EP2686118A1

EP2686118A1 - Process for handling waste material

Info

Publication number: EP2686118A1
Application number: EP12726486.9A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Ivan Ghirelli; Marcello Fontanini
Original assignee: Sitec Castellarano SpA
Current assignee: Sitec Castellarano SpA
Priority date: 2011-03-14
Filing date: 2012-03-13
Publication date: 2014-01-22
Also published as: WO2012123807A1

Abstract

The process for handling waste material comprises the steps of: supplying a waste material (M) having a first fraction (I) with high toughness and a second fraction (II) with low toughness, both of substantially rough particle size; grinding the waste material (M) by means of a grinding phase in a mill with loose grinding bodies (6) substantially ineffective on the first fraction (I) and substantially effective on the second fraction (II), the particle size of the second fraction (II) at the end of grinding being substantially fine; extracting the first fraction (I) and the second fraction (II) from the mill (4) by means of a gaseous flow that crosses the mill (4) and is suitable for extracting the first fraction (I) and the second fraction (II) when their bulk density is substantially equal to or lower than a pre-set bulk density; separating the first fraction (I) substantially rough from the second fraction (II) substantially fine.

Description

PROCESS FOR HANDLING WASTE MATERIAL

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a process for handling waste material.

Background Art

As is known, the problem of managing household wastes has become increasingly more important.

The rise in consumption figures and urbanization have in fact increased the production of wastes and reduced the uninhabited areas in which to treat or deposit them.

The most widely-used waste management methods consist in the use of refuse dumps and incinerators.

The use of refuse dumps, though involving fairly low management costs, results in a considerable waste of materials that are to a large extent recyclable, and in the use of huge land areas in which large concentrations of wastes are created with possible negative consequences for the environment.

Incinerators, on the other hand, base their operation on waste incineration; the latest models exploit the combustion thus obtained and recuperate a little electricity and heat but have the problem of managing toxic-harmful emissions, particulates and dioxins.

An attempt to overcome the above problems is the handling of wastes in mechanical-biological treatment plants (MBT).

MBT plants make use of the cold treatment technology of unsorted wastes and/or which are left over from pre-sorted collection, and which exploits the combination of mechanical and biological processes such as anaerobic digestion and composting.

In these plants, special machinery separates the organic fraction, meaning the organic part to be bio-dried to obtain the so-called "stabilised organic fraction", from the dry fraction (paper, plastic, glass, aggregates, etc.), which can in part be recycled or used to produce "fuel derived from wastes" by removing the incombustible materials.

In this respect, it must be pointed out that great importance is being taken on by the production of stabilised organic fraction from solid household wastes by means of mechanical-biological treatment.

The stabilised organic fraction stands out from the so-called "compost" inasmuch as it is produced starting with unsorted wastes, while compost is only made starting from pre-sorted organic material.

For this reason, the stabilised organic fraction is not used as agricultural fertilizer (as in the case of compost) but, being characterised by fermentability reduced by up to 90%, it is particularly suitable for various applications aimed at environment and landscape rehabilitation and the daily covering of refuse dumps (instead of earth) without having emissions of natural gas which, if released into the atmosphere, is a greenhouse gas about 21 times more harmful than carbon dioxide.

Very often, MBT plants are designed to feed incinerators with the produced fuel derived from wastes; in some cases even, the MBT plants are simply used to grind the wastes without any real benefit either for recycling or for incineration. Schematically, an MBT plant which produces stabilised organic fraction from wastes first of all contemplates sieving with separation of a rough and not very fermentable part, consisting e.g. of paper, cardboard, plastic, metals, glass, etc., which can in part be recycled and in part sent to make up the fuel derived from wastes, and of a part rich in organic and highly-fermentable substances, which once stabilised becomes stabilised organic fraction.

The biochemically inert fraction is sent for disposal/recycling, while the organic substance undergoes the abatement of the organic content and biological treatment suitable for speeding up fermentation and therefore producing end material with low fermentability.

