EP4536459A1 - Process for the recovery and recycling of disposed energy and fluid meters, aimed at the regeneration of the granulate of the plastic parts contained - Google Patents

Abstract

Process for the disposal of discarded energy, gas and liquid meters and the regeneration of the materials contained therein in order to obtain suitable plastic products that comply with specific regulations required by end users. The process consists of two main phases, the first (Fig.1) consists in the treatment of the meters in order to separate the metal components from the plastic ones, the second (Fig.2) consists in the process of recycling and transforming the material into granulate plastic recovered. The present disclosure also refers to a plant suitable for carrying out the two phases of said process.

Description

PROCESS FOR THE RECOVERY AND RECYCLING OF DISPOSED ENERGY AND FLUID METERS, AIMED AT THE REGENERATION OF THE GRANULATE OF THE PLASTIC PARTS CONTAINED.

INTRODUCTION

The present invention refers to a method and I or process for the disposal of discarded energy, gas and liquid meters and the regeneration of the materials contained therein which can be subsequently used for the production of new manufactured articles. More specifically, the invention relates to a process for the extraction of plastic and metal materials, electronic boards contained in the aforementioned meters which precisely defines times, technical equipment, operating methods for the treatment of the meters to obtain a plastic granulate ready to be reused through the regeneration of plastic parts as well as metal parts.

The functions and purposes of the present invention, which are organized in a real protocol, are to establish a procedure that becomes a procedural and process standard for the collection of a type of waste (energy, gas and liquid meters) that currently, due to the splitting of the materials contained therein, it is not managed in an adequate and coherent way for the protection of the environment and the economy.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is designed to be used in the disposal of discarded energy, gas and liquid meters by extracting the materials contained therein, plastic, metal, copper, aluminum and iron and electronic boards.

STATE OF THE ART

The market for energy, gas and liquid meters today undergoes a very fast technological evolution, to the point that companies have to dispose of old meters with a very frequent rotation. About 70% of these devices are made up of plastic parts and about 30% of metal parts. Disused meters most of the time end up in landfills, because it is not possible to activate an effective collection and recycling process. The problem is so serious that it is urgently necessary to find a solution for the full recycling and reuse of the aforementioned meters. It is a known problem, but currently there is no economically viable standard process of collection and complete recycling of the aforementioned meters in the supply chain. Today's situation sees the presence of very few producers active in the collection of meters, moreover the companies specialized in waste collection are unlikely to allocate direct and specific activities to the treatment of this specific type of waste, with consequent serious damage to the environment and further waste of energy and materials in producing new items in virgin plastic instead of being made with recycled plastic. Furthermore, this process reduces the CO2 emissions emitted by a production process of virgin plastic deriving from petroleum by 5 to 7 times.

The present invention relates to a process for the recovery and recycling of the materials that make up the decommissioned energy and fluid meters, as described in Claim 1 .

DRAWINGS ILLUSTRATION

Figure 1 : Illustrates through a Block Diagram the scheme of the first phase of the recycling process, that is the separation of the metal components from the plastic ones;

Figure 2: Illustrates through a Block Diagram the scheme of the second phase of the recycling process, that is the treatment of the recovered plastic material and its transformation by extrusion into regenerated plastic material (granulate);

Figure 3: It illustrates the execution of the first phase of the procedure through the configuration of the sequence of processes corresponding to the steps of its layout in a dedicated plant;

Figure 4 : Illustrates the execution of the second phase of the procedure by configuring the sequence of processes corresponding to the steps of its layout in a dedicated plant.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following description and the related drawings, however, are to be considered purely illustrative and therefore not limitative of the present invention, which can be implemented according to other and different embodiments. The purpose of the present invention is to remedy the technical and environmental drawbacks described above and in particular to realize a procedure, organized in a real standard protocol, in order to facilitate and organize the collection of meters, using a sequence of processes for the recycling of the plastic parts contained in them and the reuse of the same to create new products such as, for information purposes only, new meters or electrical parts, creating a circular economy.

