DE102022107063A1 - Plant for agglomerating and shredding plastic recyclate - Google Patents

Abstract

In a system for agglomerating and shredding plastic recyclate, with an agglomerator which is intended to absorb plastic waste and form it into elongated, cone-shaped or sausage-shaped agglomerates in a doughy state, and which is designed as a disk agglomerator, with two disks, which are profiled on their mutually facing surfaces, are movable relative to one another, are arranged parallel to one another and at a distance from one another and create a space between the panes, and which has an inlet opening for the plastic recyclate, which opens into the central region of the space between the panes, and which has an outlet opening for the agglomerates, the invention proposes that the disk agglomerator is followed by a ring shredder which has a plurality of shredding tools which are arranged in a ring shape adjacent to the outlet opening, the shredding tools being arranged radially outside the space between the disks, such that from the outlet opening emerging agglomerates are divided into shorter pieces using the shredding tools.

Description

The invention relates to a system according to the preamble of claim 1.

Generic systems are known from practice.

For example, from the EP 2 817 131 B1 A disc agglomerator is known in which plastic waste is processed into elongated material strands, which are then shredded to produce small particles. In the context of the present proposal, both the plastic waste that is to be recycled in the disc agglomerator and the agglomerates produced in the disc agglomerator are referred to as plastic recyclate.

These particles can later be used as starting material in the plastics processing industry, e.g. B. there is the possibility of further processing them in an extruder.

The invention is based on the object of improving a generic system so that it can be operated with little energy and economic effort.

This task is achieved by a system according to claim 1. Advantageous embodiments are described in the subclaims.

In other words, the invention proposes to comminute the agglomerated material strands, which emerge from the outlet opening of the disc agglomerator and strive radially outwards, into small particles directly at the disc agglomerator. The outlet opening for a disc agglomerator is either the gap opening, which results from the distance between the two discs, i.e. an annular slot or gap between the two discs corresponding to the disc circumference, or an opening in a housing surrounding the two discs. According to the proposal, the material strands are shredded using a ring shredder, i.e. with several shredding tools that are arranged on a circular line and are closely adjacent radially inside or outside the outlet opening, and are therefore connected downstream of the disk agglomerator in the flow direction of the plastic recyclate. The agglomerated material strands that emerge from the outlet opening of the disc agglomerator accordingly come into contact with the comminution tools and are divided into shorter pieces, namely the desired small particles.

Due to the proposed design of the system, it is not necessary to convey the material strands to a shredding device by an additionally provided conveyor device, which is located at a distance from the disk agglomerator. Not only can the energy required for this conveyor be saved, but according to the proposal, cooling that would accompany the transport of the material strands is also avoided. Rather, the not yet cooled, comparatively softer material strands are shredded directly at the exit of the disk agglomerator, so that the energy expenditure required for this comminution is less than the energy expenditure that would be required to shred the same, but cooled and therefore harder, material strands. Finally, the proposed design also achieves a particularly compact design of the system.

The comminution tools can, for example, be arranged directly on a disk of the disk agglomerator, or they can be mounted on a specially provided ring, which is therefore referred to as a comminution ring.

In one embodiment of the system, the comminution ring can be adjustable in the axial direction of the ring agglomerator, i.e. essentially transversely to the plane of the two disks, so that it opens or closes the annular circumferential outlet opening to different extents in the axial direction, i.e. the gap width of the outlet opening is narrower or wider can be made. Adjusting the gap width of the outlet opening is probably of minor importance during the ongoing, continuous operation of the ring agglomerator. However, firstly, it offers the possibility of adapting the gap width to different plastic recyclates to be processed, so that in different facilities in which different types or compositions of plastic recyclates are processed, the shredding can be easily achieved to the optimal gap width of the outlet opening can be set.

Secondly, however, especially when starting up the system after an interruption in operation, this axial adjustment option offers the advantage of initially setting the outlet opening of the ring agglomerator small with a corresponding gap width or even completely closing the outlet opening and only gradually increasing the gap width as the operating time of the disk agglomerator increases. A shredding ring that can be adjusted in this way can therefore also be referred to as a starting ring. When the ring agglomerator starts up, there is initially only a little art material recyclate between the two disks and, depending on the material used, it can happen that instead of the desired agglomerated material strands, initially imperfect, flake-like agglomerates are formed, which make further processing in systems downstream of the agglomerator difficult. Because the outlet opening can be reduced in size or even completely closed, the residence time of the material in the disc agglomerator can be extended until the desired material strands are formed.

