Energy and steel recovery system

Abstract

An energy and steel recovery system has a suspension column and a plurality of suspension burners operably disposed therein wherein the burners are spaced from one another along the length of thereof. The suspension column includes a mechanism for receiving tires onto one of the burners and feeding the tires to an adjacent downwardly disposed burner to further combust the same. The column is configured to provide for a number of zones including heating, drying, volatizing, combusting and ashing which are collectively referred to herein as a “fractionation process.” A first conduit includes a first end communicably connected to the suspension column and a second end communicably connected to a boiler wherein air flow passes from the boiler to the suspension column. A second conduit includes a first end communicably connected to the suspension column and a second end communicably connected to the boiler wherein air flow passes from the suspension column to the return air flow path of the boiler. The system includes a mechanism for removing residual waste materials from the suspension column.

1 . An energy recovery system for waste fuel, which includes: 
 a suspension column;    a plurality of means for suspending waste fuel in said suspension column;    means for receiving the waste fuel onto one of said suspension means upwardly disposed within said column and feeding said combustible waste material to an adjacent downwardly disposed suspending means; and    means operably connected to said suspension column for gasifying the waste fuel.    
     
     
         2 . The energy recovery system for waste fuel of  claim 1 , which further includes means operably connected to said suspension column for performing fractionation on the waste fuel.  
     
     
         3 . The energy recovery system for waste fuel of  claim 2 , wherein said performing fractionation means includes a cyclone operably connected to said column.  
     
     
         4 . The energy recovery system for waste fuel of  claim 3 , wherein said performing fractionation means includes a carbon dioxide removal device operably connected to said cyclone and said column.  
     
     
         5 . The energy recovery system for waste fuel of  claim 2 , wherein said performing fractionation means includes a boiler having a combustion zone and an economizer zone, said boiler operably connected to said cyclone and said suspension column.  
     
     
         6 . The energy recovery system for waste fuel of  claim 1 , wherein said suspending means are spaced from one another along a length of said suspension column.  
     
     
         7 . The energy recovery system for waste fuel of  claim 1 , which further includes a fan operably connected to said gasifying means for affecting gas flow rate.  
     
     
         8 . The energy recovery system for waste fuel of  claim 1 , wherein said gasifying means includes a first conduit having a first end communicably connected to a heated air path of said suspension column and a second end communicably connected to an outflow air path of a high energy consumption device wherein air flow passes from said outflow air path of said high energy consumption device to heated air flow path of said suspension column, and a second conduit having a first end communicably connected to said heated air flow path of said suspension column and a second end communicably connected to a return air flow path of said high energy consumption device wherein air flow passes from said heated air flow path of said suspension column to said return air flow path of said high energy consumption device.  
     
     
         9 . The energy recovery system for waste fuel of  claim 1 , further including means for removing residual combusted and noncombustible waste materials from said suspension column.  
     
     
         10 . The energy recovery system for waste fuel of  claim 9 , wherein said waste removing means includes a conveyor system downwardly disposed in said suspension column.  
     
     
         11 . The energy recovery system for waste fuel of  claim 10 , wherein said conveyor system includes a magnetic conveyor.  
     
     
         12 . The energy recovery system for waste fuel of  claim 8 , wherein said suspension column includes an outer air passage jacket surrounding an inner column wall to which said first and second conduits are communicably connected such that said air enters said jacket and passes through said jacket being heated from an outer surface of said inner wall without mixing with air combustion occurring within said inner wall.  
     
     
         13 . The energy recovery system for waste fuel of  claim 1 , wherein each suspending means includes a plurality of support fingers each having a waste derived fuel support surface which is removably disposed in said suspension column to provide for self cleaning of said support surface of said fingers upon removal from said suspension column.  
     
     
         14 . The energy recovery system for waste fuel of  claim 13 , wherein said suspending means includes means for automatically retracting said fingers from said column.  
     
     
         15 . The energy recovery system for waste fuel of  claim 1 , which further includes means for automatically feeding waste material onto said suspending means.  
     
     
         16 . The energy recovery system for waste fuel of  claim 1 , which further includes means for circulating said air through said air paths.  
     
     
         17 . A method of producing energy recovery, comprising: 
 (a) delivering waste fuel onto an upwardly disposed suspension device which is operably disposed in a suspension column, wherein said suspension column includes a plurality of suspension devices operably disposed in said suspension column wherein said suspension devices are spaced from one another along the length of said suspension column;    (b) performing a step in a fractionation process on said waste fuel and feeding said waste fuel onto to an adjacent downwardly disposed suspension device further combust said combustible material; and    (c) capturing energy liberated from performing said fractionation step.    
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein said step in said fractionation process includes one of heating, drying, volatizing, combusting and ashing.  
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18  which is characterized to include the steps of heating, drying, volatizing, combusting and ashing.  
     
     
         20 . The method according to  claim 17 , wherein said waste fuel includes tires having steel.  
     
     
         21 . The method according to  claim 20  which includes removing residual steel matter.  
     
     
         22 . The method according to  claim 17 , which further includes forming an air path across a surface of said suspension column and directing said air path to a high energy use device.