US3791317A

US3791317A - Incinerator

Info

Publication number: US3791317A
Application number: US00249945A
Authority: US
Inventors: D Schrage; E Giery
Original assignee: Aqua Chem Inc
Current assignee: Aqua Chem Inc
Priority date: 1972-05-03
Filing date: 1972-05-03
Publication date: 1974-02-12
Anticipated expiration: 1991-02-12

Abstract

An incinerator having a support assembly structure which also conducts combustion air to a main combustion chamber and an afterburner. Refuse is fed into the main combustion chamber by a compactor which includes a refuse receiving chute having a wall which pivots for refuse compaction. The afterburner air feed system includes a first tangential set of air passages for gas mixing, a venturi section to create a positive draft, and a combustion air feed system. A temperature control regulates the air feed and afterburner temperature by adjusting air feed and fuel.

Description

United States Patent Schrage et al.

1 1' Feb. 12, 1974 INCINERATOR Inventors: Donald J. Schrage, Germantown;

Edward G. Giery, Jr., Glendale,

both of Wis.

Assignee: Aqua-Chem, Inc., Milwaukee, Wis.

Filed: May 3, 1972 Appl. No.: 249,945

[52] US. Cl. 110/8 R, 110/8 A [51] Int. Cl. F23g 5/00 [58] Field of Search. 110/8 R, 14, 18, 8 A; 100/233 [5 6] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,513,768 5/1970 Altmann et al 100/233 x 3,521,553 7/1970 Smolka et al. 100/233 X 3,561,379 2/1971 Polsak 110/14 3,685,437 8/1972 Panning llO/S X Primary Examiner-Kenneth W. Sprague Attorney, Agent, or FirmFred Wiviott; Ralph G.

Hahenfeldt [57] ABSTRACT An incinerator having a support assembly structure which also conducts combustion air to a main combustion chamber and an afterburner. Refuse is fed into the main combustion chamber by a Compactor which includes a refuse receiving chute having a wall which pivots for refuse compaction. The afterburner air feed system includes a first tangential set of air passages for gas mixing, a venturi section to create a positive draft, and a combustion air feed system. A temperature control regulates the air feed and afterburner temperature by adjusting air feed and fuel.

9 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PATENTEBFEB 1 2 I974 SHEET 1 (IF 3 PATENTEI] FEB I 2 I974 sum 3 or 3 87 5' I 6 T Ts Q If)! q\\\\ FIGS HGT

INCINERATOR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION .This invention relates to apparatus for the combustion of waste materials and more particularly to apparatus for compacting the refuse prior to incineration.

It is common to provide refuse incinerators with means for compacting and feeding material to be incinerated into a combustion chamber. Such prior art refuse compactors tended to be relatively complicated and expensive or to be limited to hand loading.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the invention to provide a new and improved compactor and feeder for refuse incinerating apparatus.

Another object of the invention is to provide an incinerator refuse compactor and feeder which is compact and economical.

A further object of the invention is to provide an incinerator refuse compactor which may be fed automatically or by hand.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view, with parts broken away, of an incinerator according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view, with parts broken away, of the incinerator illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an end view, with parts broken away, of the incinerator illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a vertical cross sectional view of the afterburner portion of the apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1; FIG. 5 is a view taken along lines 5-5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a view taken along the lines 6--6 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a view taken along the lines 7-7 of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 8 is a view taken along lines 88 of FIG. .4.

5 DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In general-terms, the incinerator-l0 according to the preferred embodiment of the invention includes a main combustion chamber 11, an afterbumer 12, and a material feed system 13. As will be described more fully hereinbelow, the material feed system 13 is disposed in a metallic housing 14 mounted on the main combustion chamber 10 and initially receives the refuse to be burned for compaction prior to feeding into the main combustion chamber 11. The refuse is burned in the main combustion chamber 10 with less than the stoichiometric amount of oxygen. This forms gaseous combustion products which pass into the afterburner 12 where they are mixed with air for complete combustion prior to discharge into the atmosphere. The main combustion chamber 11 and afterburner 12 are supplied with combustion air by an air feed system 15.

As those skilled in the art will appreciate, the main combustion chamber 10 may take any convenient shape. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the main combustion chamber 10 is shown to be generally cylindrical about a horizontal axis and to include a suitable outer metallic casing 16 and an inner refractory lining 17. A plurality of elongate air feed pipes 18 extend longitudinally along the bottom of the chamber 11 and below the refractory lining 17. Extending upwardly from each of the pipes 18 are a plurality of short nozzles 20 which couple the air pipes 18 to the interior of the chamber 11. The end of the pipes 18 are coupled to a manifold 22 which in turn is coupled to the air system 15 in a manner which will be described more fully below. Because of the large number of nozzles 20, air passes upwardly into the combustion chamber at a relatively low velocity. This reduces turbulence which might otherwise entrain particulate matter in the flue gas stream. An access door 24 is suitably mounted at the end of main combustion chamberll to permit the removal of ashes and noncombustibles.

