초록 ▼

A method of vacuum drying sludge or slurry input material comprises providing a closed-ended vacuum tunnel with at least two interior augers. The tunnel has an interior bed recessed with adjacent troughs separated by a low partition for accommodating the two augers in closely-spaced generally-horizo

A method of vacuum drying sludge or slurry input material comprises providing a closed-ended vacuum tunnel with at least two interior augers. The tunnel has an interior bed recessed with adjacent troughs separated by a low partition for accommodating the two augers in closely-spaced generally-horizontal side-by-side relation. The augers are driven counter-rotating such the input material re-circulates in an endless loop down one auger, over to the other and back again. The augers have screws formed with stubby flights to form a cut-and-fold arrangement and disintegrate the material. The chamber is heated up to or over 70° C. and a current of air is suctioned into the tunnel through inlets and out through ports in part pull a slight vacuum in the tunnel as well as to suction up and draw out disintegrating fractions of the material including gasified fractions, waftable finely divided particulate fractions and other waftable fractions.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A method of vacuum drying sludge or slurry input material, comprising the steps of:providing a chamber that is horizontally elongated between first and second ends with at least two elongated augers as well as one and another transfer arrangements;providing the chamber with an interior bed portio

1. A method of vacuum drying sludge or slurry input material, comprising the steps of:providing a chamber that is horizontally elongated between first and second ends with at least two elongated augers as well as one and another transfer arrangements;providing the chamber with an interior bed portion that is recessed with at least two adjacent troughs separated by a low partition and is sized and arranged for accommodating the at least two augers in closely-spaced generally-horizontal side-by-side relation, wherein the augers extend between the chamber's first and second ends such that one auger defines a primary run for motivating material from the first to the second end as the other auger defines a return run for motivating material back from the second to the first end;providing the second end of the chamber with the one transfer arrangement for transferring material in the primary run motivated up thereagainst to go over to the return run, and providing the first end with the other transfer arrangement for transferring material in the return run motivated up thereagainst to go back over to the primary run whereby material re-circulates in the primary and return runs in an endless loop;given a source for suctioning, suctioning a current of carrier gas into the chamber by introduction through in-let nozzles and suctioning out a composite of let-in current and fractions of the material through suction ports such that an evacuated pressure in the chamber is achieved down to or below essentially ⅘ ths an atmosphere;introducing the sludge or slurry input material into the chamber for re-circulation in the primary and return runs with an air-lock device for preserving the evacuated pressure;given a source of heat, applying heat to the chamber or at least the bed portion thereof and optionally pre-heating the introduced material and let-in carrier gas to achieve a mean temperature inside the chamber up to or above essentially 75° C.;providing each auger with spaced flights on the screws thereof to form cut-and-fold arrangements therewith to agitate the material and driving the augers to counter-rotate relative each other to adapt each auger for lofting portions of the agitated material at the other over the low partition therebetween;wherein the effects of heat, evacuation, agitation and current through the chamber causes the input slurry or sludge material to disintegrate into fractions comprising gasified fractions, waftable finely divided particulate fractions, other waftable fractions and, depending on the input material, in some cases irreducible heavy or sticky fractions whereby the flowrate and introduction of the carrier gas is selected to substantially mix with or entrain the gasified, waftable finely divided particulate and other waftable fractions and carry such out through the suction ports. 2. The method of claim 1 further comprising introducing the input material in regulated measures such that as substantial fractions of preceding measures of input material are reduced and carried out of the process chamber through the suction ports a succeeding measure is introduced. 3. The method of claim 2 wherein the first end comprises an infeed end for the input material. 4. The method of claim 1 wherein the augers comprise shafts for supporting the screws thereof, and the one transfer arrangement comprises terminating the screw on the primary auger to form a gap with the second end and filling the gap with one or more paddles mounted to the primary auger's shaft, and the other transfer arrangement comprises terminating the screw on the return auger to form a gap with the first end and filling the gap with one or more paddles mounted to the return auger's shaft whereby the paddles kick material over to the other auger's run. 5. The method of claim 4 further comprising inserting a grinder intermediate each transfer arrangement's paddles and the respective other run whereby the paddle-kicked over material is groun d through a grinder before reaching the respective other run. 6. The method of claim 1 wherein the source for suctioning comprises a vacuum pump and the carrier gas comprises air. 7. The method of claim 1 wherein the in-let nozzles comprise two series of nozzles such that one series is aimed directly into one of the primary and return runs at axially spaced locations as the other series of nozzles is aimed directly into the other of the primary or return runs to promote mixing with or entrainment of the gasified or waftable fractions of the disintegrating material. 8. The method of claim 1 wherein the evacuated pressure in the chamber is preferably achieved down to or below essentially ⅔ rds an atmosphere. 