JP3919360B2

JP3919360B2 - Processing method of hydrophobic powder

Info

Publication number: JP3919360B2
Application number: JP31103698A
Authority: JP
Inventors: 誠一加藤
Original assignee: Canon Inc
Current assignee: Canon Inc
Priority date: 1998-10-30
Filing date: 1998-10-30
Publication date: 2007-05-23
Anticipated expiration: 2018-10-30
Also published as: JP2000136263A

Description

【０００１】
【発明の属する技術分野】
本発明は、樹脂成分を少なくとも含有する疎水性粉体の処理方法に関し、特に、疎水性粉体（樹脂組成物微粉末）の廃棄物の燃焼処理を実施する場合に、その粉体特性を著しく改良して、安全に処理でき、しかも環境に優しく、更には、燃料資源として再利用可能になる疎水性粉体の処理方法に関する。
【０００２】
【従来の技術】
近年、樹脂成分を含有する廃棄物の発生量は増大の一途をたどり、産業廃棄物としての処理をめぐって大きな社会問題になっている。具体的な処理方法としては、埋立て、或いは焼却処理が行われている。そして、埋立て処理の場合には、樹脂成分を含有する廃棄物をそのまま埋立てるか、或いは減容化してから埋立てる方法が採られている。一方、焼却処理の場合は、樹脂成分を含有する廃棄物だけを分別することが困難なため、その他の一般廃棄物と混合された状態で焼却処理をしている。
これに対して特に、樹脂成分を含有する粉体状の廃棄物については、上記焼却処理を実施しようとすると、粉体の持つ発塵性や流動性のために、荷下ろしや焼却施設への投入時に、粉塵が大気中に舞い上がって飛散し（以下、これの状態を発塵と呼ぶ）作業環境に悪影響を与え、更には、環境条件等によっては粉塵爆発の危険性がある等の大きな問題を生じる場合がある。特に、焼却施設への投入時の粉塵爆発は非常に危険であり、これを避けるために、予め、樹脂成分を含む粉体状の廃棄物を、廃オイルに混ぜたり、含水スラッジに混ぜたりする対策を行っている。しかし、この場合にも、混合作業のときに発塵が激しく、著しく作業環境を悪化させている。
【０００３】
【発明が解決しようとする課題】
しかしながら、上記方法でも、特に、多量の有機物を含む微粉体を取り扱う場合には、粉体同士の摩擦による着火、爆発の危険性が常につきまとう。特に、樹脂成分を含有する粉体は、例えば、乾式トナーや粉体塗料等、特殊な機能を持ったものが多く、最近の技術的傾向として、その粒子径は年々小さくなってきており、重量平均粒子径が数１０μｍ〜数μｍ、中には１μｍ以下のものまである。このような微粉体では当然最小着火エネルギーも低くなるので、ますます粉塵爆発の危険性が高まることになる。又、廃オイルに引火性液体が混入していることも避けられず、そのような場合には、粉体同士の摩擦による粉体の着火と同時に、オイルへの引火も起こり、非常に危険な状態に陥る。
更に、例え、以上のような、着火及び爆発という最悪の事態を回避することができたとしても、樹脂成分を含む疎水性微粉体の廃棄物を処理する場合には、発塵は避けられず、周辺環境に与える影響は非常に大きい。又、発塵に対する環境対策を実施するにしても、発塵する範囲は広く、大きな設備とスペースが必要となり、経済的な問題も生じる。
【０００４】
従って、本発明の目的は、樹脂成分を少なくとも含有する疎水性粉体の取り扱いを容易にし、これらの疎水性粉体の廃棄物を燃焼処理する場合に、粉塵爆発は勿論のこと、発塵を抑制して、作業環境や周辺環境に悪影響を与えないような疎水性粉体の処理方法を提供することにある。更に、本発明の目的は、特に、樹脂分（有機物）を多量に含む疎水性粉体の廃棄物を燃料資源として再利用可能にできる疎水性粉体の処理方法を提供することにある。
【０００５】
【課題を解決するための手段】
上記目的は、以下の本発明によって達成される。即ち、本発明は、樹脂成分を少なくとも含有する疎水性粉体の処理方法において、該樹脂成分を少なくとも含有する重量平均径が５０μｍ以下の疎水性粉体と、水と、ハイドロフィルリポフィルバランス（ＨＬＢ値）が１０〜２０の非イオン性界面活性剤とを少なくとも混合して疎水性粉体を湿潤化処理し、含水率５〜４０重量％の湿潤化粉体組成物を得、該湿潤化粉体組成物を液状可燃物を有するスラリーと混合して燃焼させることを特徴とする疎水性粉体の処理方法である。
【０００６】
本発明者らは、樹脂成分を含有しているために表面が疎水化している粉体の廃棄物を燃焼処理するにあたっての最大の欠点であった発塵性を改良して、上記粉体を容易に湿潤化するべく鋭意検討した結果、上記疎水性粉体と、水と、特定の界面活性剤とを混合すれば、容易に疎水性粉体を湿潤化させることができ、粉塵爆発は勿論のこと、発塵を生じることなく燃焼処理することができるという優れた効果が得られることを見いだして本発明に至った。更に、上記疎水性粉体と、水と、特定の界面活性剤とを混合する場合に、特に少なくとも撹拌羽根を２種以上有する撹拌装置を用いて撹拌すれば、疎水性粉体を、より容易に且つ均一に湿潤化させることができ、優れた効果が得られることもわかった。
即ち、上記の特定の界面活性剤と水とによって容易に、且つ良好に湿潤化された樹脂を含む微粉体は、発塵や、粉塵爆発の危険性といった問題をもはや生じる恐れがないので、液状可燃物を有するスラリーと容易に混合できる結果、安全にしかも作業環境にやさしい状態での燃焼処理が行なえる。
【０００７】
【発明の実施の形態】
次に、本発明の好ましい実施の形態を挙げて、本発明をより詳細に説明する。
本発明の特徴は、特定の界面活性剤を用いることにより、樹脂成分を少なくとも含有する疎水性粉体の表面に、水を均一に吸着させたことにある。
本発明の疎水性粉体の処理方法で処理できる樹脂成分を少なくとも含有する疎水性粉体としては、例えば、多量の結着樹脂が含有されている乾式トナーや粉体塗料等の廃棄物が挙げられる。本発明の疎水性粉体の処理方法によれば、上記のような疎水性粉体として、平均粒子径が１００μｍ以下のものを処理した場合にも、効果が得られるが、特に、粉塵爆発や発塵を生じる恐れのある重量平均径が５０μｍ以下の疎水性粉体の廃棄物を処理した場合に大きな効果が得られる。即ち、かかる微粉体を、容易に且つ均一な状態で充分に湿潤化処理することができれば、該湿潤化処理物を、液状可燃物を有するスラリーと、粉塵爆発や発塵を生じることなく混合できるので、安全に且つ周辺環境を悪化させずに燃焼処理することが可能となる。
【０００８】
本発明で処理対象とする疎水性粉体中に含まれる樹脂成分としては、例えば、乾式トナーや粉体塗料の結着樹脂として広く使用されている、ポリエステル、ポリスチレン、ポリスチレンコポリマー、ポリエチレン、ポリプロピレン、エポキシ樹脂等の樹脂が挙げられる。又、本発明による処理の対象とするのは、これらの樹脂の含有率が、疎水性粉体全量に対して、好ましくは３０重量％以上である疎水性粉体の廃棄物であることが好ましい。即ち、樹脂成分の含有率が３０重量％未満の場合には、粉塵爆発の危険性は低下し、比重も高くなり、発塵も少なくなるので、本発明の処理方法を用いる必要がない。
【０００９】
本発明の疎水性粉体の処理方法において、疎水性粉体の湿潤処理に用いる非イオン性界面活性剤は、その親水性を表す数値であるハイドロフィルリポフィルバランス（Ｈｙｄｒｏｐｈｉｌｅ−Ｌｉｐｏｐｈｉｌｅ−Ｂａｌａｎｃｅ、以下、ＨＬＢ値と略す）が１０〜２０、好ましくは１２〜１８の範囲のものがよい。ＨＬＢが１０未満の場合には、水溶性が悪くなるため、界面活性剤を多量に用いる必要があり、効率が悪い。非イオン性界面活性剤の下記式から算出されるＨＬＢの値は、理論的に０〜２０であることから、上限値の２０は、界面活性剤全体が実質的に親水基部分によって構成されていることになり、よって親水性に最も優れていることを意味する。
非イオン性界面活性剤のＨＬＢは、下記式で定義される。
【００１０】
【数１】

