Cooling system for carpet/wood ash

Abstract

A method and system transfer, cool, store, and load an ash waste product of a gasification process. Hot ash is moved toward a storage silo via one or more augers and/or conveyors. Ash may be sent through a means for reducing the size of any ash chucks, such as roller crushers. The ash may be transferred via a first auger affixed with a glycol/water indirect cooling means. The ash may then be transferred to a second auger, also having a glycol/water indirect cooling means, but further being operable to blanket the ash with an inert gas, such as slightly pressurized nitrogen. Then, the ash may be transferred to a storage silo via a continuous flow bucket conveyor. The silo and conveyor may be operable to maintain the ash blanketed with inert gas. Subsequently, the ash may be unloaded from the silo, such as into a vehicle, via a retractable spout.

1 . A method of transferring a waste product generated from a thermal conversion process, the method comprising:
 transferring and/or storing a waste product of a gasification process under a blanket of inert gas.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , the method comprising crushing the waste product with a roller crusher, such that extinguishing smolders within the waste product is facilitated by the inert gas displacing oxygen in the vicinity of the waste product. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , the method comprising transferring the waste product with a continuous bucket conveyor to a storage unit. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , the method comprising unloading the waste product from the storage unit via a retractable spout. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3 , the method comprising unloading the waste product from the storage unit into a mobile receptacle, the mobile receptacle being under a second blanket of inert gas. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the blanket of inert gas is applied to the waste product in a glycol/water mix indirect cooled auger that cools the waste product as it is being transferred. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the inert gas is nitrogen. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , the method comprising:
 shredding a fabric material having a backing;   separating the shredded fabric material into primarily fabric and primarily backing components;   gasifying the primarily fabric component in a gasifier, the gasifier producing steam; and   generating ash as the waste product of the gasification process.   
     
     
         9 . A method of transferring a waste product generated from a thermal conversion process, the method comprising:
 crushing a waste product of a thermal conversion process with a roller crusher;   blanketing the waste product with an inert gas; and   transferring the waste product with a continuous bucket conveyor to a storage unit.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , the method comprising unloading the waste product from the storage unit via a retractable spout. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the blanket of inert gas is applied to the waste product in a glycol/water mix indirect cooled auger that cools the waste product as it is being transferred. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the waste product is placed under a blanket of inert gas during unloading from the storage unit. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the waste product is placed under a blanket of inert gas during storage in the storage unit. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the inert gas is nitrogen. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the thermal conversion process is a gasification process that accepts a combination of primarily carpet fabric material and wood flour as a biomass fuel and the waste product is ash generated from the gasification process. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 9 , the method comprising:
 shredding a fabric material having a backing;   separating the shredded fabric material into primarily fabric and primarily backing components;   gasifying the primarily fabric component in a gasifier, the gasifier producing steam;   generating ash from gasification as the waste product.   
     
     
         17 . A system for transferring a waste product generated from a thermal conversion process, the system comprising:
 a roller crusher operable to crush a waste product of a thermal conversion process; and   means for blanketing the waste product with an inert gas.   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17 , the system comprising:
 a continuous bucket conveyor operable to transfer the waste product to a storage unit; and   a retractable spout operable to unload the waste product from the storage unit.   
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the thermal conversion process is a gasification process that accepts a waste carpet fabric and wood flour mixture as a biomass fuel, the waste product is ash generated from the gasification process, and the inert gas is nitrogen. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the means for blanketing the waste product with an inert gas includes one or more conveyors and/or augers operable to transfer the waste product and blanket the waste product with nitrogen. 
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the means for blanketing the waste product with an inert gas includes a storage unit being operable to blanket the waste product with nitrogen.