Waste treatment system

Abstract

A waste treatment system which is capable of handling materials of widely different physical characteristics such as glass, metal, and fibrous and plastic waste, incorporates a rotor rotatably mounted in a waste receiving vessel, the rotor being adapted to fracture brittle material, compact malleable material, and otherwise pulverize the frangible waste to a particulate form small enough to be extracted through a perforated plate. The rotor also circulates the material in a slurry form within the vessel in a vortical pattern so that the waste is repeatedly treated until it is ejected from the vessel. A series of space attrition bars are mounted outwardly of the rotor to provide an annularly shaped, discontinuous attrition surface, and hammers or flails are pivotally mounted on the rotor to reduce into smaller pieces materials which are flung upon or between the attrition bars by the rotor. Where the waste material contains a high proportion of rags, tubing and other stringy material, a rotating chopper blade is provided to chop this portion of the waste into smaller pieces which are more readily handled by the rotor and flails. Waste materials which are not readily reduced to a pulverized state by the system are segregated from those which are and removed separately.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A waste treatment system comprising: a. a vessel .Iadd.adapted to receive relatively frangible and infrangible material therein for treatment, said vessel .Iaddend.including an upstanding side wall portion,   b. a rotor mounted in said vessel,   c. means defining a discontinuous attrition surface mounted in said vessel intermediate said side wall portion and said rotor,   d. said side wall portion being of appreciably greater extent in a direction parallel to the axis of rotation of said rotor than said attrition means,   e. said discontinuous attrition surface being spaced from said side wall portion to accommodate material flow through and over said attrition surface into .[.said space.]. .Iadd.the space between said attrition surface and said side wall portion .Iaddend.and upwardly along said side wall in a vortical pattern,   f. flail means mounted on said rotor and projecting outwardly therefrom,   g. said flail means being mounted on said rotor for movement with respect thereto and engagement with said attrition means.   
     
     
       2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein: a. at least a distal portion of said flail means is engageable with said attrition surface, and   b. said distal portion of said flail means and the portion of said attrition surface engageable thereby are complementary in shape.   
     
     
       3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein: said flail means are pivotally mounted on said rotor.   
     
     
       4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein: a. said attrition surface is defined by one edge of a series of bar members, and   b. said bar members are positioned about said rotor in spaced relationship to each other.   
     
     
       5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein: a. said bar members are angularly disposed with respect to the radii of said rotor, and   b. the spacing between said bar members increases in a direction away from said rotor.   
     
     
       6. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein: a. said bar members are substantially trapezoidal in configuration.   b. one of the non-parallel edges on each of said bar members extends substantially parallel to the axis of rotation of said rotor and defines an annular pocket surrounding said bar members,   c. the other non-parallel edge of each of said bar members constitutes said discontinuous attrition surface defining means, and   d. means is provided for evacuating said pocket.   
     
     
       7. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein: a. said flail means are substantially L-shaped.   
     
     
       8. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising: a. a chopper blade mounted in said vessel in spaced relationship to said rotor.   
     
     
       9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein: a. said chopper blade is rotatably mounted, and   b. said chopper blade is of saw-toothed configuration.   
     
     
       10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein: a. the surface of the teeth of said chopper blade are curved with respect to the radii thereof in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of said chopper blade.   
     
     
       11. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising: a. a foraminous wall positioned beneath said rotor.   
     
     
       12. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein: a. said attrition surface defining means comprises an annularly shaped plate having a series of passages extending therethrough.   
     
     
       13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein: a. a series of ribs are mounted on an inner surface of said annular plate and project inwardly toward said rotor, and   b. a chamber is positioned outwardly of said annular plate opposite the apertured portion thereof.   
     
     
       14. Apparatus of the type described comprising: a. vessel having a bottom wall, a substantially cylindrical side wall, an inwardly projecting top wall and a downwardly extending lip,   b. a rotor having outwardly extending arms mounted in said bottom wall,   c. a portion of said bottom wall beneath said rotor having perforations formed therethrough and a chamber positioned beneath said portion,   d. at least two of said arms having L-shaped flails mounted thereon and projecting outwardly toward said side wall,   e. a series of trapezoidally shaped bars arranged outwardly of said rotor in spaced relation to each other to define a substantially inwardly and downwardly extending discontinuous attrition surface,   f. the outer portion of said flails being beveled to a configuration complementary to said attrition surface and engageable thereby,   g. an outermost portion of each of said bars defining with a section of said bottom wall a substantially annularly-shaped pocket,   h. said bars being oriented at an angle to the radii of said rotor, with the spacing between said bars increasing outwardly of said vessel and the spacing of the inner edges of said bars being smaller than said beveled portion of said flails,   i. an outlet from said vessel positioned adjacent a portion of said pocket, and   j. a rotatable chopper blade mounted in said vessel with the axis thereof spaced from the axis of said rotor,   k. said blade being of saw-toothed configuration with the teeth curved in a direction away from the direction of rotation of said blade. .Iadd. 15. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:   a. means defining an outlet from said vessel adapted to remove said relatively infrangible material therefrom..Iaddend..Iadd. 16. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein:   a. said space between said attrition means and said side wall portion is substantially annular, and   b. said outlet from said vessel communicates with said annular space..Iaddend.