Classifications

• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F26—DRYING
  • F26B—DRYING SOLID MATERIALS OR OBJECTS BY REMOVING LIQUID THEREFROM
  • F26B17/00—Machines or apparatus for drying materials in loose, plastic, or fluidised form, e.g. granules, staple fibres, with progressive movement
  • F26B17/10—Machines or apparatus for drying materials in loose, plastic, or fluidised form, e.g. granules, staple fibres, with progressive movement with movement performed by fluid currents, e.g. issuing from a nozzle, e.g. pneumatic, flash, vortex or entrainment dryers
  • F26B17/107—Machines or apparatus for drying materials in loose, plastic, or fluidised form, e.g. granules, staple fibres, with progressive movement with movement performed by fluid currents, e.g. issuing from a nozzle, e.g. pneumatic, flash, vortex or entrainment dryers pneumatically inducing within the drying enclosure a curved flow path, e.g. circular, spiral, helical; Cyclone or Vortex dryers
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F26—DRYING
  • F26B—DRYING SOLID MATERIALS OR OBJECTS BY REMOVING LIQUID THEREFROM
  • F26B3/00—Drying solid materials or objects by processes involving the application of heat
  • F26B3/02—Drying solid materials or objects by processes involving the application of heat by convection, i.e. heat being conveyed from a heat source to the materials or objects to be dried by a gas or vapour, e.g. air
  • F26B3/10—Drying solid materials or objects by processes involving the application of heat by convection, i.e. heat being conveyed from a heat source to the materials or objects to be dried by a gas or vapour, e.g. air the gas or vapour carrying the materials or objects to be dried with it
  • F26B3/12—Drying solid materials or objects by processes involving the application of heat by convection, i.e. heat being conveyed from a heat source to the materials or objects to be dried by a gas or vapour, e.g. air the gas or vapour carrying the materials or objects to be dried with it in the form of a spray, i.e. sprayed or dispersed emulsions or suspensions