Advantageously, the present invention relates to a protocol, which precisely defines times, technical equipment and operating methods for each single phase of the process in question, in particular the collection and separation of the plastic and metal materials contained in the meters. Technologically advanced activities are also envisaged in the planning and management of meter collection, in order to create a link between producer and user aimed at protecting the environment by obtaining a lower use of consumption and production of virgin raw materials.

Specifically, the process begins with the collection of disused meters 101 , which are placed on container platforms. These platforms are loaded onto vehicles and transported to the recycling plant.

Once the container platforms have arrived and unloaded, the counters 101 are introduced into the mill 102 in which, by means of blades, they will be reduced to flakes, giving rise to a ground product.

The ground obtained is subjected to further separation and more precisely, introduced into the metal and non-metal separator device 105 which has the function of separating the metals from the plastic materials contained therein. The plastic materials obtained from this first separation process will be fed into another machine called the polymer and color separator 106 which has the function of dividing the polymers by type and color.

From this process different types of polymers are obtained and separated in specific polycarbonate, polyamide, polypropylene, ABS, and other minor ones also classified according to their color.

With the materials obtained, we proceed to another sieving by means of a vibrating sieve 103 which has the function of eliminating the fine dust contained in them, the material obtained is then passed on a hopper with permanent magnets at 14’000 Gauss in order to eliminate metal residues. The flakes obtained are then transported 111 to the bagging 107 consisting of a silos with at least two metal detectors 104 in cascade with a quartz glass tube having the function of eliminating any impurities present in the plastic materials obtained, (Fig.1 ).

The plastic flakes are placed in the mixer 201 in which they are dosed together with mineral and chemical additives which, with specific formulations, also forming part of the present invention, allow to create a compound suitable for obtaining a granulate 209 which complies with standards such as ASTM, ISO , UL. These regulations are required by the end users on the basis of the products to be manufactured and according to the technical applications and their destination dictated by said end user.

The mixture obtained with the flakes and additives, which make up and give rise to the formulation product, is fed into the screw extruder 203 in which the melting process takes place at temperatures ranging from 250°C to 280°C, from which exit by a production chain provided with a variable number of holes, possibly optionally these with variable or adjustable diameter, located on the extruder head, the “spaghetti”, which pass through a first cooling tank 204 with water at a temperature of 33°C and then they continue by entering a second cooling tank 205 with water at a temperature of 23°C.

At the exit of this last tank, the “spaghetti” 202, now solidified, are cut by the cutter 207 into small granules 209’ of variable length.

The granule 209’ obtained is carried on a vibrating sieve 208 with permanent magnet recovery hopper 210 to remove any impurities and is pumped through a pressurized tube 211 to the storage silos 206, in which it is repeated another process of elimination of any metal impurities by using at least two metal detectors 212 in cascade with a quartz glass tube.

At the end of the process, the regenerated plastic granulate 209 has been thus obtained, ready to be reused, (Fig.2).

Through the composition with appropriate formulations, the different plastic materials obtained are again suitable for use for molding or extrusion and also comply with the specific ASTM, ISO, UL standards required by end users. With respect to the formulations for obtaining the compound or mixture, by way of example, we describe below four types of formulations aimed at four main polymers subject to recycling with the method of the present invention.

Standard formulations for polycarbonate, polyamide, ABS, polypropylene. i) FORMULATION FOR PC RECYCLED POLYCARBONATE

DESCRIPTION

Selected PC flakes from ground counters 95%

Glass fiber 3%

Chemical additives (flame retardant, primary stabilizer, secondary stabilizer, lubricant and release agent) 2%

100% ii) FORMULATION FOR RECYCLED POLYAMIDE PA

DESCRIPTION

Selected flakes of PA deriving from ground meters 75%

Glass fiber 20%

Chemical additives (flame retardant, primary stabilizer, secondary, lubricant and release agent) 5%

100% iii) FORMULATION FOR RECYCLED ABS

DESCRIPTION

Selected flakes of ABS deriving from ground counters 97%

Chemical additives (primary, secondary stabilizer, lubricant and release agent) 3%

100% iv) FORMULATION FOR RECYCLED PP POLYPROPYLENE

DESCRIPTION

Selected flakes of PA deriving from ground meters 80%

Mineral charge 18%

Chemical additives (primary, secondary stabilizer, lubricant and release agent) 2%

100%

The formulations can be variable according to the physical, thermal and mechanical properties and flame resistance required by the end users according to the products to be manufactured.

