JP7426713B2 - Water absorbing material recovery system and water absorbing material recovery method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a water-absorbing material recovery system and a water-absorbing material recovery method for separately recovering an exterior material and two types of water-absorbing materials from a processed object in which two types of water-absorbing materials are surrounded by an exterior material.

For sanitary products such as disposable diapers and sanitary napkins, the water-absorbing material is made of two or more types of materials such as pulp, high molecular weight polymer, and urine-absorbing material, and the surface material is made of air-permeable and water-permeable paper, nonwoven fabric, etc. It is created by forming an exterior material such as a backing material and surrounding the water absorbing material with the exterior material.
Comparing the water-absorbing material and the exterior material, the exterior material is in the form of small pieces of cloth or a sheet, and has a large volume and low specific gravity (light weight) (bulky crushed material), and the pulp of the water-absorbing material is cotton-like and has a high density. Molecular polymers are in the form of particles, have small bulk and high specific gravity (low-volume crushed material), and when comparing pulp and high molecular weight polymers, pulp has smaller specific gravity (lighter weight) than high molecular weight polymers.

In the manufacturing process, such sanitary products are sometimes produced in which the amount of pulp, the amount of high molecular weight polymer, etc. do not meet the specifications. Such substandard products can be crushed, pulverized, and separated so that the materials can be recovered and reused.
As a conventional technique for recovering a water-absorbing material, there is a technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, and this first conventional technique involves covering a water-absorbing material containing fluff pulp and particulate super absorbent polymer with a sheet material. A method for recovering a water-absorbing material from a workpiece made of The cut pieces are divided into pieces, and then the cut pieces are placed in an air flow area and conveyed by the air flow, and each cut piece is swirled by the air flow, thereby separating the sheet material and the water absorbent material that make up each cut piece. The water absorbent material is centrifuged and the separated water absorbent material is collected.

Further, as a second conventional technique for recovering water-absorbing material, there is a technique disclosed in Patent Document 2, and the recycled pulp separator of this second conventional technique converts the raw material of recycled pulp containing high molecular weight polymer into pulp. A recycled pulp separator for separating and recovering a polymer and a high molecular weight polymer includes a plurality of processing chambers formed in multiple stages, a fiber-opening cylinder rotatably installed in each of the processing chambers, and an outer peripheral surface of the fiber-spreading cylinder. a plurality of fiber spreading members and feeding and batting members arranged alternately in the circumferential direction; a separation grid member installed in an arc shape at the bottom of each processing chamber corresponding to the lower half circumference of the fiber spreading cylinder; Each of the processing chambers is equipped with a pulp recovery duct provided in the processing chamber and an intake fan connected to the pulp recovery duct, and the raw material supplied to the front stage of the processing chamber is opened and batted by the opening cylinder. At the same time, the suction air flows into the processing chamber from the outside of the processing chamber through the separation grid member and is discharged from the pulp recovery duct by the intake fan, and the pulp and a high molecular weight polymer based on a difference in specific gravity, and the pulp is collected from the pulp recovery duct, and the high molecular weight polymer is collected by falling through the slits of the separation grid member to the outside of the processing chamber under its own weight. .

Patent No. 2937996 Patent No. 3266889

In the first conventional technology, the material to be processed can be separated into the sheet material and the water-absorbent material after being crushed, but since the separation is a centrifugal separation that only swirls the air, the water-absorbing material fluff pulp and the super absorbent material are separated. They are not separated from the polymers, making it impossible to collect them separately.
In the second conventional technology, the raw material can be separated into pulp and high molecular weight polymer in multiple processing chambers, but this separation is performed simultaneously with fiber opening and batting, and even small pieces of the covered paper material are not included until the end. The separation efficiency of the water-absorbent material is low because of the separation grid member, and the pulp can be discharged by the suction air flow flowing into the processing chamber through the separation grid member, but the high molecular weight polymer falls against the suction air flow. Therefore, it is difficult to extract high molecular weight polymers based on the difference in specific gravity.

An object of the present invention is to provide a water-absorbing material recovery system and a water-absorbing material recovery method that can solve the problems of the prior art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a water-absorbing material recovery system that can first separate an exterior material from an object to be treated and then separate two types of water-absorbing materials based on the difference in specific gravity.
The present invention can first separate the exterior material from the material to be treated, and then separate two types of water-absorbing materials based on the difference in specific gravity, and can collect the exterior material, the low-density material, and the high-density material individually. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a method for recovering water absorbing materials that can be used reliably.

The concrete means for solving the problems in the water absorbing material recovery system of the present invention include a crushing device CD which inputs and crushes the object to be treated 3 in which two types of water absorbing materials 5P and 5S are surrounded by an exterior material E; a separation device SD that transports the crushed material 4 and separates it into the exterior material E and the water absorbing materials 5P and 5S; and a specific gravity separation device that transports the separated water absorbing materials 5P and 5S and separates them into two types based on the difference in size and specific gravity. It is equipped with GD,
The crushing device (CD) includes a first crushing device (C1) which roughly crushes the object to be treated (3) in which two types of water absorbing materials (5) are surrounded by an exterior material (E); A second crushing device (C2) that supplies and crushes the crushed material (4) roughly crushed by the device (C1) and quantitatively supplies the crushed material (4) to the separation device (SD). Ori,
The second crushing device (C2) includes a storage barrel (43) for storing the crushed material (4) supplied from the first crushing device (C1), and a storage barrel (43) for storing the crushed material (4) in the lower part of this storage barrel (43). It has a nipping conveyance rotor (42) that conveys the material downward while nipping it, and a crushing roller (41) that crushes and opens the shredded material (4) that is quantitatively sent out from the nip conveyance rotor (42). It is characterized by