The outlet opening can be enlarged, for example, based on internal company experience, for example after a certain time. Alternatively, it can be provided to enlarge the outlet opening automatically, for example by moving the shredding ring by motor, for example depending on the current consumption, if the disk agglomerator is driven by an electric motor and the current consumption is due to a higher rotational resistance that arises between the disks reaches a certain value. This can be an absolute value, i.e. a specific current of X amperes.

However, the specific value can also be a relative value, which results, for example, from the course of the current consumption over time. For example, the current consumption can increase as the filling level increases if more and more recycled plastic gets into the space between the two panes. If less material emerges from the outlet opening per unit of time than plastic recyclate flows into the gap because the outlet opening is partially or completely closed, such an increase in plastic recyclate occurs in the gap. Due to the higher filling level and the longer residence time, the material in the disc agglomerator is processed more intensively and reaches higher temperatures due to external influences and internal friction.

The associated softening of the material leads to a reduction in the rotational resistance of the disk agglomerator, so that the current consumption of the drive motor at least does not increase any further and typically even decreases again. If the current consumption is monitored by means of an electronic system control, an enlargement of the outlet opening can be automatically effected based on the course of the current consumption by automatically controlling the drive means of the shredding ring and automatically moving the shredding ring in the axial direction. Now the agglomerated material located in the disk agglomerator can leave the disk agglomerator through the outlet opening in the form of the desired material strands, which are divided into the desired shorter pieces in the shredding ring.

The possibility of completely or partially closing the outlet opening of the disc agglomerator during the start-up phase can, depending on the design of the disc agglomerator and its outlet opening, be achieved by axially adjusting the two discs relative to one another, using an adjustable starting ring - with or without shredding tools - or by closing the outlet opening , movable slide or similar closure elements can be achieved.

In a manner known per se, the disk agglomerator can be designed in such a way that not both disks rotate, but rather one disk stands still. This disc, known as the stator, has the inlet opening through which the recycled plastic enters the space between the two discs. The other disc, known as the rotor, is rotatably mounted and driven. In this embodiment, the shredding ring can be held on the stator in a rotationally fixed manner. Initial practical tests have shown that an excellent shredding effect can be achieved even when the shredding ring is stationary, since the agglomerated material strands are carried along by the rotor and perform a relative movement not only in the radial but also in the tangential direction to the stator and accordingly also to the shredding ring , so that the shredding tools can act on the material strands.

In principle, it can be provided that the shredding tools simply form an abutment against which the material strands emerging from the disc agglomerator come into contact, so that they are sheared off and shredded in this way. In one embodiment, the shredding tools can be designed as knives, so that the shredding of the material strands can take place with as little resistance as possible and therefore requires as little energy as possible.

The knives can advantageously be arranged at an angle between 35° and 80° with respect to the axis of the agglomerator, as far as the cutting edge of the knives is concerned. This results in a pulling cut, which is energetically advantageous and is also advantageous in terms of the mechanical stress on the knives. In view of these two aspects, the angle at which the cutting edges of the knives are aligned with the axis of the agglomerator can be considered an advantage The design considered to be between 45° and 60°.

In one embodiment, the knives can each be arranged interchangeably in the ring shredder. This enables quick and easy replacement of individual worn knives, or, if necessary, the replacement of one or all knives with ones with a differently designed cutting edge.

In one embodiment, the knives can each be arranged in a knife holder which is held interchangeably on the ring shredder. This also makes it possible to exchange individual or all knives as explained above. In addition, the knife holder can be designed as a stable element, so that a narrow, sensitive knife does not need to be handled separately. For example, the knife holder, which can have a greater material thickness than the knife itself, enables the knife to be screwed to the ring shredder with a high tightening torque of the fastening screw without endangering the knife.

Regardless of whether the knives are attached to the ring shredder directly or by means of a knife holder, in one embodiment they can be mounted in an adjustable manner in the radial direction. In this way, the gap width of the annular gap that arises between the outlet opening and the knives can be adjusted in order to influence the size of the shorter pieces produced.

In one embodiment, several receptacles can be present on the shredding ring, which are intended to accommodate shredding tools, for example by holding the knives themselves or the knife holders provided with the knives in the receptacles. In this embodiment, the shredding ring can have such a large number of receptacles that in many practical applications a corresponding number of knives is not required. Accordingly, in this design of the system, not all receptacles are equipped with a shredding tool. Depending on the plastic recyclate used or the desired size of the shorter pieces into which the agglomerated material strands are to be shredded, the number of shredding tools used can vary.

