CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS Priority of US Patent Application Serial No. 09/399,070, filed 18 September 1999, incorporated herein by reference, is hereby claimed.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT Not applicable REFERENCE TO A"MICROFICHE APPENDIX" Not applicable BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The system and process of the present invention relates to treatment of wastes.

More particularly, the present system relates to the drying of waste material through the use of air, and for grinding the larger portions of the material prior to the drying process being undertaken.

2. General Background of the Invention In the field of waste treatment, whether it be municipal waste, or other type of waste that occur naturally through processes undertaken, it is very beneficial that the treatment of the waste be undertaken in such a manner so as to produce a product that is not harmful to the environment. For example, at present, in the treatment of municipal waste, there is usually an elaborate waste system established whereby the raw sewerage is introduced into the system and treated with various chemicals or the like to precipitate some of the waste material. The fluid portion of the material is again treated and aerated so as to complete the treatment of the waste so that it may be safely dumped into a waterway or the like so as to not contaminate the water in the locality of the municipality.

However, there are other types of wastes which must be treated which require that the treatment undertake an elaborate treatment process which is often time consuming and

expensive, and again may not produce the results that are completely beneficial and would continue to pose a harm to the environment.

The following U. S. Patents are incorporated herein by reference: 2,076,899 2,233,079 2,364,405 2,515,126 3,034,647 3,547,357 3,976,253 4,073,443 4,082,231 4,253,615 4,417,697 4,434,522 4,909,821 4,956,091 4,932,594 5,268,128 5,302,179 5,426,866 5,570,517 5,695,130 5,820,040 5,839,673 5,850,977.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The process/system of the present invention solves the problems in the art in a simple and straight forward manner. What is provided is a system which employs cyclonic air action to induce the waste media drying of different waste products. The system includes a hopper for introducing the waste product therein; the waste product is conveyed via an auger to a mill containing a plurality of air veins which produces a

clockwise rotation of the product and which has the capability of drying, grinding and pulverizing the material through and the use of heated air, to produce a dry, solid product which is moved out of the mill. The fluidized material is then carried by the flow of hot air into a cyclone for separation from the heated air. The heated air from the cyclone is then returned to merge with a flow of heated air from a blower which is introduced into the mill. It is through this process that they system maintains a closed system, and the waste product is collected into a collection bin in a very fine dust-like material that can be safely stored or disposed of.

Therefore, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a process for treating and drying waste materials with waste materials containing water so that the end product is completely dry and free of moisture; It is a further object of the present invention to provide a process for grinding and separating waste materials at their natural boundaries to produce an environmentally safe product; it is a further object of the present invention to provide a waste material treatment process that is reliable, simple in operation, cost effective, and incorporates a closed system which is safer to the environment; It is a further object of the present invention to provide an efficient drying process that can grind and dry waste products at a rate of up to 20 tons per hour such as orange pulp, animal waste, gypsum, sugar, plastic, drilling mud and other types of waste material; It is a further object of the present invention to provide a waste treatment system which includes an electro cell component of the system for charging waste particles in such a manner that they may be separated from the liquid in the system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a further understanding of the nature, objects, and advantages of the present invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description, read in conjunction with the following drawings, wherein like reference numerals denote like elements and wherein: Figure 1 illustrates an overall perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the system of the present invention; Figure 2 illustrates a flow chart incorporating the various components utilized in the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 3 illustrates an additional flow chart of the preferred embodiment of the of the present invention utilized in a municipal waste plant setting; Figure 4 illustrates an overall view of the grinding tubes utilized in the present invention; Figure 5 illustrates an exploded view of the grinding tubes utilized in the present invention; Figure 6 illustrates a partial view of the relationship between the hopper/auger portion of the present invention as material is moved into the mill portion; Figures 7-10 illustrate various views of a reaction chamber utilized in the electro cell portion of the present invention; and Figures 11-17are additional views of the apparatus of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Figures 1-6 illustrate the preferred embodiment of the system of the present invention 10 which is utilized for carrying out the process of the present invention.

