WO2002038295A1 - An installation for recovering gases which damage the environment - Google Patents

An installation for recovering gases which damage the environment Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2002038295A1
WO2002038295A1 PCT/GB2001/004994 GB0104994W WO0238295A1 WO 2002038295 A1 WO2002038295 A1 WO 2002038295A1 GB 0104994 W GB0104994 W GB 0104994W WO 0238295 A1 WO0238295 A1 WO 0238295A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
foam
installation according
gases
installation
products
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/GB2001/004994
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Gary Taylor
Original Assignee
Gary Taylor
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from GB0027573A external-priority patent/GB0027573D0/en
Priority claimed from GB0030412A external-priority patent/GB0030412D0/en
Priority claimed from GB0120226A external-priority patent/GB0120226D0/en
Application filed by Gary Taylor filed Critical Gary Taylor
Priority to AU2002212559A priority Critical patent/AU2002212559A1/en
Publication of WO2002038295A1 publication Critical patent/WO2002038295A1/en

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B09—DISPOSAL OF SOLID WASTE; RECLAMATION OF CONTAMINATED SOIL
    • B09B—DISPOSAL OF SOLID WASTE NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B09B3/00—Destroying solid waste or transforming solid waste into something useful or harmless
    • B09B3/30—Destroying solid waste or transforming solid waste into something useful or harmless involving mechanical treatment
    • B09B3/35—Shredding, crushing or cutting
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
    • B29B—PREPARATION OR PRETREATMENT OF THE MATERIAL TO BE SHAPED; MAKING GRANULES OR PREFORMS; RECOVERY OF PLASTICS OR OTHER CONSTITUENTS OF WASTE MATERIAL CONTAINING PLASTICS
    • B29B17/00—Recovery of plastics or other constituents of waste material containing plastics
    • B29B17/04—Disintegrating plastics, e.g. by milling
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B03—SEPARATION OF SOLID MATERIALS USING LIQUIDS OR USING PNEUMATIC TABLES OR JIGS; MAGNETIC OR ELECTROSTATIC SEPARATION OF SOLID MATERIALS FROM SOLID MATERIALS OR FLUIDS; SEPARATION BY HIGH-VOLTAGE ELECTRIC FIELDS
    • B03B—SEPARATING SOLID MATERIALS USING LIQUIDS OR USING PNEUMATIC TABLES OR JIGS
    • B03B9/00—General arrangement of separating plant, e.g. flow sheets
    • B03B9/06—General arrangement of separating plant, e.g. flow sheets specially adapted for refuse
    • B03B9/061—General arrangement of separating plant, e.g. flow sheets specially adapted for refuse the refuse being industrial
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B09—DISPOSAL OF SOLID WASTE; RECLAMATION OF CONTAMINATED SOIL
    • B09B—DISPOSAL OF SOLID WASTE NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B09B3/00—Destroying solid waste or transforming solid waste into something useful or harmless
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B09—DISPOSAL OF SOLID WASTE; RECLAMATION OF CONTAMINATED SOIL
    • B09B—DISPOSAL OF SOLID WASTE NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B09B2101/00—Type of solid waste
    • B09B2101/02—Gases or liquids enclosed in discarded articles, e.g. aerosol cans or cooling systems of refrigerators
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B09—DISPOSAL OF SOLID WASTE; RECLAMATION OF CONTAMINATED SOIL
    • B09B—DISPOSAL OF SOLID WASTE NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B09B2101/00—Type of solid waste
    • B09B2101/75—Plastic waste
    • B09B2101/78—Plastic waste containing foamed plastics, e.g. polystyrol
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
    • B29B—PREPARATION OR PRETREATMENT OF THE MATERIAL TO BE SHAPED; MAKING GRANULES OR PREFORMS; RECOVERY OF PLASTICS OR OTHER CONSTITUENTS OF WASTE MATERIAL CONTAINING PLASTICS
    • B29B17/00—Recovery of plastics or other constituents of waste material containing plastics
    • B29B17/04—Disintegrating plastics, e.g. by milling
    • B29B2017/0424—Specific disintegrating techniques; devices therefor
    • B29B2017/0476—Cutting or tearing members, e.g. spiked or toothed cylinders or intermeshing rollers
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
    • B29K—INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES B29B, B29C OR B29D, RELATING TO MOULDING MATERIALS OR TO MATERIALS FOR MOULDS, REINFORCEMENTS, FILLERS OR PREFORMED PARTS, e.g. INSERTS
    • B29K2105/00—Condition, form or state of moulded material or of the material to be shaped
    • B29K2105/04—Condition, form or state of moulded material or of the material to be shaped cellular or porous
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02W—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO WASTEWATER TREATMENT OR WASTE MANAGEMENT
    • Y02W30/00—Technologies for solid waste management
    • Y02W30/50—Reuse, recycling or recovery technologies
    • Y02W30/52—Mechanical processing of waste for the recovery of materials, e.g. crushing, shredding, separation or disassembly
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02W—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO WASTEWATER TREATMENT OR WASTE MANAGEMENT
    • Y02W30/00—Technologies for solid waste management
    • Y02W30/50—Reuse, recycling or recovery technologies
    • Y02W30/62—Plastics recycling; Rubber recycling

Definitions

  • This invention relates to an installation for recovering gases which damage the environment . More especially, this invention relates to an installation for recovering gases which damage the environment when released into the environment from products which contain the gases and which are at the end of their working life.
