysis section 8. This has a cross-sectional constriction on the basis of which the sinking rate of the feed material changes. In the example of the treatment of predominantly organic waste, the cross-section is narrowed by at least 10%, which is generated, for example, by conically drawing in the corresponding shaft part at an angle of approximately 60 ° to the horizontal. In addition, in the melting and superheating section 14 there are upper injection means 15, which in the example shown are formed by a plurality of oxygen lances 16 distributed around the circumference. In order to protect the oxygen lances 16 from overheating, they are water-cooled, for example. at other designs, nozzles, burners or the like are used as the upper injection means, via which various fuel gases or gas compositions can be supplied in a controlled manner, with the aim of setting the temperature in the melting and superheating zone to a desired value. If the supply of oxygen is not sufficient for this (if, for example, no feedstocks with a sufficiently high energy value are available at this position for a short time), foreign combustion gases or excess gases obtained from the reactor can also be supplied via the injection means. In the specific example, with the aid of the upper injection means 15, the targeted and metered addition of oxygen takes place immediately below the level of the cross-sectional constriction. As a result, a hot zone 17 is formed in the region of the melting and superheating section 14, in which temperatures of from 1500 ° C. to 2000 ° C. preferably prevail, but which must be adapted to the respective feed material.

The (inert) combustion gases supplied via the gas supply space 10 and the pyrolysis gases formed in the pyrolysis section 8 are sucked through this hot zone 17. The supply of oxygen in the hot zone is controlled in such a way that combustion takes place in the absence of oxygen, which ultimately leads to a further increase in temperature and to the extensive coking of the residues of the feedstock. The temperature m of the hot zone 17 is set so that slag-forming mineral constituents and metallic constituents are melted in this zone, a certain proportion of pollutants contained in the insert material (eg heavy metals) being dissolved in these melts. The molten metal and the slag melt then drip down. The largely coked residues also continue to decline. A reduction section 20 is then formed below the melting and superheating section 14, in which the coked residues sink further down with a sufficient dwell time. The reduction section 20 comprises a gas extraction space 21, via which excess gases are extracted. All extracted gases must therefore flow through both the hot zone 17 and a reduction zone 22 formed below it by the coked residues. In the reduction zone 22, the gases are reduced with the help of the carbon present there. In particular, there is a conversion of carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide, the carbon still contained in the bed being used up in particular and thus being further gasified. When passing through the reduction zone 22, the gases are also cooled so that they can be extracted at a technically manageable temperature, preferably about 800 ° C. to 1000 ° C. The extracted excess gases are fed to subsequent (not shown) cooling and / or cleaning stages and a suitable conveying device (compressor or blower). When gasifying waste with predominantly organic constituents, about 80% to 90% of the excess gases are then available as fuel gas for material and / or energy use. A partial flow of approximately 10% to 20% can be supplied as the own gas to the above-mentioned burner 12 and / or the injection means, the cooling / cleaning for this partial flow being able to be kept to a minimum. The gas extraction chamber 21 is in turn advantageously (but not necessarily) designed in a ring shape, with a connected conveyor device serving to extract the gases. A fireproof-lined stove 25 connects below the gas extraction chamber 21. The metal melts and the slag melts are collected in the hearth 25. So that these melts remain liquid, lower injection means 26 are provided immediately above the melts and below the gas extraction chamber 21, which in turn have a plurality of oxygen lances 16 (possibly water-cooled) in the example shown. The lower injection means can alternatively be designed and operated, as was explained above for the upper injection means 15. By injecting a suitable amount of oxygen, gas, fuel gas or similar a temperature for the melts is set which is sufficiently high to keep the melts liquid and, after appropriate collection, to be able to discharge them from the reactor via a tap 27. For example, temperatures of about 1500 ° C are appropriate. The distribution of the total amount of oxygen / fuel gas supplied to the combustion chamber 11, the upper injection means 15 and the lower injection means 26 is to be optimized depending on the feed used and on the other process parameters, with the aim of largely utilizing the feed and minimizing the amount of pollutants in the residues.

It will be understood by the person skilled in the art that an oxygen-air mixture or an oxygen-fuel gas mixture can be supplied instead of oxygen, for example for reasons of cost reduction. It is also obvious that the temperature values given by way of example have to be adapted depending on the feed materials to be processed and the desired process speed. It is also understood that the feedstocks may need to be mechanically comminuted before being introduced into the reactor to prevent clogging avoid. Depending on the starting materials and the desired end products, certain additives may be required to stabilize the calorific value and to increase the yield of excess gas as well as to improve slag formation, basicity and the slag flow.

If liquids are also to be converted in the reactor, these can advantageously be supplied via a liquid injection 30 which opens into the gas supply space 10 or is combined with other gas supply means. Water, water vapor or other liquids intended for disposal can be introduced via the liquid injection 30, whereby in addition to the desired disposal, it is also possible to regulate the temperature of the inert combustion gases, the pyrolysis process and / or the composition and the temperature of the excess gases.

It is also possible, if required, to introduce dusts to be disposed of specifically into the process via a dust feed 31. The dust feed 31 is preferably a metering tube which is guided centrally in the feed section 1 and in the preheating section 5 and which ends in the vicinity of the cone 9. The dusts are therefore transported directly in the vicinity of the shock-like heating of the feed materials, so that when they emerge from the metering tube they are immediately exposed to a high temperature effect, which causes combustion or gasification, without causing deflagrations or the like.

