MOISTENING OF FINE BULK MATERIAL
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for the moistening of fine bulk material, in particular ash, in according to the preambles to the independent claims presented below.
PRIOR ART
Power plants combusting solid fuels, such as peat or bark, usually store ashes removed from the boiler in a small silo to await transport.
The characteristics of ash, such as particle size and bulk density, depend, among other things, on the type of boiler and fuel used and from which portion of the boiler the ash was removed.
Ash, in particular the so-called fly ash removed from the upper portion of a boiler, is often so light, fine-grained and prone to produce dust that it is very difficult or impossible to discharge the ash as such in a controlled manner from a storage silo into, for example, a transport vehicle. In such cases it is known to use a so-called ash conditioner under the silo, at the point of discharge, which conditioner moistens the ash by mixing water into it so, that the bulk density of the ash increases, dust production decreases and the handling and controlling characteristics are improved.
Known ash conditioners are comprised of an enclosed steel trough serving as a conditioning chamber, wherein one or more shafts provided with mixing blades are mounted, the shafts being longitudinally mounted on bearings inside the trough, which the shafts are rotated, for example, by an electrical motor and a set of gears. In the ceiling of the conditioning chamber, there are water jet nozzles, and conditioning water is brought to these nozzles through piping at an appropriate flow rate and pressure.
The material to be moistened is fed into the conditioning chamber at one end of the chamber. The mixing blades are positioned on the shaft in such a way that, when the shaft is rotating, a screw surface is formed that conveys the material to be moistened forwards in the longitudinal direction of the shaft, whereby the moistened material is discharged at the other end of the conditioning chamber. As ash travels through the conditioning chamber, the mixing blades mix the water sprayed into the chamber evenly with the ash.
The dimensions of the conditioner are determined on the basis of the desired conditioning and discharging capacity. The typical length of the apparatus is approximately 2-6 m.
A problem relating to known ash conditioners is heavy adherence of the material on the conditioning chamber walls. While drying, the material adhered to the chamber walls becomes hard, resembling cement, and forms a very hard, strong layer that blocks the apparatus and finally makes it impossible to operate it at all. The material adhered and hardened on the walls in practice often has to be removed by pounding and using strong cleaning chemicals. Such a cleaning operation requires a lot of work and time and reduces the usability of the conditioner because the apparatus has to be stopped when the cleaning is carried out.
Attempts have been made to ameliorate this problem by replacing the conventional structural steel in the conditioning chamber walls with special steel grades, such as abrasion resistant steel, stainless steel or acid resistant steel, which have a lower friction coefficient against the material to be moistened compared with conventional structural steel. These materials, however, have not reduced the problem to any significant extent and furthermore they are expensive compared with conventional structural steel.
It is also known to use water jets directed at walls of the conditioning chamber in order to keep the walls clean. However, this solution has not in practice provided a satisfactory result.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The principal purpose of the invention presented here is to alleviate or even eliminate the above-mentioned problems arising in the prior art.
The purpose of the invention is in particular to improve the known conditioning method and apparatus.
The purpose of the invention is in particular to obtain a conditioning method and apparatus that can be operated without adherence and hardening of ash or other material to be moistened on the walls of the conditioning chamber as detrimentally as in solutions according to the prior art.
To accomplish the above-mentioned purposes, among others, a method and apparatus according to the invention for the moistening of bulk material, in particular ash, is characterised by what is presented in the characterising parts of the independent claims presented below.
Some preferred embodiments of the invention are characterised by what is presented in the characterising parts of the dependent claims presented below.
All embodiments and advantages mentioned in this text refer, in so far as they are applicable, to both an apparatus and a method according to the invention, even though this may not be explicitly stated.
A typical apparatus according to the invention for the moistening of fine bulk material, in particular ash, comprises an, at least for the most part, enclosed conditioning chamber. One or more mixing means, arranged to rotate, are
arranged in the conditioning chamber. To moisten the bulk material within the chamber, the apparatus further comprises water piping and water jet nozzles. The walls and/or bottom of the conditioning chamber are made of elastic material, such as rubber.
In an embodiment of the apparatus and method according to the invention, the conditioner is furthermore provided with a fixed washing system, which system flushes the mixing blade shafts with a single or several high-pressure, preferably 100-200-bar water jet e.g. always before the apparatus is stopped. This arrangement ensures that, beside the walls and bottom of the conditioning chamber, the mixing blade shafts also remain clean.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the following, the invention is described in more detail by referring to the accompanying schematic drawings, in which
Figure 1 represents an arrangement for discharging ash from a storage silo to a transport vehicle using an apparatus according to the invention for the moistening of ash, Figure 2 represents an apparatus according to the invention for the moistening of ash shown as a side view projection Figure 3 represents the apparatus in Fig. 2, shown as a top view projection, and Figure 4 represents the apparatus in Fig. 2, shown as a sectional view in the direction of the shaft.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Figures 1-4 represent a preferable apparatus according to the invention for the moistening of ash.