  • gases which damage the environment There are many products which contain gases which damage the environment . When these products are at the end of their working life, they are disposed of and the gases which they contain • are released into the environment . Examples of such products are refrigerators, freezers and high expansion foam.
  • the gases which damage the environment are usually chlorofluorocarbons which are known as CFC gases, and hydrochlorofluorocarbons which are known as HCFC gases .
  • the products which are at the end of their working life may however contain other types of gases which damage the environment .
  • Installations are known for recovering gases which damage the environment.
  • the known installations are generally only about 75% efficient so that approximately 25% of the gases which could be recovered are not recovered and are thus still available for damaging the environment.
  • an installation for recovering gases which damage the environment when released into the environment from products which contain the gases and which are at the end of their working life comprises shredding apparatus for shredding the products into pieces, separation means for separating shredded pieces of foam from the remainder of the shredded products, and heating means for heating the foam in order to release the gases from the foam.
  • the installation of the present invention is able to operate with a very good percentage recovery of the gases that would otherwise be released into the environment and would damage the environment. This recovery may be much higher than the 75% recovery rate of the known different types of installations. In some cases, the installation of the present invention may give a gas recovery as high as 99.99%.
  • the installation may include pressure reducing means for reducing pressure in the installation in order substantially to prevent loss of the gases from the installation to the atmosphere.
  • the installation may be one in which the pressure reducing means is at least one extraction fan.
  • the installation may include adsorption means for adsorbing the gases.
  • the installation may include delay means for delaying the passage of the foam whilst the foam is being heated by the heating means, thereby to ensure that the foam is heated for a sufficient period of time to release the gases from the foam.
  • the installation is one in which the delay means is such that it permits the foam to move continuously through the heating means, thereby to enable the installation to operate on a continuous basis.
  • the delay means may comprise a series of conveyors or inclined trays.
  • the delay means may also be a rotating drum.
  • the rotating drum may rotate in the heating means.
  • the rotating drum may have mixer means, for example paddles or helical members, which operate to thoroughly mix the foam in the rotating drum. The mixing may be effected by taking the foam at the bottom of the foam in the rotating drum and turning it to the top. -The rotating drum may operate like a cement mixer.
  • the shredding apparatus is a rotating device having knuckles which break up the products and thereby shred them.
  • the installation may include feed apparatus for feeding the products to the rotating device.
  • the feed apparatus may . be a ram or any other suitable and appropriate type of feed apparatus.
  • the installation is one in which the separation means also separates the remainder of the shredded products into constituent parts.
  • the separation means may a vibrating fluidised bed separation means.
  • the fluidised bed separation means may separate plastics parts, non-ferrous metal parts, and ferrous metal parts.
  • the separator means may alternatively be magnetic separator means. Where the magnetic separator means employed is for attracting a metal which is not normally attracted to magnets, then the metal may be given a charge which renders the metal attractable to the magnetic separator means.
  • the installation may include refining means for reducing the shredded ' pieces of foam into foam powder before the foam is heated by the heating means.
  • the refining means is preferably a grinding means. Other types of refining means may however be employed.
  • the installation may include gas take-off means for removing gases from the shredder means and re-introducing the gases into the installation at the refining apparatus in order to facilitate collection of foam powder without loss of the gases to the environment.
  • the heating means may heat the foam powder.
  • the heating means may additionally or alternatively heat the shredded pieces of foam.
  • the heating means is preferably an electric heating means.
  • the heating means is also preferably an oven, for example an electrically heated oven.
  • Other types, of heating means may be employed.
  • the pressure reducing means may be at least one extraction fan. More than one extraction fan will usually be employed. Other types of pressure reducing means may be employed.
  • the adsorption means is preferably a carbon bed filter.
  • the carbon bed filter is preferably a coconut shell activated carbon bed filter. Other types of adsorption means may be employed.
  • the installation may include press means for compressing foam powder into sheets or blocks.
  • Figure 1 shows a first installation for recovering gases which damage the environment
  • Figure 2 shows a second installation for recovering gases which damage the environment
  • Figure 3 shows a third installation for recovering gases which damage the environment
  • Figure 4 shows a fourth installation for recovering gases which damage the environment.
  • FIG 1 there is shown an installation 2 for recovering gases which damage the environment when released into the environment from products 4 which contain the gases and which are at the end of their working life.