【００１１】
本発明では、上記の非イオン性界面活性剤を、水と共に疎水性粉体の湿潤化工程で使用するが、水及び非イオン性界面活性剤の使用量としては、疎水性粉体１００重量部に対して、水が５〜３０重量部、及び非イオン性界面活性剤が０．１〜１．０重量部であるような割合で使用することが好ましい。更に、疎水性粉体の湿潤化を、容易に且つ均一に行なうためには、非イオン性界面活性剤と水とを予め混合して作製した混合水溶液を疎水性粉体と混合させることが好ましい。
具体的な方法としては、予め、水１００重量部に、上記した非イオン性界面活性剤を０．３〜１７重量部、好ましくは２〜５重量部の割合で充分に溶解させて非イオン性界面活性剤水溶液を調製しておき、その後、該水溶液を、疎水性粉体１００重量部に対して、好ましくは５〜３０重量部、より好ましくは１０〜２０重量部の割合となるように添加混合させることが好ましい。
【００１２】
本発明の疎水性粉体の処理方法において使用する非イオン性界面活性剤は、ＨＬＢが１０〜２０の範囲のものであればいずれのものでもよいが、本発明においては、特に、下記式で示される化合物が主体で、その他、その化合物の異性体の混合物である非イオン性界面活性剤が、本発明においては特に好適である。
【００１３】
【化２】

