Device for feeding a container to a waste heat treatment plant

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a feeding device for a thermal waste treatment installation.

[0002] The thermal treatment processes discussed here are primarily intended to condition certain hazardous products, typically nuclear waste, into a suitable matrix before storage. They are carried out in containers equipped with heating systems that raise the contents to a high temperature. These thermal processes can include: a two-stage vitrification process involving calcination of the waste followed by fusion with a glass frit in a melting pot before pouring into a container for subsequent storage; a cold crucible vitrification process; or a process in which the thermal treatment of both the waste and the matrix material is carried out directly within the container intended for storage.The containers considered here and referred to as such in the rest of the description are generally equipment into which waste or matrix material will be fed, for example a pot, a crucible, a calciner, a container, etc.

[0003] Some technical difficulties inherent in these processes relate to feeding waste into the installation where the thermal treatment process is implemented. It is common practice to position a vertical sleeve above the container, to position it against a top opening of one of the containers by a downward movement of the sleeve to ensure containment of the installation, prevent the dispersion of gases and volatile particles into the environment, and to pour the waste and products feeding the thermal treatment process through respective conduits that terminate inside the sleeve.The products used in the heat treatment process are defined here as all the ingredients mixed to carry out the heat treatment processes, therefore including both hazardous products, i.e., waste, and the conditioning matrix material, the latter of which may consist of matrix precursors, particularly glass precursors. This material is often a glass frit, and the waste is of very diverse nature, but a significant portion is viscous, sticky, very finely fragmented, or powdery. All these products are likely to clog the inner surface of the sleeve wall instead of falling into the container.This risk of fouling is increased by the gases released during heat treatment. These gases rise in the sleeve before being vented and include fumes heavily laden with impurities. These particles can settle on the inner surface of the sleeve wall. Such fouling reduces the sleeve's service life, potentially causing it to malfunction, impede proper flow to the container, or become blocked. There is also a safety risk around the installation after the container is disconnected, especially if the products deposited in the sleeve are released into the environment.

[0004] Other difficulties concern the fitting of the sleeve around the opening of the container, which we would like to be completely airtight in order to maintain a seal against gases while keeping the contents of the container inside during the heat treatment, but which is actually difficult to execute well because it must be done remotely by remotely controlled actuators, and the significant thermal expansions produced during the heat treatment always risk distorting the fit obtained when cold.

[0005] A main object of the invention is therefore to combat fouling of the inner face of the sleeve wall and other surfaces of the device, while facilitating the docking of the sleeve on the container.

[0006] In general form, the invention relates to a device for feeding a container for a thermal treatment and conditioning plant for waste, comprising a sleeve having a lower opening to be attached to an upper opening of the container, a first waste feed line to be treated connecting to and entering the sleeve, the sleeve containing a scraping tool on its inner face, characterized in that the scraping tool is a sleeve with an axis parallel to the sleeve and forming a terminal section of the first feed line, and the device includes a support for the sleeve, the support being equipped with a motorized eccentricity mechanism to which the sleeve is suspended, the eccentricity mechanism moving the sleeve into orbits where it is adjacent to the inner face of the sleeve.

[0007] The scraping tool reduces or prevents fouling of the sleeve. It can be used during heat treatment operations to scrape off fouling products before they solidify.

[0008] Because it coincides with a feed line already present in known devices (where the feed line is, however, stationary and separate from the sleeve wall), the tool does not complicate the device or impede the flow of feed products from the heat treatment process as they exit the feed lines to be directed to the vessel, nor does it impede the venting of gases. Document JP 2014-134350 A, on the other hand, concerns a device where the feed lines for the components of a mixture to be treated in a converter are occupied by rotating augers whose rotation prevents the components from adhering to the feed line walls. These tools have the disadvantage of complicating the device and occupying the entire cross-section of the feed lines, thus hindering the free flow of the components along the lines.The design is unsuitable for a container docking sleeve occupied by one or more feed lines carrying the respective components of a mixture to be treated. Also cited is JP S61-11519 A, which describes a waste conveying installation that can be equipped with a rotary auger and a paddle wheel to advance the waste, without the rotary auger appearing to have a scraping effect.