  • the products 4 are shown in Figure 1 as refrigerators but they may be other suitable and appropriate types of products .
  • the installation 2 comprises shredding apparatus 6 for shredding the products 4 into pieces, and separation means 8 for. separating shredded pieces of foam 10 from the remainder of the shredded products.
  • the installation 2 further comprises refining apparatus 12 for reducing the shredded pieces of foam 10 to foam powder 14.
  • Heating means in the form of an oven 16 is employed for heating the shredded pieces of foam 10 in the refining apparatus in order to release the gases from the foam powder 14.
  • Pressure reducing means 18 are employed for reducing pressure in the installation 2 in order substantially to prevent loss of the gases from the installation 2 to the atmosphere.
  • Adsorption means 20 are employed for adsorbing the gases.
  • the shredding apparatus 6 is a rotating device 22 with knuckles (not shown) " which breaks up the products 4 as they are fed to the rotating device 22 by falling under gravity down a hopper 24.
  • Feed apparatus in the form of a ram may be employed for feeding the products 4 to the rotating device 22.
  • the separation means 8 is such that it also separates the remainder of . the shredded products into constituent parts. More specifically, the separation means 8 comprises a screw feed conveyor 26 and a vibrating fluidised bed separation means 28.
  • the vibrating fluidised bed separation means 28 receives the shredded products from the screw feed conveyor 26 and separates the shredded products into plastics parts 30, non-ferrous metals 32, and ferrous metals 34.
  • the shredded pieces of foam 10 pass as a mixture of shredded pieces of foam 10 and gases along a conduit 36 to the refining apparatus 12.
  • the installation 2 comprises a coarse stripping section 38, a coarse stripping segregation section 40, and a foam refining section formed by the refining apparatus 12.
  • the refining apparatus 12 includes grinding means 42 and a cyclone 44.
  • the grinding means 42 grinds the shredded pieces of foam 10 to the foam powder 14.
  • the foam powder 14 passes through the cyclone 44 into a container 46 having vibrators 48 and delay means in the form of trays 50.
  • the grinding of the shredded pieces of foam into the foam powder 14 by the grinding means 42 ensures that much of the harmful gases trapped in the shredded pieces of foam 10 is released.
  • the trays 50 are inclined at 15° but they may be inclined at other angles if desired.
  • the trays 50 act to form a trap for the foam powder 14, and to delay the passage of the foam powder 14 through the container 46.
  • the vibrators 48 vibrate the container 46 and the trays 50 in order to cause the foam powder 14 to fall towards the bottom of the container 46.
  • the bottom of the container 46 is such that the foam powder 14 passes through a rotary paddle valve 52 into a container 54.
  • the air and the harmful gases such as the CFC/HCFC's pass along a conduit 56 through the adsorption means 20.
  • Air and harmful gases such as the CFC/HCFC's from the top of the cyclone 44 pass along a conduit 58.
  • Air and harmful gases such as the CFC/HCFC's from the shredding apparatus 6 pass along a conduit 60.
  • the pressure reducing means 18 in the form of the illustrated fans 18 sucks the air and the harmful gases along the conduits 56, 58, 60.
  • the air and the harmful gases are then sucked through a powder filter 62 by a fan 64 which also forms part of the pressure reducing means.
  • the air and the harmful gases then pass into the adsorption means 20.
  • the heating means in the form of the oven 16 is such that it surrounds the container 46 as shown.
  • the oven 16 is able to heat the foam powder 14 in the container 46 to 140 - 200°C.
  • the trays 50 delay the passage of the foam powder 14 through the container 46. This is so that the foam powder 14 can be heated for an appropriate period of time in order to cause release of the harmf l gases in the foam powder 1 .
  • the adsorption means 20 is a carbon bed adsorption means. More specifically, the adsorption means 20 is a coconut shell activated carbon filter bed in a container 66. The harmful gases are retained by the filter bed and air passes to atmosphere via an outlet 68. The installation 2 enables over 99% of harmful gases to be recovered from foam material contained in the products 4. At the same time, metals and plastics materials can be separated from the products 4, and these separated materials can be recycled if desired. The collected foam powder 14 in the container 66 can also be recycled if desired, for example by being pressed into sheets of foam for installation purposes.
  • each conveyor ' 72 comprised an endless belt 74 running on rollers 76 and pulleys 78.
  • the conveyors 72 are mounted directly in the oven 16, and the container 46 and the vibrators 48 are dispensed with.
  • the heating means 16 contains a rotatable drum 76.
  • a passage 78 passes foam powder 14 from the cyclone 44 to the left hand end of the drum 76.
  • the drum 76 is horizontally mounted as shown on drive members 80.
  • the drive members 80 encircle the drum 76 and they connect with motorized drive devices 82 as shown.
  • the motorized drive devices 82 drive the drive members 80, thereby to cause 'the drum 76 to rotate.
  • the drum 76 has " an open end 84.