The specific means for solving the problem in the water absorbing material recovery method of the present invention includes a crushing step K1 in which a workpiece 3 in which two types of water absorbing materials 5P and 5S are surrounded by an exterior material E is introduced and crushed; a separation step K2 in which the crushed material 4 is transported and separated into the exterior material E and the water absorbing materials 5P and 5S; and an exterior material recovery step in which the separated exterior material E is transported and the exterior material E is separated and recovered from the conveyed air. K3, a specific gravity separation step K4 in which the separated water absorbing materials 5P and 5S are separated into two types based on the difference in size and specific gravity, and the separated low specific gravity material 5P is conveyed by air to separate and recover the small specific gravity material 5P from the conveyed air. It is equipped with a small specific gravity material recovery process K5, and a large specific gravity material recovery process K6 in which the separated large specific gravity material 5S is air conveyed and the large specific gravity material 5S is separated and recovered from the conveying air,
In the crushing step (K1), the object to be treated (3) is roughly crushed using a cutter blade (25a) and a rotary cutter (25b), and the roughly crushed crushed material (4) is supplied to the storage cylinder (43). It is characterized in that the stored crushed material (4) is quantitatively crushed and opened by a crushing roller (41) while being pinched and conveyed by a pinching and conveying rotor (42) .

According to the present invention, the crushing device, the separating device, and the specific gravity separating device can first separate the packaging material from the object to be treated, and then separately separate the two types of water absorbing materials. Furthermore, the crushed material stored in the storage cylinder can be quantitatively crushed and opened by the crushing rollers while being held and conveyed by the pinching conveyance rotor.
In addition, by separating the treated object into which two types of water-absorbing materials are surrounded by an exterior material into the exterior material and the water-absorbing material, and separating the separated water-absorbing materials into two types based on the difference in size and specific gravity, The exterior material can be separated and recovered first, and then the two types of water absorbing materials can be separated and recovered separately. Furthermore, the crushed material stored in the storage cylinder can be quantitatively crushed and opened by the crushing rollers while being held and conveyed by the pinching conveyance rotor.

1 is a flow sheet showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a process of separating the object to be processed. It is a front view of a 1st crushing device. It is a front view of a 2nd crushing device. It is a side view of a 2nd crushing device. It is a front view of Peter Laura. 7 is a sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. 6. FIG. FIG. 3 is a front view of the separation device. FIG. 3 is a side view of the separation device on the suction side. FIG. 3 is a side view of the separation device on the discharge side. It is a front view of a turning member. It is a side view of a turning member. It is a front view of a specific gravity separator. It is a top view of a specific gravity separation device. 14 is a sectional view taken along the line YY in FIG. 13. FIG. FIG. 2 is a front view of a small specific gravity material recovery device. FIG. 2 is a side view of a small specific gravity material recovery device. FIG. 2 is a plan view of a small specific gravity material recovery device.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.
1 to 18 show a water absorbent material recovery system 1 that crushes and separates sanitary products such as disposable diapers and sanitary napkins to collect pulp 5P, high polymer 5S, and exterior material E, respectively.
Sanitary products such as disposable diapers and sanitary napkins are made of pulp (also called fibrous pulp or flap pulp) 5P or high molecular weight polymer (also called super absorbent polymer, abbreviated as SAP). ) 5S, the water-absorbing material 5 is formed of two or more types of materials such as urine-absorbing material, and the exterior material E of the surface material E1 and back material E2 is formed of paper, nonwoven fabric, etc. that have air permeability and water permeability, and the water-absorbing material A sanitary product is produced by surrounding the outer layer 5 with an exterior material E.

A water-absorbing material recovery system 1 that crushes, separates, and collects processed materials 3 such as substandard products and scraps generated during the manufacturing stage of such sanitary products is located at the system starting end, and 3, a separating device SD separates the crushed material into an exterior material E and a water-absorbing material 5, and an exterior material recovery device ED separates and recovers the separated exterior material E. , a specific gravity separator GD that separates the separated water-absorbing material 5 into two types based on the difference in size and specific gravity, a small specific gravity material recovery device GS that recovers the separated small specific gravity material 5P, and a small specific gravity material recovery device GS that collects the separated large specific gravity material 5S. a large specific gravity material recovery device GL, and a bag filter disposed at the end of the system for sucking the separated air discharged from the exterior material recovery device ED, the small specific gravity material recovery device GS, and the large specific gravity material recovery device GL. It is equipped with BF.

The above-mentioned crushing device CD inputs the object to be treated 3 in which two types of water absorbing materials 5 are surrounded by an exterior material E, and performs crushing, cutting, opening, shredding, disintegration, etc., and performs rough crushing. A first crushing device C1, and a second crushing device C2 that supplies and crushes the crushed material 4 roughly crushed by the first crushing device C1 and quantitatively supplies the crushed material 4 to the separation device SD. There is.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the first crushing device C1 includes a crushing section 25 having a cutter blade 25a and a rotary cutter 25b, a charging hopper 26 for charging the workpiece 3 into the crushing section 25, and a crushing section. 25, and a discharge member 27 connected to the lower part of the discharge member 25, and the discharge member 27 is connected to the blower B1 and the conveyance path R1.

