JP2008264743A - Waste toner treatment method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a waste toner treatment method capable of being executed safely, easily and economically by forming waste toner into pellets (solid product) to solve the problems of production of waste toner dust and explosion caused by combustible dust and improve work environment. <P>SOLUTION: The waste toner and waste grease are weighed to make a specified mixing ratio, then are mixed by a mixer, and the resulting mixture is formed into pellets by a pelletizer machine. The toner may be a single color toner or a mixture of different color toners. The specified mixing ratio of the waste grease to the waste toner by weight is 0.25-0.55 to 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a waste toner processing method.

  As a processing method of powders such as waste toner, for example, powder dust containing noble metal is mixed with waste toner powder collected from an image processing device, and then compression molded and formed into pellets by frictional heat during compression. A method for treating powder dust containing a noble metal that is granulated and supplied as a raw material to a metal melting furnace such as a cupola as a raw material for recovering the metal and also used as a fuel is known (Patent Document 1).

Further, as another treatment method, a waste toner comprising a resin and hydrophobic carbon and hot water having a temperature equal to or higher than the softening temperature of the resin are stirred and mixed to agglomerate and solidify the waste toner. A method for producing an agglomerated solidified product is known, and a method for using an agglomerated solidified product of waste toner that uses the agglomerated solidified product as a fuel is also known (Patent Document 2).
JP 2000-70900 A JP 2001-134010 A

  When the powder dust and waste toner powder mixture is compressed with a screw using a screw compression granulator, friction heat is generated between the powder particles. The heated and melted binder contained in the waste toner powder is melted, and the powdered dust and waste toner powder are pelletized by the heated and melted binder, and pelletized granules are obtained by allowing to cool. The water in the granular product evaporates, becomes brittle, and tends to become a powder that easily scatters when broken.

  In addition, the method for producing the agglomerated solidified product of the waste toner can be obtained by softening the resin contained in the waste toner with hot water to obtain the agglomerated solidified product. The water in the water evaporates, becomes brittle, and tends to become a powder that is easily scattered when broken.

  The waste toner processing method of the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art. By making the waste toner into stable pellets (solid matter), there is a problem of waste toner dust generation, and combustibility. An object of the present invention is to provide a waste toner processing method that solves the problem of explosion caused by toxic dust, improves the working environment, is safe and easy to work with, and is economical.

For this purpose, the waste powder processing method of the present invention is characterized in that waste powder and waste oil are weighed so as to have a predetermined mixing ratio, mixed with a mixer, and then granulated into pellets with a granulator. To do. The waste toner processing method of the present invention is characterized in that waste toner and waste grease are weighed so as to have a predetermined mixing ratio, mixed with a mixer, and then granulated into pellets with a granulator.
Here, the mixing ratio is preferably a weight mixing ratio, and when the waste toner is a single color or mixed color waste toner, the predetermined mixing ratio with respect to the waste toner 1 is a waste grease of 0.25. It is preferable that the weight mixing ratio is ˜0.55. The “waste grease” includes unused grease in addition to used grease.

The processing method of the waste powder or waste toner of the present invention is the above-mentioned process, and since the waste oil or waste grease is added and the granulator is solidified by applying pressure, the finished pellet has a stable strength. Retained. Waste oil or waste grease does not evaporate, and does not scatter even if the pellet shape collapses and returns to powder.
In addition, since waste oil or waste grease is added at a predetermined mixing ratio obtained by experiment, waste toner does not fly during work. The added waste grease can increase the value of the solidified waste toner as a fuel.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. As shown in the flow diagram of FIG. 1, the present invention is an embodiment in which waste toner is used as a representative example of waste powder and waste grease is used as a representative example of waste oil.

  The waste grease contained in the drum can is introduced into a waste grease tank as a receiving tank. From the drum can to the waste grease tank, for example, while keeping the drum can warm, the drum can be sucked with a pump and put into the waste grease tank. Further, the waste grease may be pumped up from the drum can by a pump for pumping up the drum, and fed into the waste grease tank. As the pumping pump for drums, it is preferable to use a piles fluid pump 700 series (drum type) manufactured by Piles Japan Co., Ltd. suitable for discharging high-viscosity and ultra-high viscosity materials. In addition, it is preferable that the effective volume of a waste grease tank shall be more than the daily usage amount of waste grease.

