Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6199491
-
Patent Number
6,199,491
-
Date Filed
Friday, May 12, 200024 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, March 13, 200123 years ago
-
Inventors
-
-
Examiners
- Ferensic; Denise L.
- Rinehart; Ken B.
Agents
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 110 346
- 110 345
- 110 203
- 110 235
- 110 210
- 110 211
- 110 215
- 110 238
- 110 255
- 110 259
- 110 267
- 110 286
- 110 289
- 110 322
- 110 165 R
- 110 166
- 110 167
- 432 170
- 432 241
-
International Classifications
- F23J1500
- F23B500
- F23G500
- F23G512
- F23G544
-
Abstract
A refuse incinerating oven includes a refuse loading car, and a furnace body with lower and upper combustion chambers. The car is conveyed through the furnace body such that refuse loaded on the car can be ignited in the lower combustion chamber. The combustion exhaust generated in the lower combustion chamber flows into and is heated in the upper combustion chamber. A spraying tank is communicated with the upper combustion chamber for receiving the combustion exhaust. Water mist is sprayed to the combustion exhaust in the spraying tank so as to generate aerated water. The aerated water and the combustion exhaust flowing from the spraying tank are cooled as they flow into a reservoir. The aerated water is pumped from the reservoir to an upper end of a waterfall tank so as to generate a downwardly cascading water stream inside the waterfall tank. An exhaust port unit is connected to the upper end of the waterfall tank for sucking and releasing the combustion exhaust.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a refuse incinerating oven, more particularly to a refuse incinerating oven which generates combustion exhaust with less toxic content.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, industrial waste and refuse are usually disposed by incineration. During incineration, the resulting combustion exhaust is released to the atmosphere via a stack of the incinerator. However, the combustion exhaust usually contains toxic substances, such as dioxines, and thus causes serious air pollution.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a refuse incinerating oven which generates combustion exhaust with less toxic content.
Accordingly, the refuse incinerating oven includes at least one refuse loading car adapted for loading refuse thereon. A furnace body has a car inlet, a car outlet, a lower combustion chamber disposed between and communicated with the car inlet and the car outlet, and an upper combustion chamber disposed above and communicated with the lower combustion chamber. Conveying means is provided for conveying the refuse loading car through the furnace body from the car inlet to the car outlet. Igniting means is provided in the lower combustion chamber of the furnace body for igniting the refuse loaded on the car when the car is conveyed through the furnace body. Gas heating means is provided in the upper combustion chamber for heating combustion exhaust generated when burning the refuse in the lower combustion chamber. A spraying tank is communicated with the upper combustion chamber for receiving the combustion exhaust. Spraying means is provided in the spraying tank for spraying water mist to the combustion exhaust in the spraying tank so as to generate aerated water in the spraying tank. Cooling means is connected to the spraying tank for cooling the aerated water and the combustion exhaust flowing from the spraying tank. Reservoir means is connected to the cooling means for receiving the aerated water and the combustion exhaust flowing from the cooling means. A waterfall tank has a lower end communicated with the reservoir means, and an upper end disposed at an elevation higher than that of the reservoir means. Pumping means is provided for pumping the aerated water from the reservoir means to the upper end of the waterfall tank and for releasing the aerated water at the upper end of the waterfall tank so as to generate inside the waterfall tank a downwardly cascading water stream that falls back into the reservoir means via the lower end of the waterfall tank. An exhaust port unit is connected to the upper end of the waterfall tank for sucking the combustion exhaust from the waterfall tank and for releasing the combustion exhaust.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
FIG. 1
is a perspective view showing a preferred embodiment of the refuse incinerating oven of the present invention;
FIG. 2
is a fragmentary schematic view of the preferred embodiment;
FIG. 3
is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating a refuse loading car and a rail member of the preferred embodiment;
FIG. 4
is a schematic top view illustrating a residue removing unit of the preferred embodiment;
FIG. 5
is a schematic view illustrating the arrangement of two adjacent refuse loading cars of the preferred embodiment;
FIG. 6
is a schematic view illustrating one of the refuse loading cars when conveyed through a furnace body of the preferred embodiment;
FIG. 7
is a schematic view illustrating how the refuse loading car is brought into a residue removing unit of the preferred embodiment;
FIG. 8
is a schematic view illustrating operation of a residue cleaner of the residue removing unit of the preferred embodiment; and
FIG. 9
is a fragmentary schematic view of a modified embodiment of the refuse incinerating oven of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The refuse incinerating oven of the present invention is adapted for disposing industrial waste and refuse and polluted mud in rivers and lakes. Referring to
FIGS. 1
to
3
, the preferred embodiment of the refuse incinerating oven of the present invention is shown to include a conveying unit
1
, a plurality of refuse loading cars
2
, a furnace body
3
, an exhaust disposal unit
4
, an exhaust port unit
5
, and a residue removing unit
6
.