The present invention also comprises a plant for carrying out the steps of the process of the invention thus arranged and configured, comprising the following means:

- a shredder 102, the disused articles (counters) 101 are fed into the blade mill 102 in which, by means of said blades, they are reduced to flakes giving rise to a ground product;

- a metal non-metal materials separator 105, contained in the ground obtained;

- a polymer and color separator 106 contained in the non-metallic separate;

- a vibrating screen 103 with permanent magnets at 14000 Gauss, for the elimination of ferrous metallic materials;

- at least two metal detectors 104 in cascade with a quartz glass tube; for the elimination of non-ferrous materials, in particular such as copper, aluminum and minors;

- a conveyor 111 for the plastic flakes in

- a bagging silo 107 equipped with at least two metal detectors 104 arranged in cascade with a quartz glass tube, (Fig.3); - a mixer 201 in which the flakes are dosed together with the mineral and chemical additives of appropriate formulation, for their subsequent processing in an extruder;

- an extruder 203 equipped with adjustable speed screws, in which the melting process takes place at a temperature between 250°C and 280°C, and from whose head by means of a product chain provided with a variable number of holes, in particular also of variable or adjustable diameter, the regenerated plastic “spaghetti” 202 come out,

- several cooling tanks, a first cooling tank 204 with water at a temperature of 33°C, a second cooling tank 205 with water at a temperature of 23°C ;

- a cutter 207 for cutting the said “spaghetti” 202 from which granules 209' of variable length are obtained, in order to obtain a granulate 209' which, with specific formulations, complies with standard technical regulations required by end users and with regulations and specifications of bodies such as ASTM, ISO and UL;

- a second vibrating screen 208 joined to a permanent magnet hopper 210 to remove any residual impurities left, connected to a pressure pipe 211 to pump the granulate 209' into the storage silos 206, in which another final elimination process of any last metal impurities is repeated by using at least two metal detectors 212 in cascade with a quartz glass tube;

- for obtaining the plastic granulate 209 reusable in accordance with the law, (Fig.4).

Thus, a final granulate 209 of finished plastic material regenerated in accordance with the law is obtained, which is particularly used in the manufacture of articles in recycled plastic in accordance with the regulations, with a significant reduction in the expenditure of energy and raw materials, becoming part of a sustainable circular production economy.

By way of example only, for the construction of new meters, recycled polycarbonate can be used, which meets the specific standards of the meter itself.

Another example of use is for recycled polyamides which can be reused for the production of electrical switches.

Another example for the use of recycled ABS that can be used to produce components in the electrical field. Another example for using recycled polypropylene which can be used in the electrical field and various other applications.

These exemple uses illustrated above, as well as all the other applications of the invention object of the present invention, are part of a circular economy project.

The invention thus conceived and illustrated is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the inventive concept of the attached claims.

Finally, the components used, as long as they are compatible with the specific use, as well as the dimensions, may at any time be modified according to the needs of the end users without thereby affecting the novelty of the present invention with respect to the state of the art.

Where the features and techniques mentioned in any claim are followed by reference marks such reference marks have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and, consequently, such reference marks have no limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.