  The carried waste toner is put into a waste toner tank as a receiving tank. Waste toner is usually encapsulated in a ton pack and carried in or by a tank truck. The effective volume of the waste toner tank is preferably equal to or greater than the daily usage amount of the waste toner. The waste toner tank is preferably provided with an air bleeding bag filter.

  The waste grease received in the waste grease tank is weighed by a metering supply device and supplied to a mixer (mixing device). The metering device comprises at least a pump, a load cell, and a metering hopper.

  The waste toner received in the waste toner tank is weighed by another metering supply device and supplied to the mixer (mixing device). Another metering device comprises at least a screw feeder (or rotary feeder), a load cell, and a metering hopper.

  When designing the waste toner processing facility, a mixing test was performed using an Eirich test mixer manufactured by Eirich. For mixing, it is preferable to add waste toner and then waste toner. By feeding into the mixer in this order, uniform mixing is possible in a short time. In the mixing step, first, stirring is performed at a high speed rotation, and after granulation is performed at a low speed rotation after confirming the formation of granules. The mixing time in the mixer depends on the amount of waste grease added, but about 1 minute each for the high speed rotation and the low speed rotation is sufficient.

  The mixer (mixing device) is preferably a pan mixer, a biaxial mixer, or a monoaxial ribbon mixer that rotates the raw material together with the container (bread). The Eirich bread mixer is a reverse-flow high-speed mixer that rotates the raw material together with the container (bread), while an agitator that rotates in the reverse direction at an eccentric position generates a high shearing force on the raw material. The raw material which is going to stay on the bread wall and the bottom is continuously peeled off by the scraper and sent to the agitator section to achieve precise and uniform mixing.

  The mixture of waste toner and waste grease mixed by the mixer is granulated into pellets by a granulator. As a granulator, it is preferable to use a press pelleter (trade name) manufactured by Chiyoda Machinery Co., Ltd.

  The press and pelleter is granulated by two to four conical special rollers rotating on the die while rotating, stirring the raw material, and forcibly pushing it into the die. A hemispherical hole is drilled so that the raw material can be grasped firmly, and since the roller is conical, there is no slip with the die and the raw material is extruded at a uniform pressure and cut into a fixed length by a cutter (solid) ).

  The pellets discharged from the granulator are put into a discharged product hopper, packed in a ton pack or the like via a roller conveyor or the like, and shipped to a customer.

  Waste toner metering device and waste grease metering device measure and supply the waste toner and waste grease respectively to the mixer so that a predetermined weight mixing ratio is obtained. Therefore, various tests were conducted.

  FIG. 2 shows a sample list used for the solidification test. In the vertical item, “Red”, “Blue”, “Yellow”, “Black” and “Mixed ratio of red, blue, yellow, and black” in the order from top to bottom are the red single color waste toner and blue single color, respectively. It means waste toner, yellow single color waste toner, and waste toner in which red, blue, yellow, and black are mixed at an equivalent ratio.

  “0.13”, “0.2”, “0.3”, “0.4”, and “0.5” in the horizontal item from the left indicate that the amount of waste grease added to the waste toner 1 , And 0.13, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5, respectively.

  FIG. 3 is a table showing solidification test results at the weight mixing ratio of FIG. The vertical items are “Grease addition amount”, “Die”, “Rotational speed”, “Current value (A)”, “Molding amount (kg)”, “Pellet temperature (° C.)”, “Dust generation” Indicates the ratio of the waste grease to the waste toner 1 (weight mixing ratio) and the die diameter of the press pelleter (“0416” is the die size) when the pellets are granulated and solidified by the press pelleter (granulator). A die with a diameter of 4 mm), the rotation speed of the press / petter, the current value of the press / petter, the molding amount of the press / petter, the molding time of the press / petter, the temperature of the pellet discharged from the press / petter, the press -Means the presence or absence of dust during the work of the pelleter.