As illustrated in the figures, reference is made particularly to figures 1 and 2, where there is illustrated first a hopper portion 12 which is open-ended at 14 for allowing waste products to be introduced therein within the hopper system 12. As seen more clearly in Figure 2, hopper system 12 includes a first auger member 16 contained within a lower portion 18 of the hopper 12 for moving waste product from a first end 20 of the hopper to a second end 22. The material is then dumped into a lower auger system 24 containing a bladed auger 26, of the type known in the art, for moving the product in the direction of arrow 28, as seen in Figure 2, along the auger channel 24 to be dumped into a mill 30. It is foreseen that the second lower auger 24 may comprise a heated auger having a series of heating elements built within the wall of the auger, and capable of producing at least 1,000°F of heat so that as the waste material contained within hopper 12 and moved along by first auger 16 is dumped into the second auger 24. By the time the waste material reaches mill 30, any moisture which may have been contained in the waste material has substantially been evaporated out of for the most part, leaving dry waste.

Discussing the system further, the waste product as was stated earlier, is dumped into the mill portion 30, which has an upright mill having a continuous side wall 32. The mill includes a plurality of air veins 33, preferably 20 veins, which

causes the air to start spinning in the mill in a clockwise rotation, and at a rate of approximately 490 miles per hour, thereby causing the solids to spin and separate at their natural boundaries. Also, the mill 30 is being heated at a maximum 400°F and preferably between 250 and 300°F in the optimum heating. The heated air enters the lower portion of the mill 30 through air shroud 34. There is further provided an electrical motor 36 which feeds into and a gear box 38, with the gear box 38 turning a plurality of scraper blades 39 in the mill 30 at approximately 94 rpms in order to prevent buildup on the interior of the mill walls. The mill has the ability to dry and pulverize a variety of materials contained therein for the most part, such as orange pulp, municipal sludge cake, animal waste, paper pulp, wood, gypsum, red mud, corn, sugar, plastic, and drilling mud. Of course, there are other items that can be separated but for purposes of example, these types of materials have been tested and found to be sufficiently processed for safe disposal after the process is completed through the system.

During the process of the present invention, the material which is dumped into the mill 30 will decay and disintegrate. While the material is being processed within the mill 30, heated air will be introduced at point 40 which will be transported via line 42. The air will be heated by a heater 44 which is pulled into the system via a blower 46 so that the heated air moves from the heater 44 via a first line 48 where blower 46 moves the heated air into line 42 and into the lower portion 32 of mill 30. The lower portion 32 comprises an air shroud 33, which houses a plurality of veins 35 (phantom view) which increase the velocity of the hot air as it moves into mill 30. The material that is being ground within mill 30 is in a very fluid state and moves from the pressure zone at the lower portion of the mill 32 in the direction of arrow 50 to the upper portion 52 of mill 30 causing the particles of different size and specific gravity to constantly interact. The material is then directed by the turbulence of the hot air to the other air pressure boundaries and the grinding would then begin. The material grinds against itself and causes a constant breakdown. There is then a reaction by the material as if it were in a cyclone which causes a dramatic turbulent reaction. Swirls and eddies are created at extreme velocity with rotational action.

The hot air then moves the material via a line 54 into the cyclone 56 which is a typical type of a cyclone wherein the air and material is rotated at a high rate so that

the solid material drops to the bottom portion 58 of the cyclone and is then collected in bags or the like at point 60. The hot air moves via arrow 62 into a line 64 and is returned to be reintroduced at a point between the heater 44 and the blower 46. At this point, this air in line 64 will join the heated air 48 being sucked into the blower 46 and is then returned into the mill where the process continues on. In this manner, there is a closed system where the air continues to flow throughout the system and the dry product will be collected at 60. Should there be undue pressure within the system at any point, there is seen a release line 66 wherein the excess air is then moved into a scrubber 70 for maintaining the system in the correct pressure ranges. It is foreseen that in the mill portion 30 of the system, there will be particular type of sensors utilized so that the high and low pressure ranges within the mill 30 which enables the particles to break up into the finer material for later collection. The pressure ranges between the lower portion 32 of the mill and the upper portion 52 of the mill are carefully maintained within certain ranges so as to insure optimum operation of the system.