Figure 1 represents an ash storage silo 1 and an apparatus for discharging the silo. At the lower end of the silo 1, ash is discharged through a rotary vane
feeder 2 to a conditioner 3 according to the invention. Air piping and air nozzles 4 are arranged at the lower end of the silo 1, through which piping and nozzles compressed air blown is used for assisting the discharge of ash from the silo 1. The lower end of the silo is opened and closed as desired with a silo closing gate 5. A washing system 6 is arranged on top of the conditioner 3, which washing system consists of water piping and nozzles 7, which piping and nozzles are used for spraying water into the conditioner 3 to moisten the ash and to wash the conditioner 3. Moistened ash is conveyed through a loading sleeve 8 into a lorry 9.
In Figures 2 and 3, some non- visible parts of the apparatus are indicated with broken lines. In a typical apparatus according to the invention as represented in the Figures, the walls and/or bottom of the conditioning chamber 10 of the conditioner 3 consist of a sheet 11 made of elastic material, preferably rubber matting. The thickness of the rubber matting 11 is preferably approximately 5- 20 mm and the matting can easily be made, for example, of material intended for belt conveyors. The elastic sheet 11 is preferably attached to the frame chassis 12, 13 of the conditioner only at the upper edges of the walls of the conditioning chamber 10, for example with screws 14. The elastic sheet 11 is furthermore supported by support frames 15 of the conditioning chamber's 3 frame chassis, which support frames are located at such intervals H in the longitudinal direction of the conditioner 3 that the elastic sheet 11 may bend outwards from the conditioning chamber 10 between the support frames 15. The elastic sheet 11, however, has typically not been attached to these support frames 15 in any way. If the length of the conditioner 3 is for example approximately 4-5 m, support frames 15 are installed in the frame chassis 12, 13 preferably at intervals H of approximately 300-600 mm.
In the embodiment represented in the Figures, there is an ash supply hatch 17 at the upper edge of the front end 16 of the conditioner 3, which hatch has been connected to the rotary vane feeder 2 shown in Fig. 1. An electrical motor 18
I2003/000845
rotates two mixing blade shafts 20 through a set of gears 19. The shafts 20 are typically rotated in different directions as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 4. Several mixing blades 21 for mixing ash are mounted on the shafts 20. At the lower edge of the second end 22 of the conditioner, there is an ash discharge hatch 23 that can be opened and closed, which discharge hatch 23 is fitted, for example, with a loading sleeve 8 as shown in Fig. 1. At the upper edge of the second end 22 of the conditioner there is a maintenance hatch 33.
Above the conditioner there can be seen a washing and moistening system 6. The system comprises separate pipes 24 and nozzles 7 for washing water for shafts 20 and mixing blades 21 as well as pipes 25 and nozzles 26 for ash conditioning water. The system, of course, also comprises a large number of various valves 27 and regulators, the operation of which valves and regulators will not be described here in detail. Washing water for the shafts is pressurised with a compressor 32.
When the apparatus 3 is running, the rotational movement of the mixing blade shafts 20, the vibration caused by this and the movement of the material to be moistened in the conditioning chamber 10 cause the elastic sheet 11 attached to the fixed frame chassis 12 at the upper edge of the frame chassis only, to be continuously subjected to slight movements, bending in particular in the spaces between the support frames 15. At the same time, the elastic sheet 11 yields and stretches locally. Due to this, no bonding forces can be formed between the material to be moistened and the elastic sheet 11, which forces would make it possible for the material to adhere and harden on the surface of the sheet 11. Even if a lump of material were for some reason to adhere to the elastic sheet 11 at first, the lump would generally rapidly be loosened by the relative movement between the surface of the sheet 11 and the lump of material caused by the local stretching of the sheet 11.
The apparatus represented in the Figures has two mixing blade shafts 20. In this apparatus, the elastic sheet 11 has been formed from two separate elastic strips 28 and 29, which strips have been attached to each other by pressing the edges of the strips between two angle irons 30 and 31. The angle irons 30, 31 can be seen in Fig. 4. In order to make the structure stronger, for example, the angle irons 30, 31 can be attached to something along their length, but preferably they swing freely along with the elastic strip 11. The elastic sheet 11 can, however, move about in a manner according to the invention between the joint 14 at its upper edge and the angle irons 30, 31. The angle irons 30 and 31 or other similar support structures are not, however, required in the invention. For example, if there is only one mixing blade shaft 20, the elastic sheet 11 can be made of a single piece without any longitudinal seam.
The method and apparatus according to the invention may also be used for the moistening of other fine bulk materials than ash in order to improve the processability and controllability of the material.
The figures and text represent only preferable embodiments of the invention. For a person skilled in the art it is obvious that the invention is not restricted only to the embodiments presented above, but the invention may rather be varied within the scope of the claims presented below. Some possible embodiments of the invention are presented in the dependent claims, and they should not as such be regarded as restrictive of the scope of protection of this invention.