JP2019514681A - Rotary drum device for use with a carbonizer system and method of use thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

A rotary drum device for use with a carbonizer system and methods of use thereof are provided. The drum assembly comprises an augered feed line, a center feed line for receiving introduced waste material in fluid communication with the augered feed line, and waste material moving through the drum at any given discrete time. A control valve to control the amount of heat and a heating jacket surrounding the outer wall of the drum providing indirect thermal heating to the drum. The internally angled vanes are disposed along the inner wall of the drum to move waste material forward through the drum. Components of the waste material may be separated by magnetic strips disposed along the inner wall of the drum. The rotation of the drum is driven by at least one external rotating drum drive motor which engages with an external thread located along the outer wall of the drum. [Selected figure] Figure 1

Description

[Related Application]
This application claims the benefit of priority of US Provisional Application No. 62 / 332,706, filed May 6, 2016; the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus for use with a carbonizer system; and, more particularly, to a rotating drum apparatus for use with a carbonizer system for converting waste into useful by-products, and methods of use thereof.

  Converting wastes from hazards to assets is a global priority. The benefits of converting waste materials are well known and are not limited to the reduction of the flow of landfill-bound waste and the harmful release to the environment otherwise. Includes a reduction in the amount of chemicals and other contaminants. Waste-related chemicals and other environment-related pollutants not only pose a risk to the environment, but can also pose a significant risk to human health. The most common household materials, including paper, metal and glass, can be converted and reclaimed by the industry for reuse, thus avoiding waste streams being transported to landfills. However, converting and recycling unconventional non-domestic and industrial waste materials such as medical waste into useful by-products presents more complex challenges.

  Medical and industrial waste may be infected and / or contaminated. Infections and / or contaminated wastes are cultures and stocks of microorganisms and organisms; blood and blood products; pathological wastes; injection needles; animal carcasses, body parts, bedding and related wastes; Wastes; any residue resulting from effluent removal; and any such waste mixed with or contaminated by infected and / or contaminated waste. It must be sterilized before the infected and / or contaminated waste can be converted and regenerated into disposable or useful by-products. Traditional sterilization methods include incineration; steaming or autoclaving; infected and / or contaminated liquid waste may be disposed of in approved sewers. These traditional sterilization methods all have limited success due to continuous contaminating flow, batch processing with limited throughput, and spillage of biohazards from streams handling waste. There is. More recent sterilization methods being developed include the use of microwave irradiation and various chemical cleaning. However, the aforementioned sterilization methods can be expensive and may limit the economic feasibility of converting and regenerating non-domestic medical and industrial waste into useful by-products.

Current waste management technologies rely on incineration to dispose of carbonaceous waste, producing usable amounts of heat while limiting gaseous and particulate contaminants from entering the environment. Need scrubbers and other pollution controls to The imperfect combustion associated with conventional incinerators and the complexity to operate while maintaining compliance with regulatory conditions is a valuable by-product instead of being sent to landfills or burned off site at a significant cost. After being converted and regenerated, it often results in waste that is otherwise of value-economic and environmental. Because medical waste often contains synthetic polymers containing significant amounts of polyvinyl chloride, incineration of medical waste requires the release of ClO _x , SO _x , and NO _x air pollutants that must be removed from the emitted gas. Often accompanied by Alternatives to incineration have limited success because the complexity of design and operation outweighs the value of potentially usable by-products that are converted and regenerated from waste streams. Thus, existing methods of disposing of infected or contaminated waste do not make economically feasible converting and regenerating such waste into energy or useable by-products.

  Thermal decomposition is a generic term used to describe the thermochemical decomposition of organic materials at high temperatures without the involvement of oxygen. Thermal decomposition is often characterized by irreversible simultaneous changes in chemical composition and physical phase, unlike other high temperature treatments such as combustion and hydrolysis, in that it usually does not involve oxidation reactions.