The conveying unit
1
includes a looped conveying channel
10
filled with water therein, a rail member
12
extending along the conveying channel
10
, and a cover
11
for covering the conveying channel
10
. The rail member
12
has a starting section
121
and an ending section
122
connected to the starting section
121
.
The cars
2
are arranged in succession along the rail member
12
, and are disposed on the rail member
12
in the channel
10
so as to be movable along the rail member
12
. A first push mechanism
13
is provided at the starting section
121
for pushing the cars
2
to move along the channel
10
from the starting section
121
toward the ending section
122
. Each of the refuse loading cars
2
has a leg frame
21
provided with wheels
22
for moving on the rail member
12
. The wheels
22
are immersed in the water that fills the channel
10
to prevent damage to the wheels
22
due to the high temperature in the furnace body
3
. Each of the refuse loading cars
2
has a refuse loading portion
23
formed with a refuse loading space
233
. The refuse loading portion
23
includes a horizontal base plate
231
mounted on the leg frame
21
, and a parallel pair of lateral side plates
232
which extend upwardly from the base plate
231
and which cooperate with the base plate
231
to confine the refuse loading space
233
. The refuse loading space
233
is thus open at front, rear and top sides thereof. The base plate
231
has lateral edge portions formed with guiding projections
230
which project relative to the side plates
232
, respectively. The height of the refuse loading portion
23
of each of the cars
2
is preferably lower than 0.6 meter to ensure complete combustion of the refuse loaded therein. In the present embodiment, the size of the refuse loading portion
23
is 1.8 m×1.0 m×0.25 m.
Referring to
FIGS. 3 and 5
, the base plate
231
of each of the refuse loading cars
2
is provided with a heat-resistant bumper strip
235
at a front end thereof, and a projecting rib
234
that projects forwardly from the front end. An elongated collecting member
236
is secured to the front end of the base plate
231
at a bottom side thereof, and projects forwardly relative to and is disposed below the projecting rib
234
. The collecting member
236
has a U-shaped cross-section, and confines a collecting cavity
237
that opens upwardly. The base plate
231
of each of the refuse loading cars
2
is further formed with an indented portion
238
at a rear end thereof for receiving fittingly the projecting rib
234
on a succeeding one of the refuse loading cars
2
such that the rear end is in contact with the bumper strip
235
on the succeeding one of the refuse loading cars
2
. The collecting member
236
collects refuse that fall from the two adjacent refuse loading cars
2
to prevent the refuse from dropping into the conveying channel
10
.
