A bale boiler incinerates bales of material, and particularly bales made from waste, garbage and other refuse, in order to provide heat for a steam turbine generator, and includes a conveyor for transporting bales of waste material through a three-stage boiler. The boiler is preferably divided into three stages: 1) the warming stage, 2) the main incineration stage, and 3) the supplemental incineration stage. In the warming stage, the bale is warmed and dried. In the main incineration stage, the bale is burned to create heat that is then used to power a steam turbine electrical generator or the like. In the third, supplemental incineration stage, the remnants of the bale burn down to ash, and the remaining ash and non-combustible waste are then transported out of the boiler by the conveyor and dumped into a receptacle or container for transport and disposal.

Systems and processes provide for a thermal process to transform sludge (and a variety of other natural waste materials) into electricity. Dewatered sludge and other materials containing a high amount of latent energy are dried into a powdered biofuel using a drying gas produced in the system. The drying gas is recirculated and is heated by the biofuel produced in the system, waste heat (from turbines or internal combustion engines), gas (including natural gas or digester gas) and/or oil. The biofuel is combusted in a boiler system that utilizes a burner operable to burn biofuel and produce heat utilized in a series of heat exchangers that heat the recirculating drying air and steam that powers the turbines for electricity production.

Disclosed herein is a combustion apparatus which comprises a chamber having a apertured rotatable tubular auger mounted between end walls of the chamber to convey particulate material from the region of the chamber proximate the feed inlet to the combustion gas outlet and a blower connected to the opposite end of the tubular auger and configured to blow gas into the bore of the auger and out through the apertures into the chamber.

Disclosed herein is a combustion apparatus which comprises a chamber having a apertured rotatable tubular auger mounted between end walls of the chamber to convey particulate material from the region of the chamber proximate the feed inlet to the combustion gas outlet and a blower connected to the opposite end of the tubular auger and configured to blow gas into the bore of the auger and out through the apertures into the chamber.

A cooled grate block as part of a grate for a system for thermally treating waste, including: a block body in the form of a cast part having an outer supporting face for the waste to be treated; a flat cavity situated directly below the supporting face, for receiving a cooling fluid; a fluid feed line and a fluid discharge line, which are connected to the cavity; at least one deflection element, which is arranged in the cavity to direct a cooling fluid within the cavity from the fluid feed line to the fluid discharge line; and a valve element situated in the end region of the cavity, for distributing the cooling fluid fed into the cavity through the fluid feed line.

The present invention provides a method and a system for processing of waste by anaerobic digestion, said method comprising pre-treatment of a first biological waste stream by thermal hydrolysis and processing of a solid fraction by pyrolysis prior to anaerobic digestion.

The present invention allows for efficient utilization of the energy available in biological waste sources. The method provides an energy efficient method for processing of biological waste having a high degree of recovery of the energy stored in the waste material, wherein the flow of material may be dynamically adjusted to e.g. achieve end products in preferred ratios.

The description describes the integration of a gas fermentation process with a gasification process whereby effluent from the gas fermentation process is recycled to the gasification process. The one or more effluents which can be recycled include a stream comprising microbial biomass, a product stream comprising at least a portion of the at least one fermentation product, a by-product stream comprising fusel oil, and a waste water stream comprising microbial biomass. The stream comprising biomass can be dried before it is passed to the gasification zone. At least a portion of the waste water stream can be passed to the gasification process where one use is to replace at least a portion of the process water. The waste water stream can be further processed to produce a clarified water stream and a biogas stream comprising methane either or both of which can be passed to the gasification process.

Embodiments of the invention relate to a grate bar front section and a matching grate bar rear section and to a grate bar including the grate bar front section and/or the grate bar rear section configured such that, by releasably connecting the grate bar front section to the grate bar rear section, manufacture and maintenance costs are reduced.

A grate block including a block body formed as a cast part with a rear end and a front end that lies opposite the rear end in the conveying direction. The block body includes an upper wall which forms an outer rear bearing surface, running at least in part parallel to a longitudinal axis of the block body, for the waste that is to be treated, wherein the bearing surface defines a substantially horizontal plane. The block body further includes a raised nose arranged in the region of front end, which nose has an outer front bearing surface with a middle part that rises in the manner of a ramp in the conveying direction. The raised nose includes, following the outer front bearing surface, an apex and, after the apex in the conveying direction, a declining end portion with a discharge surface that drops away in a substantially arcuate manner.

A method includes producing an arrangement of grate bars for supporting fuel that is burned in an incinerator or other furnace device. The method includes positioning a pair of grate bars in adjacent side by side relation and with the respective upper sides that are configured to support the fuel, in generally aligned relation. The method further includes after positioning the grate bars, manipulating a fastener through respective recesses that extend in the grate bars, so that the grate bars are held in operative connection and in pressed together relation by the fastener. The method further includes subsequent to the fastener manipulation step, covering the recesses with at least one cover, such that the fastener is rendered inaccessible through the upper sides of the grate bars.