[0009] A construction that favorably permits the eccentricity of the sleeve and its transverse movement, without harming the sealing of the device, is characterized in that the sleeve extends beyond the cuff in a direction opposite to the lower opening, through a sealing plate at an upper end of the cuff, the sealing plate comprising a movable plate linked to the sleeve, and a fixed plate linked to the cuff and in front of which the movable plate moves, the fixed plate having a passage opening for the sleeve wider than the sleeve, and a sealing device connects the fixed plate to the movable plate.

[0010] In a concrete realization, the eccentricity mechanism includes a gear wheel from which the sleeve is suspended, without being coaxial with an axis of rotation of said gear wheel.

[0011] The scraping is greatly improved if (according to a particularly preferred embodiment) the eccentricity mechanism is arranged to also rotate the sheath around itself.

[0012] A suitable construction then includes a gear between a toothed wheel fixed to the sleeve and a toothed ring fixed to the eccentric mechanism, and the sleeve is mounted rotating in the geared toothed wheel, from which it is suspended.

[0013] Scraping is made easier if the sheath has an outgrowth, in particular a helical blade, on its outer face and can thus push the fouling products downwards as it detaches them, by rotating around itself.

[0014] The often viscous, sticky, or powdery nature of the waste to be treated may also necessitate precautions to prevent clogging or blockages elsewhere than in the sleeve. Thus, in a particular embodiment, the invention is characterized in that the first feed line contains at least one rotating auger (known as a "pig's tail") to advance or guide the waste to be treated.

[0015] Thus, part of the first feed line consists of a vertical section containing a spiral, or helical conveyor, which must follow the possible orbital movements of the sheath, which can be achieved if, in connection with certain optional features already mentioned, the spiral extends beyond the sheath in the opposite direction to the lower opening of the cuff, is suspended from a second motorized eccentricity mechanism, synchronized with the eccentricity mechanism to which the sheath is suspended, and is driven in rotation by a motor mounted on the second eccentricity mechanism.

[0016] Synchronization can be ensured if, for example, the eccentricity mechanism from which the sheath is suspended and the second eccentricity mechanism are mechanically linked together and driven by the same motor.

[0017] Supply lines are generally formed of several successive sections connected together. A construction of the first supply line, compatible with the mobile arrangement of the end of the sleeve in the sleeve, is characterized in that the first supply line comprises an upstream section, making an angle with the terminal section and connected to the terminal section by a weir box, the terminal section having a funnel at its top, which is connected to a perforated lower face of the weir box, the sleeve being mobile under the weir box.

[0018] This construction is also advantageous because it allows translational movements of the sleeve in the liner along their axial direction, in order to lower the sleeve to the end of the liner and even into the container after docking, and thus reduce fouling of the liner by waste to be treated arriving through the first feed line.

[0019] If the sleeve slides in the axial direction of the cuff, the upstream section is advantageously tiltable by being articulated, at its two ends, to a fixed point of the device and to a wall of the spillway box.

[0020] Like the sleeve, the upstream section can be equipped with a motorized rotating auger; it can also be connected, at an end opposite the spillway box, to a hopper for discharging the waste to be treated.

[0021] In many applications, the device includes a second feed line for the container, carrying the material of a waste conditioning matrix, this second line opening into the sleeve. Other applications, however, include a single feed line, in which the waste and the conditioning matrix material are transported, possibly after being mixed; the invention remains unchanged.

[0022] Another optional arrangement, the advantage of which is to allow additional cleaning of the sleeve if scraping by the tool of the invention is not sufficient, is characterized in that the sleeve is composed of two parts in extension, removable from each other and equipped with separate cooling fluid circuits, of which a lower part comprising the lower opening, and an upper part into which open the second supply line and a line for evacuating gaseous products of vitrification.

[0023] Other precautions to ensure the proper execution of heat treatment operations are applied as needed to the second feed line, which is then equipped with a scraper on its inner face.

