Cooling system for carpet/wood ash

Abstract

A method and system transfer, cool, store, and load an ash waste product of a gasification process. Hot ash is moved toward a storage silo via one or more augers and / or conveyors. Ash may be sent through a means for reducing the size of any ash chucks, such as roller crushers. The ash may be transferred via a first auger affixed with a glycol / water indirect cooling means. The ash may then be transferred to a second auger, also having a glycol / water indirect cooling means, but further being operable to blanket the ash with an inert gas, such as slightly pressurized nitrogen. Then, the ash may be transferred to a storage silo via a continuous flow bucket conveyor. The silo and conveyor may be operable to maintain the ash blanketed with inert gas. Subsequently, the ash may be unloaded from the silo, such as into a vehicle, via a retractable spout.

Description

PRIORITY AND CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This application claims the benefit of the filing date under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of Provisional U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 60 / 938,310, filed on May 16, 2007, entitled “Cooling System for Carpet / Wood Ash,” which is incorporated by reference in its entirety herein.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates generally to the production of energy. More particularly, the invention relates to a method and system for transferring, cooling, storing, and unloading ash generated from a gasification process or other thermal conversion process.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Thermal conversion processes may generate waste products that are difficult to dispose of. An exemplary thermal conversion process is gasification. Gasification is the process of converting solid carbonaceous or other biomass fuel into a synthetic gas. In this process, the resultant “synthetic” gas may be burned to produce steam.[0004]The gasificat...

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Benefits of technology

[0015]Advantages of the present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description of the preferred embodiments of the invention which are shown and described by way of illustration. As will be realized, the invention is capable of other and different embodiments, and its details are capable of modification in various respects. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.

Problems solved by technology

Thermal conversion processes may generate waste products that are difficult to dispose of.

The ash may drop from the bottom of the gasifier and contain a high amount of carbon, which makes the ash somewhat combustible.

Due to the high carbon content of the ash, the ash may smolder and / or ignite if not sufficiently moistened and / or cooled.

Several problems may result from known water spray ash handling systems, including those identified directly below.

The mud may build up on various pieces of equipment, including the inside of an ash or other waste product storage silo, and eventually harden.

The build up of mud may reduce the effective size of the conveyance and storage equipment, as well as clog rotating or moving equipment.

4. When ash is unloaded from the silo into a covered truck: (a) large amounts of hot ash may become airborne, creating a severe dust hazard and greatly reducing visibility during the ash unloading process; (b) the hot, moist air from the wetted ash may emerge from the truck openings, creating a hazardous stream of very hot gases (the steam itself may be a burn hazard for system operators, and the steam may further reduce visibility while unloading the ash from the silo into the truck); and (c) during ash unloading, ash may ignite, both in the silo and as it passed from the silo into the truck receptacle, creating a burn hazard during the ash unloading process.

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