  Thermal decomposition is an example of heat release, most commonly used for organic materials, and one of the treatments for carbonization. Carbonization is a chemical treatment of the incomplete combustion of certain solids when exposed to high heat. The resulting residue is called char. Under the action of heat, carbonization reductively removes hydrogen and oxygen from solids, so the remaining char consists mainly of carbon in the zero oxidation state. Polymers such as thermoplastics and thermosetting plastics, and most solid organic compounds such as wood and biological tissue, exhibit carbonization behavior when exposed to thermal decomposition processes, which have a temperature of 200 to 300 ° C. It starts at Fahrenheit) and is higher than 1000 ° C or 1800 Fahrenheit, for example, it fires when the solid fuel burns. In general, the pyrolysis of organics produces gaseous and liquid products, leaving a solid residue with a higher carbon content, commonly called char. Extreme thermal decomposition leaves carbon mainly as residue and is called carbonization. Efficient industrial-scale pyrolysis has proven difficult to implement due to the difficulty of adjusting the reactor conditions to feedstock fluctuations to achieve the desired degree of carbonization.

  In order to address the global interest in current waste management and treatment technologies and methods, it is suggested that many methods meet the flexible needs of waste management and treatment. Most of these methods require the use of waste treatment reactors or heat sources, which are designed to operate at relatively high temperatures, such as 200-980 ° C (400-1800 Fahrenheit), and are continuous or continuous Batch processing is possible.

  An integral component of the chemical reactor used in waste treatment relates to the reactor to enhance mixing and reduce variable reaction conditions associated with spatial variations in the waste material being treated. It will be appreciated that these features should be optimized to create conditions that maximize thermal diffusion through material convection to reduce the amount of processing time. These variability are easily controlled in pilot scale systems, but accurate control of the aforementioned variability in industrial scale processing is known to be difficult.

  Various reactor feeds and waste treatment devices are currently available in the industry. A number of devices are operated to produce a steady flow of material to the reactor in various compression methods. However, these conventional devices are satisfactory in that they are not versatile enough to contain, process and properly compress non-uniform waste streams containing various waste material components. It is not something of

  At present, many conventional waste disposal devices utilize compression auger-screws to shred and compress various waste forms for disposal and further processing. However, these devices usually have a fixed compression rate and can not handle various types of waste material to be treated. As a result, the continuous flow of waste material is often impeded by the various types of waste material that are stagnating within these devices. To amplify the problem, many conventional waste disposal devices lack the ability to separate the components of the waste material from the non-uniform waste stream to be treated. In addition, the corrosion attributes of the waste carbonization process cause damage to the drivetrain and chamber walls, and the need to periodically shut down the system for management.

  Thus, for use with a carbonizer system that can accommodate different types of waste material to be treated and provide continuous flow through of non-uniform waste streams with different compression rates There is a need for a rotating drum device for converting waste for. The overall economic value of the process of converting non-domestic medical and industrial waste into useful by-products efficiently in an economically sustainable manner, thereby converting waste from risk to property and recycling To convert wastes for use with carbonizer systems, while simultaneously reducing the negative impact that such wastes have on other things on human health and the environment, while promoting There is a further need for a method of using a drum device.