The first crushing device C1 is equipped with an elevator 28 on the outside, and the non-standard products extracted and collected from the sanitary product manufacturing machine, that is, the objects 3 to be processed, are placed on the elevator 28 and lifted, and then transported to the input hopper 26. The cutter blade 25a and rotary cutter 25b cut and shred the exterior material E while biting it, and if the water-absorbing material 5 is also in chunks, it is roughly crushed and turned into crushed material 4 by a discharge member 27. The air is conveyed by suction using the blower B1.

The rotary cutter 25b is provided with a large number of cutting blades or hook-shaped crushing blades at intervals in the axial and circumferential directions on the outer peripheral surface of the drum.
As shown in FIGS. 1, 4 to 7, the second crushing device C2 includes a crushing roller 41 at the bottom, a nipping conveyance rotor 42 above the crushing roller 41, and a crushing material 4 on the upper side of the nipping conveyance rotor 42. It has a storage cylinder 43 for storage, a separation duct 45 communicating with the upper part of the storage cylinder 43 and connected to the blower B1, and a discharge duct 46 disposed below the crushing roller 41. The outlet 45a and the inlet 46a of the discharge duct 46 are connected by a bypass pipe 47.

The separation duct 45 has a generally T-shape when viewed from the front, and includes a horizontal passage a that linearly conveys air from an inlet 45b connected to the blower B1 to an outlet 45a, and a horizontal passage a that conveys the crushed material 4 contained in the conveyed air. , and has a shape that forms a vertical path b where the waste falls under its own weight to the collection port 45c below and is collected.
The upper part of the vertical passage b of the separation duct 45 is connected to the middle part of the horizontal passage a where the passage gradually widens from the suction port 45b to the back side, and there is a dust wall 45d on the opposite surface of the widening passage. A passage connected to the discharge port 45a is formed above the discharge port 45d.

The conveying air that enters from the inlet 45b of the separation duct 45 flows through the horizontal path a while spreading, and the contained crushed materials 4 naturally fall along the vertical path b and collide with the dust wall 45d. is separated and falls, and the relatively small and light crushed material 4 flows out into the bypass pipe 47 together with the remaining air.
The crushed material 4 separated in the separation duct 45 is stored in the storage cylinder 43, sequentially supplied to the nipping conveyance rotor 42, and supplied to the crushing roller 41 while being nipped and compressed by a pair of rotors 42a.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the crushing roller 41 has a large number of peters 41b fixed to the outer periphery of a cylindrical rotor drum 41a at intervals in the circumferential direction. A large number of Peter blades 41d are provided at intervals in the axial direction on the upper surface of the long strip plate 41c.
The Peter blade 41d has a tail fin shape (substantially triangular), and the tip edge in the direction of rotation is an arc shape, and may form a pointed cutting edge, but it does not need to be a cutting edge, and by rotating, It is only necessary that the crushed material 4 compressed and supplied by the rotor 42a can be crushed, broken down (crushed), etc.

The crushed materials 4 crushed by the crushing rollers 41 fall into the discharge duct 46, but since the discharge duct 46 has an inlet 46a connected to the bypass pipe 47, the crushed materials 4 that have been crushed by the crushing roller 41 fall into the discharge duct 46. Air flows in, and the crushed material 4 is discharged from the discharge port 46b.
Since the first crushing device C1 artificially introduces the material 3 to be processed into the elevator 28, the roughly crushed crushed materials 4 have some differences in time series, but the second crushing device C2 Since the crushed material 4 is stored in the storage cylinder 43, there is no difference in time series, and the crushed material 4 is discharged in fixed quantities in time series while being crushed by the continuously rotating crushing roller 41.

Further, the second crushing device C2 can separate the relatively large and heavy crushed materials 4 from the relatively small and lightweight crushed materials 4 and crush them intensively, and furthermore, the second crushing device C2 can intensively crush the crushed materials 4 that are relatively large and heavy. The conveying air that enters the separation duct 45 can be diverted via the bypass pipe 47, and the relatively small and lightweight crushed materials 4 that have not been separated and fallen in the separation duct 45 are also transferred together with the crushed materials 4 after being crushed through the conveying path R2. It can then be transported to the next step, the separation device SD.

That is, the second crushing device C2 gravity-separates members, lumps, etc. with relatively high specific gravity in the crushed material 4 from the air while the crushed material 4 is air conveyed from the first crushing device C1 to the separation device SD. This allows intensive and effective crushing (including crushing, shredding, opening, batting, etc.).
The separation device SD is a device that separates the crushed material 4 after crushing into the exterior material E, which is relatively bulky and has a piece shape, and the water absorbing material 5, which is relatively small and has a cotton or granule shape. be.

In FIGS. 1, 8 to 12, the separation device SD includes a porous cylindrical chamber 15 having a large number of perforations 15b, and surrounding this chamber 15, capturing and collecting bulky crushed materials discharged from the chamber 15. a collector 16 for rotating the crushed material in the chamber 15, a discharge port member 17 connected to the discharge port 15c of the chamber 15, and a rotating member 18 disposed within the chamber 15 for rotating the crushed material in the chamber 15. .

Both ends of the chamber 15 in the axial direction protrude outward from the collector 16, and a suction port 15a is provided on the outer periphery of the suction side end of one end of the chamber 15. In addition, an intake port 19 for external air intake is formed on the end face on the side of the intake port 15a for replenishing the air taken in from the intake port 15a.
The rotating member 18 has a rotating shaft 21 that is rotatably supported with respect to the chamber 15, and a plurality of blades 22 in the rotational direction that protrude radially outward from the rotating shaft 21. One blade 22 is formed by fixing two blade members 22b to the outer periphery of a square bar 22a, and four blades 22 are arranged in series on the rotating shaft 21.

