Fluidized bed combustion

Abstract

A continuously operable fluidized bed vessel system and method for incinerating and disposing of materials which produce high tramp residue. The system is particularly effective in combusting shredded tire and disposing of large amounts of wire tramp without requiring down-time for cleaning. Emission of undesirable gases is controlled by a sensing and controlling system which provides for automatic injection of combustion by-product-modifying gases and solids. Further control of undesirable gas emission is controlled by employing sealed combustible material input and solid waste output ports. Fluidizable bed material which is entrapped and discharged with the other residue is separated from magnetic tramp and larger grain sized non-magnetic tramp and recycled to continuously replenish the fluidized bed. The bottom of the fluidized bed comprises layers of sloping, overlapping plates which offer no impediment to movement of wire and other tramp moving downwardly, away from the periphery of the vessel, toward a discharge chute and which may be numerically increased to form the bottom of a vessel of unlimited size. The wire and other tramp are continuously urged toward the discharge chute by gravitational force combined with air streaming from spaces between the overlapping plates in the downward plane of the plates. The same air stream ultimately vectors upward toward the vessel outlet to provide support for the fluidized bed.