[0024] This scraper can however be quite different from the scraping tool that has been discussed: one construction, advantageous in its simplicity, consists of a sliding ring in a section of the second feed line adjacent to the sleeve, and housed in an extension of said section of the second feed line, beyond an upstream section of the second feed line making an angle with said section adjacent to the sleeve.

[0025] Scraping can also be supplemented by rinsing. This is how the old-fashioned device above is advantageously fitted with a hole and a rinsing fluid conduit.

[0026] To facilitate berthing maneuvers, it is recommended that the sleeve include a rigid tubular main part and a berthing device, the berthing device including a berthing sleeve surrounding the main part and extending it downwards, including the lower opening of the sleeve, mounted on the main part and movable along the main part.

[0027] Docking is made easier, and less sensitive to thermal expansion, if the docking sleeve includes a compressible portion in the direction of the docking sleeve's mobility.

[0028] A means of rinsing an annular volume between the berthing sleeve and the main part of the sleeve then makes it possible, if it exists, to reduce pollution, in particular related to volatile polluting particles, and fouling penetrating into this volume, especially because of the fumes from the heat treatment rising in the sleeve.

[0029] In one important embodiment, the compressible portion is a bellows, and the flushing means includes inlet conduits in the annular volume which overhang the bellows, directed radially towards the main part of the cuff and producing rebounds or projections of flushing fluid radially outwards and towards the bellows.

[0030] We can also add, again to combat pollution and fouling in this volume, a gas injection conduit for overpressure in an annular volume between the berthing sleeve and the main part of the sleeve.

[0031] The guidance of the docking device is achieved if the docking sleeve includes a sliding docking sleeve on the main part of the sleeve, and docking sleeve movement actuators connecting the docking sleeve to the main part of the sleeve.

[0032] A gas sweep injection duct can then be added in an annular volume between the docking sleeve and the main part of the sleeve, in order to further prevent the arrival of fumes laden with polluting particles.

[0033] Finally, checks of the process are made possible by a pressure tapping conduit including rinsing means, extending in a wall of the sleeve along the sleeve, and opening at a lower edge of the sleeve; or by a means for measuring the filling level of the container, disposed through the sleeve.

[0034] The invention will now be described in detail with regard to its aspects, characteristics and advantages by means of the following figures, which illustrate a particular embodiment, not exclusive of others, and which represent: Figure 1 : a general view of a particular heat treatment installation, namely "in can" vitrification, i.e. directly in the container intended for storage and warehousing, in which the feeding device according to the invention can be used; Figure 2 : a general view of the feeding device in a state without docking of the container ("pig's tail" raised); Figure 3 : another general view of the same, in the state of docking of the container (“pig's tail” engaged in the container); Figure 4 : the isolated sheath; Figure 5 : the top of the sheath, in cross-section; Figure 6 : the support and motorization device for the sheath, in general representation; Figure 7 : a detailed view, in cross-section and perspective, of part of this device; Figure 8 : some of the gears in this device; Figure 9 : the top of the cuff, in cross-section and perspective; Figure 10 : the support and motorization device, and the adjacent parts of the device, in cross-section; Figure 11 : the configuration of the device and the container in the state without docking; Figure 12 : the configuration, in the docking state; Figure 13 : a partial view of the sheath in cross-section; Figure 14 : the second power supply line, in its normal state; Figure 15 : this line, during a scraping; Figure 16 : details of the docking device; Figure 17 : other details of the docking device; Figure 18 : an inspection device.

[0035] There figure 1 This represents a vitrification installation. Containers for vitrifying radioactive waste are called pots 1, and they are successively brought into a furnace 2 composed here of two semi-cylindrical halves that can be brought together to enclose a pot 1. The pots 1 have a neck 3, equipped with an upper opening 4 delimited by a flat flange 5 at their top. They are in fact crucibles resistant to the very high temperatures produced during the vitrification operations. The furnace 2 can be resistively heated. Its upper cover 6 (divided between the two halves) has a central opening 7 under which is the neck 3 of the pot 1, which is enclosed by the furnace 2 during a vitrification operation. A pre-loading station for the pots 1, which is not part of the invention, is designated by reference numeral 8.

