Vortex incinerator

The vortex incinerator used in a preferred combined system with the Yamato TACO dryer can also be used as a standalone dryer-incinerator (Figure 31.5). The wet material is fed to the periphery of the incinerator equipped with a tangentially oriented gas burner mounted on the sidewall opposite the feed point. Due to the combined action of blades and nozzles attached to the... 

Rgure 31.5 Vortex incinerator. (Courtesy of Yamato Sanko Mfg. Co. Ltd., Japan.)... 

The product stream contains gases and soflds. The soflds are removed by using either cyclones, filters, or both in combination. Cyclones are devices used to separate soflds from fluids using vortex flow. The product gas stream must be cooled before being sent to the collection and refining system. The ALMA process uses cyclones as a primary separation technique with filters employed as a final separation step after the off-gas has been cooled and before it is sent to the collection and refining system (148). As in the fixed-bed process, the reactor off-gas must be incinerated to destroy unreacted butane and by-products before being vented to the atmosphere. 

Liquid injection incinerators are currently the most commonly used type of incinerator for hazardous waste disposal. A wide variety of units are marketed today, mainly horizontally and vertically fired types a less common unit is the tangentially fired vortex combustor. 

General Electric Company, under an EPA permit, incinerated nearly 6,000 L (1,500 gal.) of 20% liquid DDT formulations in a liquid injection incinerator near Pittsfield, Massachusetts, in September 1974 (4). The facility utilized a vortex combustor of the type normally used for disposal of oils and solvents. Operating temperatures ranged from 870 to 980°C with retention times of 3 to 4 s and 120 to 160% excess air. Overall destruction efficiency exceeded 99.99%. Concentrations of DDT, DDE, and DDD in the stack gas and scrubber water were below analytical detection limits. 

Gutmark, E., T.P. Parr, K. J. Wilson, K.H. Yu, R. A. Smith, D.M. Hanson-Parr, and K. C. Schadow. 1996. Compact waste incinerator based on vortex combustion. Combustion Science Technology 121 333-49. 

FIGURE 1 (a) Low-air-pressure, long-flame combustor (b) high-air pressure, short-flame vortex combustor. [From Santolerl, J. J. (1995). Hazardous Waste Incineration Course. AWMA Course No. WST-258, Kansas City, MO (March 27, 1995).]... 

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