Another attempt to overcome the indicated problems consists in the systems called Thor and Refolo, which consist in the total refining of the various incoming waste fractions by means of a mechanical-chemical treatment.

More in detail, the Thor process consists in the micronisation of wastes, i.e., grinding down to a size below about 100 μηι exploiting the principle of mechanical-chemical activation, i.e., a strong mechanical friction action which determines the delamination of the organic, polymer or textile materials, the molecular cracking of the chlorine in chlorinated plastics and the separation of metals which are trapped as pigments.

The process is based on the use of the friction stress caused by an eccentric- body mill, called "mechanical-chemical reactor".

The mechanical-chemical reactor contains grinding masses speeded up by an eccentric movement and thrown at high speed against the material which undergoes a compression and cutting action.

In the same process called Refolo, illustrated in detail in the Italian patent application no. CT2009A000002, the mechanical-chemical action generated in Thor by the eccentric movement is obtained in a different way, by means of a mill called 'friction unit' which permits obtaining the same results as Thor but with considerable mechanical and plant engineering simplification.

Neither of these processes, now in a stage of advanced experimentation, has yet found application in widespread industrial processes due to high installation and running costs.

In fact the forced micronisation of all the component parts of the solid household waste, aimed at obtaining sizes of around 100 μιτι, requires high energy costs, above all considering the volumes involved.

A further attempt to solve the problems of wastes is the technology called Arrow Bio.

This process has a first liquid biological treatment which performs a first separation of the materials split up according to specific weight by means of a wet treatment in a large tank with water.

The heavy material is then sent for recovery, recycling or to the refuse dump, while the lightweight material and dissolved organic material are sent to complex washing, filtering and sorting processes and to bioreactors to produce fertilizer, water and biogas.

All the above technologies, including the most modern and efficient plants, have the drawback of not managing to perfectly separate the different fractions of the materials making up the waste.

In particular, in the case of MBT plants, which recover recyclable materials and produce fuel derived from wastes and stabilised organic fraction, these fractions are contaminated the one by the other. In particular, the quality of the produced fuel derived from wastes is worsened by the presence of a percentage of composite and non-combustible material which results in lower combustion heat and a larger amount of post-combustion ashes.

In the same way, the stabilised organic fraction contains combustible fractions such as plastic materials, paper, cardboard, fabrics which, besides being subtracted from the fuel derived from wastes fraction, reduce the quality of the stabilised organic fraction to the extent of preventing this being used again for environmental recovery or the like, thereby increasing the volumes sent to the refuse dump, with consequent reduction in the duration of same.

In plants dedicated to the recovery and recycling of residual unsorted waste from pre-sorted collection, the problem is also felt of the separation of the recyclable fractions from the inert and biodegradable fractions to obtain a clean recovered product, as is also the case in treatment plants dedicated to secondary raw materials, often deriving from pre-sorted collection or industrial process wastes and scraps.

Description of the Invention

The main aim of the present invention is to provide a process for handling waste material which may be efficient and cheap at the same time in order to obtain a better separation of the different heterogeneous components of the mix of treated materials.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a process for handling waste material which allows overcoming the mentioned drawbacks of the state of the art within the ambit of a simple, rational, easy and effective to use as well as low cost solution.

The above objects are achieved by the present process for handling waste material, characterized by the fact that it comprises the steps of:

supplying at least a waste material having a first fraction with high toughness and ,at least a second fraction with low toughness, both of substantially rough particle size;

grinding said waste material by means of a grinding phase in a mill with loose grinding bodies substantially ineffective on said first fraction and substantially effective on said second fraction, the particle size of said second fraction at the end of said grinding being substantially fine;

extracting said first fraction and said second fraction from said mill by means of a gaseous flow that crosses said mill and is suitable for extracting said first fraction and said second fraction when their bulk density is substantially equal to or lower than a pre-set bulk density;

separating said first fraction substantially rough from said second fraction substantially fine.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become more evident from the description of a preferred, but not sole, embodiment of a plant for the implementation of the process for handling waste material, illustrated purely as an example but not limited to the annexed drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a layout view of a part of the plant for the implementation of the process according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a layout view of another part of the plant for the implementation of the process according to the invention.