  • the heated foam powder 14 passes from the open end 84 down a passage 86 to the rotary paddle valve 52 and' then into the container 54.
  • the foam powder.14 may stay in the drum 76 for twenty minutes.
  • the foam powder 14 may be maintained in the. drum at a temperature of 160°.
  • the heating means 16 may be heated by an oil fired radiator arrangement positioned around the outside of the heating means 16.
  • the installation 90 for recovering gases which damage the environment when released into the environment from products which contain the gases and which are at the end of their working life.
  • the installation 90 comprises a conveyer 92 for feeding the products, for example refrigerators, to shredding apparatus 94.
  • the installation 90 further comprises separation means 96 for separating shredded pieces of foam from the remainder of the shredded products .
  • the remainder of the shredded products pass along a conveyor 98 or other device where they are separated into constituent parts which fall into containers 100, 102, 104.
  • the container 100 is for ferrous parts.
  • the container 102 is for non-ferrous parts.
  • the container 104 is for plastics parts.
  • the shredding apparatus 94 forms part of a foam retrieval system.
  • the foam may be polyurethane .
  • the foam passes along a duct 106 together with air and CFC/HCFC gases to a first heating stage 108 of heating means 110.
  • the shredded pieces of foam are heated.
  • the shredded pieces of foam may be of 10 - 15mm in size.
  • the pieces of foam may be in the form of cubes or other shapes.
  • the pieces of foam become melted in the first heating stage 108 and they melt into blobs of foam. Gases from the melted pieces of foam may be bled off at the first heating stage 108 and/or the gases may be passed to a second heating stage 112.
  • the second heating stage 112 runs at a higher temperature than the first heating stage.
  • the first heating stage 108 may run at a temperature of 400°C, whilst the second heating stage may run at a temperature of 1200°C.
  • gases from the foam are incinerated. Temperatures in excess of 1200°C may be employed if desired.
  • the time of heating in the first heating stage 108 and the second heating stage 112 may also be varied as desired.
  • the gases that get burnt in the first and second heating stages 108, 112 may be refrigerent gases, hydrogen fluoride acid gases, hydrogen chloride acid gases, and cyanide gases.
  • Gas by products leaving the second heating stage 112 pass along a conduit 114 where they may pass to a gas byproducts neutralisation system 116 for ensuring that safe gas emmissions pass to the environment.
  • the heating means 110 may be such that there are two plates or other devices which can be changed over so that one device can be cleaned whilst the other one is being used, thereby ensuring continuous running of the installation 90.
  • the use of the heating means 110 provides an effective alternative to the above mentioned use of absorption means such for example as a carbon bed filter.
  • absorption means such for example as a carbon bed filter.
  • the disposal of the gases obtained from the foam may be more easily effected using the heating means 110 rather than an absorption means where the absorption means has to be periodically cleaned of the stored gases, and then the stored gases have to be taken in containers for separate disposal, for example by incineration.
  • the cleaning of the absorption means may be effected by forcing steam through the carbon to drive off the retained gases, and thereby simultaneously to regenerate the absorption means, for example the carbon bed filter, for further use.
  • the driven off gases may be passed to cylinders which are then chilled in order to cause the gases to liquefy.
  • the liquefied gases can then be released from their containers for appropriate incineration.
  • the installations 2 and 70 may be sized for receiving larger or smaller products than refrigerators.
  • Heating means other than the oven 16 may be employed.
  • Delay means other than the trays 50, the bank of conveyors 72, or the drum 76 may be employed.
  • the foam may stay in the heating means for any desired length of time and at any desired temperature.
  • Adsorption means other than the coconut shell activated carbon filter bed may be employed.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Separation, Recovery Or Treatment Of Waste Materials Containing Plastics (AREA)
  • Processing Of Solid Wastes (AREA)

Abstract

An installation (2) for recovering gases which damage the environment when released into the environment form products (4) which contain the gases and which are at the end of their working life, which installation (2) comprises shredding apparatus (6) for shredding the products (4) into pieces, separation means (8) for separating shredded pieces of foam (10) from the remainder of the shredded products (4), and heating means (16) for heating the foam (10). The installation (2) may include pressure reducing means (18) for reducing pressure in the installation (2) in order substantially to prevent loss of the gases from the installation (2) to the atmosphere.

Description

AN INSTALLATION FOR RECOVERING GASES WHICH DAMAGE THE ENVIRONMENT
This invention relates to an installation for recovering gases which damage the environment . More especially, this invention relates to an installation for recovering gases which damage the environment when released into the environment from products which contain the gases and which are at the end of their working life.
There are many products which contain gases which damage the environment . When these products are at the end of their working life, they are disposed of and the gases which they contain • are released into the environment . Examples of such products are refrigerators, freezers and high expansion foam. The gases which damage the environment are usually chlorofluorocarbons which are known as CFC gases, and hydrochlorofluorocarbons which are known as HCFC gases . The products which are at the end of their working life may however contain other types of gases which damage the environment .
