METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TREATING SOLID WASTE
First Claim
1. An apparatus for treating solid waste to produce a biomass product comprising:
- a cylindrical vessel comprising a loading doorway and a discharge doorway at opposite ends of the cylindrical vessel;
a first detachable door for loading the solid waste into the cylindrical vessel and for sealing the loading doorway under pressure;
a second detachable door for unloading the biomass product from the cylindrical vessel and for sealing the discharge doorway under pressure;
a helical flighting affixed to an interior wall of the cylindrical vessel for mixing and agitating the solid waste or the biomass product and for conveying the solid waste and the biomass product between the loading doorway and the discharge doorway when the cylindrical vessel is rotated around a cylindrical axis of the cylindrical vessel;
at least two drive tires mounted on the cylindrical vessel perpendicular to the cylindrical axis, the drive tires each comprising a smooth exterior surface for rotating the cylindrical vessel on the drive mechanism without gear teeth and without sprocket teeth; and
a drive mechanism coupled to the drive tires for rotating the cylindrical vessel around the cylindrical axis;
the drive mechanism further comprising drive wheels that support and provide torque to the cylindrical vessel from a contact surface on each of the drive wheels that contacts the exterior surface of the drive tires.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for treating solid waste to produce a biomass product includes a cylindrical vessel includes a cylindrical vessel comprising a loading doorway and a discharge doorway at opposite ends of the cylindrical vessel. At least two drive tires are mounted on the cylindrical vessel perpendicular to the cylindrical axis. The drive tires each include a smooth exterior surface for rotating the cylindrical vessel without gear teeth and without sprocket teeth. A drive mechanism is coupled to the drive tires for rotating the cylindrical vessel around the cylindrical axis. The drive mechanism includes drive wheels that support and provide torque to the cylindrical vessel from a contact surface on each of the drive wheels that contacts the exterior surface of the drive tires.
22 Citations
34 Claims
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1. An apparatus for treating solid waste to produce a biomass product comprising:
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a cylindrical vessel comprising a loading doorway and a discharge doorway at opposite ends of the cylindrical vessel; a first detachable door for loading the solid waste into the cylindrical vessel and for sealing the loading doorway under pressure; a second detachable door for unloading the biomass product from the cylindrical vessel and for sealing the discharge doorway under pressure; a helical flighting affixed to an interior wall of the cylindrical vessel for mixing and agitating the solid waste or the biomass product and for conveying the solid waste and the biomass product between the loading doorway and the discharge doorway when the cylindrical vessel is rotated around a cylindrical axis of the cylindrical vessel; at least two drive tires mounted on the cylindrical vessel perpendicular to the cylindrical axis, the drive tires each comprising a smooth exterior surface for rotating the cylindrical vessel on the drive mechanism without gear teeth and without sprocket teeth; and a drive mechanism coupled to the drive tires for rotating the cylindrical vessel around the cylindrical axis;
the drive mechanism further comprising drive wheels that support and provide torque to the cylindrical vessel from a contact surface on each of the drive wheels that contacts the exterior surface of the drive tires. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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11. An apparatus for treating solid waste to produce a biomass product comprising:
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means for subjecting the solid waste to a flow of pressurized steam comprising a loading doorway and a discharge doorway at opposite ends of a cylindrical vessel; means for loading the solid waste into the cylindrical vessel and for sealing the loading doorway under pressure; means for unloading the biomass product from the cylindrical vessel and for sealing the discharge doorway under pressure; and means affixed to an interior wall of the cylindrical vessel for agitating the solid waste and the biomass product and for conveying the solid waste and the biomass product when the cylindrical vessel is rotated around a cylindrical axis of the cylindrical vessel; means comprising a smooth exterior surface for rotating the cylindrical vessel on the drive mechanism without gear teeth and without sprocket teeth mounted on the cylindrical vessel perpendicular to the cylindrical axis; and means for rotating the cylindrical vessel around the cylindrical axis comprising a drive wheel that supports and provides torque to the cylindrical vessel from a contact surface that contacts the smooth exterior surface. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22)
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Specification