Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Kemal S Arsava

Ali S Rangwala

Glenn Mahnken

Xiaochuan Shi

Hayri Sezer

Apoorv Walawalkar

Shivaprasad Arava

Vasudevan Raghavan

The present disclosure provides devices and methods for cleaning up or burning spills of burnable materials in situ. In some embodiments, a system for burning a burnable material comprises a base having a first side configured for placement on a surface with a burnable material and a second side; and a plurality heat conducting members extending from the second side of the base.

Systems and methods for in-situ clean up of burnable materials

A toxic waste incinerator is capable of enhanced combustion of hazardous waste (oil contaminated sand, human waste, garbage, etc.) utilizing immersed non-combustible and thermally conductive objects for increasing heat feedback from the flames to the unburned fuel, while air inlets are used to optimize the air entrainment rate to enhance the burning efficiency. The burning rate of a fluidic mass such as a sand-oil mixture is enhanced using immersed conductive objects (copper rods) which enable rapid heat-up of the flame exposed to the upper surface of the rod and transmits heat back into the sand. Consequent conduction of heat to the porous media through the lower portion of the immersed rod significantly increases vaporization and therefore the burning rate. Incineration may be performed on a transient, exigent basis as with hazardous waste and oil spills, or as part of a permanent fixture for receiving an ongoing waste stream.

Method and apparatus for waste combustion

Methods and systems for clean-up of hazardous spills are provided. In some aspects, there is provided a system for burning an water-oil emulsion that includes an enclosure configured to hold a water-oil emulsion; one or more conductive rods disposed throughout the enclosure, each rod of the one or more roads having a heater portion to be submerged in the water-oil emulsion and a collector portion to project above the water-oil emulsion, wherein the collector portion is longer than the heater portion; and a delivery system for supplying an water-oil emulsion to the enclosure, the delivery system is configured to maintain a constant level of the water-oil emulsion in the enclosure as the water-oil emulsion is burned. The enclosure may further include one or more adjustable air inlets.

Methods and systems for burning liquid fuels

Methods and systems for clean-up of hazardous spills

Growing community of inventors

Worcester, MA, United States of America

Kemal S Arsava