[0036] We will now examine a feeding device 9 adjacent to oven 2; the figure 1 illustrates that it includes, in particular: a sleeve 10, which mainly comprises a vertical cylindrical tube open at the bottom and which extends, in the disjointed state of the device preceding vitrification, opposite the neck 3 of the pot 1 enclosed a short distance above it; on the left of this figure 1 , 12 means of treating gases from vitrification operations appear, according to characteristics known to the person skilled in the art and which are not part of the invention.

[0037] The details of the power supply device 9 are clearer at the figure 2 It includes a waste feed line 11, consisting of a vertical sleeve 16 containing a rotating auger 18, which is helical in shape with closely spaced, slightly inclined turns ("pig's tail"), a hopper 14 from which the waste is withdrawn, and an oblique section 15 connected to the vertical sleeve 16. Optionally, as shown in the figure 2 , the oblique section 15 contains a twist 17 which rotates there, also of the "pig's tail" type.

[0038] By means of these means, the contents of the first feed line 11 are forced forward and downward before falling into the opening 4 of the pot 1 located below the sleeve 10. The oblique section 15 and the sleeve 16 are connected to each other by a spillway box 19. A motorization device 20 extends above the sleeve 10. The rigid main tube of the sleeve 10 is composed of a lower part 21 and an upper part 22 which extends the former upwards, and which is connected to it by an assembly of bolted flanges 23.

[0039] A second feed line 24, intended to supply the pot 1 with a glass frit that constitutes the material of the conditioning matrix to obtain the final vitrified product, opens into the upper part 22, as does a gas extraction line 25, at a slightly higher altitude. The second feed line 24 includes, in particular, a vertical section 26, a downward oblique section 27 that connects the vertical section 26 to the sleeve 10, and an extension 28 of the downward oblique section 27 that extends, relative to it, on the side opposite the sleeve 10. The invention could be applied to devices lacking such a second feed line, if all the products to be processed are introduced through the same feed line.

[0040] The lower part 21 of the sleeve 10 includes on its outer face a docking device 29 on the collar 5 of the pot 1, and to which belongs the lower opening 109 of the sleeve 10; the cylindrical tube composed of the lower part 21 and the upper part 22 stops a little above the lower opening 109.

[0041] These different main elements of the invention will be described in turn in the following description.

[0042] There figure 2 illustrates the feeding device 9 in a fully raised state, where it is not touching the collar 5. The figure 3 It is represented in its fully lowered state, characterized by a downward expansion of the docking device 29, which causes it to reach the collar 5 with a compressive force, and by a descent of the sleeve 16, which projects its lower end into the neck 3 of the pot 1; the drive device 20 has also descended, and the oblique section 15 has inclined downwards as it approaches the sleeve 16; it is articulated for this purpose via a ball joint 30 to the spillway housing 19, and to a horizontal pivot 31 mounted at a fixed location on the feed device 9, at its opposite end. The state of the figure 2 corresponds to the pot change phases 1, which the feeding device 9 releases; and the state of the figure 3 corresponds to the phases of the vitrification operations, where a seal is made between the feeding device 9 and the pot 1.

[0043] Scabbard 16 is depicted in figures 4 And 5It carries a helix 32 on the outer face of its cylindrical wall, the turns of which are steeply inclined and fairly far apart. Its upper end has an inlet funnel 33, the upper face of which is a flat collar 34. The wall of the sleeve 16 is double and cooled by fluid circulation in conduits 35 (visible in the figure 5 forming an internal cooling cavity, and opening slightly below the funnel 33 into a water box 36 which seals around the portion of the sleeve 16 located at that height. As the sleeve 16 rotates about its own axis but the water box 36 is stationary, continuous circulation of the cooling fluid is maintained by providing the water box 36 with a water inlet chamber 37 and a water outlet chamber 38, both circular but at different heights, into which the inlet 98 and outlet 99 ends of the conduits 35, at corresponding heights, constantly open. The sleeve 16 is held by a first toothed eccentric 39 with a horizontal axis while still being able to rotate about its own axis, and it extends downwards through a bore 40 in the first toothed eccentric 39.The sleeve 16 finally carries a toothed wheel 41 which extends around its outer face, and a ring 95 slightly above the toothed wheel 41, to which it is concentric. If, however, the toothed wheel 41 is fixed relative to the sleeve 16, the ring 95 is connected to it by a bearing 96 and can therefore rotate around it. In addition, the ring carries axes 97 for the rotation of toothed pinions 42 (visible on . figure 8 ) which mesh with the toothed wheel 41. Bearings 100 are arranged between the first toothed eccentric 39 and the sleeve 16 to ensure that the latter remains centered in the bore 40, and rotates without significant effort relative to the first toothed eccentric 39.

