Patent Publication Number: US-6904850-B2

Title: Animal treatment system and method thereof

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention, comprising automatic assemblable and movable devices that can be moved to any location needed, relates to a system for animal carcass treatment, particularly an automatic system for animal carcass treatment with large processing capacity of 4,000 to 32,000 KGs per eight hours up to 24 hours, wherein a continuous mode of feeding is used and the incineration is distributed with a dynamic mode by conveying the solids that have been dismembered into 4″ wide and 8″ long chunks (e.g., a full-grown cow) within 3 minutes, bone-crushed and separated from liquids and in the meantime continuously proceeding with the incineration (at 900° C.-1,000° C.), while the sewage water is treated and recycled for further use, and the waste gas generated from the incineration further is treated with burning at higher temperature (1,100° C.) in the secondary combustion chamber, making the waste gas non-toxic by having it burned prior to exhaustion, thus complying with environmental protection standards so as not to pollute the environment, while effectively increasing the efficiency of the incineration and lowering the cost. 
   2. Description of Related Art 
   Animal carcasses are conventionally amputated into chunks manually, or not being amputated due to smaller sizes (e.g., sheep and dogs, etc.) by using amputating equipment such as cutting tools, amputating benches and hoists; the carcass chunks are then manually put into the incinerators for subsequent incineration. Numerous types of furnaces are adopted for use in incinerators of animal carcass of the prior art with the mode of burning the animal carcass chunks being static and mass-burning during the incineration. With such a mass-burning mode of incineration, the throughput of this type of incineration treatment system is rather low, and as a result the incineration efficiency is also low, and with the prior art, the animal incinerator is not able to treat 32 M.T. in eight hours. Furthermore, the ash withdrawal after the incineration has to rely on human labor. Additionally, because of the need to treat large quantities of animal carcasses, the incineration practice of the prior art usually requires huge freezing equipment to be set up at processing plants for storing the amputated carcasses that cannot be treated in a timely manner, so as to prevent the decaying carcasses from producing a foul odor. Such design not only increases additional expenditures to the overall cost, but it also results in a waste of labor and resources. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The primary object of the present invention is to provide an automatic system of animal carcass treatment, whereby the full automatic operation mode is adopted on processes from feeding to ash withdrawal, with the solids (bones and flesh chunks) and liquids (hemoid liquid and sewage water) being treated separately to improve the efficiency of the incineration system. The sewage water is recycled for reuse after being evaporated, and the waste gas is further treated with incineration, so that the surrounding environment is not polluted by waste gas and sewage water, thus providing an animal treatment system being in compliance with environmental protection requirements. 
   Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for the system of animal carcass treatment comprising: feeding, conveying, dismembering, bone crushing, solid-and-liquid separation, sewage water treatment, recycling for reuse, incineration, waste gas and ash treatment. 
   The system of animal carcass treatment that can effect the above mentioned objects consists of a dismembering system, an incineration system, a sewage water treatment system and a waste gas treatment system, wherein the dismembering system is a closed type system comprising a storage tank, a first conveyor, a flusher, a dismembering means, a bone crusher, a second conveyor and an exhauster; the incineration system comprises a primary combustion chamber having scrubbers mounted on a conveyor, sifters and an ash withdrawer; the sewage water treatment system comprises an evaporator, a water storage tank, a filter, a water pump and a water cooling tank, wherein the evaporator has two conduits for conducting the water from the water storage tank into the evaporator and conducting the steam into the water cooling tank, a safety valve and water valve, and the water storage tank contains a water level alarm, water monitoring viewer and water supply conduit. The waste gas treatment system comprises a stack and a secondary combustion chamber. The dismembering system can automatically separate the solids (bones and flesh chunks) from the liquids (hemoid liquids and sewage water), the solids that have been separated from liquids are crushed by the bone crusher and then preheated and incinerated in the primary combustion chamber of the incineration system in order for the remains to be turned into ashes. The liquid including hemoid liquid and sewage water that is separated from solids is filtered by a filter and pumped by a water pump to the evaporator to be heated and evaporated, allowing the sewage water to turn into steam after being heated. The steam is then conducted into the water-cooling tank in order to turn into water, and the water is later conducted through a water conduit into the flusher for flushing purposes, thus completing the recycling process of the sewage water for reuse. The waste gas generated from the incineration in the primary combustion chamber under temperature of 900° C. to 1000° C. is then burned and purified by means of burning at higher temperature (1,100° C.) in the secondary combustion chamber before being exhausted. 
