Process and an apparatus for burning a residual gas of low heating value

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR BURNING A RESIDUAL GAS OF LOW HEATING VALUE COMPRISING A CYLINDRICAL COMBUSTION CHAMBER HAVING A TANGENTIAL GAS INLET AT THE OUTER PERIPHERY OF THE UPSTREAM END, A SINGLE SERIES OF RADIAL SLITS OF SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORM SIZE CUT THROUGH THE LATERAL WALL OF SAID CHAMBER BEGINNING IMMEDIATELY DOWNSTREAM OF SAID GAS INLET, SAID SLITS RUNNING SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO ONE ANOTHER AND TO THE AXIS OF SAID CHAMBER AND BEING LOCATED AT REGULAR INTERVALS AROUND THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF SAID CHAMBER BUT WITH THE MID-POINT OF EACH SLIT IN SAID SERIES BEING SLIGHTLY DOWNSTEAM OF THAT OF THE ONE IMMEDIATELY PREVIOUS THERETO SO THAT SAID SERIES OF SLITS FORMS A SUBSTANTIALLY REGULAR HELICAL PATTERN IN THE LATERAL WALL OF SAID CHAMBER, A CYLINDRICAL CASING SURROUNDING AND SPACED APART FROM THAT PORTION OF SAID CHAMBER WALL IN WHICH SAID SLITS ARE LOCATED SO AS TO FORM AN ANNULAR SPACE BETWEEN SAID CHAMBER WALL AND SAID CASING, MEANS TO SUPPLY A RESIDUAL GAS TO SAID TANGENTIAL GAS INLET AT HIGH VELOCITY, MEANS TO SUPPLY A MOLECULAR OXYGEN CONTAINING GAS TO SAID ANNULAR SPACE UNDER A PRESSURE GREATER THAN THAT EXISTING IN SAID COMBUSTION CHAMBER AND MEANS TO WITHDRAW REACTION PRODUCTS FROM THE DOWNSTREAM END OF SAID COMBUSTION CHAMBER.