Referring to
FIGS. 1
,
2
and
6
, the furnace body
3
is built over the rail member
12
near the starting section
121
, and is constructed from fire bricks. The furnace body
3
is about 30 meters in length, and includes a parallel pair of side walls
31
which are formed with guiding grooves
311
for extension of the guiding projections
230
on the refuse loading cars
2
thereinto. The furnace body
3
further has a top wall
32
interconnecting upper ends of the side walls
31
, a front end wall
33
proximate to the starting section
121
of the rail member
12
and formed with a car inlet
331
that permits entry of the refuse loading cars
2
into the furnace body
3
, a rear end wall
34
opposite to the front endwall
33
and formed with a car outlet
341
that permits exit of the refuse loading cars
2
from the furnace body
3
, and a horizontal partition
35
for dividing an interior of the furnace body
3
into an upper combustion chamber
37
and a lower combustion chamber
36
. The partition
35
has a rear end connected to the rear end wall
34
, and a front end that forms a clearance
351
with the front end wall
33
. The clearance
351
communicates the lower combustion chamber
36
with the upper combustion chamber
37
. The lower combustion chamber
36
is provided with a plurality of igniting members
361
on the side walls
31
. The igniting members
361
can spray combustion fuel onto the refuse loaded on the refuse loading cars
2
that enter into the furnace body
3
for igniting the refuse. The upper combustion chamber
37
is provided with a plurality of vertical heating plates
38
that are spaced-apart from one another for heating the combustion exhaust that is generated when burning the refuse in the lower combustion chamber
36
. In this embodiment, each of the first, third, and fifth ones of the heating plates
38
has a lower end secured to the partition
35
, and an upper end spaced apart from the top wall
32
so as to define an upper air passage
381
with the top wall
32
. Each of the second and fourth ones of the heating plates
38
has an upper end secured to the top wall
32
, and a lower end spaced apart from the partition
35
so as to define a lower air passage
382
with the partition
35
. The upper combustion chamber
37
is provided with a plurality of burning members
371
on the side walls
31
for heating the heating plates
38
.
The exhaust disposal unit
4
is built adjacent to the furnace body
3
for processing the combustion exhaust released from the furnace body
3
. The exhaust disposal unit
4
includes a spraying tank
41
having an upper end communicated with the upper combustion chamber
37
via a first pipe member
44
for receiving the combustion exhaust flowing from the upper combustion chamber
37
. Spraying means
412
is provided in the spraying tank
41
for spraying water mist to the combustion exhaust flowing into the spraying tank
41
so as to generate aerated water in the spraying tank
41
. A cooling tank
42
has an upper end connected to a lower end of the spraying tank
41
, and is provided with passage tubes
45
communicated with the spraying tank
41
to permit passage of the aerated water and the combustion exhaust from the spraying tank
41
therethrough. The cooling tank
42
is provided with condensing means that contains circulating condensing water for cooling the combustion exhaust and the aerated water flowing through the passage tubes
45
. The passage tubes
45
are communicated with one end of a reservoir pipe
46
at a lower end of the cooling tank
42
to allow the aerated water and the combustion exhaust to flow into the reservoir pipe
46
. A reservoir tank
47
is disposed below and is communicated with the reservoir pipe
46
for receiving the aerated water. An upright waterfall tank
43
has a lower end connected to and communicated with another end of the reservoir pipe
46
. An upper end of the waterfall tank
43
is disposed at an elevation significantly higher than that of the reservoir tank
47
. A pump
470
and a multi-ended delivery pipe
471
are provided for pumping the aerated water in the reservoir tank
47
to the upper end of the waterfall tank
43
and for releasing the aerated water at the upper end of the waterfall tank
43
so as to generate inside the waterfall tank
43
a downwardly cascading water stream that falls back into the reservoir pipe
46
and the reservoir tank
47
via the lower end of the waterfall tank
43
.
The exhaust port unit
5
is connected to the upper end of the waterfall tank
43
via a second pipe member
51
, and includes a fan casing
52
mounted with an air drawing fan
53
, and a port member
521
extending upwardly from the fan casing
52
. The air drawing fan
53
generates a back pressure at the upper end of the waterfall tank
43
for sucking the combustion exhaust from the waterfall tank
43
and for releasing the combustion exhaust through the port member
521
. Preferably, the back pressure is in the range of 0.8 to 0.9 atm. When the back pressure is below 0.8 atm, the flow rate of the combustion exhaust is too high and can have an adverse effect on the decomposition and cooling thereof. When the back pressure is higher than 0.9 atm, the combustion exhaust cannot flow smoothly through the exhaust disposal unit
4
and the exhaust port unit
5
.
