Process for granulating molten material

A process for granulating slag melts, glass melts, ceramic melts, metal melts and melts of metal alloys, particularly blast furnace slag melts, the melt being shaped into at least one thin, liquid melt stream moving freely in a predetermined direction and which, by meeting at a predetermined incidence angle with a stream of fine-grained, solid particles and/or gas, particularly inert gas, flowing substantially freely in a substantially uniform direction at a high rate of flow in relation to the melt stream or melt streams, being converted at least partly into a substantially fine-grained granulate having a fan-shaped distribution over at least part of the opposite angle to the incidence angle.

This invention relates to a process for granulating melts, particularly 
glass melts, ceramic melts, metal melts and melts of metal alloys, and may 
be applied with particular advantage to the granulation of blast furnace 
slag melts. The invention also relates to the production of an improved 
granulate. 
In the case of metallurgical slags, the melt is frequently poured into a 
ladle which is carried to the slag dump where the slag is either removed 
from the ladle in the form of an already hard block or is cast in liquid 
form and left to harden on the dump. In many cases, slag melts are also 
converted into granulate by one of the known quick-cooling techniques, for 
example by pouring the slag into water. The first of these processes is 
uneconomical and results in atmospheric pollution. By contrast, the second 
process is more economical because the granulate may be used inter alia as 
an additive, for example as an aggregate for concrete. 
However, all conventional processes for granulating melts, particularly 
slag melts, are attended by disadvantages and deficiences including inter 
alia loss of the heat content of the slag melt. In addition, the granulate 
can only be used to a more or less limited extent depending on the 
particular process adopted. Moreover slag and metal melts are extremely 
difficult to granulate in water on account of the danger of explosion. For 
this reason, steel slags for example are not granulated in water. By 
contrast, pig iron is granulated in water, although large quantities of 
water are required, in addition to which elaborate safety measures have to 
be taken. 
The object of the present invention is to provide a process for granulating 
slag melts, glass melts, ceramic melts, metal melts and melts of metal 
alloys, particularly blast furnace slag melts, which enable the melts to 
be granulated without having to be kept hot for prolonged periods, i.e. 
without any need for additional energy. Additional objects include 
provisions for the granulate to be divisible into fractions having 
different properties and for a controllable reaction and/or association 
between the melt and fine-grain particles. 
According to the invention, this object is achieved in that the melt is 
shaped into a melt film moving freely in a predetermined direction and is 
caused to intersect at a predetermined incidence angle a with a faster 
moving stream of fine-grained, solid particles and/or gas (particularly 
inert gas), and is thus atomized into a fan-shaped distribution of 
droplets over at least part of the opposite angle b to the incidence angle 
a. 
The process according to the invention affords the advantage that 
granulation can be carried out in the open without any danger of explosion 
and the further advantage that the fan-shaped distribution of the droplets 
(which cool into fine-grained granulate) makes the hot granulate easier to 
collect in a fluidized bed. 
According to the invention, the granulate may be divided into fractions on 
collection in dependence upon the distance between the point of collection 
and the point at which the flow of melt meets the stream. In this way, the 
granulate may be divided up into fractions differing in their properties, 
particularly their grain size, density and/or material composition. This 
is of particular advantage in cases where it is intended to granulate 
metal melts or melts having a considerable metal content and to separate 
completely metallic or predominantly metallic granulate particles from 
partly metallic or non-metallic granulate particles. 
The process according to the invention affords the further advantage that 
the solid fine-grained particles, by digestion and/or inclusion in the 
still liquid melt, are firmly united with the melt in the granulate, so 
that a permanent unbreakable connection is established between the melt 
and the solid particles. The process according to the invention affords 
the further advantage that predetermined reactions can take place between 
the melt and the solid particles. 
The incidence angle a between the flow of melt and the stream is preferably 
an acute angle advantageously amounting to between about 5.degree. and 
90.degree. and preferably to between about 20.degree. and 90.degree.. 
Incidence angles a of from about 20.degree. to 40.degree. or from about 
50.degree. to about 70.degree., preferably about 60.degree., have proved 
to be of particular advantage. 
According to the invention, the solid fine-grained particles of the stream 
may consist of at least one material to be added to and mixed with the 
melt, so that the granulate preferably has a fixed mixing ratio between 
the proportion of melt and the proportion of fine-grained solid particles, 
as required for a following treatment process, particularly a mineral wool 
spinning process, carried out directly or following the addition of more 
material, or for the production of fertilizers. 