Although the specific embodiment described above is particularly suitable for the treatment (gasification and melting) of waste with organic constituents, it will be obvious to the person skilled in the art that modifications of the reactor are necessary when using other feedstocks or are useful. In general, special wastes or feedstocks with higher metal contents can also be treated, whereby the gasification principle and the melting principle will predominate. Different feedstocks can also be combined. For example, to melt non-organic feedstocks it is possible to add feedstocks with a higher energy value (e.g. organic waste, contaminated waste wood or the like).

Further modifications and developments for the reactor according to the invention and the method according to the invention can result from the special fields of application.

Claims

claims

A reactor for gasifying and / or melting feed materials, comprising: • a feed section (1) with a feed opening (2), through which the feed materials are introduced into the reactor from above;

• a pyrolysis section (8) which adjoins the preceding section (1, 5) to create a cross-sectional expansion, so that a pouring cone (9) of the feed material can form there;

• Gas supply means (10) which open into the pyrolysis section (8) approximately in the plane of the cross-sectional expansion and via which hot gases are supplied to the pouring cone (9);

• a melting and superheating section (14) which adjoins the pyrolysis section (8) at the bottom to create a cross-sectional constriction;

• upper injection means (15), via which an energy-rich medium is introduced into the melting and superheating section (14) directly below the level of the cross-sectional constriction;

• a reduction section (20), which adjoins the melting and superheating section (14) at the bottom and comprises gas extraction means (21) via which excess gases are extracted;

• a stove (25) with a tapping (27) below the reduction section (20), for collecting and discharging metal melts and slag melts; • lower injection means (26), via which an energy-rich medium is supplied directly above the melts and below the gas suction means (21) in order to prevent the melts from solidifying.

2. Reactor according to claim 1, characterized in that a preheating section (5) is arranged between the feed section (1) and the pyrolysis section (8).

3. Reactor according to claim 2, characterized in that the preheating section (5) is at least sectionally double-walled to create a wall cavity (6), wherein a heat transfer medium is guided in the wall cavity (6).

4. Reactor according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the gas supply means are designed as a gas supply chamber (10) into which at least one combustion chamber (11) opens, which is equipped with at least one burner (12), which is via the combustion chamber and the gas space provides about 1000 ° C hot gases to the pouring cone (9).

5. Reactor according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the feed section (1), possibly the

Pre-tempering section (5), the pyrolysis section (8) and the reduction section (20) are cylindrical or slightly tapered downwards in such a way that the total length of the feed section (1) and pre-tempering section (5) is at least three times the diameter of the feed section is at the upper end, and that the cross section of the pyrolysis section (8) is at least twice as large as the cross section at the lower end of the predrying section.

6. Reactor according to claim 1, characterized in that the gas supply means (10) and the gas suction means (21) are annular in shape on the circumference of the reactor.

7. Reactor according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the pyrolysis section (8) is double-walled to create a further wall cavity, wherein a heat transfer medium is guided in this further wall cavity.

8. Reactor according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the upper and / or the lower injection means (15, 26) comprise a plurality of annularly arranged on the circumference of the reactor oxygen lances (16) or nozzles, via which oxygen or a fuel gas mixture be fed.

9. Reactor according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the gas supply means (10) are connected to a liquid feed (30) via which liquid or vaporous substances can be supplied.

10. Reactor according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that a dust feed (31) is further provided, via which dusts can be fed directly into the plane of the cross-sectional expansion between the feed section (5) and pyrolysis section (8).

11. Reactor according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the feed section (1) is largely gas-tight at the top, the feed material being supplied via a lock device.

12. A process for gasifying and / or melting feedstocks, comprising the following steps:

• formation of a bulk column (4) largely shielded from the environment in a shaft-shaped reactor;

• shock-like heating of the pouring column (4) by supplying hot gases in the upper area in order to trigger pyrolysis in the feedstocks;

• Creation of a lower lying hot zone (17) with temperatures above 1000 ° C by supplying high-energy media;

• Burning the pyrolysis products, melting any metallic and mineral components that may be present and largely coking the residues of the feed materials in the hot zone (17);

• Aspiration of all gases down through the pouring column

(4), through the hot zone (17) and through a lower-lying reduction zone (22);

• discharging reduced excess gases from the reactor in the area of the reduction zone (22);

• Collecting any metal and / or slag melts that may be present in the lowest section of the reactor;

• Introducing high-energy media directly above the collected melts in order to keep them liquid;

• Parting off the melts if necessary.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein oxygen, fuel gases, portions of the extracted excess gas, liquid fuels or dusty fuels are supplied as high-energy media.

14. The method of claim 12 or 13, further comprising the following steps:

• Level monitoring of the reactor, so that the pouring column always has a height between a minimum value and a maximum value;

• Setting the minimum value in such a way that the pouring column above the point of shock-like heating is shielded from the environment by relatively densely packed feed material.

15. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, comprising the step of predrying the starting materials by heating the pouring column above the point of shock-like heating to about 100 ° C.

16. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 15, comprising the step of regulating the negative pressure for suction of the gases, so that almost no gases escape upward from the reactor and only minimal amounts of additional ambient air are sucked in from above through the bulk column.

17. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 16, further comprising the following steps:

• Generation of the hot gases for the shock-like heating of the bulk column by burning foreign fuels in the start phase of the process;

• Generation of the hot gases for the shock-like heating of the bulk column by burning the at least partially cleaned reduced excess gases which are discharged from the reactor, possibly in combination with extraneous fuels.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the combustion is carried out with a lack of oxygen, so that an inert combustion gas is formed, which consists largely of carbon dioxide and water vapor.

19. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 18, wherein the discharged excess gases are fed to a downstream gas industry for cooling and / or cleaning.

20. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 19, wherein dusts to be used are added in the immediate vicinity of the shock-like heating of the pouring column.

21. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 20, wherein a reactor according to one of claims 1 to 11 is used.