Referring to
FIGS. 4
,
7
and
8
, the rail member
12
has a movable section
123
which is formed on a movable platform
62
that is provided with wheels
621
on its bottom side. The residue removing unit
6
has an operating space
101
formed adjacent to the rail member
12
to permit movement of the platform
62
thereinto. The residue removing unit
6
further has a residue cleaner
63
and a residue collector
64
which are disposed on opposite front end rear sides of the operating space
101
. Each of the refuse loading cars
2
, after exiting from the furnace body
3
via the car outlet
341
(see
FIG. 2
) , is conveyed to the movable section
123
on the platform
62
for moving together with the platform
62
into and out of the operating space
101
. A second push mechanism
61
is provided inside the channel
10
, and has a push rod
611
for pushing the platform
62
to move into the operating space
101
. A third push mechanism
65
is provided adjacent to the operating space
101
opposite to the second push mechanism
61
, and is provided with a push rod
651
for pushing the platform
62
to move out of the operating space
101
and back into the channel
10
. The residue cleaner
63
includes a scraping plate
632
, a brush
633
and a vacuuming member
634
. During operation of the residue removing unit
6
, the residue cleaner
63
moves into the refuse loading space
233
from the open front side thereof when the refuse loading car
2
is brought into the operating space
101
. The scraping plate
632
scrapes the combustion residue on the refuse loading car
2
into the residue collector
64
. The brush
633
brushes the combustion residue away from the refuse loading car
2
and into the residue collector
64
. The vacuuming member
634
vacuums the remaining combustion residue from the refuse loading car
2
to complete the residue removing operation.
Referring to
FIG. 2
, the refuse incinerating oven of the present embodiment operates in the following manner: Initially, a plurality of successively arranged refuse loading cars
2
are loaded with refuse from above at the starting section
121
of the rail member
12
, and are pushed intermittently by the first push mechanism
13
to move along the rail member
12
and into the furnace body
3
via the car inlet
331
. The igniting members
361
in the lower combustion chamber
36
spray combustion fuel onto the refuse loading cars
2
, and light a flame in the lower combustion chamber
36
for igniting the refuse loaded on the refuse loading cars
2
. The burning time is preferably about 1 hour to prevent incomplete combustion. Moreover, during burning of the refuse, the air drawing fan
53
is activated to generate a back pressure in the range from 0.8 to 0.9 atm to facilitate the flow of the combustion exhaust generated in the lower combustion chamber
36
into the upper combustion chamber
37
via the clearance
351
. At this time, the heating plates
38
in the upper combustion chamber
37
are heated by the burning members
371
in order to heat the combustion exhaust flowing into the upper combustion chamber
37
. The combustion exhaust, while being heated by the heating plates
38
, flow through the upper and lower air passages
381
,
382
and toward the first pipe member
44
. The temperatures and operating periods in the upper and lower combustion chambers
37
,
36
depend upon the type of refuse to be disposed. Generally, the temperature in the lower combustion chamber
36
is controlled to be between 900 to 1500° C., whereas the temperature in the upper combustion chamber
37
is controlled to be between 1200 to 1800° C. For example, in the case the refuse to be disposed is mercury-containing mud, the lower combustion chamber
36
is controlled to a temperature of 900° C., while the upper combustion chamber
37
is controlled to a temperature of 1200° C. In the case the refuse to be disposed is plastic, the temperature in the lower combustion chamber
36
is raised to about 1200° C., and the temperature in the upper combustion chamber
37
is raised to about 1500° C. The burning time in the upper combustion chamber
37
for heating the combustion exhaust is generally controlled to about 7 seconds.
Referring to
FIGS. 1
,
2
and
4
, after the burning operation in the furnace body
3
, combustion residue is left on the refuse loading cars
2
. The refuse loading cars
2
are conveyed to exit the furnace body
3
via the car outlet
341
due to the intermittent pushing action of the first push mechanism
13
, and toward the residue removing unit
6
. When one of the refuse loading cars
2
is moved onto the platform
62
, it is brought into the operating space
101
together with the platform
62
due to the operation of the second push mechanism
61
. At this time, the residue cleaner
63
moves into the refuse loading space
233
for moving a large part of the residue into the residue collector
64
and for vacuuming the remaining part of the residue and ash via the vacuuming member
634
. Thereafter, the car
2
is brought out of the operating space
101
together with the platform
62
due to the operation of the third push mechanism
65
, and is brought back into the channel
10
for moving along the rail member
12
. When the car
2
is conveyed back to the starting section
121
through the ending section
122
of the rail member
12
, refuse is loaded once again into the refuse loading space
233
thereof for preparation of a subsequent incinerating operation.