Installations are known for recovering gases which damage the environment. The known installations are generally only about 75% efficient so that approximately 25% of the gases which could be recovered are not recovered and are thus still available for damaging the environment.
It is an aim of the present invention to reduce the above mentioned problem. Accordingly, in one non-limiting embodiment of the present invention there is provided an installation for recovering gases which damage the environment when released into the environment from products which contain the gases and which are at the end of their working life, which installation comprises shredding apparatus for shredding the products into pieces, separation means for separating shredded pieces of foam from the remainder of the shredded products, and heating means for heating the foam in order to release the gases from the foam.
The installation of the present invention is able to operate with a very good percentage recovery of the gases that would otherwise be released into the environment and would damage the environment. This recovery may be much higher than the 75% recovery rate of the known different types of installations. In some cases, the installation of the present invention may give a gas recovery as high as 99.99%.
The installation may include pressure reducing means for reducing pressure in the installation in order substantially to prevent loss of the gases from the installation to the atmosphere.
The installation may be one in which the pressure reducing means is at least one extraction fan.
The installation may include adsorption means for adsorbing the gases. The installation may include delay means for delaying the passage of the foam whilst the foam is being heated by the heating means, thereby to ensure that the foam is heated for a sufficient period of time to release the gases from the foam. Preferably, the installation is one in which the delay means is such that it permits the foam to move continuously through the heating means, thereby to enable the installation to operate on a continuous basis. The delay means may comprise a series of conveyors or inclined trays.
The delay means may also be a rotating drum. The rotating drum may rotate in the heating means. The rotating drum may have mixer means, for example paddles or helical members, which operate to thoroughly mix the foam in the rotating drum. The mixing may be effected by taking the foam at the bottom of the foam in the rotating drum and turning it to the top. -The rotating drum may operate like a cement mixer.
Preferably, the shredding apparatus is a rotating device having knuckles which break up the products and thereby shred them.
The installation may include feed apparatus for feeding the products to the rotating device. The feed apparatus may . be a ram or any other suitable and appropriate type of feed apparatus.
Preferably, the installation is one in which the separation means also separates the remainder of the shredded products into constituent parts. Thus, for example, the separation means may a vibrating fluidised bed separation means. The fluidised bed separation means may separate plastics parts, non-ferrous metal parts, and ferrous metal parts. The separator means may alternatively be magnetic separator means. Where the magnetic separator means employed is for attracting a metal which is not normally attracted to magnets, then the metal may be given a charge which renders the metal attractable to the magnetic separator means.
The installation may include refining means for reducing the shredded ' pieces of foam into foam powder before the foam is heated by the heating means. The refining means is preferably a grinding means. Other types of refining means may however be employed.
The installation may include gas take-off means for removing gases from the shredder means and re-introducing the gases into the installation at the refining apparatus in order to facilitate collection of foam powder without loss of the gases to the environment.
The heating means may heat the foam powder. The heating means may additionally or alternatively heat the shredded pieces of foam.
The heating means is preferably an electric heating means. The heating means is also preferably an oven, for example an electrically heated oven. Other types, of heating means may be employed. As mentioned above, the pressure reducing means may be at least one extraction fan. More than one extraction fan will usually be employed. Other types of pressure reducing means may be employed.
The adsorption means is preferably a carbon bed filter. The carbon bed filter is preferably a coconut shell activated carbon bed filter. Other types of adsorption means may be employed.
The installation may include press means for compressing foam powder into sheets or blocks.
Embodiments of the invention of the invention will now be described solely by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 shows a first installation for recovering gases which damage the environment;
Figure 2 shows a second installation for recovering gases which damage the environment;
Figure 3 shows a third installation for recovering gases which damage the environment; and
Figure 4 shows a fourth installation for recovering gases which damage the environment.
Referring to Figure 1, there is shown an installation 2 for recovering gases which damage the environment when released into the environment from products 4 which contain the gases and which are at the end of their working life. The products 4 are shown in Figure 1 as refrigerators but they may be other suitable and appropriate types of products .
The installation 2 comprises shredding apparatus 6 for shredding the products 4 into pieces, and separation means 8 for. separating shredded pieces of foam 10 from the remainder of the shredded products.
The installation 2 further comprises refining apparatus 12 for reducing the shredded pieces of foam 10 to foam powder 14. Heating means in the form of an oven 16 is employed for heating the shredded pieces of foam 10 in the refining apparatus in order to release the gases from the foam powder 14.
Pressure reducing means 18 are employed for reducing pressure in the installation 2 in order substantially to prevent loss of the gases from the installation 2 to the atmosphere. Adsorption means 20 are employed for adsorbing the gases.
As can be seen from Figure 1, the shredding apparatus 6 is a rotating device 22 with knuckles (not shown) " which breaks up the products 4 as they are fed to the rotating device 22 by falling under gravity down a hopper 24. Feed apparatus in the form of a ram (not shown) may be employed for feeding the products 4 to the rotating device 22.
