US3734035A

US3734035A - Method and a simple apparatus therefor to efficiently dispose of liquid wastes containing combustible carbonaceous material

Info

Publication number: US3734035A
Application number: US00155004A
Authority: US
Inventors: F Whitfield
Original assignee: MILLHAVEN FIBRES Ltd
Current assignee: MILLHAVEN FIBRES Ltd
Priority date: 1971-06-21
Filing date: 1971-06-21
Publication date: 1973-05-22
Anticipated expiration: 1990-05-22

Abstract

This invention relates to a method and a simple apparatus therefor to efficiently dispose of liquid wastes containing combustible carbonaceous material and water but being substantially free of substances yielding solid residue. This invention is preferably concerned with the disposal of liquid textile wastes. Broadly stated the method comprises: (a) heating at the temperature of its boiling point at atmospheric pressure a liquid waste containing combustible carbonaceous material and water, said liquid being substantially free of substances yielding solid residue. (b) simultaneously pressuring said liquid to maintain it in liquid state; (c) spraying into an open fire said heated liquid waste kept under pressure to flash out the liquid, thereby evaporating the water from said liquid and burning the combustible carbonaceous material. There is also provided a relatively simple incinerator for carrying out this method comprising: (a) an open fire furnace provided with a spraying nozzle, said nozzle spaced in relationship to said open fire, (b) a means to heat and pumping means to feed under pressure into said spraying nozzle a heated liquid waste of carbonaceous material containing water and yielding substantially no solid residue, to evaporate said liquid and to burn said carbonaceous material.

Description

United States Patent 91 Whitfield [45] May 22, 1973 [54] METHOD AND A SIMPLE APPARATUS THEREFOR TO EFFICIENTLY [57] ABSTRACT DISPOSE 0F LIQUID WASTES This invention relates to a method and a simple ap- CONTAINING COMBUSTIBLE paratus therefor to efficiently dispose of liquid wastes CARBONACEOUS MATERIAL containing combustible carbonaceous material and 75 Inventor; Fred Sparks w m Napanee water but being substantially free of substances yield- Q i C d ing solid residue. This invention is preferably concerned with the disposal of liquid textile wastes. [73] Ass'gnee Lmmed Montreal Broadly stated the method comprises: (a) heating at Que anada the temperature of its boiling point at atmospheric [22] Filed: June 21, 1971 pressure a liquid waste containing combustible carbonaceous material and water, said liquid being sub- [211 Appl' 1554,04 stantially free of substances yielding. solid residue. (b) simultaneously pressuring said liquid to maintain it in [52] US. Cl. ..110/7 R, 110/7 S liquid state; (c) spraying into an open fire said heated [51] Int. Cl ..F23g 7/00 liquid waste kept under pressure to flash out the [58] Field of Search...' ..110/7, 7 S, 28; liquid, thereby evaporating the water from said liquid 431/2, 5 and burning the combustible carbonaceous material. There is also provided a relatively simple incinerator [56] References Cited for carrying out this method comprising: (a) an open fire furnace provided with a spraying nozzle, said noz- UNITED STATES PATENTS zle spaced in relationship to said open fire, (b) a 3,583,339 6/1971 Kube ..110/7 means to heat and pumping means to feed under pres- 3,611,954 12/1971 Monroe, Jr..... ..110/7 sure into said spraying nozzle a heated liquid waste of 3,357,375 12/1967 p y carbonaceous material containing water and yielding 3,589,314 6/1971 Ottensoos ..ll0/28 substantially no Solid residue, to evaporate said liquid and to burn said carbonaceous material. Primary Examiner-Kenneth W. Sprague Attorney-Thomas J. Morgan et al. 10 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures A3 /0 I 24 I f @uu /4 PATENTED 3.734.035

SHEET 1 OF 3 FIG.

INVENTOR Fred Sp arks WHITFIELD /.4 TENT AGENT PATENTEDWZZIQB $734,035

SHEET 2 [IF 3 INVENTOR Fred Sp urks WHITFIELD )JWMA W PATENT AGENT INVENTOR Fred Sp orks WHITFIELD PATENT AGENT METHOD AND A SIMPLE APPARATUS THEREFOR TO EFFICIENTLY DISPOSE OF LIQUID WASTES CONTAINING COMBUSTIBLE CARBONACEOUS MATERIAL This invention relates to a method and a simple apparatus therefor to efficiently dispose of liquid wastes containing combustible carbonaceous material and water but being substantially free of substances yielding solid residue. This invention is preferably concerned with the disposal of liquid textile wastes.

Prior to this invention it was general practice to dispose of liquid waste such as liquid textile wastes by merely spreading waste on open land.

In accordance with the invention there has now been found a useful method that economically converts liquid wastes containing combustible carbonaceous material and water and being substantially free of substances yielding solid residue, into useful energy. By the conversion of this waste, pollution of the environment is simultaneously reduced. This method is particularly applicable to liquid textile wastes.

