Air control for combustor

Claim 1

A rotary combustor for burning municipal solid waste comprising, in combination, a plurality of water cooled pipes and perforated intermediate strips joining said pipes defining a cylinder having a gas porous wall, means for mounting and rotating said cylinder about its axis, said axis being slightly tilted so the cylinder has a high end and a low end, means for feeding municipal solid waste into said high end of said cylinder so that the municipal solid waste, as it burns tumbles in an arcuate portion of the cylinder and gradually moves from the high end to the low end of the cylinder along said arcuate portion, a wind box for delivering air to the outer wall of said cylinder and driving air through said porous wall, said wind box being partitioned into sections so that a first section drives air into said arcuate portion and through the municipal solid waste, and a second section drives air adjacent said arcuate portion and over said municipal solid waste, and means for varying the air supplied to each of said sections, said first and second sections being further partitioned across the length of the rotary combustor to vary the quantity of air being supplied to the upper and lower ends of the rotary combustor, whereby the quantity of air driven through said municipal solid waste and the quantity of air supplied adjacent said municipal solid waste can be individually controlled at the upper and lower ends of the rotary combustor to properly burn said municipal solid waste irrespective of its makeup with a minimum amount of excess air.