【００１４】
本発明の疎水性粉体の処理方法においては、上記したような非イオン性界面活性剤と、水とを用いて、樹脂成分を少なくとも含有する疎水性粉体を湿潤化処理して得られる湿潤化粉体組成物の含水率が、５〜４０重量％、好ましくは６〜３５重量％の範囲のとなるように、混合条件を調整する。即ち、湿潤化粉体組成物の含水率が５重量％未満の場合には、疎水性粉体の湿潤の程度が充分でなく、ある程度の発塵は避けられない。又、湿潤化粉体組成物の含水率が４０重量％を超える場合には、その後に燃焼処理させる際にスラリーと混合した場合に、混合物の熱容量が低くなり過ぎ、焼却温度が低下してしまい、良好な燃焼処理を行なうことが困難となる。更に、湿潤化処理を行う場所と焼却場所が離れている場合には、輸送コストがかさんでしまう。
【００１５】
本発明において、樹脂成分を少なくとも含有する疎水性粉体と、水と、非イオン性界面活性剤とを分散混合する場合には、少なくとも撹拌羽根を２種以上有している撹拌装置を使用することが好ましい。更には、夫々の羽根の回転方向及び／又は回転速度が相互に異なって設定できる装置を用いることが好ましい。本発明に使用できる特に好ましい撹拌装置としては、図１に、Ｃで示したような、例えば、低速回転する下羽根と、それと逆方向に高速回転する上羽根を持った二軸型の撹拌装置が挙げられる。このような装置構成にすることにより、重量平均径が５０μｍ以下といった非常に小さな疎水性粉体の表面上に必要最小限の水分を均一に付加することができる。
【００１６】
【実施例】
以下に、実施例及び比較例を挙げて、本発明をより具体的に説明するが、これらの実施例は本発明をなんら限定するものではない。尚、以下の配合における部数は、すべて重量部である。
【００１７】
＜実施例１＞
以下、本発明の疎水性粉体の処理方法の概念的なフローを示す図１に基いて詳細に説明する。
図１において、Ｃは、夫々独立に回転可能な２種以上の撹拌羽根を有する撹拌装置であり、粉体貯蔵槽Ｂから疎水性粉体Ａが適宜な量投入されてくるように構成されている。又、図中のＦは、撹拌機を備えた混合槽であり、該混合槽Ｆによって、水Ｄと界面活性剤Ｅとを予め均一に混合させておき、該混合物の適当量を撹拌装置に投入できるように構成されている。
本実施例では、撹拌装置Ｃとして、図１に示したような構成の上羽根と下羽根の２種類の羽根を有するＴＭミキサー（三井鉱山（株）製、容量５００リットル）を用いた。又、撹拌機を備えた混合槽Ｆを用いて、水を９８部と、ＨＬＢ１６．７のポリオキシエチレンソルビタンモノラウレートを主体とする非イオン性界面活性剤である「イオネットＴ−２０Ｃ」（三洋化成工業（株）製）２部を混合して、均一な界面活性剤水溶液を予め調製しておいた。
【００１８】
先ず、粉体貯蔵槽Ｂから疎水性粉体Ａとして、重量平均粒子径７．６μｍの乾式トナー（キヤノン製）の廃トナー１００ｋｇを撹拌装置Ｃに投入して、撹拌を開始した。この際、撹拌装置Ｃの上羽根を９２７ｒｐｍで回転させる一方、下羽根は上羽根の回転方向とは逆方向に４５ｒｐｍでゆっくりと回転させた。そこへ、予め調製しておいた界面活性剤水溶液２０ｋｇを１分間かけて加えた後、更に同条件で２分間撹拌して湿潤化処理を行なった。この結果、含水率が１６．３％の湿潤化トナー組成物Ｇを得た。
【００１９】
次に、予め、スラリー貯蔵槽Ｉから、廃オイルＨを含有するスラリー１００ｋｇを貯蔵槽Ｊに投入しておき、そこへ上記で得た湿潤化トナーＧを投入した。貯蔵槽Ｊ内へと投入する際に、湿潤化トナーＧを全く発塵させることなく投入することができた。上記のようにして貯蔵槽Ｊ内に投入させた湿潤化トナーＧと廃オイルＨとは、混合してもよいし、或いは混合させなくてもよいが、本実施例では撹拌混合操作を行わなかった。そして、得られた上記混合物を、貯蔵槽Ｊから、適宜、ロータリーキルンＫに投入して焼却処理を行った。この際、貯蔵槽Ｊ中で敢えて撹拌混合操作を行わなかったにもかかわらず、湿潤化トナーとスラリーとは分離することなく、安定してロータリーキルンＫに送られ、安全に焼却処理を行うことができた。
【００２０】
＜実施例２＞
樹脂成分を少なくとも含有する疎水性粉体Ａとして、廃トナーに代えて、重量平均粒子径４０μｍの粉体塗料の廃棄物を用いる以外は、すべて実施例１と同様な操作を行って湿潤化粉体塗料を得た。得られた湿潤化粉体塗料の含水率は、１６．３重量％であった。更に、得られた湿潤化粉体塗料を貯蔵槽Ｊ中に投入し、実施例１で使用したと同様のスラリーと共に、湿潤化粉体塗料をロータリーキルンＫに投入して焼却処理を行った。
この結果、実施例１の場合と同様に、貯蔵槽Ｊ中に、全く発塵することなく湿潤化粉体塗料を投入することができた。又、貯蔵槽Ｊ中で敢えて湿潤化粉体塗料とスラリーとを撹拌混合する操作を行わなくとも、湿潤化粉体塗料とスラリーとは分離することなく、安定してロータリーキルンＫに送られて安全に焼却処理を行うことができた。
【００２１】
＜実施例３＞
実施例２において、撹拌装置Ｃとして、ＴＭミキサーの代わりに、上下２枚の撹拌羽根が同一方向へと、１０００ｒｐｍで回転するヘンシェルミキサーＦＭ３００を使用する以外は実施例２と同様にして、粉体塗料の廃棄物についての湿潤化及び燃焼処理の操作を行った。
この結果、得られた湿潤化粉体塗料について観察したところ、実施例３の場合の方が実施例２の場合よりも、粉体塗料の湿潤化が均一に行なわれていないことがわかった。しかし、貯蔵槽Ｊに、本実施例で得た湿潤化粉体塗料を投入したところ、発塵は、湿潤化処理しない場合よりも大幅に減少した。
又、貯蔵槽Ｊ中における湿潤化粉体塗料とスラリーとの分散も良好であったが、撹拌装置であるヘンシェルミキサー内部に、排出されない粉体塗料がかなり残っており、ひどい場合には次回の撹拌に支障をきたすほどであった。特に、下羽根と底面との間に塗料が入り込み、融着固化の一歩手間の状態となる場合があった。従って、本発明の疎水性粉体の処理方法を工業規模で実施する場合に、撹拌装置Ｃとしてヘンシェルミキサーを用いることは、連続操作には向いておらず、不向きであると判断された。
【００２２】
＜比較例１＞
実施例１で用いたキヤノン製、重量平均粒子径７．６μｍの乾式トナーの廃トナー１００ｋｇを、ＴＭミキサーで湿潤化処理せずに含水率が０％のままで、直接、貯蔵槽Ｊに投入した。この結果、本例では、廃トナーを未処理のまま貯蔵槽Ｊ内の廃オイルを含有するスラリー上に投入したので、投入時の発塵は非常に激しく、装置の周りをトナーでひどく汚染してしまった。
又、貯蔵槽Ｊに投入した後の貯蔵槽Ｊ内の状態は、トナーとスラリーとの分散が悪く、粉塵爆発の危険性が認められた。このため、上記混合物をロータリーキルンＫに投入して焼却処理することはできなかった。
【００２３】
＜比較例２＞
混合槽Ｆから撹拌装置内に投入する界面活性剤水溶液を９０ｋｇに増量して、含水率４６．４％の湿潤化トナーを得た以外は、実施例１と同様な操作を行って、廃トナーについての湿潤化操作を行った。この結果、貯蔵槽Ｊから投入される湿潤化トナーとスラリーとの混合物の熱容量が低くなり過ぎ、焼却温度が低下してしまうので、そのままロータリーキルンに投入することができなかった。
又、撹拌装置Ｃと燃焼を行うロータリーキルンＫとの距離が離れている場合には、含水率が上がることで輸送費が格段に上昇するので経済性に劣り、工業的な実施が困難であることがわかった。
【００２４】
＜比較例３＞
界面活性剤として、ＨＬＢが８．９のポリオキシエチレンノニルフェニルエーテルである非イオン性活面界性剤「ノニポール４０」（三洋化成工業（株））を用いる以外は実施例１と同様にして、廃トナーの湿潤化操作を行った。
その結果、実施例１のようにトナー表面に水が均一に付着しないため、廃トナーの湿潤化を達成できなかった。即ち、湿潤化処理をした後のトナーは、非常に含水率が高い部分と、含水率が殆ど０％（非常に低い）に近い部分が偏在しているため、トナーの独特の良好な流動性が維持されたままであった。このため、発塵性が高く、貯蔵槽Ｊに、上記で処理したトナーを投入すると、激しく発塵し、装置の周囲を汚染してしまった。又、スラリーとの分散も悪く、ロータリーキルンＫには、粉塵爆発の危険性が高いので投入できなかった。
【００２５】
【発明の効果】
以上説明したように、本発明によれば、樹脂成分を少なくとも含有する疎水性粉体を、容易に且つ均一に湿潤化でき、取り扱いを容易とすることができるため、粉塵爆発の発生は勿論のこと、発塵が有効に防止されて、安全で、且つ周辺環境に悪影響を与えない樹脂成分を有する疎水性粉体の廃棄物の燃焼処理が、経済的になされる。更に、本発明によれば、樹脂分（有機物）を多量に含む疎水性粉体の廃棄物を燃料資源として容易に再利用することもでき、資源の有効活用の達成が図れる。
【図面の簡単な説明】
【図１】本発明の疎水性粉体の処理方法の概念的なフローを示す図である。
【符号の説明】
Ａ：樹脂成分を少なくとも含有する疎水性粉体
Ｂ：樹脂成分を少なくとも含有する疎水性粉体貯蔵槽
Ｃ：撹拌装置
Ｄ：水
Ｅ：界面活性剤
Ｆ：湿潤化粉体
Ｇ：水／界面活性剤混合槽
Ｈ：液状又は液状を有するスラリー
Ｉ：液状又は液状を有するスラリー貯蔵槽
Ｊ：貯蔵槽
Ｋ：ロータリーキルン