As the blades 22 rotate within the chamber 15, the rotating member 18 strikes, swirls, and stirs the conveying air containing crushed materials taken in from the suction port 15a while discharging it from the discharge port 15c. Step 3), and the bulky crushed materials (water-absorbing materials 5P, 5S which are small bulky granular materials or cotton-like materials) are discharged from a large number of perforations 15b with centrifugal force.
Bulky crushed materials (exterior material E, which is a large piece of material) remain in the air from which the bulky crushed materials are discharged from the numerous perforations 15b, and are discharged from the discharge port 15c together with the conveying air to form the exterior packaging. The material is transported to the material recovery device ED.

The air taken in from the intake port 19 promotes the flow of the conveying air containing bulky crushed materials from the suction port 15a toward the discharge port 15c and the discharge port member 17 side, and also causes the crushed materials 4 to be hit, swirled, and stirred. promote.
An opening is formed in the discharge port member 17, and an air volume adjusting member 17a is provided in this opening, so that the amount of conveyed air flowing inside the discharge port member 17 can be adjusted. Note that the opening area of the intake port 19 may be adjusted to be large or small.

One of the four blades 22 faces the discharge port 15c and promotes the outflow of the conveying air. There may be only three blades 22 facing the collector 16.
The collector 16 includes an outer capture member 23 surrounding the upper part and front and rear sides of the chamber 15, and a hopper 24 located below between the front and rear sides of the outer capture member 23. The outer catching member 23 captures the bulky crushed materials discharged from the perforation 15b of the chamber 15, and the hopper 24 collects the bulky crushed materials that are caught by the outer catching member 23 and fall under their own weight.

Three hoppers 24 are provided corresponding to the three blades 22 of the rotating member 18, and each hopper 24 has a funnel shape, and their lower portions are connected to a common conveyance path R4. Furthermore, it is connected to a specific gravity separator GD.
The separation device SD has a structure in which three blades 22 and three hoppers 24 separate the crushed material 4 after crushing into three stages. Alternatively, the hopper 24 may also be composed of one, two, or four or more funnel-shaped members.

The exterior material recovery device ED is shown in FIG. 1, and is a device that separates and recovers the exterior material E from the exterior material-containing transport air discharged from the discharge port member 17 of the chamber 15.
The exterior material recovery device ED has a drum 52 made of a perforated plate disposed below an inlet member 51 that swirls the conveyed air to be taken in, and an exhaust member 54 connected to a blower B2 on the outer periphery of the drum 52. A rotationally driveable rotary valve 55 and a collection duct 56 are provided at the bottom of the drum 52, and a compression packing machine 57 is arranged below the collection duct 56.

The bulky crushed material-containing air discharged from the discharge port member 17 through the chamber 15 of the separator SD enters the inlet member 51 and enters the drum 52 while being swirled, and only the air becomes exhaust air and is discharged from the drum. It flows out from the hole 52, is captured by the exhaust member 54, and is sent to the bag filter BF through the conveyance path R3 with the force of the wind applied from the blower B2.
The bulky crushed materials that have entered the drum 52 are separated from the conveying air and stored in the lower part of the drum 52, and are discharged to a recovery duct 56 by the rotation of the rotor of the rotary valve 55, and compressed and packed into a fixed amount by a compression packing machine 57. Ru. At this time, the air in the drum 52 is restricted from entering the recovery duct 56 by the rotor of the rotary valve 55.

The specific gravity separator GD, which is connected to the hopper 24 of the separator SD via the conveyance path R4, is shown in FIGS. A rotating barrel 31 that sucks in and swirls the air it contains, a discharge barrel 32 that is disposed within the rotating barrel 31 and discharges the low specific gravity material (pulp) 5P upward together with the air, and a bottom wall 31a of the rotating barrel 31. The extractor duct 35 is connected to an outlet 31b formed in the extractor duct 35, and a rotary valve 36 is provided at the bottom of the extractor duct 35.

The rotating trunk 31 has a substantially circular trunk 31c, an air introduction member 31d extending tangentially on one side of the trunk 31c, and a bottom wall 31a inside the trunk 31c. An outlet 31b is formed in the bottom wall 31a of the body 31c on the outer circumferential side of the rotation near the body 31c, and the upper end of the outlet duct 35 is connected to the outlet 31b.
The outlet 31b is formed on the inner periphery of the body 31c at a position approximately half a circumference away from the air introducing material 31d, and is provided with a perforated plate 31e made of a net, punched metal, or the like.

The water-absorbing material-containing conveyance air carried into the body 31c from the air introduction material 31d becomes a spiral wind within the body 31c, and the large specific gravity material (high molecular polymer) 5S with a relatively high specific gravity to which the helical force is applied is It moves to the outside of the rotation due to centrifugal force and is separated downward due to gravity. The separated large specific gravity material 5S flows into the outlet 31b through the perforated plate 31e, and the remaining air containing the small specific gravity material 5P having a relatively small specific gravity enters the central discharge cylinder 32.