Reference is now made to individual components of the system, as seen in Figures 4-6. First, as seen in Figures 4 and 5, there may be incorporated the grinder 80 which is seen for example in Figure 4. Grinder 80 would be housed within the hopper 12, above the first auger 16. Grinder 80 would comprise as seen in exploded view in Figure 5, a first plate 82 rotated on a shaft 84. The inner face of plate 82 includes a plurality of spaced apart grinding tubes 86. Further, as seen in Figure 5, there is a second plate member 88 which has on its inner face a plurality of grinding tubes 86 with the plate 88 being slightly smaller in diameter than plate 82, so that the grinding tubes 86 on plate 88 fit within the interior space 90 created by the circular pattern of the grinding tubes 88 on plate 82. There is likewise found a shaft 84 which rotates smaller plate 88. As further noted in Figure 5, large plate rotates in a first direction in the direction of arrow 92 and smaller plate 88 rotates in the opposite direction as seen by arrow 94.

Returning now to Figure 4, there is illustrated the first grinding plate 82 with grinding tubes 86 which has been merged together with smaller grinding plate 88 likewise having grinding tubes 86. As seen in that pattern with the two plates rotating in opposite direction via shaft 84, there is created a spacial relationship between the

tubes 86 so that large chunks of waste material 96 as seen in Figure 4 as it encounters the tubes moving in opposite direction is finely ground into the smaller material 98 as seen in Figure 4. Therefore, by the time the small material 98 would then fall into the first auger 16 and be transported into second lower auger 24, where it is then heated, dried and conveyed into the mill 30.

Turning now to Figure 6, this process is seen where the material is moved by the auger blade 26 in the direction of arrow 27 into a vertically inclined hopper portion 100. As seen in Figure 6, vertical hopper would receive the waste material from the lower auger 24 into an upper portion 102. There would be included a rotatable panel 104 attached to a counterweight 106. When the buildup of the waste material onto plate 104 would reach a certain point, it would overcome the weight of the counterweight 106 and allow the material to dump from the upper portion 102 into an intermediate portion 105 of the vertical hopper. There the material would encounter yet another dumping plate 104 (a) and again an additional counterweight 106 where this process would repeat itself and in the material contained in the intermediate portion 105, would overcome the weight of the counterweight. It would then be dumped into the very lower portion 108 of the vertical hopper and vents into the mill 30. The system of counterweights as heretofore described would serve as a means for assuring that the movement of the waste material from the hopper 24 into the mill 30 would be under a controlled movement so that the waste material would not be dumped at such a rate so as to clog the mill 30 during the operation.

In this system, there is a unique feature in its treatment process. A company's system would limit the number of people exposed to the waste material prior to treatment. The process to destroy and sterilize waste is safe and requires no toxic additives. The system would be able to convert any waste plant from class B sludge to class A material. Additionally, there is a significant reduction in the volume of sludge resulting in a dry powder. There have been numerous articles on the ability to utilize this dry powder in commercial applications, such as fertilizer. This process will further utilize the proprietary dewatering ionic acceleration energy cells as well as an air drying system that would eliminate bacterial growth in municipal waste water and sludge. Any and all living elements in the material, when exposed to this technology would be killed. This process produces exceptional quality material i. e.

class A material.

