Incinerator improvements

Abstract: An incinerator system includes: a main chamber (32); double reburn tunnels (41,42); an excitor (134,158) within a reburn tunnel; a grate (234) near the incinerator's inlet (231) to permit the drying and initial combustion of refuse, and an ash scoop (278). The use of dual reburn tunnels (41,42), along with a damper (69,70) that permits the closure of at least one of them, permits the efficient and environmentally acceptable utilization of the main incinerator chamber (32) even with minimal refuse contained there. With less refuse, only one reburn unit (41,42) operates; it will still have sufficient heat and throughput to maintain, with minimal auxiliary fuel, the temperature needed for complete combustion. An excitor (134,158), or solid stationary object placed within the reburn tunnel (41,42), permits the retention and reflection of the heat generated by the burning to assure complete combustion of all hydrocarbons within the reburn unit. Additionally, the air utilized in the reburn unit may enter through the excitor for efficient distribution and concomitant combustion.

Description: John N. Basic, Sr., in his US Patents 4,438,705 issued on March 27, 1984, and 4,516,510 issued on May 14, 1985, both entitled "Incinerator With Two Reburn Stages and, Optionally, Heat Recovery", provided an incinerator system and techniques that very significantly advanced the art of incinerating refuse. The disclosures provided equipment and methods for taking waste of vastly different descriptions, heat contents, and wetness and, within one type of equipment, incinerating them in an environmentally acceptable manner. These disclosures merit a careful understanding. Not only do Basic's two patents provide a complete incinerator system for burning refuse in bulk or hydrocarbon liquids, they also provide equipment and techniques for incinerating hydrocarbon-containing fumes from sources which may produce them. Again, they accomplish this result without substantial deleterious effect upon the environment. Naturally, in a system as complex as that shown by Basic in his two patents, a consideration of the various components by a creative mind can suggest and lead to improvements and further developments that can improve the efficiency of the system. Thus, for example, Basic's US-A-4,475,469 discloses, in conjunction with the above two patents, an improved hearth floor which moves under the influence of impulses to urge the burning debris along from the inlet of the main chamber to the ash outlet. This pulsating hearth developed by Basic represents a significant improvement on the major advances disclosed in his two incinerator patents referenced above. AT-A-317,401 suggests introducing air into a reburn tunnel through a pipe placed on the middle of that tunnel itself. However, the patent suggests no use for the pipe other than for introducing the air into the tunnel. Furthermore, introducing the air through perforations in the pipe results in a "T" configuration for the velocity components of the gases. This may even result in the air thus introduce resisting the flow of gases through the reburn tunnel. US-A-3190244 suggests use of a reburn unit with two reburn sections in association with a main combustion chamber. The present invention provides an incinerator system having the features of the preamble of claim 1 characterised in that damper means are provided in the outlet ports the damper means being independently operable so that one of the outlet ports may be closed to fluid flow whilst the other outlet port remains open to fluid flow. The reburn unit may include an excitor placed within, surrounded by, and coupled to the reburn unit. The excitor, as a minimal purpose, in effect reduces the cross-sectional area through which the oxygen-containing gas must travel to reach the combustible hydro-carbons. Furthermore, it provides a reflective surface which will permit the heat either entering or generated with the reburn unit to reach the gaseous molecules to further encourage complete combustion. Within the reburn unit, the majority of the length of the excitor, in passing from the reburn's inlet to the reburn's outlet, should remain out of contact with wall of the reburn unit. The excitor has the purpose of reducing the cross-sectional area on planes transverse to the path passing from the inlet opening to the outlet opening of the reburn unit. The excitor, in this configuration, may serve to introduce the oxygen-containing gas into the reburn unit. It does so with nozzles, in fluid communication with the oxygenating mechanism and having an arrangement on the surface of the excitor. The nozzles introduce the air into the space between the inner surface of the reburn unit and the excitor and does so at a nonperpendicular angle to the direction of the path from the inlet to the outlet of the excitor. By thus avoiding the "T" configuration, the air entering the reburn unit through the nozzles will aid the turbulence of the gas without retarding or blocking its progress. However, the excitor need not introduce the air or other oxygen-containing gas into the reburn unit to have an important and useful function. It may remain passively within the reburn unit to reflect the heat generated or introduced there. This will maintain the gases at an elevated temperature in which they will undergo their efficient and thorough combustion. To accomplish this, the surface of the excitor facing the interior of the reburn should have a composition of a heat and corrosion resistant material. This precludes its destruction at the temperatures and in the gaseous environments at which the reburn unit operates. Stated alternately, the excitor should not absorb and pass the heat from the reburn unit into its