   The storage tank is for storing the animal carcasses to be treated. 
   The first conveyor is for conveying the carcasses to be dismembered to the dismembering means. 
   The second conveyor is for conveying the solids being crushed to the incineration system. 
   The exhauster is for sucking out the polluted air from inside the closed type dismembering system and blowing it to the primary combustion chamber for providing the appropriate amount of air for any combustion condition during the self-burning of the solids in the primary combustion chamber, thus enhancing both disinfecting and combustion processes. 
   The incineration system features the functionality of preheating, being capable of drying up the solids that have been crushed, thus speeding up the incineration since the solids carry no residual water content when undergoing the combustion process. 
   The incineration system is built with a burner and a thermo-couple in the primary combustion chamber and the secondary combustion chamber respectively. 
   The scrubbers are mounted on a conveyor activated by a reducer for stirring and pushing the solids that have been crushed and conveyed into the primary combustion chamber, with the conveyor carrying the solids to the preheating zone for preheating and then to the combustion zone for incineration, and finally to the sifter for the sifting purpose. 
   The sifters are of different dimensions and sizes to allow the remains generated from incinerating the solids on the conveyor to be sifted through, such that larger sizes of remains are kept in the chamber for further incineration, while remains incinerated into smaller sizes are sifted through, thus all the remains of different sizes are eventually burned into ashes. 
   The evaporator is located on top of the primary combustion chamber, and is formed by means of the high heat of the primary combustion chamber. It is for heating and evaporating the sewage water, wherein the evaporator has two conduits, a safety valve and water valve. The two conduits are for conducting the water from the water storage tank into the evaporator and conducting the steam into the water cooling tank, the safety valve being for adjusting the safety valve to let the steam out from the roof of the furnace in the event that one of the conduits is clogged, the water valve being for removing the wastes in the evaporator to prevent from malfunction by wastes, so as to ensure the safety of the evaporator. 
   The water storage tank is for storing the hemoid liquid and sewage water produced during the flushing and dismembering. 
   The filter is for filtering the particles in the sewage water, allowing the liquids to be recycled for reuse. 
   The water level alarm is for giving warning signals to the operator when the water reaches the warning level. 
   The water-monitoring viewer is for observing the wastes and density of particles in the sewage water, in order to provide fresh water in the event that the concentration reaches an excessive level. 
   The water supply means is for the purpose of supplying fresh water, so as to prevent the sewage water from deteriorating. 
   The water cooling tank is for turning the steam generated in the evaporator to be cooled down instantly into water, and for conducting it to the flusher for flushing purpose, so as to recycle the water for reuse. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The objects and characteristics of the present invention as stated above are to be further described in detail based on the drawing to be shown below. However, it should be noted that the drawings and the preferred embodiments referred herein are merely for the purpose of detailed description, and, therefore, not to be used to confine or limit the present invention. 
     Illustrated in  FIG. 1  is the functional block diagram of the animal treatment of the present invention. 