  “Red 0.2” and “4 types mixed 0.3” in the horizontal items are respectively set to 0.2 for the red single color waste toner 1 marked with ○ in the sample list of FIG. It means that the sample is a sample having a weight mixture ratio of 0.3 with respect to the waste toner 1 in which red, blue, yellow, and black are mixed at an equivalent ratio.

  From the sample list in FIG. 2 and the solidification test result in FIG. 3, the weight mixing ratio of waste grease 0.5 to waste toner 1 is mixed with waste toner and discharged from the press pelleter. Dust is not generated from the pellets (solid matter), and can be solidified in good condition.

  If waste toner colors (blue, red, yellow, and black) are mixed, dust is not generated at a weight mixing ratio of waste grease 0.3 to waste toner 1. This is because the waste toner mixed with each color has a high ratio of black toner and blue toner mixed. Therefore, if the waste toner is mixed with each color, generation of dust can be prevented at the above ratio.

  Therefore, it is found that the optimum weight mixing ratio is waste grease 0.25 to 0.55 with respect to the waste toner (single color or mixed color waste toner) 1 in consideration of errors during measurement and the like. As described in the column of “Description of each color” in the sample list of FIG. 2, the yellow single color toner is very easy to fly, and even if the amount of grease added is the same ratio, it will be shaken in the stirring process. It has been found difficult to stir because it continues to dance until it becomes clayey.

  In addition, red, blue, and black single color toners are not affected by adding 0.5 grease to the waste toner 1. The red toner is relatively smoother than the blue toner. It should be noted that if the amount of waste grease added is too low, there is a risk of dust explosion because the powder will fly. The lower limit was found to be 0.25 for waste toner 1 as described above.

  FIG. 4 is a table showing the results of the toner solidification long-time molding test. About the pellet (solid substance) discharged | emitted from a press pelleter, the pellet temperature, the pellet specific gravity, and the current value of the press pelleter were measured every 10 minutes. The room temperature at which the press pelleter is installed is 14 ° C., the bulk specific gravity of the mixture of waste toner and waste grease, which are raw materials, is 0.38, and the weight mixing ratio of waste toner and waste grease is 1: 0.3. Yes, a die with a die diameter of 4 mm (die number: 0416) was used.

  As can be seen from this table, the current value was almost stable at 10 A over one hour, the pellet temperature was stable, and pellets with a constant bulk specific gravity could be obtained. For this reason, even if the press pelleter is operated for a long time, there is no problem as long as the weight mixing ratio of the waste toner and the waste grease is 1: 0.3. In this test, 84 kg of raw material (a mixture obtained by mixing waste toner and waste grease with a 1: 0.3 mixer by weight) was processed in one hour. This is a calculation that can process 588 kg / day assuming that the press pelleter can be operated for 7 hours a day.

  Note that the pellets (solid matter) discharged from the press pelleter (die diameter 4 mm) in the long-time molding test are cylindrical pellets having a diameter of about 4 mm and a height of about 10 mm. In order to confirm the value as a fuel for pellets, the calorific value was analyzed by a calorimeter, and it was about 7000 cal / g. This is the best alternative for coal.

It is a flowchart of the processing method of the waste toner which concerns on the Example of this invention. It is a sample list used for a solidification test. It is a table | surface which shows the solidification test result in the weight mixing ratio of FIG. It is a table | surface which shows the result of a toner solidification long time molding test.

Claims (5)

  A method for treating waste powder, characterized in that waste powder and waste oil are weighed so as to have a predetermined mixing ratio, mixed with a mixer, and then granulated into pellets with a granulator.   A waste toner processing method, wherein waste toner and waste grease are weighed so as to have a predetermined mixing ratio, mixed by a mixer, and then granulated into pellets by a granulator.   The method for treating waste powder according to claim 1, wherein the mixing ratio is a weight mixing ratio.   The waste toner processing method according to claim 2, wherein the mixing ratio is a weight mixing ratio.   The waste toner processing according to claim 2, wherein the waste toner is a waste toner of a single color or a mixture of colors, and the predetermined mixing ratio is a weight mixing ratio of waste grease 0.25 to 0.55 with respect to the waste toner 1. Method.

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