Embodiments of the Invention

The present invention aims at the handling of a waste material M meant as any material or product deriving from household wastes, industrial wastes, agricultural wastes, etc.

The waste material M, therefore, must not be considered only as unsorted solid household residue, but also as any product deriving from the treatment of wastes, such as, e.g., stabilised organic fraction, fuel derived from wastes and the secondary raw materials deriving from pre-sorted collection or industrial process wastes and scraps.

Considering the properties of the above materials, the waste material M is a substantially heterogeneous compound mainly composed of the following three families of components:

- a first fraction I with high toughness and low bulk density;

- a second fraction II with low toughness and medium bulk density;

- a third fraction Ilia, Illb with high toughness and high bulk density. In normal environmental conditions in terms of temperature, pressure and humidity, the above fractions I, II, Ilia, Illb correspond to:

- the first fraction I is generally composed of polymers, paper, cardboard, wood, etc., and is the fraction whose components have greater lower combustion heat and the most suitable for the production of fuel derived from wastes;

- the second fraction II is generally composed of aggregates, glass, ceramic, minerals, clays, organic materials, etc., and is the fraction which constitutes less environmental problems as regards re-use in the field of environmental restoration or soil amendment or the like;

- the third fraction Ilia, Illb is generally composed of metals, both ferrous metals Ilia and non-ferrous metals Illb, the recovery of which is particularly desirable, both because of the intrinsic economic value of these materials and as regards the environmental issues tied to discarding in the environment.

The present invention is essentially based on the control and management of the toughness of the different fractions I, II, Ilia, Illb making up the waste material M.

In this respect, it is pointed out that by "toughness" is meant the resistance which a material opposes to fracture, meaning the capacity to absorb energy before reaching breakage point.

In fact, any material, when subjected to stress, is consequentially deformed and absorbs the applied energy.

In the case of a material with high toughness, this energy produces a generally plastic deformation (ductile behaviour).

In the case of a low-toughness material on the other hand, the stored up elastic energy can produce the formation of new surfaces, called fracture surfaces, which can end up by determining their breakage (fragile behaviour).

With particular reference to the embodiment shown in the figures, globally indicated by 1 is a plant for the embodiment of the process according to the embodiment.

The plant 1 comprises a collection and feed line 2 of the waste material M. Downstream of the collection and feed line 2 a separation line 3 is installed for picking up the third fraction Ilia, Illb from the waste material M.

The separation line 3 is of the type in itself known and is suitable for making it possible to separate both the ferrous metals Ilia and the non-ferrous metals Illb from the waste material M. ^c

The separated third fraction Ilia, Illb can therefore be sent to a recovery process in smelting-furnaces, steelworks, etc.

The efficiency of the separation line 3 permits picking up most of the third fraction Ilia, Illb from the waste material M, but it is possible that a part of the third fraction Ilia, Illb remain unseparated.

Downstream of the separation line 3 a mill 4 with loose grinding bodies 6 is installed for grinding the waste material M.

The mill 4 is preferably selected from the list comprising: a ball mill, a cylinder mill, a bar mill, a pebble mill and an attritor mill.

More in detail, the mill 4 comprises a rotating grinding chamber 5, having a preferably cylindrical shape with horizontal axis R.

The mill 4 turns around its horizontal axis R.

The mill 4 has an inlet mouth 7, for introducing the waste material M coming from the separation line 3, which is served by a hopper 8 and is located at an axial extremity of the grinding chamber 5.

At the opposite extremity, an outlet mouth 9 is obtained.

