Hazardous waste melter
First Claim
1. An apparatus for processing waste material comprising:
- a vessel containing a melt, the vessel having a head space defined above the melt containing heated gases, said vessel having an inlet port for receiving feed material in said vessel, an outlet port for removing molten material from the vessel, and an exhaust port for removing off gases from the vessel;
impeller means for mixing waste material into said melt, said impeller means being secured to a rotatable shaft disposed at least in part in said vessel and having an end portion extending outwardly away from said vessel;
heating means for discharging electrical energy through said molten material in said vessel;
a cover secured to the top of the vessel, said cover having an opening through which said rotatable shaft is received with said end portion extending outwardly therefrom;
a shaft seal engaging said end portion of said rotatable shaft; and
means for cooling said end portion of said shaft to maintain the temperature of said shaft below a level that would harm said shaft seal.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for processing various hazardous waste materials by melting in a vessel for subsequent solidification is disclosed which includes a seal for the cover thereof. Melter includes a high-speed mixing impeller powered by a drive shaft which extends through an opening in the cover. The vessel is electrically heated by discharge of electrical energy through the melt contained in the vessel. In one embodiment the impeller and shaft are included in the electrical heating circuit. A shaft seal engages the shaft at a point spaced from the cover. An axially extensible seal seals a space bounded by the shaft seal and the opening in the cover. Purge gas is supplied to the sealed space to provide positive gas flow from the sealed space into the vessel. A cold wall transport duct for off-gas porting is disclosed. A bottom drain structure including a sleeve and plug is also disclosed. The output of the melter may be subsequently heated in a holding tank to refine the output.
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Citations
26 Claims
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1. An apparatus for processing waste material comprising:
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a vessel containing a melt, the vessel having a head space defined above the melt containing heated gases, said vessel having an inlet port for receiving feed material in said vessel, an outlet port for removing molten material from the vessel, and an exhaust port for removing off gases from the vessel; impeller means for mixing waste material into said melt, said impeller means being secured to a rotatable shaft disposed at least in part in said vessel and having an end portion extending outwardly away from said vessel; heating means for discharging electrical energy through said molten material in said vessel; a cover secured to the top of the vessel, said cover having an opening through which said rotatable shaft is received with said end portion extending outwardly therefrom; a shaft seal engaging said end portion of said rotatable shaft; and means for cooling said end portion of said shaft to maintain the temperature of said shaft below a level that would harm said shaft seal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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3. An apparatus for processing waste material comprising:
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a vessel containing a melt, the vessel having a head space defined above the melt containing heated gases, said vessel having an inlet port for receiving feed material in said vessel, an outlet port for removing molten material from the vessel, and an exhaust port for removing off gases from the vessel; impeller means for mixing waste material into said melt, said impeller means being secured to a rotatable shaft disposed at least in part in said vessel and having an end portion extending outwardly away from said vessel; heating means for discharging electrical energy through said molten material in said vessel; a cover secured to the top of the vessel, said cover having an opening through which said rotatable shaft is received with said end portion extending outwardly therefrom; a shaft seal engaging said end portion of said rotatable shaft at a point maintained at a lower temperature than said heated gases in said head space of the vessel; and means for supplying a gas to said space at a first pressure greater than a second pressure in said head space whereby positive gas flow is provided from the space to said head space whereby heated gases in said head space are inhibited from moving through said opening toward said shaft seal.
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13. An apparatus for processing hazardous waste feed material comprising:
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a vessel containing a melt, said vessel having a inlet port for receiving feed material in said vessel, an exhaust port for removing off gases from said vessel, and an outlet port for removing molten material from the vessel; heating means for discharging electrical energy through said molten material in said vessel; an off-gas port means for venting steam and reaction gases from said vessel, said off-gas port means having a heated receptacle having an off-gas inlet end secured to said vessel and an off-gas outlet end secured to a cold wall transport duct comprising a sleeve having a primary conduit through which off-gases are ported, said sleeve having porous walls of pre-determined porosity defining said primary conduit and an outer wall concentric with and enclosing said porous walls and defining an annulus therebetween, a cooling fluid being injected into said annulus and forced through said porous walls. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. An apparatus for processing hazardous waste feed material comprising:
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a vessel containing a melt, said vessel having an inlet port for receiving feed material in said vessel and having an outlet port for removing said melt from the vessel; heating means for discharging electrical energy through said melt in said vessel; bottom drain means for draining said vessel comprising a moveable plug having an interior opening selectively cooled by a cooling fluid, a heated sleeve defining a conduit extending from a reduced orifice in a lower portion of said vessel to a location outside said vessel, said moveable plug having actuating means for selectively closing said conduit. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22)
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23. An apparatus for processing hazardous waste feed material comprising:
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a vessel containing a melt, said vessel having an inlet port for receiving feed material in said vessel, an exhaust port for removing off-gases from said vessel, and having an outlet port for removing molten material from said vessel; impeller means for mixing feed material into said melt; heating means for discharging electrical energy through said molten material in said vessel; and a holding tank in fluid flow communication with said outlet port comprising a tank having means for heating a molten material after being removed from said vessel for a predetermined period of time at a controlled temperature said holding tank having a serpentine path defined by a plurality of baffles. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26)
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24. An apparatus for processing hazardous waste feed material comprising:
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a vessel containing a melt, said vessel having an inlet port for receiving feed material in said vessel, an exhaust port for removing off-gases from said vessel, and having an outlet port for removing molten material from said vessel; impeller means for mixing feed material into said melt; heating means for discharging electrical energy through said molten material in said vessel; and a holding tank in fluid flow communication with said outlet port comprising a tank having means for heating a molten material after being removed from said vessel for a predetermined period of time at a controlled temperature from a bottom wall of said tank to a cover forming a top wall, said holding tank having a plurality of baffles defining a non-linear path, said baffles supporting the cover of the holding tank and wherein said molten material is maintained in said holding tank at a higher temperature than the molten material resident in said vessel.
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Specification