[0044] The motorization device 20 is now described by means of the figures 6 à 8 It comprises a support 44, supported by a pair of vertical jacks 45 mounted on the upper part 22 of the sleeve 10, and which can therefore lift the support 44 and the entire drive unit 20 above the sleeve 10 (which is illustrated in this figure and corresponds to the raised state of the sleeve 16 shown in the figure 2 ), or lower the support 44 by placing it on the top 46 of the cuff 10 (which corresponds to the lowered state of the sleeve 16 illustrated in the figure 3 ) ; guide columns 47, vertical and fixed under the support 44, maintain its horizontal position by sliding in holes in a collar 48 fitted to the top 46.

[0045] The support 44 carries a toothed ring 49, a first motor 50, and the weir housing 19, which are fixed to it; it also carries the first toothed eccentric 39 via a drive ring 101, and a second toothed eccentric 51, having the same dimensions and tooth profile as the first toothed eccentric 39, coaxial and parallel to it, and provided with a shaft end 52 rotating in a cylindrical housing 102 mounted on a top face 53 of the weir housing 19. The shaft end 52 is supported by a bottom face 103 of the cylindrical housing 102. The auger 18 is suspended from and fixed to the second toothed eccentric 51 (visible on the figure 10 ), and it extends through the spillway housing 19 via a bore 54 in the top face 53, then it extends into the sleeve 16. The second toothed eccentric 51 also carries a second motor 55, which drives the auger 18 in rotation by means of a gear 56 ( figure 2 ). The first motor 50 drives the slewing ring 101, with a vertical axis of rotation, and the first toothed eccentric 39. The latter 39 meshes with a first drive pinion 58 with a vertical axis, and it drives a second drive pinion 59 above the previous one, similar to and joined to it by a vertical synchronizing shaft 60. With the exception of the worm gear 57, all the pinions and other toothed mechanisms have axes of rotation parallel to each other and to the axes of the sleeve 10 and the barrel 16, i.e. vertical. Since the drive pinions 58 and 59 are identical and superimposed, and the toothed eccentrics 39 and 51 are also identical and superimposed, the rotations of the first motor 50 produce identical circular orbital movements for the sleeve 16 and its auger (“pig's tail”) 18, which therefore move them in unison in the sleeve 10, the auger 18 remaining centered in the sleeve 16.The orbit of the movements keeps the sleeve 16 adjacent to the inner face of the cuff 10, which scrapes it and removes the deposits of material that foul it. In addition, the rotation of the toothed pinions 42, which mesh both with the toothed wheel 41 fixed to the sleeve 16 and with the toothed ring 49 (. figure 8 ), imposes a rotation of the sleeve 16 around itself in conjunction with the orbital movement, which increases the scraping thanks to the helix 32, which brings down the scraped deposits along the sleeve 10.