The receptacles that are not required and are therefore not equipped with a shredding tool are covered with a cover element in this embodiment. In this way, the receptacles themselves are protected, for example from contamination that would possibly make later installation of a shredding tool in this receptacle more difficult. And protection for the personnel is also achieved in the sense of avoiding accidents by making the system as smooth as possible and avoiding a jagged outer surface of the shredding ring.

In one embodiment, it can be provided that the ring shredder not only has a row of shredding tools which are arranged in a ring on the stator of the disk agglomerator, but rather has a row of shredding tools arranged in a ring on both disks, so that the agglomerated material strands, which are radial emerging outwards from the outlet opening, are shredded into short pieces by a shearing movement between the two different rows of shredding tools. The system therefore has first comminution tools which are arranged on a first circular line with a first diameter and are connected to a first disk of the disk agglomerator, and it has second comminution tools which are arranged on a second circular line with a second diameter and with a second disk of the disk agglomerator are connected. The first and second comminution tools are movable relative to one another because the two disks of the disk agglomerator are movable relative to one another. The diameters of the first and second circular lines are different, so that the first and second shredding tools work together like scissors and shred the agglomerated material strands between them.

In this described embodiment of the system, it can be provided that the first and second comminution tools are each arranged on a retaining ring which is connected to the respective first and second disk of the disk agglomerator. Both retaining rings each have a free space designed as an annular groove into which the comminution tools, which are arranged on the other retaining ring, can immerse when comminution tools are adjusted in the axial direction of the disk agglomerator. For example, if the shredding tools that are arranged on the stator are adjusted in the axial direction towards the rotor, the shredding tools each dip into the annular groove of the opposite retaining ring. Due to the possibility of being accommodated in the opposing retaining ring, the shredding tools can be designed so long that they have a shearing effect between them even when the gap width of the outlet opening is large Shredding tools can be ensured across the entire gap width.

• 1 eine perspektivische Ansicht auf eine Anlage zum Agglomerieren und Zerkleinern von Kunststoff-Recyclat, mit einem ersten Ausführungsbeispiel eines Scheibenagglomerators,
• 2 und 3 Ansichten auf ein erstes Ausführungsbeispiel eines Ringzerkleinerers, in einer Normalstellung
• 4 und 5 Ansichten auf den Ringzerkleinerer der 2 und 3, in einer Anfahrstellung,
• 6 eine perspektivische Ansicht auf einen Zerkleinerungsring des Ringzerkleinerers der 2 bis 5,
• 7 einen vertikalen Querschnitt durch ein zweites Ausführungsbeispiel eines Scheibenagglomerators,
• 8 eine perspektivische Ansicht auf einen Längsschnitt durch ein zweites Ausführungsbeispiel eines Ringzerkleinerers in der Anfahrstellung,
• 9 eine Ansicht auf den Ringzerkleinerer der 8 in der Normalstellung,
• 10 eine perspektivische Ansicht auf einen Längsschnitt durch ein drittes Ausführungsbeispiel eines Ringzerkleinerers in der Anfahrstellung,
• 11 eine Ansicht auf den Ringzerkleinerer der 10 in der Normalstellung,
• 12 einen vertikalen Querschnitt durch ein drittes Ausführungsbeispiel eines Scheibenagglomerators,
• 13 einen vertikalen Längsschnitt durch den oberen Bereich des dritten Ausführungsbeispiels in der Anfahrstellung, und
• 14 einen vertikalen Längsschnitt durch den unteren Bereich des dritten Ausführungsbeispiels in der Anfahrstellung.

The invention is explained in more detail below using the purely schematic representations, whereby individual design features of a specific exemplary embodiment of a system for agglomerating and shredding plastic recyclate are not limited to this exemplary embodiment, but can also be implemented in other configurations and / or in other combinations. This shows

• 1 a perspective view of a system for agglomerating and shredding plastic recyclate, with a first exemplary embodiment of a disk agglomerator,
• 2 and 3 Views of a first exemplary embodiment of a ring shredder, in a normal position
• 4 and 5 Views of the ring shredder 2 and 3 , in a starting position,
• 6 a perspective view of a shredding ring of the ring shredder 2 until 5 ,
• 7 a vertical cross section through a second embodiment of a disk agglomerator,
• 8th a perspective view of a longitudinal section through a second exemplary embodiment of a ring shredder in the start-up position,
• 9 a view of the ring shredder 8th in the normal position,
• 10 a perspective view of a longitudinal section through a third embodiment of a ring shredder in the start-up position,
• 11 a view of the ring shredder 10 in the normal position,
• 12 a vertical cross section through a third embodiment of a disk agglomerator,
• 13 a vertical longitudinal section through the upper region of the third exemplary embodiment in the starting position, and
• 14 a vertical longitudinal section through the lower region of the third exemplary embodiment in the starting position.