Ｌ：ピット[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method for treating a hydrophobic powder containing at least a resin component, and in particular, when a waste treatment of a hydrophobic powder (resin composition fine powder) is performed, its powder characteristics are remarkably improved. The present invention relates to a method for treating hydrophobic powder that can be safely treated, is environmentally friendly, and can be reused as a fuel resource.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, the amount of waste containing resin components has been increasing, and it has become a major social problem over treatment as industrial waste. As a specific processing method, landfill or incineration processing is performed. And in the case of a landfill process, the waste which contains a resin component is landfilled as it is, or the method of landfilling is taken after reducing in volume. On the other hand, in the case of incineration, since it is difficult to separate only the waste containing the resin component, the incineration is performed in a state of being mixed with other general waste.
On the other hand, especially for powdered waste containing resin components, when trying to carry out the above incineration treatment, due to the dusting and fluidity of the powder, When throwing in, dust rises in the atmosphere and scatters (hereinafter referred to as dust generation), which adversely affects the work environment. Furthermore, depending on the environmental conditions, there is a major problem such as the risk of dust explosion. May occur. In particular, dust explosion at the time of input to incineration facilities is very dangerous. To avoid this, powdery waste containing resin components is mixed with waste oil or water-containing sludge in advance. Measures are being taken. However, in this case as well, dust generation is intense during the mixing operation, which significantly deteriorates the working environment.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, even in the above method, especially when handling fine powders containing a large amount of organic matter, there is always a risk of ignition and explosion due to friction between the powders. In particular, the powder containing a resin component has many special functions such as dry toner and powder paint, and as a recent technical trend, the particle diameter is decreasing year by year. The average particle size is from several tens of μm to several μm, and some of them are 1 μm or less. Such a fine powder naturally has a lower minimum ignition energy, and therefore the risk of dust explosion increases. In addition, it is inevitable that flammable liquid is mixed in waste oil. In such a case, the ignition of the powder due to the friction between the powders and the ignition of the oil occur, which is very dangerous. Fall into a state.
Furthermore, even if the above-mentioned worst situations such as ignition and explosion can be avoided, dust generation is unavoidable when processing waste of hydrophobic fine powder containing resin components. The impact on the surrounding environment is very large. Moreover, even if environmental measures against dust generation are implemented, the dust generation range is wide, requiring a large facility and space, resulting in economic problems.
[0004]
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to facilitate handling of hydrophobic powders containing at least a resin component, and to prevent dust explosion as well as dust generation when wastes of these hydrophobic powders are burned. An object of the present invention is to provide a method for treating hydrophobic powder that suppresses and does not adversely affect the work environment and the surrounding environment. Furthermore, the objective of this invention is providing the processing method of hydrophobic powder which can recycle especially the waste of the hydrophobic powder containing a large amount of resin parts (organic substance) as a fuel resource.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The above object is achieved by the present invention described below. That is, the present invention provides a method of treating a hydrophobic powder containing at least a resin component, and a hydrophobic powder weight average diameter of less 50μm containing at least the resin component, and water, Hydrofil lipoic fill balance ( Hydrophobic powder is wetted by mixing at least with a nonionic surfactant having an HLB value of 10-20 to obtain a wetted powder composition having a water content of 5-40% by weight. A method for treating hydrophobic powder, characterized in that a powder composition is mixed with a slurry having a liquid combustible material and burned.