The separation means 8 is such that it also separates the remainder of . the shredded products into constituent parts. More specifically, the separation means 8 comprises a screw feed conveyor 26 and a vibrating fluidised bed separation means 28. The vibrating fluidised bed separation means 28 receives the shredded products from the screw feed conveyor 26 and separates the shredded products into plastics parts 30, non-ferrous metals 32, and ferrous metals 34. The shredded pieces of foam 10 pass as a mixture of shredded pieces of foam 10 and gases along a conduit 36 to the refining apparatus 12. Thus the installation 2 comprises a coarse stripping section 38, a coarse stripping segregation section 40, and a foam refining section formed by the refining apparatus 12.
The refining apparatus 12 includes grinding means 42 and a cyclone 44. The grinding means 42 grinds the shredded pieces of foam 10 to the foam powder 14. The foam powder 14 passes through the cyclone 44 into a container 46 having vibrators 48 and delay means in the form of trays 50. The grinding of the shredded pieces of foam into the foam powder 14 by the grinding means 42 ensures that much of the harmful gases trapped in the shredded pieces of foam 10 is released. The trays 50 are inclined at 15° but they may be inclined at other angles if desired. The trays 50 act to form a trap for the foam powder 14, and to delay the passage of the foam powder 14 through the container 46. The vibrators 48 vibrate the container 46 and the trays 50 in order to cause the foam powder 14 to fall towards the bottom of the container 46.
The bottom of the container 46 is such that the foam powder 14 passes through a rotary paddle valve 52 into a container 54. The air and the harmful gases such as the CFC/HCFC's pass along a conduit 56 through the adsorption means 20. Air and harmful gases such as the CFC/HCFC's from the top of the cyclone 44 pass along a conduit 58. Air and harmful gases such as the CFC/HCFC's from the shredding apparatus 6 pass along a conduit 60. The pressure reducing means 18 in the form of the illustrated fans 18 sucks the air and the harmful gases along the conduits 56, 58, 60. The air and the harmful gases are then sucked through a powder filter 62 by a fan 64 which also forms part of the pressure reducing means. The air and the harmful gases then pass into the adsorption means 20.
The heating means in the form of the oven 16 is such that it surrounds the container 46 as shown. The oven 16 is able to heat the foam powder 14 in the container 46 to 140 - 200°C. As mentioned above, the trays 50 delay the passage of the foam powder 14 through the container 46. This is so that the foam powder 14 can be heated for an appropriate period of time in order to cause release of the harmf l gases in the foam powder 1 .
The adsorption means 20 is a carbon bed adsorption means. More specifically, the adsorption means 20 is a coconut shell activated carbon filter bed in a container 66. The harmful gases are retained by the filter bed and air passes to atmosphere via an outlet 68. The installation 2 enables over 99% of harmful gases to be recovered from foam material contained in the products 4. At the same time, metals and plastics materials can be separated from the products 4, and these separated materials can be recycled if desired. The collected foam powder 14 in the container 66 can also be recycled if desired, for example by being pressed into sheets of foam for installation purposes.
Referring now to Figure 2, there is shown an installation 70 which is like the installation 2 except that the delay means in the form of the trays 50 has been replaced by delay means in the form of a bank of conveyors 72. Each conveyor' 72 comprised an endless belt 74 running on rollers 76 and pulleys 78. The conveyors 72 are mounted directly in the oven 16, and the container 46 and the vibrators 48 are dispensed with.
Referring now to Figure 3, it will be seen that the heating means 16 contains a rotatable drum 76. A passage 78 passes foam powder 14 from the cyclone 44 to the left hand end of the drum 76. The drum 76 is horizontally mounted as shown on drive members 80. The drive members 80 encircle the drum 76 and they connect with motorized drive devices 82 as shown. The motorized drive devices 82 drive the drive members 80, thereby to cause 'the drum 76 to rotate. The drum 76 has" an open end 84. The heated foam powder 14 passes from the open end 84 down a passage 86 to the rotary paddle valve 52 and' then into the container 54.
The foam powder.14 may stay in the drum 76 for twenty minutes. The foam powder 14 may be maintained in the. drum at a temperature of 160°. The heating means 16 may be heated by an oil fired radiator arrangement positioned around the outside of the heating means 16.
Referring to Figure 4, there is shown an installation 90 for recovering gases which damage the environment when released into the environment from products which contain the gases and which are at the end of their working life. The installation 90 comprises a conveyer 92 for feeding the products, for example refrigerators, to shredding apparatus 94. The installation 90 further comprises separation means 96 for separating shredded pieces of foam from the remainder of the shredded products . The remainder of the shredded products pass along a conveyor 98 or other device where they are separated into constituent parts which fall into containers 100, 102, 104. The container 100 is for ferrous parts. The container 102 is for non-ferrous parts. The container 104 is for plastics parts.