interior. Rather, it should have a relatively low thermal conductivity to effectuate the reflection of the heat from its surface back into the gases undergoing combustion. As a convenient limit, the surface of the excitor facing the interior of the reburn should have a composition of a material with a thermal conductivity constant k less than about 60 British thermal unit inch per square foot hour degree Fahrenheit (8.65 Watt per metre kelvin) and is preferably less than 24 British thermal unit inch per square foot hour degree Fahrenheit (3.46 Watt per metre kelvin). The preferred embodiments of the invention when having a low input of refuse may operate more efficiently when it permits a lower throughput of gases. To accomplish this objective, reburn unit may include a choking device coupled to its outlet opening to selectively reduce the cross-section area of this outlet opening. This will retain the gases within the reburn unit for a sufficient period of time to accomplish full combustion even though it has a minimal input. This may also find use upon the initial commencement of operation of the unit after it has cooled down and before introducing refuse. The unit can then reach operating temperature where it avoids environmental pollution. Reversing the damping effect and permitting the return unit's outlet opening to revert to its full size then allows the system's normal operation. The burning of refuse according to these developments delineated above requires, in addition to the procedure discussed above for fume burning, the placing of refuse through an inlet opening into a main incinerator chamber. There, the bulk refuse burns to produce gaseous combustion products. These combustion produces pass out of the main combustion chamber through an outlet opening and directly into an inlet opening of the reburn unit. BRIEF DESCRIPTION FIGURE 1 give a perspective view of an incinerator system installation. FIGURE 2 presents a top plan view of a reburn unit having two separate reburn tunnels with each tunnel having two separate reburn stages. FIGURE 3 provides a side elevational view of the reburn unit shown in FIGURE 2 and also shows further stages for processing the exaust gases. FIGURE 4 gives a cross-sectional view of the twin reburn tunnels of FIGURE 3 along the line 4-4. FIGURE 5 provides a close-up view, partially in section, of the damper that can serve to close off either or even both of the twin reburn tunnels of Figures 1 to 4. FIGURE 6 shows the outlet openings of the twin reburn tunnels and the choke dampers which can partially close each of the outlet openings. FIGURE 7 illustrates a damper that can serve to close off the inlet opening to either the twin reburn tunnels or partially block the outlet openings. FIGURE 8 gives a cross-sectional view of a reburn tunnel having an excitor inside where air enters through both the reburn unit's wall and the excitor's wall. FIGURE 9 provides a side cross-sectional view of a portion of a reburn tunnel having an excitor inside in which air enters the reburn tunnel through nozzles placed only on the excitor. FIGURE 10 gives a cross-sectional view along the line 10-10 of the reburn tunnel shown in FIGURE 9. FIGURES 11 to 15 provide diagramatic cross-sectional views of reburn tunnels with excitors showing, in particular, different techniques for increasing the cross-sectional areas of the reburn tunnels in going from the inlet opening to the outlet opening. FIGURE 16 gives an isometric view, partially in section, of an incinerator main chamber having a grate in the vicinity of the inlet opening to the chamber but located above the chamber's floor. FIGURE 17 displays an end view, in cross section, of the incinerator chamber of FIGURE 16. FIGURE 18 provides a side elevational view of a scoop mechanism for removing ashes from the output pit of an incinerator system. FIGURE 19 gives a side elevational view of an ash scoop used in the mechanism of FIGURE 18. FIGURE 20 displays a top plan of the scoop of FIGURE 19. FIGURE 21 gives an end elevational view along the line 21-21 of the track guide of the scoop of FIGURE 20. FIGURE 22 illustrates a side elevational view of yet a further alternate ash removal mechanism. FIGURE 23 provides an enlarged view of the chute mechanism shown in FIGURE 22. FIGURE 24 gives a side elevational view of an alternate ash removal scoop for use in the mechanisms shown in Figures 18, 22, and 23. DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIGURE 1 shows an incinerator system generally at 30. Bulk refuse or hydrocarbon-containing liquids enters the incinerator 30 through the loader 31 and enters the main chamber 32. During most of its stay in the incinerator 30, solid refuse remains upon the pulsating hearth floors 33 and 34. Upon the completion of combustion, the remaining ash falls into the pit 35 where the removal mechanism designated generally at 36 lifts it and places it in the truck 37. The door 38 permits access to the interior of the main chamber 32 for the usual maintenance. The gases produced by the combustion within the main chamber pass through the dual reburn tunnels 41 and 42 and through the further treating, recirculation, and heat removal stages 43. They eventually leave through the stack 44. Heat recovered from the incinerator system 30 may pass into the pipe 45. In FIGURES 2 and 3, the reburn tunnels 41 and 42 include the respective first reburn stages 51 and 52 and respective second reburn stages 53 and 54. The burners 55 and 56 at the beginning of the first stages 51 and 52 maintain the temperatures in the tunnels 41 and 42 at the desired levels for proper operation. They also bring the reburn temperatures up to the proper levels at the each commencement of operation. In fact, environmental regulations