[0006]
The present inventors improved the dust generation property, which was the biggest drawback in the combustion treatment of the powder waste having a hydrophobic surface because it contains a resin component, As a result of diligent studies to easily wet, the hydrophobic powder can be easily wetted by mixing the hydrophobic powder, water, and a specific surfactant. In other words, the present inventors have found that an excellent effect of being able to perform the combustion treatment without generating dust is obtained, and the present invention has been achieved. Furthermore, when the hydrophobic powder, water, and a specific surfactant are mixed, the hydrophobic powder is more easily obtained by stirring using a stirring device having at least two types of stirring blades. It has also been found that it can be moistened uniformly and an excellent effect can be obtained.
That is, a fine powder containing a resin that is easily and well wetted with the above-mentioned specific surfactant and water no longer causes problems such as dust generation and risk of dust explosion. As a result of being easily mixed with the slurry having the combustible material, the combustion process can be performed in a safe and environment-friendly state.
[0007]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Next, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to preferred embodiments of the present invention.
A feature of the present invention is that water is uniformly adsorbed on the surface of a hydrophobic powder containing at least a resin component by using a specific surfactant.
Examples of the hydrophobic powder containing at least a resin component that can be processed by the hydrophobic powder processing method of the present invention include wastes such as dry toners and powder paints containing a large amount of binder resin. It is done. According to the method for treating hydrophobic powder of the present invention, an effect can be obtained even when the hydrophobic powder as described above is treated with an average particle diameter of 100 μm or less. A great effect is obtained when a waste of hydrophobic powder having a weight average diameter of 50 μm or less, which may generate dust, is treated. That is, if the fine powder can be sufficiently wetted easily and uniformly, the wetted product can be mixed with the slurry having the liquid combustible material without causing dust explosion or dust generation. Therefore, it is possible to perform the combustion process safely and without deteriorating the surrounding environment.
[0008]
As the resin component contained in the hydrophobic powder to be treated in the present invention, for example, polyester, polystyrene, polystyrene copolymer, polyethylene, polypropylene, widely used as a binder resin for dry toner and powder coating, Resins such as epoxy resins can be used. In addition, the object of the treatment according to the present invention is preferably a waste of hydrophobic powder whose content of these resins is preferably 30% by weight or more with respect to the total amount of the hydrophobic powder. . That is, when the content of the resin component is less than 30% by weight, the risk of dust explosion is reduced, the specific gravity is increased, and the dust generation is reduced, so that it is not necessary to use the treatment method of the present invention.
[0009]
In the hydrophobic powder treatment method of the present invention, the nonionic surfactant used for the wet treatment of the hydrophobic powder is a hydrophile-lipophile balance (hereinafter referred to as Hydrophile-Lipophile Balance), which is a numerical value representing the hydrophilicity. , Abbreviated as HLB value) is in the range of 10-20, preferably 12-18. When the HLB is less than 10, the water solubility becomes poor, so it is necessary to use a large amount of a surfactant and the efficiency is poor. Since the value of HLB calculated from the following formula of the nonionic surfactant is theoretically 0 to 20, the upper limit of 20 is that the entire surfactant is substantially composed of a hydrophilic group portion. Therefore, it means that the hydrophilicity is most excellent.
The HLB of the nonionic surfactant is defined by the following formula.
[0010]
[Expression 1]