  A rotary drum device is provided for use with a carbonizer system, comprising a drum rotatable about an axis. A plurality of internally angled vanes are disposed along the inner wall of the drum so that waste material in the drum passes through the drum from an inlet in the first end of the drum to an outlet in the second end of the drum Oriented to be moved forward towards. The rotating drum device of the present invention also comprises at least one external rotating drum drive motor in fluid communication with the drum. In a particular inventive embodiment, the first end of the drum is received by an inlet housing comprising an inlet housing orifice in fluid communication with the inlet and the second end of the drum is in fluid communication with the outlet The rotating drum device of the present invention is in fluid communication with the inlet housing aperture and an augered feed line in fluid communication with the inlet housing, and the augered feed line. And a control jacket integral with the discharge housing, and a heating jacket surrounding the outer wall of the drum providing indirect heat to the drum. In another inventive embodiment, the rotary drum device of the present invention is rotatable about a horizontal axis and adapted to mesh with at least one external rotary drum drive motor to drive rotation of the drum. A plurality of external threads are disposed along the periphery of the outer wall of the drum. Also provided is a method of feeding waste material forward through and into the rotating drum apparatus of the present invention, an inlet housing opening in an inlet housing adapted to receive the first end of the drum and Introducing waste material into a center feed line in fluid communication with the augered feed line in fluid communication with the inlet in the first end of the drum; drums waste material through the center feed line and the augered feed line Advancing the waste material toward the second end using a plurality of internally angled vanes disposed along the circumference of the inner wall of the drum from the first end through the drum; Indirectly heating waste material in the drum with a heating jacket surrounding the outer wall of the Rotating the drum with a plurality of external threads engaged with at least one external drum drive motor disposed along the perimeter of the outer wall about a horizontal axis; rotational speed of the drum, speed of the augered feedline, distributed in the drum Controlling the amount of waste material moving through the drum by controlling at least one of waste volume, volume of waste discharged from the drum, or a combination thereof; heat treating the waste material Separating waste material using a magnetic strip circumferentially disposed along the periphery of the inner wall of the drum; and discharging the heat treated waste material through an outlet in the second end of the drum Including.

  The subject matter regarded as the invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the end of the specification. The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention are apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a rotary drum device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a detailed block diagram of a system of use of the rotating drum device according to FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  There is provided a rotary drum device of the present invention for use with a carbonizer system, as well as a method of advancing waste material through it into the rotary drum device of the present invention. The present invention includes the conversion of various waste streams, and anaerobic thermal conversion processes to convert waste streams into biogas; biooil; carbonized materials; non-organic ash; and various additional by-products It has utility to support the regeneration process. The present invention also has the utility of controlling the amount of waste material introduced into the rotating drum device of the present invention to ensure uniform flow through of waste material and to prevent clogging or other failure. The invention has the further utility of separating the components of the waste material from the non-uniform waste stream. Inside corners move waste material forward through the drum which is indirectly heated by the heating jacket and rotated by the external rotating drum drive motor which engages with the external thread located along the outer wall of the drum With the rotary drum device of the present invention with vanes, a novel carbonizer chamber is provided which has robust operation and manageability. The present invention represents an alternative to the drag chain reactor detailed in US 8,801,904 B2.

  If a range of values is given, the range is explicitly included in the range so that the last significant digit in the range changes, not only the endpoint value of the range, but also the middle of the range It should be understood that it is intended to include values as well. By way of example, the ranges mentioned as 1-4 are intended to include 1-2, 1-3, 2-4, 3-4 and 1-4.

  Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a rotating drum apparatus shown generally at 10 for use with a carbonizer system. The drum 12 is rotatable about a generally horizontal axis 13 and comprises an inner wall 14 and an outer wall 16. It is understood that the shaft 13 is subject to dynamic modification by changing the vertical displacement of one end of the drum 12 relative to the other to provide further control over the material dwell time in the drum 12. The displacement is achieved by conventional devices, such as wedges, jackscrews, hydraulic lifts, and combinations thereof. The internally angled vanes 18 are disposed along the inner wall 14 of the drum 12. The internally angled vanes 18 advance through the drum 12 from an inlet 20 located in the first end 22 of the drum 12 to an outlet 24 located in the second end 26 of the drum 12. The second end 26 is distal to the first end 22, oriented to promote migration of waste material towards it. The rotation of the drum 12 is driven by at least one external rotary drum drive motor 28 which meshes with an external thread 40 disposed along the outer wall 16 of the drum 12. Inlet housing 30 includes an inlet housing opening 32 that receives the first end 22 of drum 12 and is in fluid communication with inlet 20. The discharge housing 34 includes a discharge housing opening 36 that receives the second end 26 of the drum 12 and is in fluid communication with the discharge 24. The heating jacket 38 surrounds the outer wall 16 of the drum 12. It will be appreciated that the heating jacket 38 provides indirect heating to the waste material in the drum 12. It will be further understood that the heating jacket 38 can provide conversion processing of the waste material in the drum 12 and anaerobic heat treatment to useful by-products that can be reintroduced into the commercial stream at various economic advantages. . Condensers (not shown) are present in some embodiments of the present invention to fractionate gaseous by-products into useful materials.