A support stand 61 which also serves as an upper cover of the body part 31c is attached to the upper part of the rotating cylinder 31, and the upper part of the discharge cylinder 32 and the upper part of the discharge cylinder 32 are connected to the support stand 61 via a plurality of pairs of supports 62 such as bolts and nuts 62a. The lower part of the upper duct 63 is attached and supported.
The discharge cylinder 32 has a cylindrical shape and protrudes into the body part 31c from the upper side of the support base 61. A downwardly expanding opening member 32a is attached to the lower end of the discharge cylinder 32, and this opening member 32a is attached to the bottom wall 31a. This space apart serves as the discharge port 32b through which the air containing the relatively small small specific gravity material 5P is discharged.

By vertically adjusting the position of the nut 62a, the support 62 can adjust the height of the upper part of the discharge cylinder 32. This adjustment corresponds to the height adjustment of the lower end of the discharge cylinder 32, and the height of the discharge port 32b You can adjust the size.
The upper duct 63, which is integrally attached to the discharge cylinder 32 by the support 62, is connected to the small specific gravity material recovery device GS via a conveyance path R6.

The take-out duct 35 connected to the take-out port 31b of the bottom wall 31a is provided with a rotary valve 36 for discharging the large specific gravity material 5S accumulated in the take-out duct 35. The rotary valve 36 collects the large specific gravity material 5S while separating it from air, and supplies it to the large specific gravity material recovery device GL via the conveyance path R4.
In the take-out duct 35, there is a possibility that the small specific gravity material 5P may also enter together with the large specific gravity material 5S, and an air intake port 37 is formed upstream of the rotary valve 36 to take in external air.

This air intake port 37 can freely adjust the amount of air taken in by a shutter, and the air taken in from this air intake port 37 is sucked into the swirling wind inside the rotating body 31, and is taken out from the intake port 31b. The low specific gravity material 5P is floated from the water-absorbing material 5 falling into the duct 35 and returned to the inside of the rotating body 31.
If the difference in specific gravity between the two types of water-absorbing materials 5 (5P, 5S) is large, the air intake port 37 may be closed with a shutter, since there is a low possibility that the small specific gravity material 5P will mix with the large specific gravity material 5S. .

In the specific gravity separator GD, the extraction duct 35 may be directly connected to the suction member 72 of the large specific gravity material recovery device GL without providing the rotary valve 36. Moreover, the air intake port 37 can also be omitted.
The large specific gravity material recovery device GL shown in FIG. has been established.

The suction member 72 is connected to the take-out duct 35 of the specific gravity separator GD via a conveyance path, and the suction member 72 that carries in and rotates the large specific gravity material 5S together with the conveying air is disposed, and a cyclone inner barrel 73 is arranged in the center of the upper part. A rotary valve 74 is provided at the bottom of the cyclone barrel 71.
The large specific gravity material recovery device GL takes in conveying air containing large specific gravity materials from the suction member 72 and lowers it inside the cyclone barrel 71 while rotating it, centrifugally separates the large specific gravity materials 5S from the air, and supplies it to the rotary valve 74. It falls intermittently from the rotary valve 74 and is collected in a flexible container bag 75.

The air from which the large specific gravity material 5S has been separated in the cyclone barrel 71 enters the cyclone inner barrel 73 from the center of the swirling flow, and is sent to the bag filter BF via the conveyance path R5 and blowers B3 and B4.
In FIGS. 1, 16 to 18, the low specific gravity material recovery device GS includes a machine frame 81, a rotary valve part 82 placed on the ceiling of this machine frame 81, and a rotary valve part 82 disposed above the rotary valve part 82. and a discharge duct 84 connected to the lower side of the rotary valve part 82.

The rotary valve section 82 has a plurality of blades 82b attached to a rotatably driven shaft 82a, and stores the small specific gravity material 5P collected in the collection section 83 between the blades 82b and rotates it to the upper side. The low specific gravity material 5P is dropped and supplied to the discharge duct 84 in a state separated from the air.
In the collecting section 83, a cylinder 83b is connected to the upper part of the conical cylinder 83a, an exhaust member 83c is connected to the upper part of the cylinder 83b, and an intake member 83d having a conveying air intake port 12 is connected to the outer periphery of the cylinder 83b. An exhaust filter 86 is disposed inside the cylindrical body 83b, a backflow nozzle 87 is disposed inside the exhaust filter 86, and a conical shape connected to the lower part of the exhaust filter 86 is disposed inside the conical body 83a. A compression screw 88 is disposed, and a drive mechanism 89 for rotating the compression screw 88 and the exhaust filter 86 is provided.

The air containing the low specific gravity material from the specific gravity separator GD is introduced between the cylinder 83b and the exhaust filter 86 from the conveying air intake port 12 via the intake member 83d, and the low specific gravity material 5P is centrifuged while rotating. The conveying air after falling and separating the small specific gravity material 5P passes through the exhaust filter 86 and is discharged from the exhaust member 83c and the exhaust duct 84.
The backflow nozzle 87 has a vertically elongated jet opening that opens toward the inner circumferential surface of the exhaust filter 86, and jets the air supplied from the blower B6 radially outward from the center of the exhaust filter 86. The conveyed air after the small specific gravity material 5P is separated is passed through the exhaust filter 86 in the opposite direction to eliminate clogging of the exhaust filter 86. By rotating together with the compression screw 88, the backflow nozzle 87 prevents the entire exhaust filter 86 from being clogged.

The declogging air discharged from the backflow nozzle 87 enters the exhaust filter 86 together with the separated air and is discharged from the exhaust member 83c.
The conical barrel 83a has a smaller diameter (funnel shape) as it goes downward, and the compression screw 88 also has a conical shape, and as the compression screw 88 rotates, the particles are collected in the conical barrel 83a after separation. The small specific gravity material 5P is supplied to the rotary valve section 82 while being compressed, and is then dropped and supplied from the rotary valve section 82 to the discharge duct 84.