Claims

1.) Process for sustainable disposal, through the recovery and recycling of the materials contained in the disused energy, electricity, gas, liquid meters, through the separation of the materials and components contained therein and subsequent transformation of the recovered plastic parts into plastic products suitable and compliant with specific regulations, characterized by including the following phases: a) grinding of disused energy, electric, gas, liquid and water meters to reduce them to flakes, giving rise to a grind; b) separation of plastic materials, metallic materials and magnetic cards contained in the counters, meters, present in the ground obtained, to divide the plastic materials from the metals contained therein; c) subsequent processing of the plastic materials present in the ground, separated from the metallic materials and extracted into flakes, by means of means that divide the plastic materials by type of polymers and colours; d) a first elimination of the impurities still present in the plastic flakes made up of the metal materials produced by the grinding, by sieving by means of a vibrating sieve equipped with permanent magnets; e) a further elimination of the residual metal impurities in the plastic flakes, by means of at least two metal detectors in cascade with a quartz glass tube, having the function of eliminating any residual impurities left in the flakes of the plastic materials obtained, divided by type and color; f) bagging of said flakes of plastic materials, freed from any foreign material, in silos equipped with at least two metal detectors in cascade with quartz glass tube; g) obtaining, as a result of the aforementioned treatments, flakes of different types of polymers that are contained in said meters, such as polycarbonate, polyamides, ABS, polypropylene and minors, which are subsequently transported separately in collection and bagging silos, these equipped in turn of at least two metal detectors; h) mixing of the selected plastic flakes, obtained through the aforementioned processes, with the addition of additives prepared according to specific recipes and formulations, in order to obtain a compound aimed at the production of certain qualities of plastic materials, depending on the technical applications of use of the end user and of the products to be manufactured, which correspond in terms of characteristics and performance to the standards required by end users, according to regulations and specifications that comply with the standards of bodies such as ASTM, ISO and UL ; i) introduction of the compound, obtained from the mixture formed with said flakes and with the addition of said mineral and chemical additives, for its melting in an extruder for a subsequent processing of transformation into granulate of the recovered plastic material. j) melting of the compound, obtained from the mixture or blend formed with said flakes and with said additives, according to the different formulations, fed into the extruder, equipped with variable speed screws in counter rotation, in which said melting process takes place, the melt of regenerated plastic material created by coming out of a production chain die, with several holes located in the head of said extruder, to form some “spaghetti” ; k) cooling the spaghetti in suitable successive tanks containing water at predefined temperatures; l) cutting of the solidified spaghetti at the exit of the last tank by means of a cutter, to be chopped into granules of variable length depending on the final use; m) final purification of the granulate thus obtained, to remove any residual impurities, by means of a second screen and hopper with permanent magnets, to be said granulated then pumped by means of a pressurized tube into a storage silos, in which it is repeated again the process of total elimination of any metal impurities through the use of at least two metal detectors in cascade with a quartz glass tube; n) obtaining a plastic granulate regenerated according to the law, ready to be reused.

2.) Process according to claim 1 , in which the additives for obtaining the compound or mixture with the flakes correspond to one of the following formulations: i) FORMULATION FOR PC RECYCLED POLYCARBONATE

DESCRIPTION

Selected PC flakes from ground counters 95%

Glass fiber 3%

Chemical additives (flame retardant, primary stabilizer,

Secondary stabilizer, lubricant and release agent) 2%

100% ii) FORMULATION FOR RECYCLED POLYAMIDE PA

DESCRIPTION

Selected flakes of PA deriving from ground meters 75%

Glass fiber 20%

Chemical additives (flame retardant, primary stabilizer, secondary, lubricant and release agent) 5%

100% iii) FORMULATION FOR RECYCLED ABS

DESCRIPTION

Selected flakes of ABS deriving from ground counters 97%

Chemical additives (primary, secondary stabilizer, lubricant and release agent) 3%

100% iv) FORMULATION FOR RECYCLED PP POLYPROPYLENE

DESCRIPTION

Selected flakes of PA deriving from ground meters 80%

Mineral charge 18%

Chemical additives (primary, secondary stabilizer, lubricant and release agent) 2%

100%

3.) Process according to claim 1 , in which the elimination of impurities of metal materials, in particular of ferrous materials, is carried out through the use of vibrating screens equipped with permanent magnets at 14’000 Gauss.

4.) Process according to claim 1 , in which the elimination of impurities of metal materials, in particular of non-ferrous materials, is carried out through the use of multiple metal detectors in cascade with a quartz glass tube.

