Patent ID: 7449330

Claim:
A bioreactor for hydrolyzing waste, comprising: a pressure vessel having an inlet end and an exit end; an internal main non-vertical shaft having spaced apart ends and a plurality of agitator bars attached to and extending from the shaft; at least some of the agitator bars extending from the shaft also form a helical spiral pattern when viewed from either of the spaced apart ends, wherein at least some of the agitator bars are curved; a plurality of paddles supported by and extending from the main shaft, wherein at least some of the plurality of paddles extend radially outward from the shaft and form a helical spiral pattern on less than the entire length of the shaft, the helical spiral pattern formed by some of the plurality of paddles is positioned to move the waste toward the exit end in a direction substantially parallel with the length of the shaft; at least one paddle comprises a pedestal attached to the shaft having a pedestal length and a paddle blade having a paddle blade length extending substantially parallel to the shaft, wherein the paddle blade length is greater than the pedestal length; a material injection assembly connected by an internal passageway to the inlet end of the pressure vessel and including a ram; and a vertically oriented sliding gate disposed between the inlet end and the material injection assembly.