The discharge duct 84 has an angle changing mechanism 91, and has a hanging position in which the falling low specific gravity material 5P is supplied to a compression packing machine 92, and a hanging position in which it is swung outward from the hanging position and sent to an external container such as a flexible container bag 93. It can be switched to a tilted position for storage.
The air exhausted from the exhaust member 83c through the exhaust filter 86 reaches the blower B4 via the conveyance path R7, and is sent to the bag filter BF along with the exhaust air that has passed through the blower B3 from the large specific gravity material recovery device GL. Ru.

The bag filter BF sucks in the conveying air after the small specific gravity material 5P is recovered by the small specific gravity material recovery device GS and the conveyance air after the large specific gravity material 5S is recovered by the large specific gravity material recovery device GL, Removes fine dust, soot, and other fine harmful substances contained in the air.
The air outlet 13 of this bag filter BF is connected to the conveying air inlet 12 of the small specific gravity material recovery device GS via an air conveying path 14, and the air which has almost no contained substances is reused, and the water absorbing material The air flow in the recovery system 1 is endless.

Note that the air conveyance path 14 may be connected to the suction side of the discharge member 27 of the first crushing device C1 to make the air flow endless from the start end to the end end of the water-absorbing material recovery system 1. Air leakage in the water-absorbing material recovery system 1 is replenished by blowers B2, B6, etc.
A water absorbing material recovery method in the water absorbing material recovery system 1 will be explained with reference mainly to FIGS. 1 and 2. In addition, the amount of conveying air (air volume cubic meters/minute) used in each process when 450 (input amount kilograms/hour) of paper diapers (processed material 3) is charged into the first crushing device C1 is also explained. do.

The object to be processed 3, in which two types of water-absorbing materials 5 such as paper diapers and sanitary napkins are surrounded by an exterior material E, is put into the first crushing device C1 of the crushing device CD and roughly crushed. minutes) and suctioned through the conveyance path R1, and subsequently fed into the second crushing device C2 and crushed (crushed), so that the shredded material 4 has the exterior material E cut into pieces and the lumps of the water absorbing material 5 eliminated. (Crushing step K1).

The crushed material 4 is supplied to the separator SD through the suction port 15a in an amount of air (40 m3/min), and is transported into the chamber 15 while taking in external air (60 m3/min) from the intake port 19. The crushed material 4 is struck and stirred by the rotating member 18 together with a large amount of air in the chamber 15, and adhesion and entanglement are eliminated, and small pieces are crushed, resulting in a relatively large volume and floating in the conveying air. The exterior material E, which is easy to handle, is separated from the water-absorbing material 5, which is relatively small in volume and can pass through the perforation 15b of the chamber 15, and the exterior material E is discharged from the discharge port member 17, and the water-absorbing material 5 is collected in the hopper 24 (separation). Step K2).

The separated exterior material E is conveyed from the discharge port member 17 to the exterior material recovery device ED by conveying air at an air volume (40 m3/min), where the exterior material recovery device ED separates the exterior material E from the conveyance air and compresses it. It is supplied to the packaging machine 57 and collected (exterior material collection step K3).
The water-absorbing material 5 separated by the separator SD is loaded into the gravity separator GD through the conveyance path R4 on conveying air at an amount of air (60 cubic meters/min). This water absorbing material 5 is a mixture of pulp (low specific gravity material 5P) and high molecular weight polymer (high specific gravity material 5S). After entering the rotating barrel 31, the large specific gravity material 5S is taken out from the outlet 31b, and the small specific gravity material 5P is discharged from the discharge barrel 32 (specific gravity separation step K4).

The separated small specific gravity material 5P is placed on the conveying air with an air volume (60 cubic meters/min) and is air conveyed to the small specific gravity material recovery device GS through the conveying path R6, and the small specific gravity material 5P is separated from the conveying air. It is also supplied to the compression packing machine 92 and recovered (low specific gravity material recovery step K5).
The large specific gravity material 5S separated by the specific gravity separator GD is air-transported to the large specific gravity material recovery device GL on the conveying air of an air amount (10 cubic meters/min, suction air by the blower B3), and the large specific gravity material 5S is separated by the specific gravity separator GD. The 5S is separated from the conveying air and is supplied to the flexible container bag 75 (or compression packing machine) for recovery (large specific gravity material recovery step K6).

The separated air discharged from the exterior packaging material recovery device ED in the exterior packaging material recovery process K3 includes the air blown out from the blower B2 (10 cubic meters/minute), and an amount of air (50 cubic meters/minute) is discharged into the conveyance path 3. The separated air discharged from the small specific gravity material recovery device GS in the small specific gravity material recovery process K5 is also combined with the air blown out by the blower B6 (10 cubic meters/minute), so that the amount of air (85 cubic meters/minute) is transferred to the conveyance path R7. The separated air discharged from the large specific gravity material recovery device GL in the large specific gravity material recovery process K6 is the above-mentioned air blown out from the blower B3 (10 m3/min), which is collected by the blower B4 and converted into air. The air discharged from the bag filter BF after removal of harmful substances, which is supplied to the bag filter BF in a quantity (145 cubic meters/min), has an air quantity (15 cubic meters/min) of the conveying air of the low specific gravity material recovery process K5. It is returned to the suction port 12 (terminal air conveyance step K7).