often require that the incinerator achieve its operating temperatures prior to the introduction of the first amount of refuse whatsoever after a shut-down. The burners 55 and 56 assist in this task. The blowers 57 and 58 provide air to the first stages 51 and 52 for combustion and the blowers 59 and 60 perform the same function for the second stages 53 and 54. The gases from the second stages 53 and 54 pass through the outlets 63 and 64. As observed, the second reburn stages 53 and 54 have greater cross-sectional areas than the first reburn stages 51 and 52 of the tunnels 41 and 42, respectively. This allows the second reburn stages 53 and 54 to accommodate the greater volumes of gases resulting from the introduction of air and from the combustion of volitalized hydrocarbons within the tunnels 41 and 42. This represents one method of increasing the volume of the reburn tunnels from their inlets to the outlets. Other techniques accomplishing the same objective receive discussion below with reference to Figures 11 to 15. After leaving the second stages 53 and 54, the gases then pass to the subsequent treating section 43 and mentioned above. As seen in Figures 4 and 5, the gases from the main chamber 32 pass through the outlet openings 67 and 68 which also form the inlet openings to the reburn units 41 and 42, respectively. The dampers 69 and 70, when in the positions shown in FIGURES 3 to 5, cover the opening 67 and 68, respectively, and close them off. In operation, of course, at least one of the dampers 69 and 70 will remain open. When the main chamber 32 has sufficient combustible material inside, both will open and allow the gases to pass through to the reburn tunnels 41 and 42. To accomplish their motion, the dampers 69 and 70 include the axial extensions 71 and 72. The lever arms 75 and 76 then connect ridgedly to the extensions 71 and 72. The rods 77 and 78 connect the lever arms 75 and 76 to the pistons 79 and 80 which attach ridgedly at their other ends to the brackets 81 and 82. The extension of the pistons 79 and 80 in Figures 3 to 5, especially the last, will induce the rotation of the lever arm 76 and its counterpart not shown about the center of the axis 72 to result in the opening of the dampers 69 and 70. The counterweights 83 and 84 rotationally coupled to the other ends of the lever arms 75 and 76. They counterbalance the weight of the dampers 69 and 70 and facilitate their controlled motion. A significant part of the weight of the dampers 69 and 70 results from their having a covering of the refractory 86 as shown in FIGURE 5. This, of course, provides protection against the high temperatures and corrosiveness of the gases passing around them. To help further protect the damper 69 and 70, they include air channels as discussed below with reference to FIGURE 7. The passage of air through the dampers 69 and 70 keeps them at a low enough temperature to prevent their destruction. Similarly, the dampers 91 and 92 cover the outlet opening 63 and 64 of the reburn tunnels 41 and 42, respectively. As shown in FIGURE 6, however, the dampers 91 and 92, even when in the closed position as shown there, only cover up to about a maximum of about 60 percent of the outlet opening 63 and 64. When closed, they retain the gases within the reburn tunnels 41 and 42 for a longer time to assure their complete combustion. Typically such retention becomes desirable when the tunnels 41 and 42, and often, the main chamber 32, operate upon substantially less than the maximum amount of refuse or combustion gases than the system can handle. The dampers 91 and 92 operate independently of each other depending upon the conditions in the respective reburn tunnels 41 and 42. They may, for example, submit to the control of temperature sensors placed within their respective tunnels. A lowering temperature may indicate the need to close the appropriate damper to retain the heat within the respective tunnel. Alternately, when the incinerator system produces steam, the damper control may measure the steam pressure produced by the system. A declining steam pressure may indicate a smaller quantity of heat within the system. This would provide an indication that either or both of the dampers 91 and 92 should close at least to some extent. The dampers 91 and 92 in FIGURE 6 not only have the totally open or totally closed positions. They may also occupy intermediary locations to effectively block the outputs 63 and 64 by an amount less than the maximum closure that the dampers can achieve. The movement of the damper 91 appears in FIGURE 6 under the action of the lever arm 93 connected to the piston 94 which effectuates the desired movement between opening and closing. The cable 95 attaches to the damper 91, passes over the pully 97 and connects to the weight 99 to counterbalance the weight of the damper 91. Only the cable 96, the pully 98, and the weight 100 appear in FIGURE 6 for the tunnel 42. The choke dampers 91 and 92 serve to retain the gas within the reburn tunnels 41 and 42 for a greater period of time. In other words, it slows down the passage of the gas through these chambers. To achieve the desired combustion, the gas speed should typically not exceed about 55 feet per second. To assure proper combustion, the gas should move no faster than about 46 feet per second. The dampers 91 and 92, as shown, take the form of rectangular blocks that pivot to open and close. Alternately, as square blocks, they may slide sideways into the position where they partially close the outlet openings 63 and 64. They reopen them by sliding sidewaysin the opposite direction. In fact, they may even slide through an opening in the exterior wall of the incinerator system for this purpose. As a further alternate, the choke dampers at the ends