GB1406399A - Separation of non-metallic material from metallic scrap - Google Patents

Abstract

1406399 Pneumalnc separation LINDEMANN MASCHINENFABRIK GmbH 30 Nov 1973 [12 Dec 1972] 55594/73 Heading B2H An apparatus for separating relatively light non-metallic constituents from pieces of scrap metal obtained from the breaking up of vehicles or other machinery comprises a rotary drum 1 rotatable about is longitudinal axis which is substantially horizontal, a conveyor 6 for feeding the material to be separated into the drum at one of its ends, a number of strips 4 projecting inwards from the inside surface of the drum and extending at an angle to its axis so that, as the drum rotates, material is continuously picked up from the bottom of the drum by the strips and allowed to fall back again and so that the scrap metal portion of the material gradually moves towards an opening at the other end 13 of the drum, and suction means for drawing air through the drum in the opposite direction to the travel of the scrap metal to remove the non-metallic constituents. from the material, the suction means including a suction pipe 7 which has a cross-sectional area smaller than that of the drum and which opens directly into the drum above the conveyor 6, the cross-sectional area of the opening 16 of the suction pipe into the drum being not greater than that of the suction pipe itself. The air suction is generated by a blower 8 which is connected to the pipe 7 via a water separator 9, a pipe 10 and a cyclone separator 11 in which the non-metallic constituents are separated from the air and removed through a preset wheel lock 15. The clean air may be blown into the drum through a tube 18 of semi-circular cross-section which extends through the drum and is located in the half of the drum in which the lifting strips 4 move downwards. The tube is closed at its far end 20 and its flat wall 22 is provided with openings 23 which increase in number towards the closed end. The inwardly extending edges of the strips may be inclined in the forward direction of drum rotation with respect to the drum radii at the junction of the strips with the drum wall, each strip forming a different angle from that formed by an adjacent strip. In another embodiment, Figs 1 and 2 (not shown), the clean air is not blown back into the drum and the opening 16 of the pipe 7 is not eccentrically located in the drum.