An additional feature of the present invention may be the incorporation of electro cell technology. The system would use the basic applied electro kinetic energy with an enhanced cell technology and a unique DC power controller, along with electro-chemical enhancement technologies, to induce a large variable remediation treatment. Electro remediation (ER) is a developing technology for the removal of heavy metals and radionuclides. The application of direct current in a porous medium leads to two transport phenomena, ionic species in the water solution which will migrate to the oppositely charged electrode (electromigration), and accompanying this migration, a bulk flow of solution induced usually toward the cathode (electro- osmosis). The combination of these two transport phenomena lead to a movement of contaminant ions towards one of the other electrodes. The direction and rate of movement of an ionic species will depend on its charge, both in magnitude and polarity as well as the magnitude of the induced flow velocity-non ionic species will be transported along with the induced water flow.

Figures 7-10 illustrate the preferred embodiment of an reaction chamber 110 which would be utilized in the electro-cell portion of the present invention. As illustrated, chamber 10 would be in effect, a rectangular chamber having a pair of side walls 112 and a pair of end walls 114 to define a chamber space 116 therein. The chamber would be fabricated of a material of a metal type of material and would stand off the ground via legs 118 and would have a V-shaped bottom 120 so as any material precipitated from the chamber would collect in the bottom portion 122 of the chamber. The chamber would have a first overall chamber space 124, a second chamber space 126 with spaces 124,126 provided by a pair of baffles 128,130, with a flow space 132 therebetween. As further illustrated, there is a first anode plate 134 on a first end 114 of the chamber and a second cathode plate 136 on the second end 114 of the chamber. Each of the anode and cathode plates would be supplied with power from an off-site power supply unit as seen in Figure 9, labeled as 140, having a first power line 142 to the cathode plate 136 and a second line 144 to the anode plate 134.

This would result in a positive charge being placed on the anode plate and a negative charge being placed on the cathode plate.

As further illustrated in Figure 9, there is illustrated a cover 150 which could

be placed onto the upper end of chamber 110 so as to make it a closed chamber during the process. As seen further in Figure 9, the contaminated waste solution 152 would be introduced via a port 154 located in a central area of the wall of the cover 150 in order to introduce the fluid waste into the chamber 110. The waste material would then become a charged material and the charged material beginning to flow in the direction of arrows 156 toward the anode plate 134. During this migration, the material would begin to precipitate out into the collection area 122 whereby there is incorporated a plurality of collection lines 160 so that the heavy waste material could be precipitated out and flow out of the system in the direction of arrow 162. It is through this ion exchange which would take place during this process would accomplish a number of things, including a removal of metals, oil/water recovery, the killing of bacteria, odor control, sterilization, suspended solids removal, reduction in polymer usage, and would produce a drier cake in the bio-sludge. Further, electro processing extracts heavy material radionuclides, and other inorganic contaminants below their solubility limits. During testing, the technology has removed arsenic, benzene, cadmium, chromium, copper, ethylbenzene, lead, nickel, phenol, trichloroethylene, toluene, xylene, and zinc from soils. In the ionic waste water treatment portion of the present invention, the waste water would reclaim such things as anaerobic digesters, aerobic digesters, waste waters, industrial storm water runoff, sludges, and it would also remove metals and organic compounds and agricultural wastes.

Having discussed the entire system of the present invention, including the electro cell chamber component therein, reference is made to Figure 3 where there is illustrated the system of the present invention used in the context of a municipal waste plant. As seen in Figure 3, there is illustrated a municipal waste plant digester 200 which would feed its product through a flowline 202 into the electro cell chamber 110 of the type as described herein. The electro cell chamber 110 would move the product into a dewatering unit 112 where then it would be delivered into a centrifuge or bell press 114 with the fluid flowing separately through line 116. The solid was from centrifuge or bell press 114 would flow via line 118 into a dryer 120 where the dried product 124 would be collected for storage or disposal.

Additional information about the present invention can be found in the

attached pages of handwritten text numbered Page 1 through Page 8.

All measurements disclosed herein are at standard temperature and pressure, at sea level on Earth, unless indicated otherwise. All materials used or intended to be used in a human being are biocompatible, unless indicated otherwise.

The foregoing embodiments are presented by way of example only; the scope of the present invention is to be limited only by the following claims.