  Center feed line 44 receives waste material to be introduced into drum 12 and is in fluid communication with augered feed line 42. The augered feed line 42 is in fluid communication with the inlet housing opening 32 and the inlet 20 allows for the introduction of waste material from the center feed line 44 through the augered feed line 42 to the drum 12. It will be appreciated that the augered feedline 42 may be obliquely oriented with respect to the drum 12. It will further be appreciated that the augered feedline 42 may be oriented at an angle of 0 degrees to 180 degrees with respect to the outer surface of the first end 22 of the drum 12. In some embodiments of the present invention, the augered feedline 42 is oriented at an angle of 0 degrees to 90 degrees with respect to the outer surface of the first end 22 of the drum 12. In yet another embodiment, the augered feed line 42 may be oriented at an angle of 45 degrees to 90 degrees with respect to the outer surface of the first end 22 of the drum 12. A control valve 46 integral with the exhaust housing 34 is provided. The control valve 46 is not limited, but the rotational speed of the drum 12, the temperature of the heating jacket 38, the speed of the augered feed line 42, the amount of waste material introduced into the drum 12 at any discrete time, and It will be appreciated that it may function to adjust various operating parameters of the rotating drum apparatus 10, including the amount of waste material being discharged out of the drum 12 at any discrete time. Magnetic strips 48 circumferentially disposed along the inner wall 14 of the drum 12 are provided in some embodiments of the present invention and others. It will be appreciated that the magnetic strip 48 separates the iron component of the waste material from the non-uniform waste stream in the drum 12.

  The corrosiveness of some waste streams treated in the rotary drum device 10 according to the invention is, for example, as non-limiting example, when the mineral acid is produced through waste treatment, the rotary drum according to the invention It may attack various components of the device. Components exposed to acid in such situations are in the form of corrosion resistant steels such as those rich in nickel and molybdenum, illustratively including HASTALLOY® C-276.

  It will also be appreciated that the atmosphere inside the drum 12 illustratively includes ambient air, nitrogen gas, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, an inert gas, or a combination thereof. It will be further appreciated that limiting the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere inside the drum 12 allows for anaerobic thermal conversion processing of the waste material into useful by-products.

  FIG. 2 is a detailed block diagram of a system of use of the rotating drum device 10 shown in FIG. 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. Optionally, aspects of the system of use are shown as dotted lines to expose the inner components of the rotating drum apparatus 10. The waste material is in fluid communication with the augered feedline 42 in fluid communication with the inlet housing opening 32 in the inlet housing 30 adapted to receive the first end 22 of the drum 12. It is introduced into (102). It will be appreciated that the augered feed line 42 is also in fluid communication with the inlet 20 in the first end 22 of the drum 12. Waste material is moved into the drum 12 through the center feed line 44 and the augered feed line 42 (104). The internally angled vanes 18 disposed along the inner wall 14 of the drum 12 move waste material forward from the first end 22 of the drum 12 through the drum 12 toward the second end 26 of the drum 12 The second end 26 is distal to the first end 22, allowing it to be done 106. Waste material traveling through the drum 12 is indirectly heated 108 by the heating jacket 38 surrounding the outer wall 16 of the drum 12. It will be appreciated that the indirect heating 108 performs heat treatment of the waste material in some embodiments of the present invention. The drum 12 is rotated 110 with respect to the horizontal axis 13 by at least one external rotary drum drive motor 28 which engages with an external thread 40 disposed along the outer wall 16 of the drum. The amount of waste material introduced into and moving through the drum 12 may be controlled by a control valve 46 integral with the discharge housing 34 adapted to receive the second end 26 of the drum 12 ( 112). It will be appreciated that the discharge housing 34 comprises a discharge housing opening 36 in fluid communication with the discharge 24 in the second end 26 of the drum 12. Controlling the amount of waste material introduced into and moving through the drum 12 (112), at least one of the following non-limiting operating parameters: rotational speed of the drum 12, feed line 42 with auger Speed, volume of waste dispersed in drum 12 at any given discrete time, volume of waste discharged out of drum 12 at any given discrete time, or a combination thereof It will be further appreciated that this can be achieved by controlling In some embodiments of the present invention, components of the waste material are separated from the non-uniform waste stream in the drum 12 using magnetic strips 48 disposed along the inner wall 14 of the drum 12. (114). Waste material that has been indirectly heated and heat treated inside the drum 12 is then discharged 116 out of the drum 12 through the outlet 24. It will be appreciated that the waste material in the drum 12 is, in some embodiments, a medical waste. Through control of the reaction conditions, the waste material is converted to gaseous products under the reaction conditions, with the carbonized material being a material such as carbon black. Gaseous products and carbonized products are sterilized in that all pathogens and biohazards present in the waste material are detoxified. Sterilized gaseous products and carbonized products are themselves useful by-products or can be further processed into useful by-products that can be reintroduced into the commercial stream with various economic advantages.