Broadly stated the method comprises:

a. heating at the temperature of its boiling point at atmospheric pressure a liquid waste containing combustible carbonaceous material and water, said liquid being substantially free of substances yielding solid residue.

b. simultaneously pressuring said liquid to maintain it in liquid state;

c. spraying into an open fire said heated liquid waste kept under pressure to flash out the liquid, thereby evaporating the water from said liquid and burning the combustible carbonaceous material.

The liquid waste that may be used in accordance with this invention includes for instance aqueous emulsions of waste spin finish comprising oil and water; traces of dyes; methanol, glycol and water still washing and the like.

Broadly stated there is also provided a relatively simple incinerator for carrying out this method compris ing:

a. an open fire furnace provided with a spraying nozzle, said nozzle spaced in relationship to said open fire,

b. a means to heat and pumping means to feed under pressure into said spraying nozzle a heated liquid waste of carbonaceous material containing water and yielding substantially no solid residue, to evaporate said liquid and to burn said carbonaceous material. The heating means may for instance be a heat exchanger.

In the drawings which illustrate embodiments of the invention,

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the components of the incinerator and the relationship of said components to one another.

FIG. 2 is a front view of part of the furnace adjacent to an open fire.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross section of part of the furnace taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2 showing a door of the furnace with a portion thereof partly removed.

Referring now to FIG. 1 the incinerator comprises a furnace partly shown at provided with at least one burner having a nozzle 12 generating an open flame 13. The burner is coupled with auxiliaries not shown. A spray jet 14 is spaced in relationship to the open flame 13. The jet 14 sprays a liquid waste received from the line 16 via pump 18. Generally the liquid waste is stored in tank 20. Before pumping it into line 16 it is preheated to a temperature above its boiling point at atmospheric pressure, for instance, by means of a heat exchanger 19. The pressure exerted by pump 18 must be such as to maintain the waste in liquid state until it reaches the spray jet 14. Generally the pressure exerted on the waste may be in the order of 50 lbs/inch to 60 lbs/inch? On leaving the spray jet 14, the liquid waste is sprayed into the fire or flame and the liquid is flashed out, thereby evaporating the water from said liquid waste while burning the combustible carbonaceous material. Thus the water content is converted into vapor at high temperature. This vapor together with the products of combustion circulate around a plurality of running pipes 22 and boiler 24 giving up most of their heat contents then pass through the boiler stack to finally emerge to the atmosphere. These running pipes coupled with boilers are used to supply steam to the required units not shown. The furnace is generally provided with auxiliaries (not shown) such as manual or automatic controls for air intake for the furnace to compensate to suit.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the furnace is provided with a door 26. The door is secured with lugs, bolts and nuts, as shown at 29. The handle 28 is linked to and controls the vanes 30 that direct and provide a swirling action to the incoming air required for combustion. Portions of the door 26 extend to form with extentions 31 of the furnace, hinges which are pivotally mounted at 32. For sake of convenience, the door may be provided with a window 34.

The oil burner better shown on FIG. 3 comprises coaxial partitions, 36, 38 forming lines to feed in the mixing nozzle 12 of the burner respectively fuel oil and steam. The burner is of the type whereby heavy fuel oil is preheated to render it fluid and fed under pressure with steam to form a homogeneous mixture through the orifices 12a of the mixing nozzle of the burner 12. The accompanying expansion of the steam atomizes the oil into finely divided particles.

To enable easy removal of the partitions for cleaning purposes etc., the partitions are provided with a plurality of

handles

44 and 45, 46 (shown in FIG. 2).

Spaced in relation to the nozzle 12 of the burner, a spray jet 14 forming fog extends from a lance 50 joined to the line 16. The lance is held in position by screws 52. Screw 54 secures a collar 56 to the lance 50 and the collar 56 acts as a stop when inserting the lance, thus maintaining dimension b. The optimum position of the spray jet in relation to the oil burner, (distance a and b as shown in FIG. 3) are empirically determined. As it can be easily seen this spray jet arrangement may be operated without substantial changes when no waste is available. The spray jet and lance may be secured to the door 26 of the furnace by means of bracket 55 and screw 52. For securitys sake the spray jet may be provided with an automatic shut-off of the liquid in the event of a flame outage of the furnace, i.e., of nozzle 12 of the burner.

The outermost partition 40 is itself secured to the door 26 by bracket 58 and screw 60, and to housing 62 at 64-66. The housing is itself mounted between the door 26 and the furnace. The housing 62 supports the burner assembly and vanes 30 and contains the air required for combustion, passing between the vanes 30.

The furnace is generally provided with auxiliaries such as air register to control air admission to the furnace.