In the process according to the invention, it is of advantage for the melt 
to be spread out to form a thin liquid melt film having a thickness of 
preferably less than 10 mm, advantageously less than 3 mm and more 
particularly less than 1 mm. It is also advantageous for a stream of 
fine-grained solid particles to be directed against the melt film, 
preferably against a widened side thereof at a high speed, preferably at a 
speed of from about 5 to 100 m/sec, but with greater advantage at a speed 
of from about 5 to 50 m/sec and, more particularly, at a speed of from 
about 10 to 20 m/sec, in order to break up the film of melt into droplets 
which will cool to a substantially fine-grained granulate. 
According to the invention, the average diameter of the fine-grained 
particles is selected to be of substantially the same order of magnitude 
as and, in particular, substantially equal to the thickness of the melt 
film, but preferably less than the thickness of the melt film. In the 
granulation of blast furnace slags by means of sand as the fine-grained 
material, a grain size of the sand of up to 2 mm and preferably up to 1 mm 
has proved to be of advantage for producing fine-grained granulate. 
However, fine-grained material having a grain size of up to 6 mm has also 
been used for special applications. 
According to the invention, the melt may be spread out into a film by means 
of a flat surface, preferably in the form of a plate of refractory 
material, particularly graphite. This plate is placed in the path of a 
melt stream, so that the melt stream spreads out on coming into contact 
with the plate. In this connection, it can be of advantage to provide 
boundary strips along the edges of the plate in order laterally to limit 
the melt stream and to give it a defined width. It has proved to be of 
particular advantage to vibrate the plate in order to disperse the melt 
stream into a thin melt film, the amplitude of the vibrations lying in the 
plane of the surface of the plate. Vibrations such as these in the plane 
of the baffle surface favorably affects the dispersion of the melt stream 
into a film. It can also be of advantage to heat the baffle plate for 
dispersing the melt stream. This may be done for example by means of oil 
burners (not shown) which may be directed onto the contact surface of the 
plate. Since, on account of the surface tension of the melt, the film of 
melt leaving the baffle plate has a tendency to shrink back into a stream 
of circular cross section, it is of advantage in accordance with the 
invention to direct the stream of fine-grained particles against the film 
of melt immediately below the baffle plate. According to the invention, 
the angle a which the stream of fine particles forms with the melt film 
may lie between about 20.degree. and 120.degree., advantageously between 
about 50.degree. and about 70.degree. and, more particularly, amounts to 
about 60.degree.. The angle which the stream of fine-grained particles 
forms with the horizontal is primarily determined by the above-mentioned 
angle between the melt film and the stream of solid particles and amounts 
to about 30.degree. when this angle between the film melt and the stream 
of solid particles amounts to about 60.degree.. 
According to the invention, it has provded to be of particular advantage to 
collect the granulate divided up into fractions. 
Since the stream of particles impinges on the slag film with considerable 
energy, the granulate obtained moves downwards along trajectory parabolas, 
the slope of the trajectory parabolas corresponding to the kinetic energy 
imparted to the individual granulate particles by the stream. 
In addition, the kinetic energy imparted to the granulate particles 
corresponds to the mixing ratio between the fine-grained particles and the 
melt fractions in the granulate. If, therefore, the proportion of 
fine-grained particles is very high, the kinetic energy imparted to the 
granulate will be correspondingly high and, hence, the inclination of the 
trajectory parabolas relatively gentle. Accordingly, the process according 
to the invention enables certain mixing ratios between melt and 
fine-grained material to be eliminated from the stream of granulate by the 
provision of several collecting units below the point at which the 
particles come into contact with the melt film and at various lateral 
intervals from this point of contact of the stream of particles with the 
melt film. Accordingly, fractions of the granulate having substantially 
consistent mixing ratios between melt and fine-grained material are 
obtained in these collecting units. The process according to the invention 
also affords the advantage that inhomogeneities present in the melt, 
particularly fractions of higher specific gravity, can be collected in a 
first fraction below the film of melt. This applies in particular to melts 
of blast furnace slags which in many cases may still contain metallic 
residues. By virtue of the process according to the invention, these 
metallic residues are readily separated from the rest of the granulate. In 
addition, the process according to the invention affords the advantage 
that parts of the melt or melt film, on which an inadequate quantity of 
fine-grained particles impinges and which are therefore not dispersed into 
sufficiently fine-grained granulate, can also be collected in the first 
fraction substantially immediately below the film of melt and remain 
separated from the rest of the fine-grained granulated material. 
It has proved to be of advantage to adjust a ratio by weight of about 1:1 
between the fine-grained material in the stream of particles and the melt. 