  Those skilled in the art will appreciate from the foregoing detailed description and the drawings and claims that changes and modifications can be made to the preferred embodiments of the present invention without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims. It will recognize that it can be done.

Claims (20)

A rotary drum device for use with a carbonizer system,
A drum rotatable about an axis, the drum comprising an inner wall and an outer wall;
A plurality of internally angled vanes disposed along the inner wall of the drum, the plurality of internally angled vanes, waste material passing through the drum and an inlet in the first end of the drum Said second end is distal to said first end, said second end being oriented to be moved forward from said to the outlet in the second end of said drum; and At least one external rotating drum drive motor in fluid communication;
Rotating drum device. The rotary drum device according to claim 1, wherein
Further comprising an inlet housing adapted to receive said first end of said drum,
The inlet housing comprises an inlet housing orifice in fluid communication with the inlet,
Rotating drum device. The rotary drum device according to claim 1, wherein
Further comprising a discharge housing adapted to receive said second end of said drum,
The discharge housing comprises a discharge housing opening in fluid communication with the discharge port,
Rotating drum device. The rotary drum device according to claim 1, wherein
The heating jacket further includes a heating jacket surrounding the outer wall of the drum.
The heating jacket provides indirect heating to the drum,
Rotating drum device. The rotary drum device according to claim 1, wherein
It further comprises a plurality of male screws disposed along the periphery of the outer wall,
The plurality of external threads engage with the at least one external rotating drum drive motor and are adapted to drive rotation of the drum.
Rotating drum device. The rotary drum device according to claim 1, wherein
Further comprising an augered feed line in fluid communication with the inlet housing aperture and the inlet;
Rotating drum device. The rotary drum device according to claim 1, wherein
Further comprising a center feed line in fluid communication with said augered feed line;
Rotating drum device. The rotary drum device according to claim 6, wherein
Said augered feedline is inclined and oriented,
Rotating drum device. A rotary drum device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein
Further comprising a plurality of control valves integral with the discharge housing;
Rotating drum device. A rotary drum device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein
Further comprising a magnetic strip disposed along the inner wall of the drum;
The magnetic strip is adapted to separate the constituents of the waste material from the non-uniform waste stream.
Rotating drum device. A rotary drum device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein
The atmosphere inside the drum is at least one of ambient air, nitrogen gas, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, an inert gas, or a combination thereof.
Rotating drum device. A rotary drum device for use with a carbonizer system,
An axially rotatable drum, said drum comprising an inner wall, an outer wall, a first end, and a second end distal to said first end;
An inlet housing adapted to receive said first end of said drum, said inlet housing comprising an inlet housing opening in fluid communication with an inlet in said first end of said drum;
A discharge housing adapted to receive said second end of said drum, said discharge housing comprising a discharge housing opening in fluid communication with a discharge in said second end of said drum;
An augered feed line in fluid communication with the inlet housing aperture and the inlet;
A center feed line in fluid communication with said augered feed line;
A plurality of control valves integral with said discharge housing;
A heating jacket surrounding the periphery of the outer wall of the drum, the heating jacket providing indirect heating to the drum; and at least one external rotating drum drive motor in fluid communication with the drum ,
Rotating drum device. The rotary drum device according to claim 12, wherein
The apparatus further comprises a plurality of internally angled vanes disposed along the perimeter of the inner wall of the drum,
The plurality of internally angled vanes are oriented such that waste material is moved forward through the drum from the first end to the outlet in the second end. To be