The water-absorbing material recovery system 1 shown in the embodiment includes a crushing device CD that inputs and crushes the object to be treated 3 in which two types of water-absorbing materials 5 are surrounded by an exterior material E, and a crusher CD that transports the crushed object. The water-absorbing material 5 is separated into the exterior material E and the water-absorbing material 5 by a separator SD, and the water-absorbing material 5 is conveyed and separated into two types based on the difference in size and specific gravity.
As a result, after reliably separating the exterior material E from the object to be treated 3, it is possible to efficiently separate the two types of low specific gravity material 5P and large specific gravity material 5S of the water absorbing material 5, so that they can be collected individually and reliably. Can be done.

In addition, the water absorbing material recovery system 1 shown in the embodiment includes a crushing device CD which inputs and crushes the object 3 to be treated, in which two types of water absorbing materials 5 are surrounded by an exterior material E; A separation device SD that transports and separates the exterior material E and the water absorbing material 5, an exterior material recovery device ED that transports the separated exterior material E and separates and recovers the exterior material E from the conveyed air, and a separated water absorption device A specific gravity separator GD that conveys the material 5 and separates it into two types based on the difference in size and specific gravity, and a small specific gravity material recovery device GS that conveys the separated small specific gravity material 5P and separates and recovers the small specific gravity material 5P from the conveying air. , and a large specific gravity material recovery device GL that conveys the separated large specific gravity material 5S and separates and recovers the large specific gravity material 5S from the conveying air.

As a result, it is possible to reliably separate the exterior material E from the object to be treated 3, and then efficiently separate the two types of water absorbing material 5, the low specific gravity material 5P and the high specific gravity material 5S. The recovery of the material 5P and the recovery of the large specific gravity material 5S can be ensured separately.
Furthermore, the water-absorbing material recovery system 1 includes a bag filter BF that sucks the separated air discharged from the exterior material recovery device ED, the small specific gravity material recovery device GS, and the large specific gravity material recovery device GL.

Thereby, even if the conveying air after separating and collecting the exterior material E, the small specific gravity material 5P, and the large specific gravity material 5S contains harmful substances, it can be removed.
Furthermore, the water-absorbing material recovery system 1 connects the air outlet 13 of the bag filter BF and the conveyance air intake port 12 of the small specific gravity material recovery device GS through an air conveyance path 14.
Thereby, the air discharged from the bag filter BF can be reused as the conveying air in the small specific gravity material recovery device GS.

In the water-absorbing material recovery system 1, the crushing device CD includes a first crushing device C1 which inputs and roughly crushes the workpiece 3 in which two types of water-absorbing materials 5 are surrounded by an exterior material E; It is provided with a second crushing device C2 that supplies and crushes the crushed material 4 roughly crushed in C1 and quantitatively supplies the crushed material 4 to the separation device SD.
As a result, it is possible to effectively and sufficiently crush the exterior material E and the chunks of the water-absorbing material 5, and to quantify the supply of the crushed material 4 to the separation device SD. And separation of the water-absorbing material 5 can be ensured.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and the shapes, configurations, combinations, etc. of members can be changed.
For example, in the separation device SD, the axis of the chamber 15 is arranged horizontally, but it can also be arranged vertically.
The blade member 22b may be tilted with respect to the axis of the chamber 15 so that the air entering from the suction port 15a and the intake port 19 flows to the discharge port 15c by rotation of the blade member 22b. In the four blades 22, the number of blade members 22b may be one or three or more, and the positions in the circumferential direction of the blade members 22b of adjacent blades 22 may be the same or different.

The compression packing machines 57 and 92 may be called automatic packing machines, volume reduction machines, compactors, or the like.
The blower B1 of the first crushing device C1 may be arranged on the air suction side of the discharge member 27, and the crushed material 4 may be discharged from the discharge member 27 to the conveyance path R1 by the blower discharge wind.
In the specific gravity separator GD, the opening member 32a is omitted and the lower end of the discharge cylinder 32 is used as the discharge port 32b, the outlet port 31b is formed at multiple locations on the bottom wall 31a, or the outlet port 31b is expanded to the inner peripheral side. It may also be formed.

1 Water absorbing material recovery system 3 Material to be processed 4 Crushed material 5 Water absorbing material 5P Low specific gravity material (pulp)
5S Large specific gravity material (high molecular polymer)
12 Transport air intake port 13 Air discharge port 14 Air transport path BF Bag filter C1 First crushing device C2 Second crushing device CD Crushing device E Exterior material ED Exterior material recovery device GD Specific gravity separation device GL Large specific gravity material recovery device GS Small specific gravity Material recovery device K1 Crushing process K2 Separation process K3 Exterior material recovery process K4 Specific gravity separation process K5 Low specific gravity material recovery process K6 Large specific gravity material recovery process K7 Terminal air conveyance process R1 to R6 Conveyance path SD Separation device

Claims (7)