5.) Process according to claim 1 , in which the fusion in the extruder of the mixture obtained with the plastic flakes and the additives takes place at a temperature between 250°C and 280°C, from which said extruder, from the its production chain provided with a variable number of holes, of variable diameter, in the case adjustable, located on the head of said extruder, come out the regenerated plastic “spaghetti”.

6.) Process according to claim 1 , in which the “spaghetti”, after the extrusion from the production chain die, for their cooling and solidification pass through a first cooling tank with water at a temperature of 33°C and then continue to enter a second cooling tank with water at a temperature of 23°C.

7.) Polymers of different types obtained according to the process of claim 1 , such as in particular polycarbonate, polyamides, ABS, polypropylene and minors.

8.) Granulate of finished plastic material, regenerated according to the law, obtained with the process of claim 1 .

9.) Products in recycled plastic, made with plastic material according to claim 7 or 8, obtained in accordance to the process of claim 1 .

10.) Plant for the execution of the process according to claim 1 , arranged and structured for the implementation of its phases, characterized by comprising:

- a shredder (102), the disused meters (counters) (101 ) are fed into the blade mill (102) in which, by means of said blades, they are reduced to flakes giving rise to a ground product;

- a metal non-metal separator (105), contained in the ground obtained;

- a polymer and color separator (106) contained in the non-metallic separate;

- a vibrating screen (103) with permanent magnets at 14’000 Gauss;

- at least two metal detectors (104) in cascade with a quartz glass tube;

- a conveyor (111 ) of the plastic flakes in

- a bagging silo (107) equipped with at least two metal detectors (104) arranged in cascade with a quartz glass tube;

- a mixer (201 ) in which the flakes are dosed together with the mineral and chemical additives of appropriate formulation, for their subsequent processing in an extruder;

- an extruder (203) equipped with screws with adjustable speed, in which the melting process takes place and from whose head, by means of a production chain, located on the head of said extruder, provided with a variable number of holes, in the case, these of variable or adjustable diameter, the regenerated plastic “spaghetti” (202) come out; - cooling tanks, a first cooling tank (204) with water at a temperature of 33°C, a second cooling tank (205) with water at a temperature of 23°C;

- a cutter (207) for cutting the “spaghetti” (202) from which granules (209') of variable length are obtained, in order to obtain a granulate (209) which, with the specific formulations, complies with standard technical regulations required by end users and complies with the Regulations and Specifications of entities such as ASTM, ISO and UL;

- a second vibrating screen (208) joined to a hopper (210) with permanent magnets to remove any last remaining residual impurities,

- connected to a pressure hose (211 ) to pump the granulate (209')

- in the storage silos (206), in which another final elimination process of any metal impurities is repeated through the use of at least two metal detectors (212) in cascade with a quartz glass tube;

- for obtaining the plastic granulate 209 reusable according to law.

11 .) Use of plastic materials obtained according to the process of claim 1 , made suitable again for use by molding or extrusion and meeting the specific standards required by end users and bodies such as ASTM, ISO, UL.

12.) Use of the regenerated plastic material granulate, obtained according to the process of claim 1 , for the production of recycled plastic products according to the standards required by end users and by bodies such as ASTM ISO and UL.

13.) Use of the regenerated plastic material granulate, obtained according to the process of claim 1 , suitable for the production of new meters using recycled polycarbonate, for the production of electrical switches using recycled polyamides, and for the production of components in the electrical field and in other sectors using recycled ABS and recycled polypropylene.

14.) Use of the plant according to claim 10, for carrying out the recycling process of energy, electric, gas, liquid meters, according to claim 1 , for the recovery and recycling of the plastic materials contained therein, which, by adding mineral and chemical additives according to specific formulations, are regenerated and made suitable for their re-use for the production of products that meet the standards required by end users and by bodies such as ASTM, ISO and UL.

15.) Use of the plant referred to in claim 10, for the production of regenerated granulate according to the procedure of claim 1 , intended for the manufacture of recycled plastic products.