[0011]
In the present invention, the nonionic surfactant is used together with water in the step of wetting the hydrophobic powder. The amount of water and the nonionic surfactant used is 100 parts by weight of the hydrophobic powder. On the other hand, it is preferable to use them in such a ratio that 5 to 30 parts by weight of water and 0.1 to 1.0 parts by weight of nonionic surfactant are used. Furthermore, in order to easily and uniformly wet the hydrophobic powder, it is preferable to mix a mixed aqueous solution prepared by previously mixing a nonionic surfactant and water with the hydrophobic powder. .
As a specific method, the above-mentioned nonionic surfactant is sufficiently dissolved in a ratio of 0.3 to 17 parts by weight, preferably 2 to 5 parts by weight in 100 parts by weight of water in advance to make it nonionic. A surfactant aqueous solution is prepared, and then the aqueous solution is preferably added in an amount of 5 to 30 parts by weight, more preferably 10 to 20 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the hydrophobic powder. It is preferable to mix.
[0012]
The nonionic surfactant used in the method for treating hydrophobic powder of the present invention may be any as long as the HLB is in the range of 10 to 20, but in the present invention, in particular, the following formula Nonionic surfactants which are mainly composed of the compounds shown and are mixtures of isomers of the compounds are particularly suitable in the present invention.
[0013]
[Chemical 2]

