MULTI-FUNCTIONAL FECAL WASTE AND GARBAGE PROCESSOR AND ASSOCIATED METHODS

• US 20190316493A1
• Filed: 03/21/2019
• Published: 10/17/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
• Original Assignee: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
• Inventors: Janicki, Peter
• Granted Patent: US 11,111,824 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 1/04 Evaporators with horizontal tubes
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 1/226 in the form of a screw or with helical blade members
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/001 Processes for the treatment of water whereby the filtration technique is of importance C02F1/44 takes precedence; construction of filters in general B01D24/00 - B01D41/00
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/004 using large scale industrial sized filters
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/04 by distillation or evaporation
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/20 by degassing, i.e. liberation of dissolved gases degasification of liquids in general B01D19/00; arrangement of degassing apparatus in boiler feed supply F22D
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/283 using coal, charred products, or inorganic mixtures containing them
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/444 by ultrafiltration or microfiltration
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 11/06 by oxidation incinerators for burning waste liquors, e.g. sulfite liquor from paper-making plant F23G7/04
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 11/12 by de-watering, drying or thickening
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 11/13 by heating
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2303/06 Sludge reduction, e.g. by lysis
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2303/10 Energy recovery
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 9/00 Multistage treatment of water, waste water or sewage
• CPC Class Codes: F01K 17/04 for specific purposes other than heating F01K17/06 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F01K 17/06 Returning energy of steam, in exchanged form, to process, e.g. use of exhaust steam for drying solid fuel or plant
• CPC Class Codes: F01K 25/04 the fluid being in different phases, e.g. foamed
• CPC Class Codes: F22B 31/0007 with combustion in a fluidized bed fluidized bed apparatus per se B01J8/00; fluidized bed combustors F23C10/00
• CPC Class Codes: F23G 5/04 drying
• CPC Class Codes: F23G 5/30 having a fluidised bed
• CPC Class Codes: F23G 5/40 : Portable or mobile incinerators
• CPC Class Codes: F23K 1/04 : Heating fuel prior to delivery to combustion apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: F23K 2201/20 : Drying
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 20/12 : Heat utilisation in combustion or incineration of waste
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 50/10 : Biofuels, e.g. bio-diesel
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 50/30 : Fuel from waste, e.g. synthetic alcohol or diesel
• CPC Class Codes: Y02W 10/30 : Wastewater or sewage treatment systems using renewable energies
• CPC Class Codes: Y02W 10/40 : Valorisation of by-products of wastewater, sewage or sludge processing

Abstract

At least one aspect of the technology provides a self-contained processing facility configured to convert organic, high water-content waste, such as fecal sludge and garbage, into electricity while also generating and collecting potable water.

Claims

1-30. -30. (canceled)

31. A method of processing wet sludge with a multifunctional waste processing system for electricity and clean generation, comprising:

directing a flow of wet organic-based sludge to an inlet of a fuel path of a fuel dryer assembly, wherein the sludge comprises a mixture of water and solid fuel material,

directing the flow of sludge along the fuel path through a heater portion of the fuel dryer assembly and boiling the wet fecal sludge and thermally separating the water from the solid fuel material to provide dried fuel, the fuel dryer having a first steam outlet, a dry fuel outlet;

directing steam from the boiled sludge to a steam inlet of a fluid path of a condenser portion of the fuel dryer assembly, wherein the fluid path through the condenser is isolated from the fuel path and has a fluid outlet;

condensing in a condenser steam liberated from the wet fecal sludge, wherein the condenser has a fresh water condenser assembly coupled to the first steam outlet and configured to condense the steam liberated from the wet fecal sludge for use as potable water;

receiving in a dry fuel combustor assembly dried fuel the dry fuel outlet of the fuel dryer assembly, the dry fuel combustor assembly having a combustor portion and having a boiler configured to receive heat from the combustor portion, the boiler having a water inlet and a second steam outlet;

combusting the dried fuel in the combustor portion to generate heat that boils water in the boiler to generate steam;

generating electricity with a steam powered generator via the steam received from the second steam outlet of the boiler, the steam powered generator having a third steam outlet coupled to the steam inlet of the condenser portion; and

pumping water with a water pump a flow of water from the fluid outlet of the condenser portion of the fuel dryer;

wherein the flow of water is pumped from a water outlet of the water pump to the water inlet of the boiler;

wherein the boiler converts a flow of water entering the boiler to a flow of steam to power the steam-powered generator.

32. The method of claim 31, further comprising moving and heating the sludge in the fuel dryer with a steam heated auger in the fuel carrier during the drying process.

33. The method of claim 32 wherein the fuel dryer is a two-stage dryer having sequential first and second dryer stages each coupled to the condenser portion and the sludge in each of the first and second dryer stages is dried by evaporating water from the fecal sludge using heat from exhaust steam from the steam-powered generator.

34. The method of claim 33, further comprising generating with the first dryer stage sludge steam from the fecal sludge, and using in the second dryer stage the sludge steam from the first dryer stage to dry the sludge.

35. The method of claim 33 wherein the first dryer stage generates first dryer steam from water evaporation from the fecal sludge, and the second dryer stage has a first steam carrier portion coupled to the first dryer stage and the first steam carrier portion carries the first dryer steam adjacent to the fecal sludge, and the second dryer stage has a second steam carrier portion isolated from the first steam carrier portion and the second steam carrier portion carries the exhaust steam from the steam-powered generator adjacent to the fecal sludge, wherein heat from the first and second steam carrier portions dries the fecal sludge moving therein.

36. The method of claim 31, further comprising receiving in the condenser portion of the fuel dryer assembly exhaust steam from the steam-powered generator, and the fuel dryer has a first dryer stage connected to the fuel inlet and has a first heater portion coupled to the condenser and the first heater portion evaporates a first portion of the water from the fecal sludge with heat from the exhaust steam, and a second dryer stage is connected to the first dryer stage and the second dryer stage evaporates a second portion of the water from thickened fecal sludge received from the first dryer stage with heat from the exhaust steam.

37. The method of claim 31 wherein the condenser of the fuel dryer assembly receives exhaust steam from the steam powered generator through the first steam inlet, and the fuel dryer assembly having a single stage dryer portion connected to the fuel inlet and adjacent to the condenser portion, the single stage dryer portion evaporates water from the fecal sludge using the heat from the exhaust steam in the condenser.

38. The method of claim 31 wherein the combustor portion is a fluidized bed combustor assembly.

39. The method of claim 31 wherein generating electricity includes generating electricity with a single action, liquid cooled steam engine.