Apparatus for catalytic oxidation of grease and fats in low temperature fumes

Claim 1

Heat conserving catalytic apparatus for removing of oxidizable components in a waste gas stream, comprising, a housing shell means having an inner wall as well as a gas stream inlet means formed in its upstream end and a gas stream outlet means formed in its downstream end, said housing shell means being formed in two sections along the longitudinal direction thereof; an interior shell means having an outer wall and spaced from said inner wall of said housing shell means to form a heat exchange zone therebetween; said interior shell means being formed into two sections along the longitudinal direction thereof; said interior shell means being opened at both ends and having a longitudinally extending combustion chamber on the interior thereof to define a plenum area; means for allowing facile opening of said two sections of said housing shell means and said two sections of said interior shell means along the longitudinal direction of said housing shell means and said interior shell means for access to the interior thereof; a ducting structure within said heat exchange zone, said ducting structure means consisting of alternating input and output ducts, said input ducts receiving the unprocessed waste gas stream from said gas stream inlet means, and said outlet ducts receiving the processed waste gas stream from said combustion chamber; a plurality of inlet ports formed as a part of the interior shell means and located at the upstream end of said combustion zone for communicating said plurality of inlet ducts designated for said unprocessed waste gas stream from said heat exchange zone with said combustion zone; first and second baffle means being positioned at the upstream and downstream ends, respectively, of said interior shell means to define said plenum space for the combustion zone and to close off the ends of the respective output and input ducts in said heat exchange zone; said second baffle means forming a deflecting area therein for passage of said unprocessed waste gas stream from said heat exchange zone in the upstream end of said combustion zone in said interior shell means; a plurality of outlet ports at the downstream end of said combustion zone in said interior shell means communicating said combustion zone with said plurality of outlet ducts designated for the outgoing processed waste gas stream; an auxiliary heating means disposed within said combustion chamber to further heat said incoming unprocessed waste gas stream after passage through the heat exchange zone; a catalytic means disposed within said combustion zone and spaced downstream from said auxiliary heating means for flamelessly removing the oxidizable components of the waste gas stream from said waste gas stream, oxidizing of said oxidizable components occurring to release at least some heat energy, the relatively warmer processed oxidized gas stream being ducted from said combustion zone into the heat exchange zone and passing into countercurrent relative to the relatively cooler unprocessed waste gas stream entering the heat exchange zone to elevate the temperature of said cooler incoming unprocessed waste gas stream; thermostatic means spaced between said auxiliary heating means and said catalytic means for controlling the temperature of said waste gas stream; and means for inducing the flow of the waste gas stream through said heat conserving catalytic apparatus.