Definitions

• the invention relates to a device according to the preamble of Claim 1.
• a device of this kind is generally known in the prior art. All kinds of processes produce flows of material which contain liquid and solid constituents. Such flows of material are often flows of waste, but may also comprise other process streams. Moreover, it is often desirable to reduce the level of the liquid constituent in a flow of material of this nature. This can be achieved by heating the flow of material, so that the level of the liquid constituent is reduced by evaporation. If this takes place in a static manner, a considerable amount of heat is required.
• Another way of separating liquid and solid constituents of a flow of material is to blow heated air tangentially into a conical vessel. The heated air is conveyed further into a process pipe. Moreover, a flow of material is introduced, and the liquid constituent is removed in this way. In the prior art, air or another heated gas may, for example, be generated with the aid of a conventional piston engine.
• a drawback of a conventional piston engine is that the mechanical efficiency is high, i.e. the amount of heat dissipated to the outlet gases is low. It is not unusual for conventional piston internal-combustion engines of this nature to have to run warm for a long time before a sufficient flow of hot gas can be drawn off. This means that the process is inflexible and preferably has to be operated continuously.
• the separation of liquid constituents and solid constituents of a flow of material is understood to encompass not only the removal of water, but also the removal of other liquids, such as hydrocarbons .
• the object of the present invention is to be able to carry out such separation more efficiently so that it can be widely used and so that all kinds of material flows can be processed. This is because it has been found that if certain flows of material are separated, the product which remains can be utilized to good effect and has an economic value. This applies in particular to flows of waste.
• the flow of gas or air it is possible for the flow of gas or air to move through the inlet vane essentially in the vertical direction, in the horizontal direction, or in any direction lying between the vertical and horizontal.
• the flow of material which is to be treated it is proposed for the flow of material which is to be treated to be introduced into the flow of gas, which is moving upwards in a turbulent manner, in the vertically upwards direction. It has been found that this results in a very intensive drying.
• vanes means that, in contrast to structures in accordance with the prior art in which throttling is carried out, for example by means of throttle rings and the like, there is no significant loss of energy and all the kinetic energy is used for moving a flow of material and for separating liquid constituents out of this flow of material. Consequently, the separation can be carried out (much) more effectively.
• the vanes preferably have a wing-like profile. The mixing of the flow of gas and the flow of material which is to be treated can be optimized further if the vanes are made to vibrate, so that the flow of gas is also made to vibrate.
• the invention makes it possible to operate with a comparatively high capacity. As a result, under certain circumstances it becomes possible to atomize the sludge. Atomization makes it easier to remove liquid. The result is new possibilities which were hitherto impossible to realize with the device according to the prior art.
• a further device for separating the now moist gas and the flow of solid material is arranged downstream of the outlet of the device.
• a separating device of this nature may, for example, comprise a cyclone.
• the heat which is present in the flow of gas can to a large extent be recovered via a heat exchanger. If the liquid constituents comprise hydrocarbons and other combustible products, the emerging gas can be burnt and, if desired, returned to the circuit.
• the generation of large volumes of gas for treating a flow of material in the manner described above may be carried out in any way which is known in the prior art. However, it has been found that a particularly high level of efficiency can be achieved using a gas turbine, and more particularly a turbine without a drive shaft.
• a turbine is particularly compact and operationally reliable and, after it is started, almost immediately reaches its operating temperature. Owing to its compact nature, it is possible to arrange the entire device on a moveable frame, so that it can be moved to the location where the flow of waste is situated. It has been found to be possible to transport an installation with an output of greater than 100 kW behind a passenger car in a comparatively small trailer. According to a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, the outlet of the line through which the flow of material is introduced is situated in the vicinity of the plane which is defined by the inlet vane.
• the risk of deposits being formed on the pipe wall or any other part of the discharge is low.
• the special turbulence which is generated by means of the inlet vane according to the invention means that any deposition will take place in a uniform manner along the wall of the process pipe, in contrast to the wavy pattern formed in the prior art. If deposition should nevertheless occur, a wall of this nature can be cleaned using any wiper which is known in the prior art, thus ensuring that operation is continued.
• the invention also relates to a method for separating liquid and solid constituents from a flow of material according to Claim 11.
• Fig. 1 shows a diagrammatic side view of a device according to the invention
• Fig. 2 shows a cross section on line II-II in Fig. 1
• Fig. 3 shows a perspective view, in section, of part of the inlet vane.
• the device according to the invention is denoted overall by 1. It is arranged on a frame 2, further details of which are not shown.
• a turbine 4 is arranged on this frame.
• a turbine of this nature may be a turbine which is generally known in the aeronautical engineering sector. It can be started up with the aid of a battery set 20.
• the outlet of the turbine i.e. the part from which hot gases are discharged, is connected to a connection line 5. which is in turn coupled to a turbulence chamber 6.
• this turbulence chamber can be used to impart a first turbulence to the gas, because the gas is forced to rotate upwards along housing 7 (Fig- 3) • During this movement, the gas meets an inlet vane 8, the opening angle of which can be set with the aid of a control 9. as can be seen from Fig. 3-
• An outlet or process pipe 10 adjoins housing 7- Inside housing 7 there is a riser 14 which is connected to line 13. which in turn is connected to pump 11 to which a flow of material can be added via funnel 12.
• the outlet 15 of riser 14 is situated in the plane of the inlet vane 8 and is vertically adjustable. This is important in particular in order to be able to adapt, for example, to the relative density of the sludge which is to be processed.
• a cyclone 16 is connected to the process pipe 10. This cyclone, on the one hand, is connected to a receptacle 17 and, on the other hand, is provided with a gas outlet 18 which is passed through a heat exchanger
• Straight magnetic bars 21 , 22 may be arranged on both the inside and outside of the process pipe 10 in order to clean the latter.
• Moving straight bar 21 will cause straight bar 22 to move with it.
• the wall of the process pipe 10 is made from non-magnetic material, such as stainless steel.
• the device described above operates as follows: After turbine 4, which may, for example be a 175 kW turbine, has been started up, the operating temperature is reached almost immediately. The temperature of the gases moving through connecting line 5 is dependent on the resistance which the gases are subjected to by the setting of the inlet vane. If the angle of the inlet vane 8 with respect to the horizontal is comparatively small, the gas will have a comparatively slow turbulent flow. As a result, the residence time of the gas will be comparatively long and the temperature of the gas will be comparatively high.
• a flow of material of this nature may, for example, comprise a flow of sludge from which moisture is to be removed.
• any other flow of material such as manure, sludges and the like.
• Sludges are understood to mean process streams which may vary from flows of waste to flows of foodstuffs.
• the flow of material is moved upwards through the riser and enters housing 7 at outlet 15.
• the turbulent flow caused by turbulence chamber 6 and inlet vane 8 will be situated essentially along the circumference of housing 7- A reduced pressure will prevail in the centre of housing 7 where outlet 15 opens out, and the flow of material which is sprayed upwards will be subjected to this vacuum.
• the flow of material is atomized in the process pipe.
• separation in the flow of material is accelerated and liquid is entrained, possibly in vapour form, in the flow of gas.
• the flow of material and the flow of gas will be intimately mixed in the vicinity of the end of the process pipe 10, and then the flow of material and the flow of gas are separated again in cyclone 16.
• the solid material is collected in the latter, in receptacle or sack 17, while the remaining moist gas is passed through gas discharge 18, where the remaining heat is dissipated via a heat exchanger 19, and this heat can be used in any way, for example for preheating the air which is fed into the turbine or for preheating the flow of material.
• the gas which leaves the heat exchanger 19 may, if it contains hydrocarbons, be burned or returned to turbine 4 by being condensed.
• the adjustable inlet vane described above makes it possible to adjust the residence time in accordance with the type of material which is supplied and the moisture content of this material. In contrast to the situation in the prior art, in the event of prolonged residence time under the same operating conditions of the turbine, there will be an elevated temperature, making the separation more effective. By setting the inclination of the inlet vane so as to generate a flow in the other direction, it is also possible, if appropriate, to remove deposited contaminants.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
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Cited By (4)

Citations (14)

• 1998
  • 1998-11-20 AU AU12644/99A patent/AU1264499A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1998-11-20 WO PCT/NL1998/000668 patent/WO1999027316A1/nl active Application Filing

Patent Citations (15)

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