Patent ID: 6945775

Claim:
An apparatus for heating a slurry to a predetermined temperature, comprising: (a) a heater vessel having a slurry heating section and a slurry collection section downstream of the slurry heating section, wherein slurry heated in the heating section is collected in the collection section; (b) a heating medium inlet through which a heating medium for heating the slurry enters the heater vessel; (c) a first slurry inlet through which a first portion of the slurry enters the vessel and contacts the heating medium in the heating section; (d) a second slurry inlet through which a second portion of the slurry enters the vessel, the second slurry inlet being located relative to the heating section such that a temperature of the second portion of the slurry entering the collection section is lower than a temperature of the first portion of the slurry entering the collection section; (e) a slurry outlet adjacent the collection section; (f) temperature sensing means for sensing the temperature of the slurry in the collection section; (g) a valve for controlling flow of the second portion of the slurry into the vessel through the second slurry inlet so as to control the temperature of the slurry in the collection section.