The air system 15 includes a motor driven fan 25 which draws combustion air into the housing 14 through a louvered panel 27 and forces the same downwardly into a plenum chamber 28. The plenum chamber.28 is coupled by

conduits

29 and 30 to the

hollow skids

32 and 33 of the incinerator support assembly. A hollow support leg 38 connects the skid 33 to the mains fold 22 whereby combustion air is provided to the nozzles 20 of the main combustion chamber 11. A third conduit 40 extends upwardly from the hollow skid 32 and around the main combustion chamber 11 to open at its upper end into a hollow support housing 42 beneath the afterbumer 12 and which opens into the afterburner air system as will be described more fully below. It can thus be seen that the support assembly consisting of the

skids

32 and 33 and the support legs 35, 36, 37 and 38 function as an integral part of the air system for the main combustion chamber 11 and the afterburner 12.

The material feed system 13 includes a generally rectangular enclosure 44 the opposite ends of which are formed by a ram plate 4S and the charging door 46 of the main combustion chamber 11. The enclosure also includes a fixed bottom wall 48, a top wall 49 and a side wall 51. One side of the enclosure is normally open and may be closed by a side closure wall and compactor'52 which is pivotally mounted on top wall 49 and adjacent the edge of the open side. Side closure 52 is substantially the same size as wall 51 and closes the open side of the enclosure when it pivots from its full position as shown in FIG. 3 to its closed position therein shown by dashed lines. Ram plate is slidably mounted for horizontal movement within enclosure 44 and its outer periphery is in substantial registry with the inner circumferential surface of enclosure 44.

An access opening 54 is provided in the housing 14 for receiving trash to be burned. When the side closure 52 is in its open unpivoted position shown by full lines in FIG. 3, its remote edge 55 isslightly above the upper edge of the opening 54. A pair of sector shaped

panels

57 and 58 extend radially inwardly from the housing 14 and adjacent the opposite sides of the access openings 54 to the sides of the enclosure 44 and to a position above the member 52. This forms a trash receiving chute 59 extending from the opening 54 to the enclosure 44 and bounded by the closure member 52, the

panels

57 and 58 and the housing 14.

The closure member 52 is mounted for pivotal movement on a horizontal shaft 60 which has one end journaled at bearing 61 and whose other end is coupled to a rotary hydraulic motor 62. The bearing 61 and motor 62 may be supported in housing 14 in any suitable manner well known in the art and will not be discussed in detail for the sake of brevity. The pivotal axis of shaft 60 is coincident with the axis of curvature of housing 14 and the width of member 52 is substantially equal to the radius of said housing. In this manner, actuation of the hydraulic motor 62 will pivot the member 52 to move end 55 along the inner surface of housing 14 to carry any trash between

panels

57 and 58 into the enclosure 44. It will also be appreciated that this action will compact the trash in the enclosure 44 and the chute 59 into the volume of the enclosure 44 itself.

A cylinder 67 is suitably mounted by brackets 68 and 69 above the furnace charging door 46 and in a generally vertical direction. A connecting rod 70 couples a piston (not shown) disposed within cylinder 67 to the upper end of the furnace door 46. When cylinder 67 is actuated in a first sense, it moves furnace door 46 vertically upward from its position shown by full lines in FIG. 3 wherein opening 66 is covered to its position shown by dashed lines in FIG. 2 wherein opening 66 is uncovered. A pair of vertical guide rails 72 are mounted within housing 14 and engage the opposite front edges of furnace door 46 to guide the latter as it moves between its open and closed positions. Cylinder 67 is interlocked with hydraulic motor 62 and closure member 52 so that door 46 cannot be moved upwardly out of its closed position until closure member 52 is fully closed.

While in the preferred embodiment of the invention one of the vertical sides of enclosure 44 is open, a different side could be open without deviating from the inventive concept. For example, the top side could be open with the remaining three sides closed and closure member 52 pivotally mounted for downward movement to close said open top side.

As seen in FIG. 2, a second hydraulic cylinder 76 is suitably mounted on a bracket 77 below shaft 60 and in general parallelsim therewith. A piston (not shown) within cylinder 76 is coupled to the ram plate 45 for moving said plate horizontally within enclosure 44 upon the actuation of cylinder 76.

