Resource recovery from disposal of solid waste and sewage sludge

Claim 1

Resource recovery method for use in the treatment of collected sewage sludge dissolved or dispersed in aqueous medium and municipal solid waste comprising the combination of steps of subjecting at least a portion of the sewage sludge to exothermic wet oxidation by introduction of the aqueous medium into an enclosed space at a temperature within the range of 150°-450° C and pressure within the range of 300-3000 psi, said portion being in an amount to generate heat sufficient to substantially dry the solid waste and the remainder of the sewage sludge, introducing oxygen containing gas into the aqueous medium to cause oxidation of said sewage sludge contained in the aqueous medium until 10-95% reduction in COD is achieved, subjecting the wet oxidation reaction products to separation into a solid phase and a liquid phase, heating the solid waste and any remainder of said sewage sludge with heat derived from the exothermic wet oxidation of the sewage sludge, flowing a stream of molten lead in one direction from a head end to a foot end within a pyrolysis chamber, depositing the heated solid waste and remainder of the sewage sludge plus the solid phase from the wet oxidation onto the stream of molten lead at the heat end portion to form a layer thereon, maintaining non-oxidizing conditions in the pyrolysis chamber whereby during travel with the stream of molten lead from the head end to the foot end, organic components of the material fed onto the stream of molten lead are thermally decomposed to gases and vapors and a carbonaceous component containing char, while metals and inorganic materials, including silica and sand, which are insoluble in molten lead and of a lower specific gravity remain on the surface of the stream of molten lead, metals and inorganic materials which are soluble in molten lead dissolve in the molten lead to become a part of the stream, and metals and materials insoluble in molten lead and of a higher specific gravity fall to the bottom of the stream, removing said gases and vapors from said pyrolysis chamber, and separating the char, metals, and inorganic materials from said stream of molten lead.