On the other hand, referring again to
FIG. 2
, the combustion exhaust heated in the upper combustion chamber
37
flows through the first pipe member
44
and into the spraying tank
41
. The spraying means
412
sprays water mist to the combustion exhaust in the spraying tank
41
. The resulting aerated water and the combustion exhaust then flow through the cooling tank
42
for cooling by the condensing means in the cooling tank
42
, and subsequently flow into the reservoir pipe
46
. The aerated water is collected in the reservoir tank
47
below the reservoir pipe
46
, while the combustion exhaust flows continuously into the waterfall tank
43
from the lower end to the upper end of the waterfall tank
43
due to the sucking action of the air drawing fan
53
. The aerated water collected in the reservoir tank
47
is pumped and delivered to the upper end of the waterfall tank
43
by means of the pump
470
and the delivery pipe
471
that extends into the waterfall tank
43
, and is released at the upper end of the waterfall tank
43
. The combustion exhaust thus passes through the downwardly cascading water stream generated in the waterfall tank
43
. In this manner, the temperature of the combustion exhaust can drop from about 900° C. to 200° C., within about 0.5 second. That is, the temperature of the combustion exhaust drops rapidly through the range of 400° C. to 250° C., within which carbon, hydrogen, and chlorine can be prevented from combining to form water non-dissolvable and toxic substances, such as dioxines. Moreover, by virtue of colliding with and heating by the heating plates
38
in the upper combustion chamber
37
, molecules of the combustion exhaust can be decomposed into smaller molecules, most of which mix with water when passing through the spraying tank
41
, and are then collected in the reservoir tank
47
.
In the case the refuse to be disposed is liquidwaste, the waste is received in a container having a size corresponding with that of the refuse loading space
233
of the refuse loading car
2
, and the container is disposed in the refuse loading space
233
. In this situation, the residue removing unit
6
is not activated.
Referring to
FIG. 9
, in a modified embodiment, the heating plates
38
′ in the upper combustion chamber
37
′ of the furnace body
3
′ are disposed horizontally above and parallel to the partition
35
′. As shown, a lower one of the heating plates
38
′ is secured to the front end wall
33
′ of the furnace body
3
′, and defines a rear air passage
381
′ with a rear end wall
34
′ of the furnace body
3
′. An upper one of the heating plates
38
′ is secured to the rear end wall
34
′ of the furnace body
3
′, and defines a front air passage
382
′ with the front end wall
33
′.
It has thus been shown that, the exhaust disposal unit
4
enables the temperature of the combustion exhaust to drop rapidly so as to prevent generation of harmful and toxic substances in the combustion exhaust. As such, the combustion exhaust released from the port member
521
has less toxic content to prevent serious pollution of the atmosphere.
While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.
Claims
- 1. A refuse incinerating oven, comprising:at least one refuse loading car adapted for loading refuse thereon; a furnace body having a car inlet, a car outlet, a lower combustion chamber disposed between and communicated with said car inlet and said car outlet, and an upper combustion chamber disposed above and communicated with said lower combustion chamber; conveying means for conveying said refuse loading car through said furnace body from said car inlet to said car outlet; igniting means provided in said lower combustion chamber of said furnace body for igniting the refuse loaded on said car when said car is conveyed through said furnace body; gas heating means provided in said upper combustion chamber for heating combustion exhaust generated when burning the refuse in said lower combustion chamber; a spraying tank communicated with said uppers combustion chamber for receiving the combustion exhaust; spraying means provided in said spraying tank for spraying water mist to the combustion exhaust in said spraying tank so as to generate aerated water in said spraying tank; cooling means connected to said spraying tank for cooling the aerated water and the combustion exhaust flowing from said spraying tank; reservoir means connected to said cooling means for receiving the aerated water and the combustion exhaust flowing from said cooling means; a waterfall tank having a lower end communicated with said reservoir means, and an upper end disposed at an elevation higher than that of said reservoir means; pumping means for pumping the aerated water from said reservoir means to said upper end of said waterfall tank and for releasing the aerated water at said upper end of said waterfall tank so as to generate inside said waterfall tank a downwardly cascading water stream that falls back into said reservoir means via said lower end of said waterfall tank; and an exhaust port unit connected to said upper end of said waterfall tank for sucking the combustion exhaust from said waterfall tank and for releasing the combustion exhaust.