[0046] The orbital movement of the sheath 16 necessitates certain measures to maintain the seal. The figure 9 This illustrates that the sleeve 16 is surrounded by an outer collar 61, which is held in a horizontal rebate 104 inside the collar 48, allowing it to slide horizontally: it slides on a horizontal flat surface 62 formed around a central hole 105 in the collar 48, which is significantly wider than the sleeve 16, and it is covered by an anti-theft plate 63 which holds it on the flat surface 62 and defines the rebate 104 with it, thus forming a sealing plate. Sealing gaskets 64 are added between the outer collar 61, the flat surface 62, the anti-theft plate 63, and the sleeve 16. And the figure 10 shows a similar arrangement under the spillway housing 19, with the flat flange 34 of the funnel 33 sliding in a flat, circular rebate 65 formed between two thicknesses of a bottom face 66 of the spillway housing 19, with seals 67 further positioned between the flat flange 34 and the opposite flat faces of the rebate 65. Furthermore, the bottom face 66 is fixed to a frame of uprights 68 belonging to the support 44, which allows the spillway housing 19 to be raised above the drive gears of the sleeve 16. The figure 10 represents many details of the neighboring parts of the device, in particular of the motor block 20; it also represents cooling circuits of the main tube of the sleeve 10, which include water inlet and outlet conduits, 110 for the upper part 22 and 111 for the lower part 21, which open into cooling cavities, 112 for the upper part 22 and 113 for the lower part 21, constituting double cooling jackets; these cooling circuits are completely separate.

[0047] THE figures 2 , 3 , 11 et 12 help to describe the docking device 29. It surrounds the lower part 21 of the sleeve 10, and is fixed to it by an annular support 69. Screw jacks 70 are supported by the annular support 69, and they suspend a docking sleeve 71 sliding along the sleeve 10 in the direction of its axis. In the state of the figure 2 , the berthing sleeve 71 is raised; in that of the figure 12 , corresponding to the lowered state of the figure 3 When lowered, a lashing flange 72, which forms its lower end, is joined to the flange 5 at the top of the pot 1. Flanges 5 and 72 can be held together by tightening a collar 73 arranged around the lashing flange 72. The sleeve 10 itself does not change altitude between these two states, but the lashing sleeve 71 extends it downwards to a variable height. The lashing sleeve 71 includes an elastic portion 74 consisting of a bellows, which absorbs the compressions due to excessive descent of the lashing sleeve 71 beyond contact with the flange 5 at the top of the pot 1, and to the thermal expansions of the pot 1 during the vitrification operations. The collar 73 is supported by static tie rods 75 extending vertically along the elastic portion 74.

[0048] We now turn to the following figures to discover other arrangements for combating fouling of portions of the feeding device 9. The figure 13 This shows that the sleeve 16 contains a tube 76 that runs through it, extending its entire height within its cooling cavity, from the water box 36 to the lower edge 77 of the sleeve 16, from which it can project rinsing water downwards. The device also includes an outlet 78 for the water box 36, and a circular supply chamber 79, cut into the water box 36 at a different height than the previous ones. It should be noted that this device serves, when rinsing is not required, as a pressure tap inside the pot 1, by connecting a measuring device to the outlet 78.

[0049] THE figures 14 And 15illustrate a device associated with the second supply line 24. The extension 28 contains a scraper ring 80, which consists of a piston at the end of the rod of a cylinder 81. The ring 80 remains in the extension 28 in its resting state, but it slides in the downward oblique section 27 when the rod of the cylinder 81 is extended, rubbing against its wall or at least passing against it, thus removing the dirt that clogs it. The ring 80 and the rod of the cylinder 81 are further hollowed out by a flushing conduit 82, which can be connected to a pressurized water supply device and used, if necessary, to flush the downward oblique sections 24 and 27.

[0050] There figure 16 This indicates that the docking device 29 can be equipped with air injection tubes 83 in a gap between the sleeve 16 and a docking sleeve 84 sliding over it. The docking sleeve 84 belongs to the docking sleeve 71, of which it forms an upper portion, and it guides its vertical sliding movement. The annular gap is closed by circular seals 85 located at its upper and lower ends. The overpressure that builds up in the gap prevents impurities deposited on the sleeve 16 from entering this gap when the docking sleeve 84 descends, and thus reduces the risk of blockage.