In 1 a system 1 for agglomerating and shredding plastic recyclate is shown, which has a disk agglomerator 2. 1 shows the viewer the back of a first disk of the disk agglomerator 2, referred to as stator 3, with a central inlet opening 4 through which the plastic recyclate is introduced into a space between the two disks. Through the inlet opening 4, the view falls on a rotationally driven second disk of the disk agglomerator 2, referred to as the rotor 5. The stator 3 can be moved in the axial direction by means of three stator actuating cylinders 6s, so that the gap width between the stator 3 and the rotor 5 is changed can be. By means of three ring actuating cylinders 6r, each of which has a substantially cylindrical protective cover, a comminution ring can be moved in the axial direction, as will be explained in more detail later.

In the lower peripheral region of the two disks of the disk agglomerator 2, a conveyor 7 connects to the disk agglomerator 2, so that the agglomerates produced in the disk agglomerator 2 can be transported to a downstream device by means of the conveyor 7 in a conveying direction F. A suction connection 7a serves to remove gases formed during agglomeration from the agglomerate stream, so that undesirable gas entry, for example into a downstream extruder, can be reduced as much as possible.

The 2 and 3 each show the central components of a disk agglomerator 2, namely the rotor 5, which can be connected to a drive shaft, and the stator 3, which is largely covered by a ring shredder 8. The ring shredder 8 consists of a shredding ring 9 and several shredding tools 10, the shredding ring 9 in turn being composed of three segments 11. The disk agglomerator 2 is located in the 2 and 3 in its normal position, which it normally assumes during its operation, namely with a certain distance between the stator 3 and the rotor 5, so that there is a circumferential gap 12 between the two disks on the outer circumference of the disk agglomerator 2. In this normal position, the gap 12 forms on its outer circumference an open, annular outlet opening 34 between the two disks of the disk agglomerator 2.

Through the three ring actuating cylinders 6r, the comminution ring 9, which is arranged radially on the outside on the lateral surface of the stator 3, can be moved in the axial direction and thus approached or removed from the rotor 5, even if the stator 3 maintains its position . This allows the shredding ring 9 to be removed 2 and 3 visible working position, namely in a retracted position, ent from the rotor 5 remote position in which the outlet opening 34 is open, so that the comminution tools 10 of the ring shredder 8 are arranged radially outside the circumferential gap 12 and the outlet opening 34. The elongated agglomerates emerging from the circumference of the gap 12 from the outlet opening 34 between the stator 3 and the rotor 5 are captured by the comminution tools 10 and, by the rotary movement of the rotor 5 and the out 2 and 3 visible inclination of the shredding tools 10 supported, shredded in a pulling cut.

When the ring actuating cylinders 6r are extended, the shredding ring 9 of the ring shredder 8 is pushed over the gap 12 and in this way the outlet opening 34 is closed, which is referred to as the starting position of the disk agglomerator 2 and causes the disk agglomerator 2 between the stator 3 and the rotor 5, when the disk agglomerator 2 starts up, the material located in the disk agglomerator 2 cannot move radially outwards from the outlet opening 34 as quickly, but can be held longer in the disk agglomerator 2 and processed mechanically. Although direct contact between the fixed and rotating components of the disc agglomerator 2 is avoided, the minimum opening width of the outlet opening 34 and the required directional deflection, which the material must take on its way radially outwards, with the shredding ring 9 moved into the approach position Type of labyrinth seal is created, which closes the outlet opening 34 sufficiently tightly from a practical point of view.

The start-up process is shortened in time by closing the outlet opening 34 and the escape of insufficiently agglomerated material can be largely or even completely avoided. Therefore, in deviation from the illustrated embodiment and outside of the present proposal, it can also be provided to use the shredding ring 9 without shredding tools 10, so that in this case it can be referred to as a starting ring, which only has the closing function to close the outlet opening 34 when starting of the disk agglomerator 2 to close.

The 4 and 5 show the central components of the disc agglomerator 2 2 and 3 , but in a so-called starting position, in which the two disks are at a smaller distance from one another, so that there is practically no gap 12 between the stator 3 and the rotor 5. In particular 4 It can be seen that the rotor 5 is provided with a number of deflectors 14, which serve to convey plastic recyclate, which has reached behind the rotor 5 in the agglomerated or non-agglomerated state, radially outwards and not to To allow the drive shaft of the disk agglomerator 2 to arrive.