The mill 4 is designed to operate continuously, with the waste material M being loaded through the inlet mouth 7 and coming out through the outlet mouth 9. By means of the control of the process parameters of the mill 4, including the applied energy, the running temperatures and the grinding times, it is possible to obtain the grinding and particle size reduction of some fractions of the incoming material and not of others.

In particular, depending on the dimensions and length of the mill 4, its rotation speed, the quantity of loose grinding bodies 6 and so on, it is possible to ensure that the grinding performed by the loose grinding bodies 6 is substantially ineffective on the first fraction I and substantially effective on the second fraction II. Therefore, supposing the mill 4 is loaded with a waste material M having a first fraction I and a second fraction II of substantially rough particle size, at the outlet from the mill 4 the first fraction I will have a substantially unchanged particle size, while the particle size of the second fraction II will be substantially fine.

This result is first of all obtained by virtue of the particular decision to grind the waste material M by means of loose grinding bodies 6, which, by their very nature, are very efficient in breaking up materials which are not very tenacious and less efficient in breaking up tenacious materials.

This decision may not however be enough in itself to achieve the desirable result inasmuch as, obviously, a tenacious material, if left inside the mill 4 for long enough, would also be broken up in the end.

It is therefore preferable to set the operating parameters of the mill 4 according to its length so that the first fraction I and the second fraction II remain in the grinding chamber 5 for long enough to successfully grind only the second fraction II.

To make even easier the selective grinding of the second fraction II only, the mill 4 is crossed by a gaseous flow, e.g., a flow of air extending from the inlet mouth 7 to the outlet mouth 9, for the extraction of the first fraction I and of the second fraction II when their bulk density is substantially equal to or lower than a pre-set bulk density.

Depending on the suction force of the gaseous flow, in fact, the material being ground which surfaces inside the grinding chamber 5 is sucked up and pushed towards the outlet mouth 9 of the mill 4.

The lighter materials, having a lower bulk density, therefore tend to be quickly extracted from the mill 4.

The heavier materials, on the other hand, tend to remain in the mill until, due to the effect of grinding, their bulk density has also dropped to such an extent as to allow their extraction by means of the air flow.

In this respect, it must be remembered that any hefty body which is ground down undergoes a physical change and switches from a compact configuration with high bulk density to a broken-up configuration with lower bulk density, with an increase in external surfaces, formed by breakage, and in total overall dimensions.

Usefully, in the waste material M introduced into the mill 4, the first fraction I has a bulk density substantially equal to or lower than the order of magnitude of the pre-set bulk density (e.g., below 0.6 g/cm³) and such as to allow the gaseous flow to extract the first fraction I in a fairly short times.

In the waste material M introduced into the mill 4, instead, the second fraction II has a bulk density substantially higher than the pre-set bulk density (e.g., above 1 g/cm³) and such as to allow the gaseous flow to extract the second fraction II only after that, because of grinding, the bulk density of the second fraction II has lowered (e.g., to 0.6 g/cm³).

By way of example, consider the first fraction I represented by a piece of plastic and the second fraction II represented by a piece of glass of the same dimensions.

The plastic and the glass have a different specific weight, lighter the plastic and heavier the glass, which, dimensions being equal, means a much different matter density between the two materials, lower for the plastic and higher for the glass.

The piece of plastic is intended to remain in the mill only a short time, inasmuch as quickly removed by the air flow and, by virtue of its ductility, is able to withstand the knocks produced by the loose grinding bodies 6, which appear substantially ineffective.

The piece of glass, on the other hand, tends to remain in the mill longer and undergoes the knocks produced by the loose grinding bodies 6 which, by virtue of its fragility, result in its being broken up into smaller pieces until these too can be conveyed towards the outlet by means of the air flow.