The debit rate of the liquid carbonaceous waste sprayed from the spray jet 14 is controlled to avoid any carry-over of water to the back of the combustion chamber. This is attained empirically by relating the size of the flame (and consequently the oil burned and the subsequent amount of steam generated in the boiler) to the amount of liquid carbonaceous waste sprayed.

Although this invention has been explained with particular reference to oil burner furnace, it should be borne in mind that solid fuels are also contemplated. However, the spray nozzle, could well be located at other locations and consequently the flashing off of the water.

EXAMPLE A mixture of liquid carbonaceous waste was preheated to its boiling point at atmospheric pressure (approximately 212) and kept under 50 psi. The mixture of liquid carbonaceous waste was approximately:

a. about 7 parts alcohol still washing containing approximately 80 percent methanol, l percent glycol and 10 percent water, and

b. 22 parts of spin finish waste containing approximately 2 percent oil and 98 percent water.

The mixture was fed to a fine spray nozzle or jet located adjacent to the oil jets in the fire box of a boiler of the boiler or the Foster-Wheeler type fitted with Todd type oil burner. (A trade mark for a burner available from a Corporation located in New York, USA.) The distance a and 11 between the jet 14 and nozzle 12 were about one half foot each respectively vertically center to center and horizontally face of spray to face of nozzle.

The pressure and delivery rates were arrived at by visual observation. Under these conditions, complete combustion was obtained and confirmed by analysis of the flue gas. The spray jet was provided with an automatic shut off of the liquid in the event of a flame outage of the boiler. An approximate value of about 700 B.T.U. per pound of the mixture was obtained. The boiler was rated at 30,000 lbs/hour at 250 lbs/square inch. When incinerator equipment was in use at a rate of about 137 imperial gallons/hr at 50 lbs/square inch delivery pressure, a minimum of approximately 15,000 lbs per hour at 250 lbs per square inch per boiler was obtained.

The incineration temperature was 2000 to 2200F. The brick stack was 125' 0" high above grade, 4'6 inside diameter. The flue gas temperature of the boiler breeching was approximately 500F and at the top of the stack approximately 450F. Flue gas by test indicated unburned combustible: nil and approximately 3 percent excess oxygen.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

l. A method for incinerating liquid waste containing combustible carbonaceous material and water, comprising:

a. heating at the temperature of its boiling point at atmospheric pressure a liquid waste containing combustible carbonaceous material and water, the said liquid being substantially free of substances yielding solid residue;

b. simultaneously pressuring said liquid to maintain it in liquid state;

c. spraying into an open fire said heated liquid waste kept under pressure to flash out the liquid and thereby evaporating the water from said liquid and burning the combustible carbonaceous material.

2. The method as defined in claim 1 wherein the liquid waste comprises an aqueous emulsion of waste spin finish.

3. The method as defined in claim 2 wherein the liquid waste comprises a methanol still washing.

4. The method as defined in claim 3 wherein said still washing contains also glycol.

5. The method as defined in claim 1 wherein the liquid waste is heated to a temperature above 212F.

6. The method as defined in claim 1 wherein the pressure exerted on the heated liquid is about 50 lbs/Sq.lnch to 60 lbs/sq.lnch.

7. The method as defined in claim 1 wherein the liquid is fed at about 1,400 lbs/hour.

8. An incinerator for liquid waste of carbonaceous material containing water and yielding substantially no solid residue, comprising:

a. an open fire furnace provided with a spraying nozzle, said nozzle being spaced in relationship to said open fire,

b. a means to heat and pumping means to feed under pressure a liquid waste of carbonaceous material containing water and yielding substantially no solid residue into said spraying nozzle and to evaporate said liquid and to burn said carbonaceous material.

9. The incinerator as defined in claim 8 wherein the heating means is a heat exchanger.

10. The incinerator as defined in claim 8 wherein the furnace is generated on open fire by means of an oil burner.

Claims

1. A method for incinerating liquid waste containing combustible carbonaceous material and water, comprising: a. heating at the temperature of its boiling point at atmospheric pressure a liquid waste containing combustible carbonaceous material and water, the said liquid being substantially free of substances yielding solid residue; b. simultaneously pressuring said liquid to maintain it in liquid state; c. spraying into an open fire said heated liquid waste kept under pressure to flash out the liquid and thereby evaporating the water from said liquid and burning the combustible carbonaceous material.

5. The method as defined in claim 1 wherein the liquid waste is heated to a temperature above 212*F.

6. The method as defined in claim 1 wherein the pressure exerted on the heated liquid is about 50 lbs/Sq.Inch to 60 lbs/sq.Inch.

8. An incinerator for liquid waste of carbonaceous material containing water and yielding substantially no solid residue, comprising: a. an open fire furnace provided with a spraying nozzle, said nozzle being spaced in relationship to said open fire, b. a means to heat and pumping means to feed under pressure a liquid waste of carbonaceous material containing water and yielding substantially no solid residue into said spraying nozzle and to evaporate said liquid and to burn said carbonaceous material.