- 2. The refuse incinerating oven of claim 1, wherein said exhaust port unit generates a back pressure at said upper end of said waterfall tank.
- 3. The refuse incinerating oven of claim 2, wherein the back pressure is in the range of 0.8 to 0.9 atm.
- 4. The refuse incinerating oven of claim 1, wherein said conveying means includes a conveying channel and a rail member disposed in said conveying channel, said car being disposed in said conveying channel on said rail member and being movable along said rail member.
- 5. The refuse incinerating oven of claim 4, wherein said conveying channel is filled with water.
- 6. The refuse incinerating oven of claim 4, wherein said rail member has a starting section and an ending section connected to said starting section, said conveying means further including a push mechanism for pushing said refuse loading car to move from said starting section along said rail member to said ending section.
- 7. The refuse incinerating oven of claim 1, wherein said refuse loading car includes a wheeled leg frame, a horizontal base plate mounted on said leg frame, and a pair of spaced-apart side plates extending upwardly from said base plate and cooperating with said base plate to define a refuse loading space.
- 8. The refuse incinerating oven of claim 7, wherein said base plate of said refuse loading car has a pair of lateral guiding projections that project relative to said side plates, said furnace body having a pair of side walls between which said refuse loading car passes, said side walls being formed with guiding grooves that permit said guiding projections to extend slidably thereinto when said refuse loading car is conveyed into said furnace body.
- 9. The refuse incinerating oven of claim 1, comprising a plurality of said refuse loading cars that are arranged in succession, each of said refuse loading cars having a front end formed with a bumper strip and a projecting rib that projects forwardly, and a rear end formed with an indented portion for receiving said projecting rib of a succeeding one of said refuse loading cars when said rear end is in contact with said bumper strip at said front end of the succeeding one of said refuse loading cars.
- 10. The refuse incinerating oven of claim 1, wherein said gas heating means includes a plurality of spaced apart and parallel heating plates mounted in said upper combustion chamber for heating the combustion exhaust.
- 11. The refuse incinerating oven of claim 10, wherein said gas heating means further includes burning means for heating said heating plates.
- 12. The refuse incinerating oven of claim 1, further comprising a residue removing unit adapted for removing combustion residue from said refuse loading car, said conveying unit further conveying said refuse loading car to said residue removing unit when said refuse loading car exits said furnace body via said car outlet.
- 13. The refuse incinerating oven of claim 12, wherein said residue removing unit includes a movable platform, said conveying unit conveying said refuse loading car onto said movable platform when said refuse loading car exits said furnace body via said car outlet.
- 14. The refuse incinerating oven of claim 13, wherein said residue removing unit further includes an operating space, push means for pushing said movable platform into and out of said operating space, a residue collector to be disposed adjacent to said refuse loading car when said refuse loading car is moved together with said platform into said operating space, and a residue cleaner adapted for moving the combustion residue on said refuse loading car into said residue collector.
- 15. The refuse incinerating oven of claim 14, wherein said residue cleaner includes a scraping plate adapted for scraping the combustion residue on said refuse loading car into said residue collector.
- 16. The refuse incinerating oven of claim 14, wherein said residue cleaner includes a brush adapted for brushing the combustion residue away from said refuse loading car.
- 17. The refuse incinerating oven of claim 14, wherein said residue cleaner includes a vacuuming member adapted for vacuuming the combustion residue from said refuse loading car.
- 18. The refuse incinerating oven of claim 5, wherein said conveying channel is a looped conveying channel.
US Referenced Citations (15)