6 shows the ring shredder 8 separately from the other components of the disc agglomerator 2. The structure of the shredding ring 9 made up of three segments 11 can be seen. The shredding tools 10 each have a holder 15 and a knife 16 arranged interchangeably therein. The cutting edges of the knives 16 are each aligned at an angle of approximately 45 ° to the axis of the disk agglomerator 2, so that a pulling cut is achieved when due to the rotational movement of the rotor 5, the agglomerates emerging from the gap 12 are guided in the direction of rotation against the knives 16. Because the agglomerates are carried along by the rotor 5 in the direction of rotation, the rotor 5 also provides the cutting energy required for cutting.

The holders 15 are attached to the segments 11 in a radially adjustable manner using elongated holes, so that the radial distance at which the knives 16 are located in front of the gap 12 can be adjusted. Each segment 11 has three so-called receptacles 17, namely mounting locations for comminution tools 10, and thus offers the possibility that three comminution tools 10 can be mounted on a segment 11. In the exemplary embodiment shown, only one shredding tool 10 is shown per segment 11, while the two remaining respective receptacles 17 are each protected against contamination and against the ingress of plastic by means of a cover element 18 in order to enable problem-free assembly of a shredding tool 10 if necessary.

7 shows a vertical section that runs through the gap 12 of a disk agglomerator 2, so that the stator 3 is not visible, but the view falls on the rotor 5 and its central opening for receiving a drive shaft. On the surface of the rotor 5, a large number of differently designed kneading strips 19 can be seen, which serve to mechanically treat, heat and heat the plastic recyclate that has entered the disk agglomerator 2 in cooperation with the stator 3, which also has a profiled surface to agglomerate, forming elongated agglomerates. The plastic recyclate migrates radially outwards from the central inlet opening 4 and leaves the space between the two disks through the gap 12. Also in the exemplary embodiment 7 the outlet opening 34 is created on the outer circumference of the two disks, as a circumferential opening ning of the gap 12 between the stator 3 and the rotor 5.

In the exemplary embodiment of 7 and 8th The agglomerates get into a ring shredder 8, which has shredding tools 10, which, in contrast to the exemplary embodiment 2 until 6 are not designed as knives. Rather, the ring shredder 8 has the 7 two shredding rings 9 with different effective diameters. The in 8th The shredding ring 9 shown on the right is referred to as the outer shredding ring 9 because its shredding tools 10 are located on a circular line with a comparatively larger diameter and is connected to the stator 3. In the so-called inner shredding ring 9, in 8th Shown on the left, the shredding tools 10 are located on a circular line with a smaller diameter compared to the outer shredding ring 9. The inner shredding ring 9 is connected to the rotor 5, so that in this way a relative movement between the two shredding rings 9 is achieved. Since the comminution tools 10 of the two comminution rings 9 are arranged on circular lines with radii of different sizes, the inner and outer comminution tools 10 work together in a cutting effect and divide the elongated agglomerates through their cooperating shearing effect. A rhomboid cross-sectional shape of the comminution tools 10 promotes the shearing effect.

At a radial distance from the two disks of the disk agglomerator 2, a housing 20 runs around the outside of the rotor 5 shown, so that the agglomerates that have escaped through the gap 12 and have been shredded into shorter pieces in the ring shredder 8 can be transported away pneumatically. For this purpose, the housing 20 is connected to a pneumatic delivery line 21, such as 7 shows. Apart from the fact that a fan, which is not visible in the drawing, generates an air flow in the delivery line 21, the direction of rotation of the rotor 5 also generates or supports an air flow that carries the agglomerates, which have been comminuted into shorter pieces, through the delivery line 21 in a delivery direction F, illustrated by an arrow transported.

8th shows in section the upper peripheral area of the disk agglomerator 2 of 7 . The stator 3 and the rotor 5 can be seen within the housing 20. Similar to the exemplary embodiment 4 and 5 There is also the exemplary embodiment 8th in its approach position. In the exemplary embodiment of 7 and 8th the starting position is achieved by axially adjusting the stator 3 by means of the disk actuating cylinder 6s, so that the gap 12 on the outer circumference of the two disks is closed by adjusting the stator 3 axially up to the rotor 5. Accordingly, the two shredding rings 9 of the ring shredder 8 also lie against each other. Both comminution rings 9 are each provided with a circumferential annular groove 22 on their mutually facing end faces, which serves to accommodate the comminution tools 10 of the comminution ring 9 opposite each other. A space 23 between the panes tapers down to a gap 12, and in the starting position shown, both the gap 12 and the outlet opening 34 are practically closed on their outer circumference, even if the stationary and rotating components of the disk agglomerator 2 do not touch each other, but rather rather have a minimal distance from each other.