[0014]
In the method for treating hydrophobic powder of the present invention, a wet powder obtained by wetting a hydrophobic powder containing at least a resin component using a nonionic surfactant as described above and water. The mixing conditions are adjusted so that the moisture content of the powdered powder composition is in the range of 5 to 40% by weight, preferably 6 to 35% by weight. That is, when the moisture content of the wetted powder composition is less than 5% by weight, the degree of wetness of the hydrophobic powder is not sufficient, and a certain amount of dust generation is inevitable. In addition, when the moisture content of the wetted powder composition exceeds 40% by weight, the heat capacity of the mixture becomes too low and the incineration temperature decreases when mixed with the slurry during the subsequent combustion treatment. It becomes difficult to perform a good combustion process. Furthermore, if the place where the wetting process is performed and the incineration place are separated, the transportation cost is increased.
[0015]
In the present invention, when a hydrophobic powder containing at least a resin component, water, and a nonionic surfactant are dispersed and mixed, a stirring device having at least two types of stirring blades is used. It is preferable. Furthermore, it is preferable to use an apparatus in which the rotation direction and / or rotation speed of each blade can be set differently. As a particularly preferred stirring device that can be used in the present invention, for example, a biaxial stirring device having a lower blade that rotates at a low speed and an upper blade that rotates at a high speed in the opposite direction as shown by C in FIG. Is mentioned. By adopting such an apparatus configuration, it is possible to uniformly add a minimum amount of moisture onto the surface of a very small hydrophobic powder having a weight average diameter of 50 μm or less.
[0016]
【Example】
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to examples and comparative examples. However, these examples do not limit the present invention. In the following formulation, all parts are parts by weight.
[0017]
<Example 1>
Hereinafter, it demonstrates in detail based on FIG. 1 which shows the notional flow of the processing method of hydrophobic powder of this invention.
In FIG. 1, C is a stirring device having two or more types of stirring blades that can rotate independently, and is configured such that an appropriate amount of hydrophobic powder A is charged from the powder storage tank B. Yes. Moreover, F in the figure is a mixing tank equipped with a stirrer. In this mixing tank F, water D and surfactant E are previously mixed uniformly, and an appropriate amount of the mixture is put into a stirring device. It is configured to be able to input.
In the present embodiment, a TM mixer (made by Mitsui Mining Co., Ltd., capacity 500 liters) having two types of blades, an upper blade and a lower blade, as shown in FIG. Also, using the mixing tank F equipped with a stirrer, “Ionette T-20C” which is a nonionic surfactant mainly composed of 98 parts of water and polyoxyethylene sorbitan monolaurate of HLB16.7 ( A uniform surfactant aqueous solution was prepared in advance by mixing 2 parts of Sanyo Chemical Industries Co., Ltd.
[0018]
First, 100 kg of waste toner of dry toner (manufactured by Canon) having a weight average particle diameter of 7.6 μm as the hydrophobic powder A from the powder storage tank B was put into the stirring device C, and stirring was started. At this time, the upper blade of the stirring device C was rotated at 927 rpm, while the lower blade was slowly rotated at 45 rpm in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the upper blade. Thereto, 20 kg of a surfactant aqueous solution prepared in advance was added over 1 minute, and the mixture was further stirred for 2 minutes under the same conditions to perform a wetting treatment. As a result, a wet toner composition G having a water content of 16.3% was obtained.
[0019]
Next, 100 kg of the slurry containing the waste oil H was previously charged into the storage tank J from the slurry storage tank I, and the wet toner G obtained above was charged therein. When it was put into the storage tank J, the wet toner G could be put in without generating any dust. The wetting toner G and the waste oil H introduced into the storage tank J as described above may be mixed or not mixed, but in this embodiment, the stirring and mixing operation is not performed. It was. And the obtained said mixture was thrown into the rotary kiln K suitably from the storage tank J, and the incineration process was performed. At this time, although the stirring and mixing operation is not performed in the storage tank J, the wet toner and the slurry are stably separated and sent to the rotary kiln K for safe incineration. did it.
[0020]
<Example 2>
Except for using powder paint waste having a weight average particle diameter of 40 μm as the hydrophobic powder A containing at least a resin component instead of waste toner, the same operation as in Example 1 was performed to obtain a wet powder. A body paint was obtained. The moisture content of the obtained wet powder coating material was 16.3% by weight. Further, the obtained wet powder coating material was put into the storage tank J, and together with the same slurry as used in Example 1, the wet powder coating material was put into the rotary kiln K for incineration.
As a result, as in Example 1, the wet powder coating material could be put into the storage tank J without generating any dust. In addition, the moistened powder coating material and the slurry can be stably sent to the rotary kiln K without separation without the operation of stirring and mixing the wetted powder coating material and the slurry in the storage tank J. It was possible to incinerate.
[0021]
<Example 3>
In Example 2, instead of the TM mixer, instead of the TM mixer, a powder is obtained in the same manner as in Example 2 except that a Henschel mixer FM300 in which two upper and lower stirring blades rotate in the same direction at 1000 rpm is used. Wetting and burning operations were performed on the waste of paint.
As a result, when the obtained wet powder coating was observed, it was found that the powder coating was not wetted more uniformly in the case of Example 3 than in the case of Example 2. However, when the wetted powder coating material obtained in this example was introduced into the storage tank J, dust generation was significantly reduced as compared with the case where the wettability treatment was not performed.
In addition, the dispersion of the wetted powder coating material and the slurry in the storage tank J was also good, but there was a considerable amount of powder coating material that was not discharged inside the Henschel mixer, which is a stirring device. The stirring was hindered. In particular, the paint may enter between the lower blade and the bottom surface, resulting in a state of one step of fusion and solidification. Therefore, when the processing method of the hydrophobic powder of the present invention was carried out on an industrial scale, it was judged that using a Henschel mixer as the stirring device C was not suitable for continuous operation and was not suitable.
[0022]
<Comparative Example 1>
100 kg of dry toner waste made of Canon and having a weight average particle size of 7.6 μm used in Example 1 is directly put into storage tank J without being moistened with a TM mixer and with a moisture content of 0%. did. As a result, in this example, since the waste toner was put on the slurry containing the waste oil in the storage tank J without being treated, the dust generation at the time of charging was very intense, and the surroundings of the apparatus were severely contaminated with toner. I have.
Further, in the state of the storage tank J after being put into the storage tank J, the dispersion of the toner and the slurry was poor, and the danger of dust explosion was recognized. For this reason, it was not possible to throw the mixture into the rotary kiln K and incinerate it.
[0023]
<Comparative example 2>
Waste toner is obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the amount of the surfactant aqueous solution charged into the stirrer from the mixing tank F is increased to 90 kg to obtain a wet toner having a water content of 46.4%. The wetting operation was performed. As a result, the heat capacity of the mixture of the wetting toner and the slurry introduced from the storage tank J becomes too low and the incineration temperature is lowered, so that it cannot be put into the rotary kiln as it is.
In addition, when the distance between the agitator C and the rotary kiln K that performs combustion is far, the transportation cost increases dramatically due to the increase in moisture content, so that the economy is inferior and industrial implementation is difficult. I understood.
[0024]
<Comparative Example 3>
A nonionic active surface active agent “Nonipol 40” (Sanyo Kasei Kogyo Co., Ltd.), which is a polyoxyethylene nonylphenyl ether having an HLB of 8.9, is used as the surfactant in the same manner as in Example 1. Then, the waste toner was wetted.
As a result, since water does not adhere uniformly to the toner surface as in Example 1, wetting of the waste toner could not be achieved. That is, the toner after the wetting treatment is unevenly distributed in a portion having a very high moisture content and a portion having a moisture content almost close to 0% (very low), and thus the toner has a unique good fluidity. Was maintained. For this reason, the dust generation property is high, and when the above-treated toner is put into the storage tank J, dust is generated violently and the surroundings of the apparatus are contaminated. Also, the dispersion with the slurry was poor and the rotary kiln K could not be charged because of the high risk of dust explosion.
[0025]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the hydrophobic powder containing at least the resin component can be easily and uniformly wetted and can be easily handled. In addition, the waste treatment of the hydrophobic powder having a resin component that is effectively prevented from dust generation and is safe and does not adversely affect the surrounding environment is economically performed. Furthermore, according to the present invention, the waste of the hydrophobic powder containing a large amount of the resin component (organic matter) can be easily reused as the fuel resource, and the effective use of the resource can be achieved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a conceptual flow of a method for treating hydrophobic powder of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
A: Hydrophobic powder containing at least resin component B: Hydrophobic powder storage tank containing at least resin component C: Stirrer D: Water E: Surfactant F: Wet powder G: Water / surface activity Agent mixing tank H: Liquid or liquid slurry I: Liquid or liquid slurry storage tank J: Storage tank K: Rotary kiln L: Pit