The control of the process parameters inside the mill 4 is entrusted to a programmable-logic supervising and control system (i.e., an electronic unit or the like) which allows:

- managing the energy applied during grinding by means of the control of the rotation speed of the mill 4 by means of an inverter;

controlling the load quantity of the mill 4 by means of load cells which measure the weight of the grinding chamber 5;

controlling the work temperatures by means of conditioning units, as regards heating or cooling, or the control and management of the gaseous flow by means of manual or automatic throttle valves and/or frequency inverters. For this purpose, the mill 4 can also be advantageously equipped with a compressed-gas introduction system which, on expanding, lowers the temperature in the grinding chamber 5.

The mill 4 also comprises an overflowing mouth 10 for the outflow of the loose grinding bodies 6 and of any third fraction Ilia, Illb introduced into the mill 4. The load of the mill 4, comprising the waste material M to be treated and the loose grinding bodies 6, is kept in excess with respect to the working capacity of the mill 4 so as to allow the exit of the third fraction Ilia, Illb through the overflowing mouth 10.

In the embodiment shown in figure 1, the overflowing mouth 10 and the outlet mouth 9 are coinciding, but alternative embodiments cannot be ruled out wherein these are distinct and separate, one for the exit of the first fraction I and of the second fraction II by effect of the air flow and one for the overflow of the loose grinding bodies 6 and of the third fraction Ilia, Illb.

The flow of air which crosses the mill 4 is produced by an aspirator 1 1 connected to the outlet mouth 9 by means of a suction duct 12a, 12b.

Along the suction duct 12a, 12b are arranged in succession a cyclone 13, a first separation device 14 and a second separation device 15.

The cyclone 13 is¹ connected to the outlet mouth 9/overflowing mouth 10 and is suitable for receiving both the first fraction I and the second fraction II, conveyed by the air flow, and the third fraction Ilia, Illb and the loose grinding bodies 6 which have overflowed out.

The purpose of the cyclone 13 is to treat the third fraction Ilia, Illb and the loose grinding bodies 6, separating them from the air flow and collecting them up by gravity on a recirculation line 16 which again sends them to the collection and feed line 2, allowing in particular the collection of the loose grinding bodies 6 which have overflowed and their reintroduction into the mill 4.

The air flow coming out of the cyclone 13 reaches the first separation device 14, which allows splitting up by particle size the first fraction I, not ground and rough, from the second fraction II, ground and fine.

The air flow, from which the first fraction I has been removed, continues along the suction duct 12a, 12b as far as the second separation device 15 which, in turn, allows trapping the second fraction II, ground and fine, by particle size, and conveying the treated air to a stack 17.

The first separation device 14 and the second separation device 15 are selected from the list comprising: a grid separator, a centrifugal separator, a ballistic separator, a mesh screen, a filtration system.

Clearly, the type of separation devices 14, 15 used will change according to the particle size of the material to be trapped; the first separation device 14, e.g., which is intended to trap the first rough fraction I, can usefully be a grid separator, while the second separation device 15, which is intended to trap the second fine fraction II, is preferably a filtration system.

Once the first fraction I has been obtained, this can be introduced into a grinding machine, not shown in the illustrations, for the purpose of reducing the particle size to tiny fragments and ensure easier subsequent use in the form of fuel derived from wastes.

The first fraction I, with high combustion heat, can then be sent to a recovery process in place of fossil fuels in cement factories, power stations, etc.

The second fraction II, on the other hand, is intended for reuse as stabilised organic fraction, as compost, or as part of a new manufactured product P.

The treatment of the second fraction II for obtaining the manufactured product P is shown in figure 2.

By way of example, the manufactured product P can consist of:

gravel, or other rough-grain semi-finished product, which can be used as a filler for the fabrication of other manufactured products, or for storage; any ceramic manufactured product for roofing, covering or furnishing buildings, both for interiors and outdoors, such as ceramic and roof tiles. - any manufactured product for building, such as bricks or the like.

To obtain the manufactured product P, the second fraction II is collected in a first storage bin 19, while in an adjacent second storage bin 20 any raw materials 21 are collected needed to obtain the manufactured product P.

The raw materials 21 are selected according to the type of manufactured product

P to be obtained.