[0051] The bellows 74 is held between an upper flange 86 and a lower flange 87, better represented at the figure 17 The volume 106 that it encloses around the sleeve 10 must also be favorably protected against fouling. The upper flange 86 is traversed by an air injection tube 88 to create overpressure in this volume 106. It is further traversed by water injection holes 89, and the lower flange 87 is traversed by water drainage holes 91. The water injection holes 89 are distributed around the circumference of the upper flange 86, and they extend from water boxes 90 cut into the top of the upper flange 86 to a conical clearance 107 located below the upper flange 86, running downwards and radially inwards. The water drainage holes 91 also have a radial orientation and are vertically oblique, and they descend from a bottom of the volume 106 to an interior of a funnel 108 which forms the bottom of the berthing device 29, and which ends at the berthing flange 72.The overpressure produced by the air injection largely prevents the dirt carried upwards by the fumes from entering volume 106. And the water injected radially inwards rebounds against the outer face of the sleeve 10 and, exiting the water injection holes 89, disperses into the conical outlet 107 and then throughout volume 106, before flowing into the funnel 108 either directly or through the water evacuation holes 91.

[0052] The invention is also compatible with taking measurements during vitrification operations or other treatments. A possibility for measuring pressure through the sleeve 16 has already been encountered. Another possibility concerns visualizing the contents of the pot 1 and, for example, its level. The figure 18represents a sighting tube 92 which crosses obliquely the upper flange 86 and is directed into the gap between the bottom of the sleeve 10 and the docking sleeve 71; the sight passes through a local notch 93 in the sleeve 10; the sighting direction then extends through the neck 3 and ends in the pot 1. The measurement is carried out for example by a laser 114, leaving the sighting tube 92 closed by a transparent window 94, behind which the laser 114 is installed; its beam 115 is directed in the axis of the sighting tube 92; the latter is swept by an injection of overpressure gas, introduced by a conduit 116 which connects inside the sighting tube 92 below the transparent window 94, to keep it clear of fumes.

[0053] The fluid injection and evacuation equipment, as well as the measurement methods envisaged, are considered to be known and are therefore not described in detail here.

Claims

1. Device for feeding a container (1) for an installation for the heat treatment and conditioning of waste, comprising a sleeve (10) having a lower opening (109) to be docked with an upper opening (4) of the container, a first line for feeding (11) the waste to be treated connecting to the sleeve (10) and penetrating therein, the sleeve containing a tool for scraping (16) its inner face, characterised in that the scraping tool is a sheath (16) of axis parallel to the sleeve (10) and forming a terminal section of the first feed line (11), and the device comprises a support (44) of the sheath, the support being provided with a motorised (50) off-centring mechanism (20; 39) to which the sheath is suspended, the off-centring mechanism moving the sheath in orbits where it is adjacent to the inner face of the sleeve (10).

2. Device for feeding a container according to claim 1, characterised in that the sheath extends beyond the sleeve in a direction opposite the lower opening, through a sealing plate at the upper end (46) of the sleeve, the sealing plate comprising a movable plate (61) linked to the sheath, and a fixed plate (62) linked to the sleeve (10) and on which the movable plate moves, the fixed plate being provided with an opening (105) for passage of the sheath that is larger than the latter, and a sealing device (64) between the fixed plate at the movable plate.

3. Device for feeding a container according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the off-centring mechanism comprises a toothed gear wheel (39) to which the sheath is suspended, without being coaxial to an axis of rotation of said toothed wheel.

4. Device for feeding a container according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the off-centring mechanism is arranged to also make the sheath rotate about itself.

5. Device for feeding a container according to claims 3 and 4, characterised in that the off-centring mechanism comprises a gear (41, 42, 49) between a toothed wheel (41) attached to the sheath and a toothed ring (49) attached to the off-centring mechanism, and the sheath (16) is rotatably mounted in the toothed gear wheel (39) to which it is suspended.

6. Device for feeding a container according to any one of claims 4 or 5, characterised in that the sheath (16) has a helical excrescence (32), particularly a helical blade, on its outer face.

7. Device for feeding a container according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterised in that the first feed line contains at least one rotating swirler (17, 18), particularly of the "pigtail" type, to advance the waste to be treated.

8. Device for feeding a container according to claims 2 and 7, characterised in that the swirler (18) extends beyond the sheath in the direction opposite the lower opening of the sleeve, is suspended to a second motorised off-centring mechanism to which the sheath (16) is suspended, and is rotated by a motor mounted on the second off-centring mechanism.

