Reclamation system for contaminated material
First Claim
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1. An apparatus for removing toxic material from contaminated material by gas sparged centrifugal techniques comprising, in combination:
- cylindrical separation chamber means for containing a slurry of the contaminated material;
coaxially rotating disks means located coaxially within said cylindrical separation chamber means for rotating along the axis of said cylindrical separation chamber means;
means coupling to said coaxially rotating disks means for rotating said coaxially rotating disks means to create a vortex within said cylindrical separation chamber means thereby subjecting said slurry to centrifugal classification, said centrifugal classification causing relatively heavier material particles in said slurry to accumulate and exit the chamber tangentially along the outer edge of said vortex and relatively lighter material and toxic material in said slurry to accumulate and exit the chamber axially along the center of said vortex;
means to feed said slurry of the contaminated material into the center of said vortex;
gas sparging means for sparging a stream of gas into said vortex from a stationary wall of said cylindrical separation chamber means thereby creating boundary layer turbulence to increase particle dispersion and improve the flotation characteristics of the slurry to obtain more rapid separation of lighter material and toxic material entrained in the gas phase from relatively heavier material particles;
means for isolating said lighter material and toxic material collected in gaseous suspension from the center of said vortex from the gas phase in which they are entrained; and
means for isolating said heavier material from the outer edge of the vortex.
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Abstract
A soil reclamation system that separates the contaminant from all soil particles greater than one micron in diameter and generates resuable soil and contaminant products. The process is based on a novel application of gas-sparged centrifugal separation under operating conditions and equipment specifications tailored to optimize the separation of the particular contaminant. The apparatus is mounted on a front-end loader for mobility and self-contained on site operation.
46 Citations
21 Claims
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1. An apparatus for removing toxic material from contaminated material by gas sparged centrifugal techniques comprising, in combination:
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cylindrical separation chamber means for containing a slurry of the contaminated material; coaxially rotating disks means located coaxially within said cylindrical separation chamber means for rotating along the axis of said cylindrical separation chamber means; means coupling to said coaxially rotating disks means for rotating said coaxially rotating disks means to create a vortex within said cylindrical separation chamber means thereby subjecting said slurry to centrifugal classification, said centrifugal classification causing relatively heavier material particles in said slurry to accumulate and exit the chamber tangentially along the outer edge of said vortex and relatively lighter material and toxic material in said slurry to accumulate and exit the chamber axially along the center of said vortex; means to feed said slurry of the contaminated material into the center of said vortex; gas sparging means for sparging a stream of gas into said vortex from a stationary wall of said cylindrical separation chamber means thereby creating boundary layer turbulence to increase particle dispersion and improve the flotation characteristics of the slurry to obtain more rapid separation of lighter material and toxic material entrained in the gas phase from relatively heavier material particles; means for isolating said lighter material and toxic material collected in gaseous suspension from the center of said vortex from the gas phase in which they are entrained; and means for isolating said heavier material from the outer edge of the vortex. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. An apparatus for removing toxic material from contaminated soil comprising, in combination:
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cylindrical separation chamber means for containing a slurry of the contaminated material; coaxially rotating disks means located coaxially within said cylindrical separation chamber means for rotating along the axis of said cylindrical separation chamber means; means for rotating said disks means for creating a vortex within said cylindrical separation chamber means thereby subjecting said slurry to centrifugal classification, said centrifugal classification causing relatively heavier soil particles in said slurry to accumulate along the outer edge of said vortex and relatively lighter soil and toxic material in said slurry to accumulate axially along the center of the vortex; inner cylindrical duct means coupled to said disks means and protruding axially through said disks means for receiving relatively lighter soil and toxic material that has accumulated along the center of the vortex; gas sparging means for sparging a stream of gas into said vortex from a stationary wall of said cylindrical separation chamber means thereby creating boundary layer turbulence to increase particle dispersion and improve the flotation characteristics of the slurry to obtain more rapid separation of lighter material and toxic material entrained in the gas phase from relatively heavier soil particles; stationary degassing chamber means coupled to said rotating inner cylindrical duct means for separating said gaseous suspension into a liquid contaminant phase, containing a relatively lighter soil solid phase, and a gas phase, and wherefrom each phase is recovered outside said cylindrical separation chamber means; means to feed said slurry into the cylindrical separation chamber; baffle means mounted inside said cylindrical separation chamber means for directing the feed of said slurry of contaminated soil toward the center of said vortex thereby forming a solid accumulation space in the proximity of the point of discharge of said relatively heavier soil particles from the outer edge of said vortex towards said accumulation space for concentration and tangential discharge; a plurality of radial compartment means for collecting intermediate weight soil particles suspended in an intermediate portion of said vortex through the annular space between said inner cylindrical duct means and said coaxially rotating disks means, each of said radial compartment means comprising a hydrocyclone structure for separating said intermediate weight soil particles from the liquid phase in which they are suspended, and further comprising discharge channels for the recovery of said intermediate weight soil particles and said liquid phase; and said means to feed said slurry comprises an annular feed chamber means which is axially coupled to said cylindrical separation chamber means for feeding the slurry axially to the center of the vortex; means to isolate said heavier soil form the outer edge of the vortex. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. An apparatus for removing certain material from a combination of materials by gas sparged centrifugal techniques comprising, in combination:
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cylindrical separation chamber means for containing a slurry of the combination of material; coaxially rotating disks means located coaxially within said cylindrical separation chamber means for rotating along the axis of said cylindrical separation chamber means; means coupled to said coaxially rotating disks means for rotating said coaxially rotation disks means to create a vortex within said cylindrical separation chamber means thereby subjecting said slurry to centrifugal classification, said centrifugal classification causing relatively heavier material particles in said slurry to accumulate and exit the chamber tangentially along the outer edge of the vortex and relatively lighter material in said slurry to accumulate and exit the chamber axially along the center of the vortex; means to feed said slurry of the combination of materials into the center of the vortex; gas sparging means for sparging a stream of gas into said vortex from a stationary wall of said cylindrical separation chamber means thereby creating boundry layer turbulence to increase particle dispersion and improve the flotation characteristics of the slurry to obtain more rapid separation of lighter material entrained in the gas phrase form relatively heavier material particles; means for isolating said lighter material collected in gaseous suspension from the center of the vortex from the gas phase in which they are entrained; and means for isolating said heavier material form the outer edge of the vortex.
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Specification