However, it may also be of advantage to adjust a higher ratio, 
particularly of the order of 2:1. In that case, the excess fine-grained 
particles are generally collected in the fraction situated furthest away 
from the point of contact between the stream and the film of melt and may 
then be reused for producing the stream of fine-grained particles. 
It can also be of advantage to collect the granulate or at least one or 
more fractions of the granulate in a fluidized bed. This fluidized bed may 
contain the same fine-grained particles as the stream used for dispersing 
the melt film, the bed being fluidized by the introduction of steam and/or 
gases, particularly inert gases such as, for example, argon. In a bed 
fluidized in this way, the granulate may be rapidly cooled and any 
fractions of the melt which are still liquid may be rapidly hardened.

The melt 1, which preferably comes direct from the blast furnace in a 
ladle, is delivered through a sloping channel 2 to a baffle plate 4 to 
which a vibration drive (not shown) imparts vibrations in the contact 
plane, preferably in the direction of the arrow 6. However, the vibrations 
may also be imparted perdendicularly of the arrow 6 or with components 
both in the direction of the arrow 6 and perpendicularly thereof. On 
coming into contact with the baffle plate 4, the melt is spread out into a 
film 8. A stream 10 of fine-grained particles is projected against this 
film 8 of melt by means of an accelerating unit 12. This accelerating unit 
12 consists of a wheel or roller 14 and a projection belt 16. The 
accelerating unit projects the fine-grained particles against the melt 
film 8 at a speed of preferably between 5 and 50 meters per second and 
more particularly at a speed of from 10 to 20 meters per second. The 
thickness of the melt film 8 preferably amounts to only a few mm and is 
with advantage less than 5 mm and, more particularly, less than 3 mm, 
while the width of the melt film is preferably more than 5 cm, more 
particularly more than 10 cm and, with advantage, between 10 and 30 cm and 
more particularly, approximately 15 cm. In one practical embodiment of the 
process according to the invention, a melt stream of blast furnace slag 
was delivered to the baffle plate 4 at a rate of about 500 to 700 
kg/minute and spread into an approximately 15 cm wide film. A stream 10 of 
fine-grained particles was projected onto this melt film at a rate of 600 
to 1200 kg/minute and preferably at a rate of about 1000 kg/minute, 
resulting in granulation of the melt film, the stream 10 having 
substantially the same width as the melt film 8. 
The angle a between the melt film 8 and the stream 10 of fine-grained 
particles preferably amounts to between about 50.degree. and 70.degree. 
and, with advantage, to about 60.degree.. Accordingly, the opposite angle 
b which the stream 10 forms with the vertical amounts to between about 
40.degree. and 20.degree. and, more particularly, to about 30.degree., if 
it is assumed that the melt film 8 extends substantially vertically 
downwards. The granulate 15 is collected in different fractions A, B and C 
preferably by means of partitions 20, 22, 24 and 26. The fraction A 
primarily comprises non-granulated or incompletely granulated fractions of 
melt, particularly lumps of melt or the like, and also fractions of the 
melt having a particularly high specific gravity, for example metal 
residues. Fraction B consists of satisfactorily granulated material having 
a predetermined mixing ratio between melt and fine-grained particles. 
Fraction C consists predominantly of fine-grained material and very 
fine-grained granulate, in which the proportion of finely divided 
particles is relatively high in relation to the proportion of melt. 
Fraction C is preferably delivered back to the container 18 for the 
fine-grained particles and, hence, is returned to the particle stream 10. 
According to the invention, the granulate may of course be collected in 
more than three fractions in order to separate from one another more 
clearly defined mixing ratios between melt and fine-grained particles 
and/or grain sizes of the granulate. 
It can be of advantage to collect the granulate 15 by means of a fluidized 
bed, particularly in the region of fraction B, in order to obtain rapid 
cooling and hardening of the granulate. According to the invention, the 
period for which the liquid melt is allowed to act on the fine-grained 
material can be made to differ by adopting a variable vertical difference 
between the point at which the melt film 8 and the stream 10 come into 
contact with one another and the plane in which the granulate is 
collected. Providing this vertical difference is large enough, the 
granulate will have solidified by the time it is collected, so that there 
is no longer any danger of agglomeration. The reaction time between the 
melt and the fine-grained material may also be adjusted in dependence upon 
the dropping height, which is of particular importance when chemical 
reactions take place between the melt and the fine-grained material. 