More in general, the raw materials 21 are of the type chosen from the list comprising: clayey type, feldspathic type, quartziferous type, siliceous type, carbonatic type.

, The first storage bin 19 is combined with a first extracting and batching device 22, while the second storage bin 20 is combined with a second extracting and batching device 23.

The second fraction II and the raw materials 21 collected in the storage bins 19 and 20 are extracted and batched in proportion by means of the extracting and batching devices 22, 23 and sent to a mixer device 24.

Inside the mixer device 24, the second fraction II and the raw materials 21 are mixed for a time required to obtain a mix suitable for withstanding the subsequent treatments.

The mix composed of the second fraction II and the raw materials 21 is transferred to a homogenizing device 25, in which water is added to the second fraction II to provide the mix with humidity and fluidity suitable for the subsequent forming stage.

The mix then passes onto a conveyor device 26 which conveys it to a preloading bin 27.

The preloading bin 27 is suitable for feeding a forming machine 28 which proceeds to shape the manufactured product P.

In the embodiment shown in figure 2 the forming machine 28 is a press which models the manufactured product P by pressing; alternative embodiments cannot however be ruled out whereby forming is done by compacting, granulation, extrusion or pressure extrusion.

Depending on the intended use, the obtained manufactured product P has a shape chosen from the list comprising: granulate, tile, sheet, brick, mosaic tessera, roof tile, bent tile, jar.

The manufactured product P is then sent to a drying device 29 by means of a first conveyor line 30, e.g., of the roller type. By means of a second conveyor line 31, this too e.g. of the roller type, the dried manufactured product P is conveyed to a sintering kiln 32, which is of the type chosen from the list comprising: a rotary kiln, a roller kiln, a tunnel kiln, a muffle kiln.

The sintered manufactured product P can then, if required, be sent to a decoration line or to a packaging line.

With reference to the plant 1 shown in the illustrations, the process according to the present invention comprises the following phases:

supplying the waste material M, with a substantially heterogeneous composition and containing the first fraction I, the second fraction II and the third fraction Ilia, Illb, with substantially rough particle size. In plant 1 of figure 1 such phase occurs by collecting the waste material M on the collection and feed line 2;

picking up the third fraction Ilia, Illb from the waste material M. In plant 1 of figure 1 such phase occurs along the separation line 3;

grinding the waste material M by means of a grinding phase with loose grinding bodies 6 substantially ineffective on the first fraction I and substantially effective on the second fraction II, the particle size of the second fraction II at the end of the grinding phase being substantially fine. Such phase is usefully achieved inside the mill 4 with loose grinding bodies 6 which has the overflowing mouth 10 for the exit of the loose grinding bodies 6 and of the third fraction Ilia, Illb. The grinding phase is performed with a special care to the control of process parameters of the mill 4, to manage the rotation speed thereof, the loading quantity and the running temperatures as previously described and explained. If necessary, this phase can also comprise the introduction of a compressed gas into the mill 4 which, on expanding, lowers the temperature in the grinding chamber 5;

extracting the first fraction I and the second fraction II from the mill 4 by means of the gaseous flow that crosses the mill 4 and is suitable for extracting the first fraction I and the second fraction II when their bulk density is substantially equal to or lower than the pre-set bulk density; collecting the loose grinding bodies 6 which have overflowed during the grinding phase and reintroducing them into the mill 4;

separating the first fraction I substantially rough from the second fraction II substantially fine. This phase usefully occurs by means of a separation by particle size in the first separation device 14 and in the second separation device 15; _}

triturating the substantially rough first fraction I separated from the substantially fine second fraction II;

adding the raw materials 21 to the second fraction II substantially fine, and mixing them together. In plant 1 of figure 2, such phase occurs in the mixer device 24;

adding water to the second fraction II. In plant 1 of figure 2, such phase occurs in the homogenizing device 25;

shaping the second fraction II substantially fine to obtain the manufactured product P. In plant 1 of figure 2, such phase occurs in the forming machine 28;

drying the manufactured product P. In plant 1 of figure 2, such phase occurs in the drying device 29;

sintering the manufactured product P. In plant 1 of figure 2, such phase occurs in the sintering kiln 32.