Because the gap 12 is as in 8th completely or, deviating from the exemplary embodiment 8th , possibly slightly opened, the plastic recyclate is held in the space between the panes when the disk agglomerator 2 is started up, i.e. when it “starts up”. Losses in the form of plastic recyclate, which does not agglomerate sufficiently and is therefore not suitable for further processing, can be reduced or even completely avoided in this way. Only when the material that got into the space between the panes when starting is sufficiently agglomerated between the stator 3 and the rotor 5 is the stator 3 removed from the rotor 5 by means of the actuating cylinder 6r and the gap 12 opened so wide that agglomerates can emerge from it and into reach the ring shredder 8.

9 shows the exemplary embodiment 8th after the disk agglomerator 2 has started up, when it assumes its normal position and the space between the disks has been increased by adjusting the stator 3 and the gap 12 and the outlet opening 34 have been opened. It can be seen how the comminution tools 10 arranged at different radii interact in a shearing manner and emerge from the annular groove 22 of the comminution ring 9 opposite each other.

10 shows a similar situation 8th , whereby also in 10 By means of a disk actuating cylinder 6s, a disk space 23 between the stator 3 and rotor 5 is closed on the outer circumference, since the in 10 Disk agglomerator 2 shown is in its approach position. In this exemplary embodiment, the comminution tools 10 are shown as cylindrical pins, which have a comminution-effective cutting or inclined surface outside their respective comminution ring 9.

11 shows for the exemplary embodiment 10 a similar situation 9 , in which the gap 12 is opened by appropriate adjustment of the stator 3 and the disk agglomerator 2 assumes its normal position.

12 shows a view similar 7 on a further exemplary embodiment of a disk agglomerator 2 and on its rotor 5, although the kneading bars 19 of the rotor 5 are different than in 7 are configured. The housing 20 is also designed differently in that it runs at a comparatively smaller distance around the two disks of the disk agglomerator 2. A ring shredder 8 is designed in such a way that it interacts with the housing 20. The ring shredder 8 does not have a physically realized shredding ring 9, but rather a large number of shredding tools 10, which are arranged on a circular line and in this way form a shredding ring. In the exemplary embodiment of 12 There is no pneumatic conveyance of the agglomerates divided into shorter pieces. Rather, either the elongated agglomerates emerging from the gap 12 are conveyed by means of the comminution tools 10. Unlike the deflectors 14 of the 7 the shredding tools are 10 in 12 are not arranged on the back of the rotor 5, but adjoin the outer circumference of the rotor 5 radially on the outside, but they serve similarly to the deflectors 14 in 7 also to clear the space within the housing 20 into which plastic material gets and to transport the captured material.

By means of the shredding tools 10, the captured material is conveyed within the housing 20 to a housing opening 24, which forms the outlet opening 34 of the disk agglomerator 2. There, a shearing effect to shred the agglomerates does not take place with the help of a second shredding ring, but rather in interaction with the edge of the housing 20, which surrounds the housing opening 24. The elongated agglomerates are not comminuted into separate, shorter pieces, but are literally filled into the space adjoining the housing opening 24 and comminuted in this way. For this purpose, the shredding tools 10 have a front side that acts on the material and deviates towards the rear at a suitable angle from a purely radial orientation. In this way, a spatula effect is achieved with which the material is introduced into a delivery line 21, which in the exemplary embodiment shown connects directly to the housing 20.

Deviating from the exemplary embodiment of 7 the delivery line 21 serves 12 not for the pneumatic transport of the material, but rather has a screw conveyor 25 which transports the material in the conveying direction F. In order to ensure good filling of the screw conveyor 25, in this exemplary embodiment the conveying direction F runs counter to the direction in which the rotor 5 moves in the area of the housing opening 24. The delivery line 21 can be, for example, the feed screw of an extruder or a short-sized transfer screw, which in turn connects to an extruder screw. In both cases, the temperature losses of the material can be kept as low as possible, so that in a particularly energetically favorable embodiment of the system 1, the plastic material that is initially agglomerated and then shredded into shorter pieces can be further processed in an extruder that follows the disk agglomerator 2 over the shortest possible path is connected downstream.