Cylinders

67 and 76 are interlocked so that cylinder 76 cannot begin moving ram plate 45 toward the furnace door until the latter has been raised to uncover the main combustion chamber charging opening 66.

A refractory lined elbow 80 is shown in FIG. 2 to couple the upper end of the main combustion chamber 11 at a point above the feed opening 66 to the afterburner 12. An ignition burner 82 of any suitable type well known in the art may be disposed in the vertical portion of elbow 80 and generally coaxially with afterburner 12. Referring now to FIG. 4, afterburner 12 is shown to include a generally annular plenum chamber 84 formed by a pair of spaced apart coaxial

metallic shell members

85 and 86 which are retained in a spaced relation to being suitably secured at their opposite ends to a pair of

annular rings

87 and 88.

The afterburner 12 also includes a shaped refractory lining 90 having a first relatively short, generally annular inlet portion 92, a frusto conical section 93 which terminates in a relatively short reduced diameter annular section 94 and a relatively long cylindrical section 95. The

sections

93 and 94 form a venturi to create a positive draft between the main combustion chamber 11 and theafterburner 12. A plurality of air passages are formed through the various sections of refractory lining 90 to insure complete combustion of the gaseous products discharging from the main combustion chamber 11. More specifically, as seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, a first set of air passages 97 are formed through the inlet portion 92 of the refractory lining and extend from the plenum chamber 84 in the direction generally tangential to the inside surface thereof of said section. The air passing through passages 97 therefore moves generally tangential to the inlet portion causing a through mixing of the combustible gases emanating from the main combustion chamber 1 l and the afterburner combustion air passing inwardly from the plenum chamber 84.

As seen more particularly in FIGS. 4 and 6, a second plurality of air passages 99 extend from the plenum chamber 84 inwardly to terminate in the reduced diameter portion 94. The passages 99 extend generally inwardly toward the axis of the afterburner 12 and are inclined generally in the direction of the gas flow. This tends to cause a further mixing of the combustible gases and air as they pass through the venturi throat section 94 and into the afterburner combustion chamber 95.

As seen in FIGS. 4, 7 and 8, a third and a fourth plurality of

air passages

100 and 101, respectively, extend through the refractory lining in the main combustion section 90 and are generally radially inwardly for providing oxygen to completely burn the gases exiting from the main combustion chamber 11. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, the exit end 102 of the afterburner 12 will be connected to an exhaust stack. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the number, position and inclination of the

air passages

97, 99, 100 and 101 are exemplary, and may vary with conditions without deviating from the invention.

As seen more particularly in FIG. 3, a throttle valve is disposed between plenum chamber 28 and the duct 30. Valve 110 is operated by a positioning motor 111 which in turn is coupled through a current-toposition transducer 111a to a control 112 responsive to a temperature measuring probe 113 disposed within the afterburner 12. Control 112 is also coupled to control through current to position transducer 114a to motor 1 14 which in turn controls the fuel supply metering valve 115 for the afterburner ignition 82. The temperature probe 113, control 112, transducers 111a and 114a and motors'lll and 114 will be constructed and arranged such that when the afterburner temperature rises a predetermined amount above a preselected temperature, such as 1,500 F for example, the valve 110 will be adjusted so that the air supply to the main combustion chamber 11 and the afterburner 12 will be throttled back as will the fuel to the ignition burner 82. On the other hand, when the afterburner temperature falls a predetermined amount below the preselected temperature, valve 110 will be adjusted to increase the air flow while the fuel feed rate to burner 82 will also be increased. This insures that the afterburner 12 can effectively oxidize all of the combustible gases emanating from the main combustion chamber 11.

In operation, the main combustion chamber 11 will be charged with combustible material which will then be ignited. Ignition may be accomplished either manu ally or by means of a burner, not shown. The fan 25 and the afterburner ignition burner will be actuated simultaneously or prior to ignition in the main combustion chamber. The air supply to the main combustion chamber 11 will be regulated so that less than the stoichiometric amount of oxygen is provided. As a result, gaseous combustion products, such as C0, are passed into the afterburner 12. The venturi section 93-94 in afterthe gaseous combustion products and combustion air.

Complete combustion of the combustible gases occurs within the main afterburner section 90 to eliminate the discharge of smoke or polluting gases. Further, by controlling the temperature in afterburner 12 to about l,500 F, the combustion rate in the primary combustion chamber can be regulated to a value which will insure complete combustion in afterburner 12.

