c/EPA
                              United States
                              Environmental Protection
                              Agency
         EPA/540/M5-89/008
         April 1989
                             SUPERFUND INNOVATIVE
                             TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION
                           Demonstration  Bulletin

                                The Pyretron Oxygen Burner
                                 American Combustion Technologies, Inc.
 TECHNOLOGY  DESCRIPTION: The  Pyretron is a
 burner which is designed to allow for the injection of
 oxygen into the combustion air  stream for  the
 purpose of increasing  the efficiency of a  hazardous
 waste  incinerator. The SITE demonstration of  the
 Pyretron  took  place at the U.S.  EPA's Combustion
 Research  Facility (CRF) in  Jefferson, Arkansas from
 November 16, 1987  to January  29, 1988.  Two
 Pyretron  burners were  installed  on  the Rotary Kiln
 System (RKS)  at the CRF for the  demonstration. One
 was installed on the kiln and one on the afterburner.
 Valve  trains  for supplying these  burners  with
 controllable flows of auxiliary  fuel, oxygen, and  air;
 and a computerized process control system were also
 provided.

 A schematic of the system  as it was installed at the
 CRF is shown  in  Figure 1. The Pyretron burners use
 the staged introduction of oxygen to produce a hot
 luminous flame which efficiently transfers heat to the
 solid waste  which  is  fed  separately  to  the  kiln.
 Oxygen, propane and oxygen-enriched  air  enter the
 burner  in  three separate streams  each  concentric to
 one another. A stream of pure oxygen is fed through
 the center  of the burner and is used to  burn propane
 in a substoichiometric manner.  This produces  a hot
 and  luminous flame. Combustion is completed  by
 mixing these hot combustion  products with the stream
 of oxygen-enriched air.

 The system consists of an  880 KW (3MM BTU/hr)
 rotary kiln  incinerator,  a transition section, a  fired
 afterburner chamber,  a venturi-scrubber and  a
 packed-column scrubber. In addition,  a backup  air
 pollution control system consisting of a carbon-bed
adsorber and a HEPA filter is installed downstream of
the previously mentioned air  pollution control devices.
With the exception of the carbon bed and HEPA filter,
the system is typical of  what might exist on  an actual
                                       r Measured
                                = = = =. Ef process
                                         parameters
                        Ram feeder
                                        Gas, air, and
                               Charge event oxygen flows to
                                 x	/   the burners
     Ash pit
 Figure 1.  Pyretron thermal destruction system process
          diagram.

commercial or industrial incinerator. The carbon  bed
and  HEPA filter are  installed  to ensure organic
compound and particulate  emissions  to  the
atmosphere are negligible.


WASTE APPLICABILITY: This technology is suitable
for almost any waste  under consideration  for
conventional incineration.  Nitrogen containing wastes
should  not be treated in an incinerator equipped with
a Pyretron because of  the potential for forming and
emitting high levels of NOX.

DEMONSTRATION  RESULTS:  The  waste
incinerated during the  SITE  demonstration  was a
mixture of 60%  decanter tank tar sludge from coking
operations (RCRA listed  waste  KO87)  and 40%
contaminated soil from the Stringfellow Superfund
site. The K087 waste was included in the test mixture

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&EPA
                              United States
                              Environmental Protection
                              Agency
         EPA/540/M5-89/008
         April 1989
                             SUPERFUND INNOVATIVE
                             TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION
                           Demonstration  Bulletin

                                The Pyretron Oxygen Burner
                                 American Combustion Technologies, Inc.
 TECHNOLOGY DESCRIPTION: The Pyretron is a
 burner which is designed to allow for the injection of
 oxygen into the  combustion air  stream for  the
 purpose of increasing the efficiency of a hazardous
 waste incinerator. The  SITE  demonstration of  the
 Pyretron  took  place at  the U.S.  EPA's  Combustion
 Research  Facility (CRF) in Jefferson, Arkansas from
 November 16, 1987 to January  29,  1988.  Two
 Pyretron  burners were  installed on the  Rotary Kiln
 System (RKS) at the CRF for the demonstration. One
 was installed on the  kiln and one on the afterburner.
 Valve trains  for supplying  these burners  with
 controllable flows of auxiliary  fuel, oxygen, and  air;
 and a computerized process control system were also
 provided.

 A schematic of the system as it was installed at the
 CRF is shown  in Figure  1. The Pyretron burners use
 the staged introduction of oxygen to produce  a hot
 luminous flame which efficiently transfers heat to the
 solid  waste  which  is fed  separately to  the  kiln.
 Oxygen, propane and oxygen-enriched air  enter the
 burner in  three separate streams each concentric  to
 one another. A stream of pure oxygen is fed through
 the center of the burner and is used to burn propane
 in a substoichiometric manner.  This produces  a hot
 and  luminous flame. Combustion is completed  by
 mixing these hot combustion  products with the stream
 of oxygen-enriched air.

 The system  consists of  an  880 KW (3MM  BTU/hr)
 rotary kiln incinerator, a transition section, a fired
 afterburner chamber, a venturi-scrubber and  a
 packed-column scrubber. In addition, a  backup  air
 pollution control system  consisting of a  carbon-bed
 adsorber and a HEPA filter is installed downstream of
 the previously mentioned  air pollution control devices.
 With the exception of the carbon bed and HEPA filter,
the system is typical of what might exist on an actual
  r
     Ash pit

 Figure 1.
                                        Gas, air, and
                            fj  Charge event  oxygen flows lo
                                        the burners
Pyretron thermal destruction system process
diagram.
commercial or industrial incinerator.  The carbon bed
and  HEPA filter are installed  to  ensure  organic
compound and particulate  emissions  to  the
atmosphere are negligible.


WASTE APPLICABILITY: This technology is suitable
for almost any waste  under consideration  for
conventional incineration. Nitrogen containing wastes
should not be treated in an incinerator equipped with
a Pyretron because of the potential  for forming and
emitting high levels of NOX.

DEMONSTRATION  RESULTS:  The  waste
incinerated  during the SITE  demonstration was a
mixture of 60%  decanter tank tar sludge from coking
operations (RCRA  listed waste  KO87)  and  40%
contaminated soil from the Stringfellow Superfund
site. The K087 waste was included in the test mixture


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