of the reburn tunnels 41 and 42 may take the form of butterfly valves. This would give them either a round or rectangular configuration located within the outlets of the reburn units. They would then pivot about their centers to partially close or open the reburn's outlets. In the latter configuration, they would remain within the opening but present their edges of minimal area to avoid substantial interference with the passage of the gases. FIGURE 7 shows a typical damper, for example, the closure 70 to the outlet opening 68 to the second reburn tunnel 42 seen in FIGURE 5. In FIGURE 7, a supply of air passes through the damper 70 to keep its temperature from rising to a point where it could suffer serious damage from the heated environment from which it operates. As seen from FIGURE 5, the ends of the axial extensions 72 sit on the outside of the tunnel 42. The extensions 72 have hollow interiors which permits the passage of gas through them. To provide the cool gas, the flexible tube 104 connects to the nearer axial extension 74 to provide a source of cool gas. The cool gas travels through the interior of extension 72 into the axis 106 and out the opening 108 into the chamber 110. It then follows a path created by the dividers 112 and indicated by the arrows 114. Eventually it reaches the opening 116 in the axis 106 where it passes out through the other axial extension 72 and in it to the flexible tube 118. FIGURE 8 shows a reburn tunnel generally at 122 which may serve as either of the sections 51 or 53 of the reburn tunnel 41 or the sections 52 and 54 of the reburn tunnel 42. The tunnel 122 sits generally on the supports 124 and 125. The outer skin 126 surrounds the tunnel and forms the plenum 127 in conjunction with the wall 128. The blower 129 places air in the plenum 127 under pressure. From there, the air may pass through the nozzles 130 which take it into the interior 131 of the reburn tunnel 122. The refractory 132 covers the interior wall 128 and the nozzles 130 to protect them from the heat and the corrosive environment of the interior 131 of the tunnel 123. Additionally, the air within the plenum 127 may pass through the support 133 and into the excitor 134 located in the tunnel's interior 131. From there it passes through the nozzles 135 and into the interior 131 where it helps support combustion. The support 133 itself includes the inner wall 138 generally having a metalic composition. The refractory 139 surrounds the wall 138 to protect it from the tunnel's environment. Conveniently, the support 133 may have a rectangular cross section on planes parallel to the surface on which the tunnel sits. This will provide it with maximum cross-sectional area for the amount of the interference in the gas flow in the tunnel that it creates. Similarly, the excitor 134 protects its inner metal wall 142 from corrosion and heat damage with the refractory covering 143. The nozzles 135 pass through the refractory 143. As seen in FIGURE 8, air leaving the nozzles 135 does so with a tangential component of velocity. In other words, the nozzles 135 make an angle with the radii from the center of the excitor 134. Forty five degrees represents a desirable angle. The gas emanating from the nozzles 135 with the tangential component of velocity follows the path generally shown by the arrows 144. This tangential movement of the air causes it to efficiently and effectively mix with the combustible gases contained in the tunnel's interior 131. Further, the nozzles 135 as well as the outer nozzles 130, will generally introduce the air with an axial component of velocity. In other words, the nozzles point downstream. The velocity of the gases leaving the nozzles may in fact make a 45 degree relative to the axial, or downstream, direction. Additionally, the nozzles 135 may appear on the excitor 134 in rows in passing from the inlet to the outlet. To further assist the creation of the desired turbulence within the interior 131, the nozzles may have a staggered configuration from row to row to provide a more even air supply and turbulence. The construction shown in FIGURE 8 may undergo modifications for different purposes. Thus, plugging the nozzles 130 will result in all of the air from the plenum 127 passing around the wall 128, through the support 133, into the excitor 134, and out of the nozzles 135 into the tunnel's interior 131. This appears to have a beneficial effect in creating the turbulence necessary for combustion. Additionally, placing a barrier at the location 145 between the outer wall 126 and the plenum wall 128 will cause the air from the blower 129 to pass around substantially all of the plenum 127 before it reaches the inlet 146 to the support 133. This will have the effect of cooling the wall 128 with the air prior to its introduction into the interior 131. Furthermore, warming the air helps maintain the temperature inside the tunnel 123 at the necessary levels for combustion. Alternately, the excitor 134 may have no nozzles on it whatsoever. In this eventuality, all the air entering the tunnel's interior 131 will pass through the nozzles 130 on the reburn unit 123 itself. Nonetheless, the excitor must still have some air passing through it from one support to the other. This provides a cooling effect to prevent the heat within the reburn tunnel 123 from destroying the excitor 134. With or without nozzles, the excitor 134 serves additional purposes. The heat created within the interior 131 of the tunnel 123 itself helps to support the combustion of the gases inside. The heat near the middle of the interior 131 will pass into the refractory surface 143 of the excitor 134. From there it will radiate back into the interior 131 where it will help excite combustion. To provide the reradiation of heat