Patent ID: 7584911

Claim:
An apparatus for processing solid waste products, said apparatus comprising: a rotatably mounted cylindrical vessel having a horizontal axis, a first end, a second end and an interior surface, at least one end terminating in a hatch that may be opened to allow access to the interior of said vessel and sealably closed to allow pressurization of said vessel; a steam inlet for injecting steam into at least one of said ends; and at least one actuator for moving said vessel reversibly between a position wherein said first end is higher than said second end and a position wherein said second end is higher than said first end during rotation of said vessel, said at least one hatch being closed and said vessel being pressurized while said at least one actuator moves said vessel reversibly between a position wherein said first end is higher than said second end and a position wherein said second end is higher than said first end during rotation of said vessel, so as to be adapted to dynamically level solid waste products along said horizontal axis while said vessel is pressurized, said apparatus additionally comprising a plurality of thermocouples disposed along the length of said vessel, a microprocessor or PLC controller associated with said plurality of thermocouples, said microprocessor or PLC controller having programming instructions adapted to calculate the amount of energy absorbed by a charge of waste products contained in said vessel over time, and load sensors associated with said at least one actuator, said load sensors adapted to determine the mass of a charge of waste products contained in said vessel, and a microprocessor or PLC controller having programming instructions so as to determine the energy absorption per mass of a charge of waste products contained in said vessel.