Solid refuse disposal process

Claim 1

In a process for disposal of solid refuse feed by conversion to useful gaseous product and inert solid residue in a vertical column with an upper end for fresh solid refuse feed as a drying zone and a lower end providing a thermal decomposition zone for the refuse, and a hearth beneath said column as a combustion-melting zone, in which air is separated to produce at least 40% oxygen by volume and fed to said combustion-melting zone, molten residue is discharged from said combustion-melting zone, fine particulate-containing overhead gas is discharged from the column upper end, and said overhead gas is cleaned by cooling and scrubbing with recycle condensate from a scrubbing-separation zone to provide product gas and bottom condensate, the improvement comprising: (a) a maintaining said vertical column and said hearth at pressure between 30 and 250 psia; (b) dividing the bottom condensate from said scrubbing-separation zone into three parts; (c) mixing a first part of said bottom condensate as a portion of said recycle condensate with said overhead gas for cooling and partial scrubbing thereof in said scrubbing-separation zone to form partially scrubbed overhead gas; (d) cooling a second part of said bottom condensate externally supplied refrigerant and contacting the so-cooled second part with the partially scrubbed overhead gas from (c) in said scrubbing-separation zone as another portion of said recycle condensate;