The shredding apparatus 94 forms part of a foam retrieval system. The foam may be polyurethane . The foam passes along a duct 106 together with air and CFC/HCFC gases to a first heating stage 108 of heating means 110. In the first heating stage 108, the shredded pieces of foam are heated. The shredded pieces of foam may be of 10 - 15mm in size. The pieces of foam may be in the form of cubes or other shapes. The pieces of foam become melted in the first heating stage 108 and they melt into blobs of foam. Gases from the melted pieces of foam may be bled off at the first heating stage 108 and/or the gases may be passed to a second heating stage 112. The second heating stage 112 runs at a higher temperature than the first heating stage. Thus, for example, the first heating stage 108 may run at a temperature of 400°C, whilst the second heating stage may run at a temperature of 1200°C. In the second heating stage 112 gases from the foam are incinerated. Temperatures in excess of 1200°C may be employed if desired. The time of heating in the first heating stage 108 and the second heating stage 112 may also be varied as desired. The gases that get burnt in the first and second heating stages 108, 112 may be refrigerent gases, hydrogen fluoride acid gases, hydrogen chloride acid gases, and cyanide gases.
Gas by products leaving the second heating stage 112 pass along a conduit 114 where they may pass to a gas byproducts neutralisation system 116 for ensuring that safe gas emmissions pass to the environment.
The heating means 110 may be such that there are two plates or other devices which can be changed over so that one device can be cleaned whilst the other one is being used, thereby ensuring continuous running of the installation 90. The use of the heating means 110 provides an effective alternative to the above mentioned use of absorption means such for example as a carbon bed filter. The disposal of the gases obtained from the foam may be more easily effected using the heating means 110 rather than an absorption means where the absorption means has to be periodically cleaned of the stored gases, and then the stored gases have to be taken in containers for separate disposal, for example by incineration. The cleaning of the absorption means, for example a carbon bed filter, may be effected by forcing steam through the carbon to drive off the retained gases, and thereby simultaneously to regenerate the absorption means, for example the carbon bed filter, for further use. The driven off gases may be passed to cylinders which are then chilled in order to cause the gases to liquefy. The liquefied gases can then be released from their containers for appropriate incineration.
It is to be appreciated that the embodiments of the invention described above with reference to the drawings have been given by way of example only and that modifications may be effected. Thus, for example, the installations 2 and 70 may be sized for receiving larger or smaller products than refrigerators. Heating means other than the oven 16 may be employed. Delay means other than the trays 50, the bank of conveyors 72, or the drum 76 may be employed. The foam may stay in the heating means for any desired length of time and at any desired temperature. Adsorption means other than the coconut shell activated carbon filter bed may be employed.

Claims

1. An installation for recovering gases which damage the environment when released into the environment from products which contain the gases and which are at the end of their working life, which installation comprises shredding apparatus for shredding the products into pieces, separation means for separating shredded pieces of foam from the remainder of the shredded products, and heating means for heating the foam in order to release the gases from the foam.
2. An installation according to claim 1 and including pressure reducing means for reducing pressure in the installation in order substantially to prevent loss of the gases from the installation to the atmosphere.
3. An installation according to claim 2 in which the pressure reducing means is at least one extraction fan.
4. An installation according to any one of the preceding claims and including adsorption means for adsorbing the gases .
5. An installation according to any one of the preceding claims and including delay means for delaying the passage of the foam whilst the foam is being heated by the heating means, thereby to ensure that the foam is heated for a sufficient period of time to release the gases from the foam.
6. An installation according to claim 5 in which the delay means is such that it permits the foam to move continuously through the heating means, thereby to enable the installation to operate on a continuous basis.
7. An installation according to claim 6 in which the delay means comprises a series of conveyors or inclined trays .
8. An installation according to claim 7 in which the delay means comprises a rotating drum.
9. An installation according to claim 8 in which the rotating drum rotates in the. heating means.
10. An installation according to any one of the preceding claims in which the shredding apparatus is a rotating device having knuckles which break up the products and thereby shred them.
11. An installation according to claim 10 and including feed apparatus for feeding the products to the rotating device .
12. An installation according to any one of the preceding claims in which the separation means also separates the remainder of the shredded products into constituent parts.
13. An installation according to claim 12 in which the separation means comprises a vibrating fluidised bed separation means.
14. An installation according to any one of the preceding claims and including refining means for reducing the shredded pieces of foam into foam powder before the foam is heated by the heating means.
15. An installation according to claim 14 in which the refining means is a grinding means.
16. An installation according to claim 14 or claim 15 and including gas take-off means for removing gases from the shredding means and re-introducing the gases into the installation at the refining means in order to facilitate collection of foam powder without loss of the gases to the environment .
17. An installation according to any one of the preceding claims in which the heating means heats the shredded pieces of foam.
18. An installation according to any one of the preceding claims in which the heating means is an electric heating means .
