Improved methods for the treatment of commingled wastes and process systems for practicing those methods are provided. The methods are practiced by first treating the commingled waste material in a primary treatment unit in the presence of a carrier fluid to separate the organic waste from the inorganic waste. The carrier fluid and the gaseous products from the primary unit are then treated in a flameless oxidizer, which efficiently destroys any remaining organic compounds. In one embodiment, the process gases exiting the flameless oxidizer are recycled to the primary treatment unit.
A lean burn engine having a lean NOx trap in the form of a matrix of narrow flow passages is described. The engine is provided with means for injecting reducing gases upstream of the NOx trap matrix (16) to purge the trap periodically. A flow straightening matrix (12) of narrow flow passages is arranged upstream of the NOx trap matrix (16) and is separated from the trap matrix (16) by a narrow chamber (14). Reducing gases are injected in bursts into the narrow chamber (14), each burst having sufficient mass and flow rate to fill the narrow chamber (14) with the reducing gases and to displace the exhaust gases previously present in the narrow chamber (14) into the narrow flow passages of the flow straightening matrix (12) and of the trap (16) without significantly mixing with the latter exhaust gases,
The exhaust of a vehicle paint spray booth is fed through an adsorption medium, such as activated carbon, to remove volatile organic compounds by adsorption. When the adsorbent becomes saturated, it is purged by electric heaters, and the desorbed volatile organic compounds are directed to the fuel processor of a stationary fuel cell. The volatile organic compounds are broken down into oxides of carbon and hydrogen gas in the fuel processor, the hydrogen is fed to the fuel cell, and the oxides of carbon are vented to the atmosphere with excess air. The fuel cell combines the hydrogen with oxygen from air, and releases air, water vapor and electrical power.
A method and apparatus for processing a waste product and producing a synthesis gas is provided. The system includes a sealed, heated rotatable drum for preheating and preparing the waste material suitable for a plasma reactor, and processing the material in the reactor. The synthesis gas created by the reactor is used to preheat the waste material by circulating the hot synthesis gas around the drum. In an alternative embodiment, the hot synthesis gas flows through the drum to preheat the waste material and to clean the synthesis gas. Different methods of cooling and cleaning the synthesis gas are used. The system may comprise two plasma reactors in combination with a rotating desorber drum.