Claims

1) Process for handling waste material, characterized by the fact that it comprises the steps of:

supplying at least a waste material (M) having a first fraction (I) with high toughness and at least a second fraction (II) with low toughness, both of substantially rough particle size;

grinding said waste material (M) by means of a grinding phase in a mill with loose grinding bodies (6) substantially ineffective on said first fraction (I) and substantially effective on said second fraction (II), the particle size of said second fraction (II) at the end of said grinding being substantially fine;

extracting said first fraction (I) and said second fraction (II) from said mill (4) by means of a gaseous flow that crosses said mill (4) and is suitable for extracting said first fraction (I) and said second fraction (II) when their bulk density is substantially equal to or lower than a pre-set bulk density; separating said first fraction (I) substantially rough from said second fraction (II) substantially fine.

2) Process according to the claim 1, characterised by the fact that said mill (4) is a mill with horizontal rotation axis.

3) Process according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised by the fact that in said waste material (M) said first fraction (I) has a bulk density substantially equal to or lower than the order of magnitude of said pre-set bulk density and such as to allow said gaseous flow to extract said first fraction (I) in substantially short times.

4) Process according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised by the fact that in said waste material (M) said second fraction (II) has a bulk density substantially higher than said pre-set bulk density and such as to allow said gaseous flow to extract said second fraction (II) only after that, because of said grinding, the bulk density of said second fraction (II) has lowered.

5) Process according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised by the fact that said waste material (M) comprises a third fraction (Ilia, Illb) with high toughness and high bulk density. 6) Process according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised by the fact that said mill (4) comprises an overflowing mouth (10) for the outflow of at least one between said loose grinding bodies (6) and said third fraction (Ilia, Illb).

7) Process according to the claim 6, characterised by the fact that it comprises collecting said loose grinding bodies (6) which have overflowed and reintroducing them in said mill (4).

8) Process according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised by the fact that said separating is by particle size.

9) Process according to the claim 8, characterised by the fact that said separating by particle size occurs inside at least a device (14, 15) selected from the list comprising: a grid separator, a centrifugal separator, a ballistic separator, a mesh screen, a filtration system.

10) Process according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterised by the fact that it comprises triturating said substantially rough first fraction (I) separated from said substantially fine second fraction (II).

11) Process according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that it comprises the steps of:

shaping said second fraction (II) substantially fine to obtain at least a manufactured product (P);

sintering said manufactured product (P).

12) Process according to the claim 11, characterized by the fact that it comprises adding at least a raw material (21) to said second fraction (II) substantially fine before said shaping.

13) Process according to the claim 12, characterized by the fact that said raw material (21) is of the type chosen from the list: clayey type, feldspathic type, quartziferous type, siliceous type, carbonatic type.

14) Process according to one or more of the claims from 11 to 13, characterized by the fact that it comprises adding water to said second fraction (II) substantially fine before said shaping.

15) Process according to one or more of the claims from 11 to 14, characterized by the fact that said shaping comprises subjecting said second fraction (II) to a forming process chosen from the list comprising: compacting, pressing, granulation, extrusion, pressure extrusion.

16) Process according to one or more of the claims from 11 to 15, characterized by the fact that said manufactured product (P) has a shape chosen from the list comprising: granulate, tile, sheet, brick, mosaic tessera, roof tile, bent tile, jar.

17) Process according to one or more of the claims from 11 to 16, characterized by the fact that it comprises drying said manufactured product (P) before said sintering.

18) Process according to one or more of the claims from 11 to 17, characterized by the fact that said sintering takes place in a kiln (32) chosen from the list comprising: a rotary kiln, a roller kiln, a tunnel kiln, a muffle kiln.