19. An installation according to any one of the preceding claims in which the heating means is an oven.
20. An installation according to claim 4 in which the adsorption means is a carbon bed filter.
21. An installation according to claim 20 in which the carbon bed filter is a coconut shell activated carbon bed filter.
22. An installation according to any one of the preceding claims and including press means for compressing foam powder into sheets or blocks.
PCT/GB2001/004994 2000-11-10 2001-11-09 An installation for recovering gases which damage the environment WO2002038295A1 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AU2002212559A AU2002212559A1 (en) 2000-11-10 2001-11-09 An installation for recovering gases which damage the environment

Applications Claiming Priority (6)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB0027573.5 2000-11-10
GB0027573A GB0027573D0 (en) 2000-11-10 2000-11-10 An installation for recovering gases which damage the environment
GB0030412A GB0030412D0 (en) 2000-12-13 2000-12-13 An installation for recovering gases which damage the environment
GB0030412.1 2000-12-13
GB0120226A GB0120226D0 (en) 2001-08-20 2001-08-20 An installation for recovering gases which damage the environment
GB0120226.6 2001-08-20

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EP1358942A1 (en) * 2002-04-25 2003-11-05 Lynch Environmental Solutions Limited Apparatus and method for the release of toxic compounds from appliances
EP1422000A1 (en) * 2002-11-22 2004-05-26 U + T Umwelt+Technik Chemnitz GmbH Method and apparatus for treating blowing gas containing material
EP1495814A1 (en) * 2003-07-06 2005-01-12 Lynch Environmental Solutions Limited Mobile apparatus for the release of toxic compounds
WO2010006565A1 (en) * 2008-07-14 2010-01-21 Seg Umwelt-Service Gmbh Device and process for heating material of poor heat conductivity by means of a stirred tank
EP2497579A1 (en) * 2011-03-08 2012-09-12 RBPbeheer BV Method and installation for processing materials from disposed cooling equipment
US11975316B2 (en) 2019-05-09 2024-05-07 Marathon Petroleum Company Lp Methods and reforming systems for re-dispersing platinum on reforming catalyst
US12000720B2 (en) 2018-09-10 2024-06-04 Marathon Petroleum Company Lp Product inventory monitoring
US12018216B2 (en) 2021-10-10 2024-06-25 Marathon Petroleum Company Lp Methods and systems for enhancing processing of hydrocarbons in a fluid catalytic cracking unit using plastic
US12031676B2 (en) 2019-03-25 2024-07-09 Marathon Petroleum Company Lp Insulation securement system and associated methods
US12031094B2 (en) 2021-02-25 2024-07-09 Marathon Petroleum Company Lp Assemblies and methods for enhancing fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) processes during the FCC process using spectroscopic analyzers
US12037548B2 (en) 2021-10-10 2024-07-16 Marathon Petroleum Company Lp Methods and systems for enhancing processing of hydrocarbons in a fluid catalytic cracking unit using a renewable additive

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Cited By (12)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1358942A1 (en) * 2002-04-25 2003-11-05 Lynch Environmental Solutions Limited Apparatus and method for the release of toxic compounds from appliances
EP1422000A1 (en) * 2002-11-22 2004-05-26 U + T Umwelt+Technik Chemnitz GmbH Method and apparatus for treating blowing gas containing material
EP1495814A1 (en) * 2003-07-06 2005-01-12 Lynch Environmental Solutions Limited Mobile apparatus for the release of toxic compounds
WO2010006565A1 (en) * 2008-07-14 2010-01-21 Seg Umwelt-Service Gmbh Device and process for heating material of poor heat conductivity by means of a stirred tank
EP2497579A1 (en) * 2011-03-08 2012-09-12 RBPbeheer BV Method and installation for processing materials from disposed cooling equipment
WO2012119910A1 (en) * 2011-03-08 2012-09-13 Rbpbeheer Bv Method and installation for processing materials from disposed cooling equipment
US12000720B2 (en) 2018-09-10 2024-06-04 Marathon Petroleum Company Lp Product inventory monitoring
US12031676B2 (en) 2019-03-25 2024-07-09 Marathon Petroleum Company Lp Insulation securement system and associated methods
US11975316B2 (en) 2019-05-09 2024-05-07 Marathon Petroleum Company Lp Methods and reforming systems for re-dispersing platinum on reforming catalyst
US12031094B2 (en) 2021-02-25 2024-07-09 Marathon Petroleum Company Lp Assemblies and methods for enhancing fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) processes during the FCC process using spectroscopic analyzers
US12018216B2 (en) 2021-10-10 2024-06-25 Marathon Petroleum Company Lp Methods and systems for enhancing processing of hydrocarbons in a fluid catalytic cracking unit using plastic
US12037548B2 (en) 2021-10-10 2024-07-16 Marathon Petroleum Company Lp Methods and systems for enhancing processing of hydrocarbons in a fluid catalytic cracking unit using a renewable additive

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