Patent ID: 7647874

Claim:
An energy and steel recovery system, which includes a suspension column; a plurality of suspension burners operably removably disposed in said suspension column wherein said burners are laterally spaced from one another along the length of said suspension column and permit continual unrestricted air flow through said suspension column wherein each said suspension burner includes a plurality of laterally spaced support fingers each having a waste derived fuel support surface which is removably disposed in said suspension column, said column having a plurality of slotted surfaces through which said support fingers extend, each said slotted surface configured to receive one said finger therethrough to provide for self cleaning of said support surface of said fingers upon removal from said suspension column and wherein each said suspension burner includes means for automatically retracting said fingers from said suspension column; a housing external to said column for receiving combustible waste having steel matter therein, said housing having an exterior gate and an interior gate in communication with said column in a manner to open and close communication between said housing and exterior gate and said column wherein said gates and housing provide an airlock when injecting said waste onto one of said burners which is movably disposed in said housing and moves said support fingers from said housing through said slotted surfaces into said column to be upwardly disposed within said column and enable combustion of said combustible waste and upon retraction of said support fingers feeding said combustible waste material to another of said burners which is downwardly disposed to further combust said combustible material; an air inlet connected at a lower end of said suspension column for introducing heated air therein; a vent connected to an upper end of said suspension column; and wherein said suspension column includes an outer air passage jacket surrounding an inner column wall to which one end of a first conduit and one end of a second conduit are communicably connected such that air enters said jacket via said first conduit and passes through said outer air passage jacket being heated from an outer surface of said inner column wall and exits out through said second conduit and wherein another end of each said first conduit and said second conduit are communicably connected to deliver separate heated air to a high energy consumption device in a manner wherein air passes from said second conduit to said high energy consumption device back to said first conduit.