absorbed, the wall of the excitor 134 should permit very little of the heat to pass through. Thus, it should have a low thermal conductivity constant k, generally less than about 60. Preferably, the conductivity constant k, as defined above, will not exceed about 24. Furthermore, the air entering the interior 131 must create turbulence in order to accomplish combustion. The excitor 134 reduces the maximum dimension of the space in the interior of the tunnel 122. Thus, air entering the interior 131 has a much shorter distance to travel to reach the combustible gases. Thus it can more effectively create the required turbulence for combustion because of the presence of the excitor 134. Desirably, the space between the outer surface of the refractory 143 of the excitor 134 and the inner surface of the refractory 132 covering the outer wall 128 should remain constant all around the excitor 134. This permits the most efficient mixing and turbulence of the oxygen introduced into the tunnel's interior 131. In the case of a circular reburn tunnel as shown in FIGURE 8, this would result in the interior 131 assuming an annular configuration. For the system having twin reburn tunnels as shown in FIGURES 1 to 6, either or both of the tunnels may include an excitor. The latter, of course, represents the most desired configuration. FIGURE 9 shows generally a portion of a reburn tunnel 153 which may, in fact, represent part of either of the reburn tunnels 41 or 42. The outer wall 154 includes the refractory covering 155 but no nozzles passing through it. Rather, all of the air entering the interior 156 of the tunnel 153 passes through the nozzles 157 on the excitor 158. That air, as before, enters the excitor 158 through its supports 159 and 160 and, eventually from the plenum 161. As seen in FIGURE 10, the blower 162 provides the air under pressure which eventually passes through the nozzles 157 into the interior 156. As before, the nozzles 157 introduce the air with an axial component of velocity. Stated in other words, the air is introduced at least partially in the direction from the inlet of the reburn section 153 to the outlet, or in the direction from the first support 159 towards the second support 160. As in FIGURE 9, that angle generally amounts to about 45 degrees. Furthermore, as shown in both FIGURES 9 and 10, the nozzles impart a tangential as well as a radial component of velocity to the air passing through them. Again, the nozzles will introduce the air at an angle of about 45 degrees relative to the radial direction. Thus, half of the non-axial velocity of the gases will move them outward and the other half moves them around the interior 156. The result appears in FIGURE 10 where the arrows 166 show the general vorticity to the direction of movement of the air. The plenum 161 does not extend the entire circumference of the reburn tunnel 153. Rather, it only goes from the blower 162 to the support 159. The outer wall 167, along with the wall 154 attached to the refractory 155, creates the plenum 161. FIGURE 11 gives a diagram of a section of a reburn tunnel having the outer wall 180, the refractory 181 and the two excitor sections 182 and 183. The arrow indicates the direction of the gas movement as in FIGURES 12 to 15. The excitors 182 and 183 have the same, constant cross-sectional area. However, the cross-sectional area of the interior 184 increases in the direction of the gas movement because the refractory wall 181 slopes outward. This permits the reburn section to accommodate the increasing amounts of air introduced either through the wall 181 or the excitors 182 and 183. In FIGURE 11, the cross-sectional area of the interior 184 increases gradually because of the gradual slope of the refractory wall. In FIGURE 12 appears another reburn section. It too has the outer wall 190 and 191, the refractory 192 and 193, and the excitor sections 194 and 195. As shown there, the interior 196 experiences a sharp, discontinuous increase at the juncture 197. This may, for example, represent the juncture between two separate reburn stages as shown in FIGURES 2 and 3 and discussed above. FIGURE 13 again shows a reburn section having the outer wall 200 and 201, refractory sections 202 and 203 and excitor sections 204 and 205. There, the interior volume 206 increases gradually at the juncture 207 between the two sections. However, the sloping wall at the juncture 207 results in less adding another undesired turbulence than the very sharp discontinuity 197 shown in FIGURE 12. Another reburn section appears in FIGURE 14 and includes the outer wall 210, the refractory 211, and the excitor sections 212 and 213. The smaller cross-sectional area of the excitor 213 as compared to the excitor 214 results in an increase in the cross-sectional area 214 of the interior as the gas travels from the excitor 212 to the excitor 213. Finally, FIGURE 15 shows the reburn section with the walls 220 and 221 and the excitor sections 222 and 223. The conic shape of the excitor sections 222 and 223 results in a gradual increase of the volume of the gas as it passes across them in the interior 224. The initial combustion of the refuse, of course, takes place in the main chamber 32 as seen in Figures 16 and 17. The screw feeders 230 may assist in the introduction of particulate refuse such as rice hulls. More typically, bulk refuse enters through the opening 231 in the forewall 232. In any event, the bulk refuse entering the incinerator 32 sits upon the grate generally at 234. It will rest there briefly to permit combustion to commence. If the refuse has a high moisture content, it may undergo drying while it rests upon the grate 234 to permit its more facile subsequent burning. If, upon entering, it immediately sat upon the hearth 33, it