Rotating drum device. The rotary drum device according to claim 12 or 13,
Further comprising a plurality of external threads disposed along the periphery of the outer wall of the drum;
The plurality of external threads engage with the at least one external rotating drum drive motor and are adapted to drive rotation of the drum.
Rotating drum device. A rotary drum device for use with a carbonizer system,
A drum rotatable about a horizontal axis, said drum comprising an inner wall, an outer wall, a first end, and a second end distal to said first end;
An inlet housing adapted to receive said first end of said drum, said inlet housing comprising an inlet housing opening in fluid communication with an inlet in said first end of said drum;
A discharge housing adapted to receive said second end of said drum, said discharge housing comprising a discharge housing opening in fluid communication with a discharge in said second end of said drum;
An augered feed line in fluid communication with the inlet housing aperture and the inlet;
A center feed line in fluid communication with said augered feed line;
A plurality of control valves integral with said discharge housing;
At least one external rotating drum drive motor in fluid communication with the drum; and a plurality of external threads disposed along the periphery of the outer wall of the drum, the plurality of external threads being at least one of the at least one Engaging with an external rotating drum drive motor, adapted to drive the rotation of said drum,
Rotating drum device. The rotary drum device according to claim 15, wherein
The heating jacket further includes a heating jacket surrounding the outer wall of the drum.
The heating jacket provides indirect heating to the drum,
Rotating drum device. The rotary drum device according to claim 15 or 16, wherein
The apparatus further comprises a plurality of internally angled vanes disposed along the perimeter of the inner wall of the drum,
The plurality of internally angled vanes are oriented such that waste material is moved forward through the drum from the first end to the outlet in the second end. To be
Rotating drum device. A method of feeding waste material forward through a rotary drum device according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising
Introducing waste material into a center feed line in fluid communication with the augered feed line, the augered feed line being an inlet in an inlet housing adapted to receive the first end of the drum In fluid communication with the housing port, wherein the augered feedline is also in fluid communication with the inlet in the first end of the drum;
Moving waste material to the drum through the center feed line and the augered feed line;
Advancing waste material through the drum using a plurality of internally angled vanes disposed along the perimeter of the inner wall of the drum, the waste material being removed from the first end of the drum Moving towards the second end of the drum, said second end being distal to said first end,
Indirectly heating the waste material in the drum by means of a heating jacket surrounding the outer wall of the drum;
Rotating the drum about a horizontal axis, the drum comprising a plurality of external threads disposed along the periphery of the outer wall of the drum, the plurality of external threads being at least one external drum drive motor Engage with;
The speed of rotation of the drum, the speed of the augered feedline, the volume of waste dispersed in the drum at any given discrete time, the drum being discharged from the drum at any given discrete time Controlling the amount of waste material moving through the drum by controlling at least one of the volume of waste, or a combination thereof;
Heat treating the waste material;
Separating the constituents of the waste material from the non-uniform waste stream by means of magnetic strips arranged circumferentially around the circumference of the inner wall of the drum; and within the second end of the drum Discharging the heat treated waste material through the outlet;
Method. The method of claim 18, wherein
The waste material is medical waste,
Method. 20. The method of any one of claims 18 or 19, wherein
And controlling the amount of waste material moving through the drum by a plurality of control valves integral with the discharge housing,
The discharge housing includes a discharge housing opening adapted to receive the second end of the drum and in fluid communication with the discharge.
Method.