Compact incinerator

Claim 1

An incinerator for burning solid material comprising: a furnace including a combustion chamber having heating means on the walls thereof for providing heat for combustion, an inlet for solid particulate matter and an outlet for discharge of the solid products of combustion; a conveyor in said furnace arranged to move said solid matter longitudinally toward the outlet, said conveyor comprising a shaft extending the length of said combustion chamber and having its ends positioned in bearings disposed on opposite end walls of the furnace, a helically formed strap attached to opposite ends of the shaft which moves the solid matter from the inlet along the combustion chamber length to said outlet; drive means associated with said furnace for operating the conveyor at a speed which corresponds to the residence time required for solids to remain in the furnace to assure complete combustion of said solids; air preheating means on said furnace for raising the temperature of air supplied to said furnace to support combustion, and a gas outlet to discharge gases including the excess air, products of combustion and gases generated during the combustion process in the furnace; and after-burner means on said furnace connected to the gas outlet, said after-burner means comprising a housing mounted on said furnace, the inner wall surfaces of said housing defining with the furnace outer walls a gas combustion chamber which extends substantially the complete length of the furnace and circumferentially encompasses a part of the furnace upper wall surface, the arrangement being such that combustion gases discharged through the furnace gas outlet, pass through the gas combustion chamber which helps consume gases not burned in the furnace during the combustion process.