would experience greater difficulty in drying in order to undergo subsequent combustion. Alternately, a very high Btu content material such as plastics may burn at very high temperatures. If this occurred on the floor 33, the uneven heating could cause slagging of the floor itself. Thus, the refuse sits upon the grate 234, for a limited period of time. However, the majority of the fixed hydrocarbons within the material should remain unburned when the refuse slips through or off the grate 234 and onto the floor 33. The volatile hydrocarbon content may well have, by this time, already entered the gas stream. As shown in Figures 16 and 17, the grate 234, to permit the refuse to fall to the floor 33, will include the holes 235 passing through it. The size of the openings of the holes 235 generally lies in the range of 12 to 18 inches This permits most types of refuse to fall through to the floor prior to the burning of the majority of the fixed hydrocarbons. The grate 234, of course, exists in the heated and corrosive environment of the main chamber 32. Thus, it should generally have some mechanism for cooling it to prevent its destruction by heat or corrosion. To effectuate this result, the grate 234 includes the hollow longitudinal pipes 236 and 237 and the cross pipes 238. The pipe 236 has the couplings 239 and 240 while the pipe 237 includes the couplings 241 and 242. This permits the passage through it of a fluid which will effectuate the cooling of the grate 234. The fluid thus introduced may take the form of air, water, steam, or oil. Additionally, the pipes 236 to 238 of the grate 234 will have a refractory coating to provide further heat protection. Lastly, a wear surface composed typically of face hardened refractory will help protect the grate 234 from abrasion due to the refuse placed upon it. The floor 33 may assume a number of forms. A particular and advanced type of pulsed hearth floor appears in Basic's U. S. Patent 4,475,469 mentioned above. Other types of floors may work also, displaying various degrees of desirability. Thus, for example, the floor 33 may simply be form of a stationary hearth. Some form of a ram or other pusher would then typically move the refuse along until it burned into ashes which would then fall into an appropriate collector. Often, however, the floor will experience some form of movement to assist the burning refuse in traveling from the inlet to the outlet of the main chamber 32. The floor 33 may often constitute a hearth, whether moving or stationary. Experience indicates that the former represents the preferred technique. The pulsating hearth, whether in the configuration shown in Basic's patent or otherwise has proved most efficient. In Basic's patent, the hearth experiences arcuate movement, in pulses, in the direction from the inlet 231 toward the outlet. It moves more rapidly in the former direction than the latter in order to toss the refuse along almost in a snow-shovel type movement. The hearth floor 33 shown in FIGURE 16 has a shape that has proved beneficial in the burning of many types of refuse. Here, the floor inclines from the inlet 232 to the outlet ash pit 244. This slight lean built into the upper floor 33 and the lower floor 34 assists the refuse in moving in response to any motion experienced by the floors. Additionally, the floors 33 and 34 include the ridges 246 and 247, respectively, on their upper surfaces. This helps channel and shuffle the refuse sitting there to aid in its combustion. The jets 248 on the upper floor 33 and 249 on the lower floor 34 provide under-fire air to assist combustion to the burning refuse. As shown in FIGURE 17, the nozzles 249, as do the nozzles 248 of the upper floor 33, the lower floor 34, incline downwards as they introduce the air into the main chamber 32. This downward angle on the nozzles 249 and 248 helps prevent the entrance of particles of refuse into them which could result in their clogging. The amount of air introduced through the nozzles 248 and 249 may vary depending upon the conditions within the incinerator system in general in the main chamber 32 in particular. Thus, as discussed above, the system may contain insufficient refuse to operate at or near capacity. Introducing in this case less air through these jets, may assist the entire incinerator system to reach or remain at its proper operating temperature. Instead of the hearth floors 33 and 34, the main chamber 32 could include a grate floor underneath the grate 234. The refuse would fall from the upper grate to the lower grate and then undergo its full combustion. This lower grate may then either remain stationary or experience some type of movement to transfer the burning refuse in the direction of the ash pit 244. This may work in conjunction with utilization of the choke dampers 91 and 92. One method of accomplishing the reduction of the air in the main chamber would simply involve turning off the air introduced in the second pulsating hearth floor 34. The main chamber 32 includes the membrane sidewalls 253 and 254 which appear diagramatically in FIGURES 16 AND 17. In these walls, the water passes through the lower inlet pipes 255 and 256. From there it passes through the tubules 257 and 258 of the membrane walls 253 and 254 to the header pipe 259. From there it may travel elsewhere to provide useful energy in the form of steam for electricity, heating, or other purposes. As discussed above, the main chamber may not have sufficient refuse to support the heat throughout the incinerotor system. In this eventuality, the amount of heat taken out through the header 259 may suffer a reduction in order to leave sufficient heat within the main chamber and reburn tunnels to maintain the temperatures required for clean and efficient burning.