The delivery line 21 has an opening where it connects to the housing 20 of the disk agglomerator 2. Deviating from the illustrated embodiment, a closure element can be arranged between the housing 20 and the delivery line 21, for example in the form of a slide arranged on the housing 20 or on the delivery line 21. Similar to the possibility of closing the outlet opening 34 by means of an axially adjustable shredding ring 9 or an axially adjustable stator 3, material can also be held in the disk agglomerator 2 in the start-up phase of the disk agglomerator 2 by means of the closure element until the material is sufficiently agglomerated .

Furthermore, in the exemplary embodiment the 12 not shown, a suction connection can be arranged in the area of the transition from the housing 20 to the delivery line 21 in order to be able to suck out gases formed during agglomeration before these gases can get into the screw conveyor 25.

Different from that in 12 In the exemplary embodiment shown and outside of the present proposal, it can be provided that the housing 20 runs narrowly on the radial outside around the disks of the disk agglomerator 2, without the scraper-like comminution tools 10. On the one hand, the smallest possible distance between the housing 20 and the disks ensures friction-free and trouble-free operation of the disk agglomerator 2, but prevents larger accumulations of the agglomerates that get radially outward between the disks. The pressure that builds up in the space between the panes 23 due to the material that is in the pane agglo merator 2 is conveyed, as well as the centrifugal forces generated by the rotor 5 in the disk agglomerator 2 and the conveying effect of the kneading bars 19 cause the agglomerates to push radially outwards

13 shows a section through the upper area of the disk agglomerator 2 from 12 , which is in its starting position, so that the gap 12 and the outlet opening 34 on the outer circumference of the space between the panes 23 are closed. The cut in 13 runs through a shredding tool 10 of the ring shredder 8. With the help of different screws 26, both the housing 20 is attached to the stator 3 and the shredding tools 10 are attached to the rotor 5. Behind the rotor 5, a rotor receptacle 27 is shown, which is provided with a sealing ring 28 on its outer circumference.

Towards a space 29, which runs radially outside the gap 12 in a ring shape around the disks of the disk agglomerator 2, and on its radial outside, towards the housing 20, the sealing ring 28 has a thread profile 30, namely a helical groove. The pitch of this thread profile 30 is coordinated with the direction of rotation of the rotor 5 in such a way that material that has penetrated into the helical groove is conveyed back into the space 29.

Furthermore, the penetration of plastic into the area of the thread profile 30 is counteracted with the help of sealing air: the housing 20 is provided with an air connection 31 to which a compressed air line can be connected. The compressed air flows into an annular sealing air channel 32 and from there reaches the area of the thread profile 30, so that material located there between the sealing ring 28 and the housing 20 is pushed back into the space 29.

14 shows the lower peripheral area of the disk agglomerator 2 of 12 and 13 . The section runs in the longitudinal direction of the axis of rotation about which the rotor 5 rotates, and thus transversely to the screw conveyor 25. On the inside of the tubular housing of the conveyor line 21, the conveyor line 21 has a plurality of retaining grooves 33, each of which has a wedge cross section. They serve to prevent the material, which has been introduced into the conveying line 21 through the housing opening 24 using the shredding tools 10, from rotating together with the screw conveyor 25, so that a translational movement of the material within the conveying screw 25 is as effective as possible Delivery line 21 can be reached.

Reference symbol:

1

Attachment

2

Disc agglomerator

3

stator

4

Inlet opening

5

rotor

6

6s = stator actuating cylinder 6r = ring actuating cylinder

7

Conveying device, 7a = suction connection F = conveying direction

8th

Ring crusher

9

crushing ring

10

shredding tool

11

segment

12

gap

14

Deflector

15

holder

16

Knife

17

Recording

18

Cover element

19

kneading bars

20

Housing

21

delivery line

22

Ring groove

23

space between panes

24

Case opening

25

Auger

26

screw

27

Rotor mount

28

sealing ring

29

Space

30

Thread profile

31

Air connection

32

Sealing air duct

33

holding groove

34

Exhaust opening

QUOTES INCLUDED IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of documents listed by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions.