While refuse is being burned in the main combustion chamber 11, trash can be loaded into chute 59. When chute 59 fills, the compactor 52 may be actuated to compact the trash into enclosure 44. The compacted trash need not be immediately charged into the main combustion chamber, but the compactor 52 may be returned to its open position, the chute 59 refilled and the compactor reactivated one or more times. Thus substantially more trash may be charged into the main combustion chamber 11 than merely the amount which the chute 59 and compartment 44 can hold in a single charging.

After the initial charge of refuse in the main combustion chamber 11 has been substantially consumed, the compactor 52 will be moved to its closed position shown by dashed lines in FIG. 3 to close compartment 44. Piston 67 will then be operated to open furnace charging door 46 and piston 76 operated to actuate the ram plate 45 and thereby charge the compacted trash into the main combustion chamber 11. The ram plate 45 may then be returned to its original position'and furnace charging door 46 closed permitting the compactor 52 to be reopened whereby further trash may be fed into chute 59 and enclosure 44.

It will be appreciated that the material feed system 13 provides a compact and economical means for compressing waste materials and feeding the same into the main combustion chamber 10. Further, by providing upwardly extending chute 59 and a compactor which traverses the chute, no particular precautions are required in charging. Thus the system 13 can either be fed manually or from apparatus such as a conveyer, refuse grinder, lift truck, etc.

While only a single embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, it is not intended to be limited there by but only by the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. An incinerator having a combustion chamber in which refuse is burned and a normally closed charging door for receiving refuse therethrough, a refuse compactor mounted adjacentv to said charging door for compacting refuse before it is introduced into said combustion chamber, said refuse compactor including an enclosure having three stationary sides forming an open sided receptacle, a fourth side pivotally mounted adjacent the open side of receptacle for movement between an open position and a closed position relative to the open side of said receptacle, means for pivoting said fourth side between its open and closed positions, an inlet bin having a trash receiving portion communicating with the open side of said enclosure and lying in the path of said fourth side as the same moves between its open and closed positions, said fourth side being operable when moved from its open position to its closed position to sweep the contents of said inlet bin into said enclosure and to compact the same, and feeding means associated with the one of the ends of said enclosure for moving the compacted contents thereof through said charging door into said combustion chamber.

2. An incinerator having a combustion chamber in which refuse is burned and a normally closed charging door for receiving refuse therethrough, a refuse compactor mounted adjacent to said charging door for compacting refuse before it is introduced into said combustion chamber, said refuse compactor including three stationary sides forming an open sided enclosure, a fourth side pivotally mounted adjacent the open side of the receptacle for movement between an unpivoted open position and a closed position relative to the open side of said receptacle, means for pivoting said fourth side between its open and closed positions, an inlet bin having a trash receiving portion communicating with the open side of said enclosure and lying in the path of said fourth side as the same moves between its open and closed position, said fourth side being operable when moved from its open position to its closed position to sweep the contents of said inlet bin into'said enclosure and to compact the same, and feeding means associated with one of the ends of said enclosure for moving the compacted contents thereof through said charging door into said combustion chamber, said inlet bin having an inlet opening disposed generally at a higher vertical elevation than the open side of said enclosure, said fourth pivotally mounted side being generally above the open side of said enclosure, the free end of said fourth side being above said inlet opening when said fourth side is in its'unpivoted position.

3. The incinerator set forth in claim 2 wherein said bin has side and bottom wall means, said fourth side defining the upper margin of said bin, said bin side and bottom wall means being generally coincident with the path defined by the edges of said fourth side as the same pivots between its open and closed positions.

4. The incinerator set forth in claim 1 wherein one end of said enclosure is disposed adjacent said charging door, and said feeding means being disposed adjacent the other end of said enclosure for moving the trash therein toward said access door.

5'. The incinerator set forth in claim 4 wherein sai feeding means comprises plate means closing the other end of said enclosure, and motive means for moving said plate means toward said charging door.

6. An incinerator having a combustion chamber in which refuse is burned and a normally closed charging door for receiving refuse therethrough, a refuse compactor mounted adjacent to said charging door for compacting refuse before it is introduced into said combustion chamber, said refuse compactor including three stationary sides forming an open sided enclosure, a fourth side pivotally mounted adjacent the open side of said receptacle for movement between an unpivoted open position and a closed position relative to the open side of said enclosure, means for pivoting said fourth side between its open and closed positions, an inlet bin having a trash receiving portion communicating with the open side of said enclosure and lying in the path of said fourth side as the same moves between its open and closed positions, said fourth side being operable when moved from its open position toits closed position to sweep the contents of said inlet bin into said enclosure and to compact the same, and feeding means associated with one of the ends of said enclosure for moving the compacted contents thereof through said charging door into said combustion chamber, one end of said enclosure being disposed adjacent said charging door, said feeding means being disposed adjacent the other end of said enclosure for moving the trash therein toward said charging door, said feeding means comprising plate means closing the other end of said enclosure, and motive means for moving said plate means toward said charging door, said inlet bin having an inlet opening disposed generally at a higher vertical elevation than the open side of said enclosure, said fourth pivotally mounted side being generally above the open side of said enclosure, the free end of said fourth side being above said inlet opening when said fourth side is in its unpivoted position.