9. Device for feeding a container according to claim 8, characterised in that the off-centring mechanism to which the sheath is suspended and the second off-centring mechanism are mechanically connected to one another and driven by the same motor (50).

10. Device for feeding a container according to claim 2, characterised in that the first feed line (11) comprises an upstream section (15), forming an angle with the terminal section (16) and connected to the terminal section by an overflow unit (19), the terminal section being provided with a funnel (33) at its top, which is connected to a pierced lower face (53) of the overflow unit, the sheath being movable under the overflow unit.

11. Device for feeding a container according to claim 10, characterised in that the sheath (16) is sliding in an axial direction of the sleeve (10), and the upstream section (15) is tilting by being hinged (30, 31), at its two ends, to a fixed point of the device and to a wall of the overflow unit.

12. Device for feeding a container according to any one of claims 10 or 11, characterised in that the upstream section (15) is equipped with a motorised rotating swirler (17), and connected, at an end opposite the overflow unit, to a hopper (14) for pouring the waste to be treated.

13. Device for feeding a container according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterised in that it comprises a second feed line (24) made of material of a matrix for conditioning the waste, opening into the sleeve.

14. Device for feeding a container according to claim 13, characterised in that the sleeve consists of two portions (21, 22) in extension, that can be dismantled from one another and equipped with different coolant circuits (110, 112; 111, 113), a lower portion of which comprising the lower opening (109), and an upper portion into which the second feed line (24) and a line for discharging (25) gaseous products from heat treatment open.

15. Device for feeding a container according to any one of claims 13 to 14, characterised in that the second feed line is equipped with a scraper (80) of its inner face.

16. Device for feeding a container according to claim 15, characterised in that the scraper is a ram sliding in a section (27) of the second feed line adjacent to the sleeve, and housed in an extension (28) of said section of the second feed line, beyond an upstream section (26) of the second feed line forming an angle with said section (27) adjacent to the sleeve.

17. Device for feeding a container according to claim 16, characterised in that a hole (82) and a rinsing liquid pipe pass through the ram.

18. Device for feeding a container according to any one of claims 1 to 17, characterised in that the sleeve comprises a main rigid tubular portion (21, 22) and a docking device (29), the docking device comprising a docking sleeve (71) surrounding the main portion by extending downwards, comprising the lower opening (109) of the sleeve, mounted on the main portion and movable along the main portion.

19. Device for feeding a container according to claim 18, characterised in that the docking sleeve (71) comprises a compressible portion (74) in the direction of the mobility of the docking sleeve.

20. Device for feeding a container according to claim 18 or 19, characterised by a means for rinsing an annular volume between the docking sleeve and the main portion of the sleeve.

21. Device for feeding a container according to claims 19 and 20, characterised in that the compressible portion is a bellows (74), and the rinsing means comprises inlet pipes (89) in the annular volume that overhang the bellows, guided radially towards the main portion of the sleeve and producing bounces of rinsing liquid radially outwardly and towards the bellows.

22. Device for feeding a container according to any one of claims 18 to 21, characterised in that it comprises a pipe (88) for injecting overpressure gas into an annular volume between the docking sleeve and the main portion of the sleeve.

23. Device for feeding a container according to any one of claims 18 to 22, characterised in that the docking sleeve (71) comprises a docking sheath (84) sliding on the main portion of the sleeve (10), and actuators (70) for moving the docking sheath (71) connecting the docking sheath (84) to the main portion of the sleeve (10).

24. Device for feeding a container according to claim 23, characterised in that it comprises a pipe (83) for injecting overpressure gas into an annular volume between the docking sheath (84) and the main portion of the sleeve (10).

25. Device for feeding a container according to any one of claims 1 to 24, characterised by a pressure intake pipe (76) comprising rinsing means, extending in a wall of the sleeve along the sleeve, and opening at a lower edge (77) of the sleeve.

26. Device for feeding a container according to any one of claims 1 to 25, characterised by a means (92, 94) for measuring the filling level of the container, disposed through the sleeve with overpressure gas injection (114) into the pipe (92).