Cited patent literature

• EP 2817131 B1 [0003]

Claims (21)

Plant (1) for agglomerating and shredding plastic recyclate, with an agglomerator, ◯ which is intended to absorb plastic waste and form it into elongated, cone- or sausage-shaped agglomerates in a doughy state, ◯ and which is designed as a disc agglomerator (2). is, with two disks, ■ which are profiled on their mutually facing surfaces, ■ are movable relative to one another, ■ are arranged parallel to one another and at a distance from one another, ■ and create a space (23) between the panes, ◯ and which has an inlet opening (4) for the plastic recyclate, which opens into the central area of the space between the panes (23), ◯ and which has an outlet opening (34) for the agglomerates, characterized in that the disk agglomerator (2) is followed by a ring shredder (8), which has a plurality of comminution tools (10) which are arranged in a ring shape adjacent to the outlet opening (34), the comminution tools (10) being arranged radially outside the space (23) in such a way that agglomerates emerging from the outlet opening (34) are removed by means of the comminution tools (10 ) can be cut into shorter pieces. Plant according to Claim 1 , characterized in that the outlet opening (34) is arranged in the outer circumference of the space between the disks (23), and the ring shredder (8) has a shredding ring (9) which carries the shredding tools (10) and which is arranged radially outside the outlet opening (34). . Plant according to Claim 2 , characterized in that the comminution ring (8) is movable in the axial direction of the ring agglomerator (2) in such a way that it either opens or closes the outlet opening (34) to different extents. Plant according to Claim 3 , characterized in that one of the two disks of the ring agglomerator (2) is arranged in a rotationally fixed manner as a stator (3) and has the inlet opening (4), and the second disk is rotatably mounted as a rotor (5), the comminution ring (8) being rotationally fixed is held on the stator (3). Plant according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the comminution tools (10) are designed as knives (16). Plant according to Claim 5 , characterized in that the knives (16) are aligned at an angle to the axis of the disc agglomerator (2), which is between 35° and 80°. Plant according to Claim 6 , characterized in that the angle is between 45° and 60°. Plant according to one of the Claims 1 until 4 , characterized in that the shredding tools (10) are designed as pins with a shredding ring inclined surface. Plant according to one of the Claims 1 until 4 , characterized in that the comminution tools (10) have a rhomboid cross-section. Plant according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the comminution tools (10) are each replaceable. Plant according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the comminution tools (10) are each arranged in a holder (15) which is replaceable. Plant according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the comminution tools (10) are each adjustable in the radial direction, such that their radial distance from the outlet opening (34) is adjustable. Plant according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the ring shredder (8) has first shredding tools (10), which are arranged on a first circular line with a first diameter and are connected to a first disk of the disk agglomerator (2), and second shredding tools (10) which are arranged on a second circular line with a second diameter and are connected to a second disk of the disk agglomerator (2), the first and second comminution tools (10) being movable relative to one another, and the diameters of the first and second Circular lines are different, such that the first and second comminution tools (10) interact like scissors. Plant according to Claim 13 , characterized in that the first and second comminution tools (10) are each arranged on a comminution ring (9) which is connected to the respective first or second disk of the disk agglomerator (2), the two comminution rings (9) each having one as an annular groove (22) have a free space designed to accommodate the comminution tools (10) located on the other comminution ring (9). Plant according to one of the Claims 2 until 14 , characterized in that the shredding ring (9) has a plurality of receptacles (17) which are intended for mounting comminution tools (10), a comminution tool (10) being arranged in at least one receptacle (17) and at least one receptacle ( 17) is free of a shredding tool (10) and is covered by a cover element (18). Plant according to one of the Claims 2 until 15 , characterized in that the shredding ring (9) is formed by several segments (11). Plant according to Claim 1 , characterized in that a housing (20) runs annularly around the outside of the disks of the disk agglomerator (2) and has the outlet opening (34) in the form of a housing opening (24), which connects to a delivery line (21), and that the comminution tools (10) extend radially within the outlet opening (34) into the space (29) between the housing (20) and the disks of the disk agglomerator (2), such that they promote agglomerates located in this space to the housing opening (24). Plant according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a delivery line (21) with a screw conveyor (25) connects to the disk agglomerator (2). Plant according to Claim 18 , characterized in that the delivery line (21) is designed as an extruder screw or as a transfer screw connected to an extruder. System according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a thread profile (30) with a helical groove runs between a rotatable disk, referred to as a rotor (5), and the housing (20) of the disk agglomerator (2), the pitch of the thread profile ( 30) coordinated with the direction of rotation of the rotatable disk in such a way that material that has penetrated between the rotor (5) and the housing (20) is conveyed back. System according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a sealing air duct (32) runs circumferentially between a rotatable disk, referred to as a rotor (5), and a housing (20) of the disk agglomerator (2), which is in flow connection with a seal outside the housing ( 20) opening air connection (31), an air gap between the rotor (5) and the housing (20) connecting one end to the sealing air duct (32) and the other end to a space (29) into which the outlet opening (34) opens.

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