A crushing device (CD) that inputs and crushes the object to be treated (3) in which two types of water-absorbing materials (5) are surrounded by an exterior material (E), and a crushing device (CD) that transports the shredded material (4) and crushes it with the exterior material. (E) and water-absorbing material (5), and a specific gravity separating device (GD) that transports the separated water-absorbing material (5) and separates it into two types based on the difference in size and specific gravity. and
The crushing device (CD) includes a first crushing device (C1) which roughly crushes the object to be treated (3) in which two types of water absorbing materials (5) are surrounded by an exterior material (E); A second crushing device (C2) that supplies and crushes the crushed material (4) roughly crushed by the device (C1) and quantitatively supplies the crushed material (4) to the separation device (SD). Ori,
The second crushing device (C2) includes a storage barrel (43) for storing the crushed material (4) supplied from the first crushing device (C1), and a storage barrel (43) for storing the crushed material (4) in the lower part of this storage barrel (43). A nipping conveyance rotor (42) that conveys the material downward while nipping it, and a crushing roller (41) that crushes and opens the crushed material (4) quantitatively sent out from the nipping conveyance rotor (42). A water absorbing material recovery system featuring: A crushing device (CD) that inputs and crushes the object to be treated (3) in which two types of water-absorbing materials (5) are surrounded by an exterior material (E), and a crushing device (CD) that transports the shredded material (4) and crushes it with the exterior material. (E) and the water-absorbing material (5), and an exterior material recovery device (ED) that conveys the separated exterior material (E) and separates and recovers the exterior material (E) from the conveyed air. ), a gravity separator (GD) that conveys the separated water absorbing material (5) and separates it into two types based on the difference in size and specific gravity, and a gravity separator (GD) that conveys the separated water absorbing material (5) and separates it into two types based on the difference in size and specific gravity, and a gravity separator (GD) that conveys the separated low specific gravity material (5P) and separates it from the conveyed air. A small specific gravity material recovery device (GS) that separates and recovers the material (5P), and a large specific gravity material recovery device (GS) that transports the separated large specific gravity material (5S) and separates and recovers the large specific gravity material (5S) from the conveying air. GL) ,
The crushing device (CD) includes a first crushing device (C1) which roughly crushes the object to be treated (3) in which two types of water absorbing materials (5) are surrounded by an exterior material (E); A second crushing device (C2) that supplies and crushes the crushed material (4) roughly crushed by the device (C1) and quantitatively supplies the crushed material (4) to the separation device (SD). Ori,
The second crushing device (C2) includes a storage barrel (43) for storing the crushed material (4) supplied from the first crushing device (C1), and a storage barrel (43) for storing the crushed material (4) in the lower part of this storage barrel (43). It has a nipping conveyance rotor (42) that conveys the material downward while nipping it, and a crushing roller (41) that crushes and opens the crushed material (4) quantitatively sent out from the nipping conveyance rotor (42). and
The crushing roller (41) has a large number of Peter blades (41d) spaced apart in the circumferential direction and the axial direction on the outer periphery of the cylindrical rotor drum (41a) in order to crush and open the crushed material (4). ) A water-absorbing material recovery system. It is characterized by comprising a bag filter (BF) that sucks the separated air discharged from the exterior material recovery device (ED), the small specific gravity material recovery device (GS), and the large specific gravity material recovery device (GL). The water absorbing material recovery system according to claim 2. Claim characterized in that the air outlet (13) of the bag filter (BF) and the conveying air inlet (12) of the small specific gravity material recovery device (GS) are connected by an air conveying path (14). 3. The water absorbing material recovery system described in 3. The second crushing device (C2) includes a crushing roller (41) at the bottom, a nipping conveyance rotor (42) above the crushing roller (41), and a crushed material (4) above the nipping conveyance rotor (42). a separation duct (45) that communicates with the upper part of the storage cylinder (43) and through which the crushed material (4) is pneumatically conveyed from the first crushing device (C1); 41) and a discharge duct (46) disposed below the separation duct (45), the discharge port (45a) of the separation duct (45) and the suction port (46a) of the discharge duct (46) are connected by a bypass pipe (47). and
The separation duct (45) has a substantially T-shape when viewed from the front, and includes a horizontal path (a) that linearly conveys air from an inlet (45b) to an outlet (45a), and a horizontal path (a) that conveys the crushed material contained in the conveyed air. 5. The water absorption according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , further comprising a vertical path (b) in which the water falls under its own weight to the storage cylinder (43) below and is collected. Material recovery system. A crushing step (K1) in which a workpiece (3) in which two types of water-absorbing materials (5) are surrounded by an exterior material (E) is introduced and crushed, and the crushed material (4) is transported to the exterior material. (E) and the water-absorbing material (5); and a packaging material recovery process (K3) in which the separated packaging material (E) is transported and the packaging material (E) is separated and recovered from the conveyed air. ), a specific gravity separation step (K4) in which the separated water-absorbing material (5) is separated into two types based on the difference in size and specific gravity, and the separated low specific gravity material (5P) is conveyed by air to extract the small specific gravity material (5P) from the conveyed air. 5P), and a large specific gravity material recovery process (K6) in which the separated large specific gravity material (5S) is air conveyed and the large specific gravity material (5S) is separated and recovered from the conveyed air. ) and
In the crushing step (K1), the object to be treated (3) is roughly crushed using a cutter blade (25a) and a rotary cutter (25b), and the roughly crushed crushed material (4) is supplied to the storage cylinder (43). A water-absorbing material recovery method characterized in that the stored crushed material (4) is quantitatively crushed and opened by a crushing roller (41) while being pinched and conveyed by a pinching conveyance rotor (42). The separated air discharged from the exterior material recovery process (K3), the low specific gravity material recovery process (K5), and the high specific gravity material recovery process (K6) is supplied to a bag filter (BF), and from this bag filter (BF) The water-absorbing material recovery method according to claim 6, further comprising a terminal air conveyance step (K7) for conveying the discharged air to the conveyance air intake port (12) of the small specific gravity material recovery step (K5). .

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