This will make an awesome controlled pyrolysis oven

This kiln isn't made for controlled pyrolysis, and you will likely have to add a stack fire afterburner that you build. But this oven, filled with drums of circuit boards, with a small top vent hole leading to the afterburner, will be a sweet process oven for the right operation.

https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=786&acctid=7735

I don't know. They are really hard to remove once they have been fired. You should expect that all you are really buying is a box of refractory brick. The flame controls are nothing more than a couple cast iron burners and some asco tophats set up with thermocouples. Ours had one PID, just to give you a quick idea of where you were. The grad students / advanced students had to babysit them to make sure they didn't overfire. Temp control / speed of ramp was controlled by the number of cast iron burners you had lit, as well as adjustments for incoming atmosphere.

That kiln will fire to at least 2400 degrees F. Which simply means it's extremely inefficient to fire to lower temps.

Are process ovens getting difficult to find?

Are process ovens getting difficult to find?

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As with anything large and needing rigging to move it, this will not bid up too high (this is my guess) and I have had refractory lined incinerators and kiln's moved. The refractory needs to be supported with internal framing if there is any chance of moving this successfully. Older refractory, that has seen a lot of firing is usually toast, and it pays to break it out before transporting it. But that is an on site determination. Plus these things reline pretty easily.

The controller appears to have solenoids so thermostatic control is possible. The unique way it loads and unloads makes this appealing for adding drums of material for pyrolysis. And the high temperature it can attain will assure complete incineration after the pyrolysis process.

I know a glassblower who used this type of gas furnace and it was capable of ramping down temperature for annealing big glass reactors so the temperature could be controlled closely.

But process ovens are not too difficult to find. But if this doesn't bid up too high it can be a good buy for the right operation. It will be interesting to see what it bids up to.

What would be easier is to put a barrel into a cylindrical electric kiln, cap it, then vent it to an afterburner with 2" CSST natural gas tube that has had the jacket removed.

Electric kilns that will take the same size barrel are a dime a dozen. Also controlled much easier and easier to set to run lights out after hours.

I'm actually interested to see how well the pyrolysis gas burns with air injected to it, then ran through a quartz tube in a tube furnace. Easy to set up to do a final scrubbing of the fumes that way. If you JUST have the pyrolysis smoke to treat, not also the exhaust of the furnace, you could get away with a considerably smaller scrubber.

Ant idea what the green coating on the floor might be?

Faintly looks like silicon carbide kiln shelves coated with kiln wash with the occasional drip of glaze.

Thanks, snoman.

I like that design, I just am no where near anything that size.

My guess would be glaze spills or splatter as well.

A standard pottery kiln (electric) are cheap used but the size that are common are big enough for a 15 gallon drum, maybe. That would pyrolize nicely and easy to control. But you still need to burn off the outgassing. I would use a refractory stack with a gas burner at the bottom spiraling in a flame just like a gas furnace. Just tall enough to retain the fumes long enough for them to combust completely. With enough air, that happens quickly.

I like the roll in drawer feature which makes moving loads in and out with a fork lift easy. but to each his own.

4metals said:

My guess would be glaze spills or splatter as well.

A standard pottery kiln (electric) are cheap used but the size that are common are big enough for a 15 gallon drum, maybe. That would pyrolize nicely and easy to control. But you still need to burn off the outgassing. I would use a refractory stack with a gas burner at the bottom spiraling in a flame just like a gas furnace. Just tall enough to retain the fumes long enough for them to combust completely. With enough air, that happens quickly.

I like the roll in drawer feature which makes moving loads in and out with a fork lift easy. but to each his own.

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That sounds about the size I would be looking into. I have several furnace brick here, and one day I plan to try a small scale experiment with them just to get a feel for it. I am thinking, for the experiment size, of sticking to slot cards, maybe 4 x 6 or 4 x 8 inch. I have a large box of those on hand that are gold plated that would make a fair experiment.

Who knows when, but that is the thought rambling around in my head.

4metals said:

This kiln isn't made for controlled pyrolysis, and you will likely have to add a stack fire afterburner that you build. But this oven, filled with drums of circuit boards, with a small top vent hole leading to the afterburner, will be a sweet process oven for the right operation.

https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=786&acctid=7735

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4metals,
Do you have a simple picture of an afterburner attached to a killing such in the picture? Would love to see one as an idea