Patent · US Expired

Method and apparatus for aggregate treatment

US5730591A · kind A · utility

15Cited by
23References
14Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJan 19, 1995
Grant dateMar 24, 1998
Priority date
Expiry dateJan 19, 2015

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC F)Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
  • CPC primaryF23D2210/00
  • WIPO fieldThermal processes and apparatus
  • WIPO sectorMechanical engineering

Abstract

A treatment system and method is disclosed for heat treating aggregate, for example, an aggregate dryer of the type which uses a burner and rotating drum for veiling aggregate into a thermal flow path. The invention provides a plurality of mixers which safely mix fuel and oxidant into a premix which is delivered to a reaction chamber The premix is combusted and recirculated within the reaction chamber to insure uniform and complete combustion, resulting in lower emissions of pollutants such as carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, and nitrogen oxides and also lower combustion roar. This uniform and complete combustion results in a more uniform thermal profile within the rotating drum, resulting a greater throughput of processed aggregate and a more efficient consumption of energy. The invention also includes a "tunability" feature for varying the delivery of fuel to the burner in order to avoid resonant vibration produced by a matching of the combustion frequencies with the natural frequency of the treatment system.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.