9. The method of claim 1 wherein the mean temperature inside the chamber is achieved up to or above essentially 90° C. 10. The method of claim 1 wherein the air-lock device comprises a vane or gear pump. 11. The method of claim 1 wherein the source of heat comprises a thermal fluid and the step of applying heat comprises forming a fluid jacket around the structure to which heat is applied. 12. The method of claim 11 wherein the thermal fluid comprises hot water and fluid or water jackets are formed around at least the base portion of the chamber as well as optionally around piping for the infeed material and piping for the in-let carrier gas. 13. The method of claim 1 further comprising ceasing operation of the chamber at selected times and releasing the evacuated pressure in order to perform maintenance including cleaning out the irreducible heavy or sticky fractions of the input material. 14. A method of vacuum drying input material comprising at least egg shell as well as egg membrane components and according to claim 1, further comprising piping the matter drawn through the suction ports through a cyclone to separate an exhaust stream and retention stream therefrom wherein the exhaust stream comprises substantially the carrier gas and the gasified fractions of the input material whereas the retention stream comprises substantially the waftable finely divided particulate and other waftable fractions. 15. The method of claim 14 further comprising feeding the retention stream through a screen-element separator to separate therefrom a fine stream and a coarse stream wherein the coarse stream comprises substantially the other waftable fraction and not nearly any of the finely divided particulate fraction. 16. The method of claim 15 wherein the screen-element separator comprises a drum-type tumbling screen. 17. The method of claim 15 further comprising feeding comprising an arrangement of scraper and apertured scraping surface to which the coarse stream is fed for separating into a preferred stream dropping through the apertured scraping surface and a less-preferred stream scraped aside from the scraping surface wherein the preferred stream comprises substantially if absolutely pathogen-free membrane. 18. A vacuum treatment process for separating derivative products from an input stream of waste egg shell materials and obtaining at least one output stream of substantially pieces of the soft membrane portion of the waste egg shells and at least another output stream of substantially particles of the hard mineral portion thereof, comprising the steps of:introducing the input materials through a vacuum-preserving device into a vacuum treatment chamber that is horizontally elongated between first and second ends with at least two elongated augers as well as one and another transfer arrangements;providing the chamber with an interior bed portion that is recessed with at least two adjacent troughs separated from one another by a low partition and sized and arranged for accommodating the at least two augers in closely-spaced generally-horizontal side-by-side relation, wherein the augers extend between the chamber's first and second ends such that one auger defines a primary run for motivating material from the first to t he second end as the other auger defines a return run for motivating material back from the second to the first end;providing the second end of the chamber with the one transfer arrangement for transferring material in the primary run motivated up thereagainst to go over to the return run, and providing the first end with the other transfer arrangement for transferring material in the return run motivated up thereagainst to go back over to the primary run whereby material re-circulates in the primary and return runs in an endless loop;given a source for suctioning, suctioning a current of carrier gas into the chamber by introduction through in-let nozzles and suctioning out a composite of let-in current and fractions of the material through suction ports such that an evacuated pressure in the chamber is achieved down to or below essentially ⅘ ths an atmosphere;given a source of heat, applying heat to the chamber or at least the bed portion thereof and optionally pre-heating the introduced material and let-in carrier gas to achieve a mean temperature inside the chamber up to or above essentially 75° C.;providing the augers with cut-and-fold arrangements in order to agitate the material, and driving the augers relative each other to adapt each auger for lofting portions of the agitated material at the other over the low partition therebetween;wherein the effects of heat, evacuation, agitation and current through the chamber causes the input materials to disintegrate into fractions comprising gasified fractions, suctionable finely divided particulate fractions, other suctionable fractions and, depending on the input material, in some cases irreducible heavy or sticky fractions whereby the flowrate and introduction of the carrier gas is selected to substantially mix with or entrain the gasified, suctionable finely divided particulate and other suctionable fractions and suction such out through the suction ports. 19. The process of claim 18, further comprisingfeeding the matter drawn through the suction ports to a cyclone to separate an exhaust stream and retention stream therefrom wherein the exhaust stream comprises substantially the carrier gas and the gasified fractions of the input material whereas the retention stream comprises substantially the suctionable finely divided particulate and other suctionable fractions, and,feeding the retention stream, through a screen-element separator to separate therefrom a fine stream and a coarse stream wherein the coarse stream comprises substantially the other suctionable fraction and not nearly any of the, finely divided particulate fraction, which makes up the fine stream, the fine stream comprising substantially hard mineral portion of egg shells. 20. The process of claim 19 further comprising an arrangement of scraper and apertured scraping surface to which the coarse stream is fed for separating into a preferred stream dropping through the apertured scraping surface and a less-preferred stream scraped aside from the scraping surface wherein the preferred stream comprises substantially if not absolutely pathogen-free pieces of membrane portion of egg shells.