     Illustrated in  FIG. 2  is the flow chart of the animal treatment of the present invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     FIG. 1  is the functional block diagram for the animal treatment of the present invention, which mainly includes: a dismembering system  1 , an incineration system  2 , a sewage water treatment system  3  and a waste gas treatment system  4 , wherein the dismembering system  1  is a closed type system, comprising a storage tank  10 , a first conveyor  11 , a flusher  12 , a dismembering means  13 , a bone crusher  14 , a second conveyor  15  and an exhauster  16 , wherein the storage tank  10  is for storing the animal carcass, the first conveyor  11  is for conveying the animal carcass to be dismembered to the dismembering means  13 , the flusher  12  is for flushing purposes after dismembering, the bone crusher  14  is for crushing the bones after dismemberment, the second conveyor  15  is for conveying the flesh and bones that have been crushed to the incineration system  2 , and the exhauster  16  is for blowing out the polluted air in the closed type dismembering system  1  to the primary combustion chamber  20  to provide the appropriate amount of air for any combustion condition during the self-burning of the solids in the primary combustion chamber, enabling the exhauster  16  to provide both disinfecting and self-burning purposes. The incineration system  2  comprises a primary combustion chamber  20  equipped with a burner, a thermocouple (not shown in drawings), sifters  21  and ash withdrawer  22  and scrubbers, wherein the primary combustion chamber  21  is divided into a preheating zone and a combustion zone, the scrubbers mounted on a conveyor activated by a reducer are capable of stirring and pushing the crushed solids, allowing the solids to be preheated in the preheating zone before being pushed into the combustion zone for incineration, and finally to the sifters  21  for sifting. The sifters  21  are of different dimensions and sizes for allowing the remains generated from incinerating the solids on the conveyor to be sifted through, such that larger sizes of remains are kept burning, while remains incinerated into smaller sizes are sifted through, thus all the remains of different sizes are eventually burned into ashes and are conveyed to the ash withdrawer  22 . 
   The sewage water treatment system  3  comprises an evaporator, a water storage tank  30 , a filter  31 , a water pump  32 , and a water cooling tank  33 , wherein the evaporator  23 , located on top of the primary combustion chamber  20 , is formed by means of the high heat of the primary combustion chamber, and is for heating and evaporating the sewage water. The evaporator  23  is equipped with two conduits, a safety valve, and a water valve, the two conduits being for conducting the water from the water storage tank into the evaporator and conducting the steam into the water cooling tank  33 , and the safety valve being for adjusting the safety valve for letting out the steam from the roof of the furnace in case of clogging of one of the conduits, the water valve being for removing the wastes in the evaporator  23  for preventing the evaporator  23  from malfunction caused by wastes, so as to ensure the safety of the evaporator  23 . The water storage tank  30  contains a water level alarm, a water-monitoring viewer and a water supply conduit, the water storage tank  30  being for storing the hemoid liquid and sewage water generated from the flushing and dismembering, while the water level alarm is for giving warning signals to the operator in the event that water reaches the warning level, the water monitor viewer being for observing the density of particles in the sewage water such that fresh water is supplied in the event that such density becomes excessively high, the water supply means being for supplying fresh water to the water storage tank  30  when some part of the sewage water is conducted into the evaporator  23 , so as to prevent the sewage water from further self-befouling, the filter  31  being for filtering particles in the sewage water, while allowing the filtered water to be pumped, by means of the water pump  32 , to the evaporator  23  for heating and evaporating, and the steam generated from the evaporator being conducted into the water cooling tank  33 , allowing the steam to make a physical change to water drops and to be pumped to the flusher  12  for flushing purpose, so that the sewage water is continuously recycled for reuse. 
   The waste gas treatment system  4  comprises a stack  41  and the secondary combustion chamber  40  which contains a burner and a thermo-couple (not shown in drawings), wherein the stack  41  is for exhausting the non-toxic gas generated from solids burned in the primary combustion chamber  20 , and the secondary combustion chamber  40  provides combustion of all the resulting gas passed over from the primary combustion chamber  20 . 