Claims: An incinerator system for bulk refuse and hydro-carbon-containing liquids having: (1) a main combustion chamber (32) with: (a) a first inlet opening (231) for the introduction of solid bulk refuse; and (b) a first outlet opening having first and second outlet ports (67,68) each for permitting the egress of the gaseous products of combustion from said main chamber; and (2) a reburn unit with: (a) first and second separate reburn sections (41,42); (b) a second inlet opening having first and second inlet ports formed respectively by the said first and second outlet ports (67,68), said first and second inlet ports opening into said first and second reburn sections, respectively; (c) a second outlet opening includes third and fourth outlet ports (63,64) from said first and second reburn sections, respectively; (d) burner means including first and second burner sections (55,56), coupled to said first and second reburn sections, respectively, for burning a fuel in said first and second reburn sections, respectively; and (e) oxygenating means includes first (57,59) and second (58,60) oxygenating sections, coupled to said first and second reburn sections, respectively, for introducing an oxygen-containing gas into said first and second reburn sections, respectively; Characterised in that damper means (69,70) are provided in the outlet ports (67,68), the damper means (69,70) being independently operable so that one of the outlet ports (67 or 68) may be closed to fluid flow whilst the other outlet port (68 or 67) remains open to fluid flow. An incinerator according to claim 1 characterised in that said first reburn section (41) includes first (51) and second (53) stages and said second reburn section (42) includes third (52) and fourth (54) stages with said first and third stages including said first and second inlet ports respectively, and said third and fourth stages include said third and fourth outlet ports (63,64), respectively; said first oxygenating section includes first (57) and second (59) oxygenating stages for introducing said oxygen containing gas into said first and second reburn stages (51,53), respectively, and said second oxygenating section includes third (58) and fourth (60) oxygenating stages for introducing oxygen into said third and fourth reburn stages (52,54), respectively. An incinerator according to claim 1 or claim 2 characterised in that choking means (91,92) are coupled to said third outlet port (63) and said fourth outlet port (64) for selectively reducing the cross-sectional area of said outlet ports. An incinerator according to claim 3 characterised in that temperature sensing means are coupled to said incinerator system, for determining the temperature within said incinerator system; and choking control means are coupled to said temperature sensing means and to said choking means (91), for, in response to the temperature determined by said temperature sensing means, controlling the amount of cross-sectional area of said third outlet port (63) closed off by said choking means. An incinerator according to claim 4 characterised in that said sensing means is a temperature sensing means coupled to said first (41) and second (42) reburn sections for determining a temperature in said first and second reburn sections, respectively; and choking control means are coupled to said first and second reburn sections and to said choking means (91), for, when the temperature sensed by said temperature sensing means falls below a predetermined level, causing said choking means (91) to reduce the cross-sectional area of said third outlet port (63). An incinerator according to claim 4 or claim 5 characterised in that steam producing means are coupled to said incinerator system, for utilizing the heat of said system to convert water to steam, and said sensing means is a pressure sensing means coupled to said steam producing means for determining the pressure of steam produced by said steam producing means, and said choking control means couples to said steam sensing means and to said choking means (91) for, when the steam pressure determined by said steam sensing means falls below a predetermined level, reducing the cross-sectional areas of said third outlet openings (63) respectively. An incinerator according to any of claims 3-6 characterised in that said choking means (91) can reduce the cross-sectional area of said third outlet port up to 60 percent of the area of said third outlet port. An incinerator according to any of claims 3 to 7 characterised in that said choking means (91) is a first choking means and further including second choking means (92), coupled to said fourth outlet port (64), for selectively reducing the cross-sectional area of said fourth outlet port. An incinerator according to any preceding claim characterised in that said oxygenating means is a first oxygenating means and further including: (a) second oxygenating means for introducing an oxygen-containing gas into said main chamber (32) and (b) means for varrying the amount of said oxygen-containing gas introduced into said main chamber by the second oxygenating means depending upon conditions within the incenerator. An incinerator according to any preceding claim characterised in that first and second excitor means (134) are placed within, surrounded by, and coupled to said first and second reburn sections (41,42), respectively, the majority of the length of said first and second excitor means, in passing from said first and second inlet ports to said third and fourth outlet ports (63,64), respectively, being out of contact with the wall (132) of said first and second reburn sections, for reducing the cross-sectional areas of said first and reburn sections on a plane transverse to the paths passing from said first and second inlet ports to said third and fourth outlet ports, respectively. An incinerator according to claim 10 characterised in that nozzles (135) are arranged on said first and second excitor means (134) and in fluid communication with said oxygenating sections, said oxygenating sections being coupled to said first and second excitor means for introducing said oxygenating-containing gas into said first and reburn sections through said nozzles. An incinerator according to claim 11 characterised in that said oxygenating sections (57,60) include plenums (127) located on the exterior of said first and second reburn sections (41,42), and said oxygenating sections passes said oxygen-containing gas through said plenums prior to passing it into said first and second reburn sections (41,42) through said nozzles (135) on said first and second excitor means, respectively. An incinerator according to claim 11 or claim 12 characterised in that wherein at least a portion of said nozzles (135) on said first and second excitor means (134) introduce said oxygen-containing gas at a non-perpendicular angle relative to said paths from said first and second inlet ports to said third and fourth outlet ports, respectively, preferably