7. The incinerator set forth in claim 6 wherein said bin has side and bottom wall means, said fourth side defining the upper margin of said bin, said bin side and bottom wall means being generally coincident with the path defined by the edges of said fourth side as the same pivots between its open and closed positions.

8. The incinerator set forth in claim 5 wherein said bin has side and bottom wall means, said fourth side defining the upper margin of said bin, said bin side and bottom wall means being generally coincident with the path defined by the edges of said fourth side as the same pivots between its open and closed positions.

9. The incinerator set forth in claim 1 wherein said bin has side and bottom wall means, said fourth side defining the upper margin of said bin, said bin side and bottom wall means being generally coincident with the path defined by the edges of said fourth side as the same pivots between its open and closed positions.

Claims

1. An incinerator having a combustion chamber in which refuse is burned and a normally closed charging door for receiving refuse therethrough, a refuse compactor mounted adjacent to said charging door for compacting refuse before it is introduced into said combustion chamber, said refuse compactor including an enclosure having three stationary sides forming an open sided receptacle, a fourth side pivotally mounted adjacent the open side of receptacle for movement between an open position and a closed position relative to the open side of said receptacle, means for pivoting said fourth side between its open and closed positions, an inlet bin having a trash receiving portion communicating with the open side of said enclosure and lying in the path of said fourth side as the same moves between its open and closed positions, said fourth side being operable when moved from its open position to its closed position to sweep the contents of said inlet bin into said enclosure and to compact the same, and feeding means associated with the one of the ends of said enclosure for moving the compacted contents thereof through said charging door into said combustion chamber.

2. An incinerator having a combustion chamber in which refuse is burned and a normally closed charging door for receiving refuse therethrough, a refuse compactor mounted adjacent to said charging door for compacting refuse before it is introduced into said combustion chamber, said refuse compactor including three stationary sides forming an open sided enclosure, a fourth side pivotally mounted adjacent the open side of the receptacle for movement between an unpivoted open position and a closed position relative to the open side of said receptacle, means for pivoting said fourth side between its open and closed positions, an inlet bin having a trash receiving portion communicating with the open side of said enclosure and lying in the path of said fourth side as the same moves between its open and closed position, said fourth side being operable when moved from its open position to its closed position to sweep the contents of said inlet bin into said enclosure and to compact the same, and feeding means associated with one of the ends of said enclosure for moving the compacted contents thereof through said charging door into said combustion chamber, said inlet bin having an inlet opening disposed generally at a higher vertical elevation than the open side of said enclosure, said fourth pivotally mounted side being generally above the open side of said enclosure, the free end of said fourth side being above said inlet opening when said fourth side is in its unpivoted position.

5. The incinerator set forth in claim 4 wherein said feeding means comprises plate means closing the other end of said enclosure, and motive means for moving said plate means toward said charging door.

6. An incinerator having a combustion chamber in which refuse is burned and a normally closed charging door for receiving refuse therethrough, a refuse compactor mounted adjacent to said charging door for compacting refuse before it is introduced into said combustion chamber, said refuse compactor including three stationary sides forming an open sided enclosure, a fourth side pivotally mounted adjacent the open side of said receptacle for movement between an unpivoted open position and a closed position relative to the open side of said enclosure, means for pivoting said fourth side between its open and closed positions, an inlet bin having a trash receiving portion communicating with the open side of said enclosure and lying in the path of said fourth side as the same moves between its open and closed positions, said fourth side being operable when moved from its open position to its closed position to sweep the contents of said inlet bin into said enclosure and to compact the same, and feeding means associated with one of the ends of said enclosure for moving the compacted contents thereof through said charging door into said combustion chamber, one end of said enclosure being disposed adjacent said charging door, said feeding means being disposed adjacent the other end of said enclosure for moving the trash therein toward said charging door, said feeding means comprising plate means closing the other end of said enclosure, and motive means for moving said plate means toward said charging door, said inlet bin having an inlet opening disposed generally at a higher vertical elevation than the open side of said enclosure, said fourth pivotally mounted side being generally above the open side of said enclosure, the free end of said fourth side being above said inlet opening when said fourth side is in its unpivoted position.