Chemical apparatus and process disinfecting – deodorizing – preser – Chemical reactor – Waste gas purifier
Reexamination Certificate
1994-02-03
2001-07-31
Tran, Hien (Department: 1764)
Chemical apparatus and process disinfecting, deodorizing, preser
Chemical reactor
Waste gas purifier
C422S168000, C422S169000, C422S170000, C588S900000, C137S597000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06267931
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to the field of waste treatment and more particularly, to a reconfigurable treatment system, particularly useful with a cylinder rupture vessel or other waste containing vessels.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hazardous waste can originate from a variety of sources and can take on numerous forms. Facilities that generate or collect waste from various sources can accumulate waste with widely-ranging characteristics. Typically, the waste is managed at the storage or accumulation point. This requirement, in view of the diversity of waste characteristics, presents problems in the effective stabilization, recontainerization, and treatment of the waste. Problems are particularly acute at abandoned waste sites where the nature of the waste may be unknown.
Many systems have been developed for treating hazardous waste, such that the byproducts after treatment are suitable for being returned to the environment or are otherwise safe for alternate methods of recontainerization or disposal. One common problem confronted in treating hazardous waste is that it is often enclosed in a container.
Devices for safely gaining access to the contents of containers enclosing potentially hazardous materials have been developed. Examples of such devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,690,180 (Reissue 33,797), U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,944,333, and 5,186,219, all assigned to Earth Resources Corporation. These devices are commonly referred to as cylinder rupture devices or CRVs. Once the contents of the cylinder or other container are accessed, they typically must be treated and/or recontainerized. Commonly, treatment is accomplished by transferring the contents to a treatment system for neutralization, dilution, thermal destruction, or other treatment depending on the nature of the contents. Such treatment procedures, in general, are well-known.
Systems have been developed for the treatment of specific hazardous waste streams. These systems are typically designed to allow effective management of specific materials and packaging schemes. Some conventional treatment systems have used a combination of scrubbers, adsorbents, burners, or other devices for treating waste. Use of these individual treatment units is generally known in the art. However, prior waste treatment systems which use a combination of these individual treatment units suffer various drawbacks. For example, for safety reasons, the treatment units are typically rigidly connected. Consequently, the path of waste through the units of the treatment system is normally fixed. This can result in inefficient and unnecessarily costly treatment of waste by requiring the waste to pass through all of the units in the system even though treatment by some units is not necessary for some applications. Additionally, the rigid connections make it difficult to change the order of the treatment units. Conventional treatment systems, therefore, fail to provide flexibility in adapting to different desired treatment configurations.
Previous waste treatment systems have typically been designed to meet various criteria of treatment efficiency. Permits may be obtained from regulatory agencies which allow discharge of waste within defined allowable limits. When used for a known, specific waste stream at a fixed location, the permits allow use of conventional treatment systems with known efficiencies. Typically, however, these systems are not adaptable to significant variations in waste characteristics. A change in waste parameters may cause the efficiency of the system to fall below permitted levels.
Regulatory agencies are generally reluctant to permit any discharge of waste in some areas, particularly where treatment efficiencies and discharge characteristics are not well-defined. Permitting agencies may prohibit any discharge from a treatment system until the discharge is characterized and shown to be within allowable standards.
Conventional waste treatment systems typically do not have containment devices necessary to increase the overall safety of the system. In a conventional system, if a component of the system fails, the waste is likely to escape into the surrounding environment. Especially with hazardous waste, this situation is undesirable.
A further problem with conventional waste treatment systems is that the system is typically designed for a fixed location and are not practically adaptable to the treatment of waste having widely varying characteristics depending on the particular site. Treatment systems are commonly designed with a large capacity for specific treatment needs. Once the treatment needs no longer exist, the system is typically dismantled. If the components are to be used in a system at another site they typically have to be transported and reassembled at the new location.
Also, while the use of burners, per se, in conjunction with waste treatment systems is well known, there are some problems with burners which are normally used. Typical burners rely on large quantities of air to provide sufficient oxygen for the thermal oxidizing and/or pyrolyzing process. Among other problems, this often causes the pressure within the system to rise above acceptable or desirable levels. Another problem that often results from using conventional burners is that undesirably high levels of exhaust often have to be contained within the system.
These specific problems are noted for example purposes only. It will be appreciated that there are other problems with the various conventional waste treatment systems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to overcome these and other drawbacks of the prior art.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a conveniently reconfigurable waste treatment system which enables waste to be directed to any combination of a plurality of treatment devices in any desired order. Additionally, the waste, if desired, may be selectively recirculated through the system until a desired sufficiency of treatment is attained.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a novel scrubbing unit, burner, and venturi vacuum mechanism for use in a waste treatment system.
To accomplish various ones of these and other objects of the present invention, according to one embodiment, a waste treatment system is provided with a distribution mechanism which may comprise a manifold. The distribution mechanism preferably comprises a plurality of inputs and a plurality of outputs and is designed for receiving a waste product from a waste source and for selectively distributing the waste product to and from a plurality of treatment devices connected between the inputs and outputs of the distribution mechanism. Preferably, each treatment unit has an inlet and an outlet. Each outlet of a treatment unit is rigidly connected to an input of the distribution mechanism and each output of the distribution mechanism is rigidly connected to an inlet of a treatment unit. Within the distribution mechanism, a selected input may be connected to a selected output via a flexible connection, for example, a flexible stainless steel hose. Due to the high cost of flexible tubing, e.g., flexible stainless steel hose, which can safely be used in hazardous waste environments, this system helps minimize the need for relatively high-cost piping, yet permits relatively quick and easy reconfiguration of the order and/or components of the treatment system. The treatment units may comprise one or more of various units including scrubbing units, absorption units, thermal destruction units, and other desired treatment units. The waste treatment system may comprise any or all of these devices in any desired combination.
The flow path of the waste may be determined by either manually or remotely manipulating the connections of the distribution mechanism. The waste treatment system may be remotely monitored and operated.
The present invention can be used in conjunction with a mechanism for releasing the contents of a container within a contained environm
Mattern Charles C.
Nickens Dan A.
Earth Resources Corporation
Hunton and Williams
Tran Hien
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