Claims

In the processing method of the hydrophobic powder containing at least a resin component, and a hydrophobic powder weight average diameter of less 50μm containing at least the resin component, and water, Hydrofil lipoic fill balance (HLB value) 10 Hydrophobic powder is wetted by mixing at least 20 nonionic surfactant to obtain a wetted powder composition having a water content of 5 to 40% by weight, and the wetted powder composition is liquid A method for treating hydrophobic powder, comprising mixing and combusting with a slurry having a combustible material.

The method for treating a hydrophobic powder according to claim 1, wherein the hydrophobic powder containing at least the resin component is a dry toner.

The method for treating hydrophobic powder according to claim 1, wherein the hydrophobic powder containing at least the resin component is a powder coating material.

To the wetting process, with respect to the hydrophobic powder 100 parts by weight, 5 to 30 parts by weight of said water, and wherein the use of non-ionic surfactant at a ratio of 0.1 to 1.0 parts by weight The processing method of the hydrophobic powder of any one of Claims 1-3.

Non ionic surfactants, processing method of the hydrophobic powder according to any one of claims 1 to 4 which is a mixture of isomers of the compound consisting mainly of a compound represented by the following formula.

Previously mixed with the said water non-ionic surfactants, processing of the hydrophobic powder according mixtures thereof in any one of claims 1 to 5 to be mixed with the hydrophobic powder Method.

The mixing of the hydrophobic powder and the water and the non-ionic surfactant, the hydrophobic powder according to any one of claims 1 to 6 carried out in a stirred apparatus with two or more at least stirring blade How to treat the body.

The method for treating hydrophobic powder according to claim 7, wherein the rotating directions of the stirring blades are different from each other.

Processing method of the hydrophobic powder according to any one of claims 1 to 8 the water content of the wetted powder composition is in the range of 6 to 35 wt%.