at an angle with both a tangential and a radial component of velocity relative to said paths from said first and second inlet ports to said third and fourth outlet ports, respectively. An incinerator according to claim 13 characterised in that said nozzles (135) introduce an oxygen-containing gas at an angle of not greater than 45° relative to the radial direction of the respective reburn unit. An incinerator according to any preceding claim characterised in that nozzles (130) are located on the walls (132) of said first and second reburn sections in fluid communication with said first and second oxygenating sections for introducing said oxygen-containing gas into said first and second reburn sections through said nozzles (130) located on said walls of said first and second reburn sections. An incinerator according to any of claims 10 to 15 characterised in that the respective distances between said first and second excitor means (134) and the walls (132) of said first and second reburn sections, respectively, at particular locations along the length of said first and second excitor means, are substantially equidistant around said first and second excitor means, respectively and are preferably substantially annular. An incinerator according to claim 16 characterised in that the spaces between said first and second excitor means (134) and said first and second reburn sections (41,42) near said first and second inlet ports are less than near said third and fourth outlet ports (63,64), respectively. An incinerator according to claim 17 characterised in that said spaces between said first and second excitor means (134) and said walls (132) of said reburn sections has at least one sharp increase along said path. An incinerator according to claim 17 characterised in that said spaces between said first and second excitor means (134) and said walls (132) of said reburn sections increases gradually along at least a portion of said path from said first and second inlet ports to said third and fourth outlet ports. An incinerator according to any of claims 10 to 19 characterised in that a first support (133) is connected between each excitor means (134) near the upstream end thereof and the wall (132) of the associated reburn section and a second support is connected between each excitor means (134) near the downstream end thereof and the wall (132) of the associated reburn unit, said first and second supports holding said excitor means within said reburn sections and having hollow interiors (138) in fluid communication with plenums in said excitor means; and said oxygenating means introduces said oxygen-containing gas to said plenum in said excitor means through said first and second supports. An incinerator according to any of claims 10 to 20 characterised in that said excitor means is composed of a material having a thermal conductivity less than 60 British thermal unit inch per square foot hour degree Fahrenheit (8.65 Watt per metre kelvin) and is preferably less than 24 British thermal unit inch per square foot hour degree Fahrenheit (3.46 Watt per metre kelvin). An incinerator according to any of claims 10 to 21 characterised in that said nozzles (135) on said excitor means (134) are arranged in rows relative to said path from said inlet ports to said outlet ports, with the nozzles of a particular one of said rows having a staggered configuration relative to the nozzles on the preceding row and to the nozzles on the succeeding row. A method of incinerating refuse by means of the incinerator of any preceding claim by: (A) placing bulk refuse through said first inlet opening (231) into said main incinerator chamber (32); (B) burning said bulk refuse in said main incinerator chamber to produce gaseous combustion products; (C) passing the gaseous combustion products out of said main combustion chamber through said first outlet opening and into said first and second inlet ports; (D) burning a fuel in said first and second reburn sections; (E) introducing an amount of an oxygen-containing gas into said first and second reburn sections; (F) passing the gaseous combustion products out of said first and second reburn sections through said third and fourth outlet ports respectively. The method of claim 23 further including closing off one of said reburn sections. The method of claim 23 or claim 24 wherein said first reburn section (41) is composed of first (51) and second (53) reburn stages and said second reburn section (42) is composed of third (52) and fourth (54) reburn stages with said first and third reburn stages being adjacent to said first and second inlet ports and said second and fourth reburn stages being adjacent to said third and fourth outlet ports and further including measuring temperatures within or near proximity to the interiors of said reburn sections, respectively, burning greater amounts of said fuel in said first and third reburn chambers when said temperatures are below a first predetermined set point, respectively, and lesser amounts when said first and second temperatures are above said set point, respectively. The method of claim 25 further including reducing the cross-section area of said first and/or said second outlet opening. The method of claim 25 further including sensing the temperature in the system comprising said main chamber and/or said first and second reburn sections and, in response to said sensed temperature in said system, changing the amount of the cross-sectional area of said first and/or said second outlet opening closed off. The method of claim 27 wherein said condition determined in said system is the temperature of said first and second reburn sections and, once said temperature falls below a predetermined value, said third inlet opening is closed and, once said temperature raises above said predetermined value, said third inlet opening is opened. The method of claim 23 including closing off at least about 60 percent of at least one of said third or said fourth outlet ports. The method of any of claims 24 to 29 further including introducing an oxygen-containing gas into said main chamber, sensing the temperature in the incinerator system composed of said main chamber and said first and second reburn sections, and changing the amount of said oxygen-containing gas introduced into said main chamber dependent upon said sensed temperature. The method of any of claims 24 to 30 further including closing off at least a portion of both said first and second outlet openings. The method of any of claims 24 to 31 wherein the velocity of the gases within the reburn sections in the direction from the inlets thereof to the outlets thereof is not greater than 55 feet per second (16.67 metres per second) and is preferably not greater than 46 feet per second (14.02 metres per second).

Inventors: BASIC JOHN N SR, BASIC, JOHN N. SR.
Applicants: BASIC J N SEN, BASIC, JOHN N. SR.
Application year: 1990
Main classification: F23G5
IPC codes: F23J1, F23M9, F23G5, F23M5, F23H3, F23G7, F23L1