   Please see  FIG. 1  for further reference on the description on the overall operation of the animal treatment system  100 . First of all, a large quantity of animal carcasses are stored in the storage tank  10 , then, by means of the first conveyor  11 , the animal carcasses are conveyed to the dismembering means  13 , and further crushed by the bone crusher  14 , so that the carcasses are automatically crushed into small chunks. For example, a full-grown cow can be dismembered into 4″ wide and 8″ long pieces in three minutes. In the meantime the hemoid liquid and sewage water are conducted through the conduit into the water storage tank  30 , while the solids, after the bone crushing process, are conveyed by the second conveyor  15  into the incineration system  2 . 
   By the time the solids that have been crushed reach the primary combustion chamber  20  by means of the second conveyor  15 , the solids are preheated prior to the actual incineration. 
   In the above-mentioned incineration process, by means of the scrubbers in the primary combustion chamber  20  stirring and pushing the animal carcass, the solids are preheated in order to dry quickly, and the preheated solids are continuously pushed from the preheating zone into the combustion zone of the primary combustion chamber  20  for incineration, thus forming a continuous and dynamic mode of incineration, while the remains further go through the sifters  21  of different sizes till they all turn into ashes falling in the ash withdrawer  22 ; the ash withdrawer  22 , once full, will turn to the next ash withdrawer automatically. The waste gas generated from the burning of the primary combustion chamber  20  (at 900° C.-1,000° C.) is to be burned at higher temperature (1,100° C.) in the secondary combustion chamber  40  till the waste gas is completely burned into non-toxic gas, and later exhausted from the stack  41 . The hemoid liquid and polluted water in the water storage tank  30  is then filtered by a filter  31  and pumped by a water pump  32  to the evaporator  23  after heating and evaporating, and conducted to the water cooling tank  33 , allowing the steam to turn into water when cooled. It is finally pumped to the flusher  12  for flushing purpose. 
   Please refer to  FIG. 2  regarding the method of animal treatment system of the present invention; the flow chart of the system can be divided into the following procedures:
         1. storing; being storing the animal carcasses in the storage tank  10 ;   2. conveying and feeding continuously; being conveying and feeding automatically the animal carcasses to be treated by the dismembering means  13 ;   3. dismembering; being amputating animal carcasses into chunks of solids by means of the dismembering means  13 ;   4. bone crushing; being crushing the solids that have been dismembered;   5. solid-and-liquid separation; being conveying the solids that have been crushed through the second conveyor  15  to the incineration system  2 , while conducting the hemoid liquid and sewage water to the water storage tank  30 ;   6. recycling for reuse; being filtering the hemoid liquid and sewage water in the water storage tank  30  by means of the filter  31 , then further pumping it from the water storage tank  30  to the evaporator  23  for heating and evaporating, then conducting the steam to the water cooling tank  33  to make the physical change into water for flushing purpose.   7. incinerating; the solids being conveyed into the primary combustion chamber  20  for preheating and pushed by the scrubber into the combustion zone for incinerating, the remains being sifted according to different sizes till the remains all turn into ashes, via the means of keeping those remains failing to go through the sifters  21  due to being of larger sizes or being incompletely incinerated to be kept burning till going through the sifters  21 , and the waste gas generated in the primary combustion chamber  20  is conducted into the secondary combustion chamber  40  for the purification purpose;   8. exhausting, the waste gas generated from being burned in the primary combustion chamber  20  at 900° C.-1,000° C. being further burned at higher temperature (1,100° C.) in the secondary combustion chamber  40 , so as to allow the waste gas to be completely burned into non-hazardous gas prior to being exhausted from the stack  41 ; and   9. ash-treating; the incinerator being equipped with an automatic withdrawal of the resulting ash.       

   The above-mentioned feeding is a continuous mode of feeding, while the means of incineration is distributed with continuous and dynamic mode of incineration so as to burn the solids completely into ashes, thus making the whole process automatic, and making large quantity of processing possible. 
   Surely the present invention is not to be strictly limited to the implementation procedures as illustrated in  FIG. 2  mentioned above, and the process sequence, therefore, can be modified depending on actual needs.