Instead of using the projecting unit 12, it is also possible to use 
projecting units which, instead of the projecting wheel 14, comprise a 
second projecting belt similar to the projecting belt 16. In this case, 
the projecting belt 16 preferably has an elongate, rectilinear form in 
which the upper flight is flat, i.e. has no bends, and the projecting 
wheel 14 is replaced by a second, preferably somewhat shorter projecting 
belt arranged above the first projecting belt, the fine-grained material 
having delivered between both projecting belts. 
Compressed air or gas under pressure, particularly an inert gas, for 
example argon, may also be used either exclusively or in combination with 
the above-mentioned accelerating units for accelerating the fine-grained 
particles. 
The solid fine-grained particles consist preferably of sand (silicon 
dioxide), of fine-grained ferro alloys, of granular ceramic material or of 
granite powder which has a lower melting point than silicon dioxide and is 
therefore more favorable in terms of energy. 
According to the invention, the heat transferred to the granulate 15 and/or 
to the fine-grained particles which are not attached to the melt may be 
recovered during collection of the granulate or the fine-grained material 
by arranging a heat exchanger, particularly in the form of tubular coils, 
below the collection plane. This recovery of heat is also of advantage, 
above all, when a fluidized bed is provided in the region of the 
collection plane. The heat recovered may be used as energy for maintaining 
the stream of fine-grained particles and/or the fluidized bed. 
The difference between the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2 and the 
embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 lies in the fact that a baffle plate 34 
is used of which the lower section 36 is V-shaped and which is arranged in 
the angle between the flow of melt and the stream 10. This design and 
arrangement of the baffle plate 34 ensures that the stream 10 impinges on 
the flow 38 of melt, which is spread out by the baffle plate 34 into a 
thin film, immediately on leaving the baffle plate 34. Accordingly, the 
melt flow 38 has virtually no opportunity to shrink back into a circular 
or substantially circular cross-section under the effect of the high 
surface tension of the melt 1. Instead, immediately after leaving the 
V-shaped front section 36 of the baffle plate 34, the melt flow 38 which 
has been spread out into a film, is picked up and at least partly 
entrained by the stream 10. As a result of this entrainment by the stream 
10 flowing at a considerably higher rate, the melt flow 38 is not only 
deflected or diverted in the direction of the stream 10, it is also drawn 
apart, thereby facilitating the formation of a relatively fine-grained 
granulate. Although it is virtually impossible in practice for the stream 
10 directly to impinge on the melt flow 38 at the lower edge of the baffle 
plate 34, the interval between the lower edge of the baffle plate and the 
point at which the stream 10 impinges on the melt flow should be as narrow 
as possible. According to the invention, this interval is preferably less 
than 10 cm and more particularly less than 5 cm. This also applies to the 
arrangement adopted in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1. The remaining 
reference numerals in FIG. 2 denote components which are the same as the 
corresponding components in FIG. 1 so that there is no need for these 
reference numerals to be explained in any more detail. The baffle plate 34 
is preferably vibrated at a frequency of 100 or 200 cycles per second in a 
direction parallel to its baffle surface, the vibration preferably being 
directed perpendicularly of the plane of the drawing, i.e. parallel to the 
pointed front edge of the V-shaped section 36. Vibration of the baffle 
plate 34 in this way facilitates separation of the melt stream 38 from the 
baffle plate 34. 
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the granulate 15 is produced in the same 
way as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, except that the left-hand part 
of the apparatus shown in FIG. 2 has been broken away. In FIG. 3, 
recurring components have again been denoted by the same reference 
numerals as in FIG. 2 and FIG. 1. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the 
granulate stream 15 is partly guided into the interior of a cylindrical 
double-walled container 50. The front wall 51 of the container 50 is 
provided with an opening 56 which preferably has a substantially 
rectangular cross-section. The front wall 51 of the container 50 acts as a 
partition which divides the granulate stream 15 into two component streams 
15' and 15". The container 50 comprises a trough 52 at its base and a head 
section 54. A fan (not shown) delivers compressed air to the trough 52 
through a connecting pipe 60, the compressed air being guided through 
nozzles 62 provided in the base 61 into the interior of the double-walled 
container 50 where it maintains a fluidized stream of the granulate 15' 
entering the container 50. If the double walled container 50 has an 
internal diameter of 3 meters for example, it can be of advantage to 
provide the base 61 with approximately 300 nozzles 62, each nozzle 62 
having for example 6 lateral jets. A suitable fan may deliver for example 
from 500 to 1000 cubic meters of air per minute to the container 50 
through the base 61. Above the nozzle 62 there is a stirrer 66 of which 
the shaft 68 passes through the base 61 and the trough 52, the shaft 68 
preferably being water-cooled. In addition, the stirrer 66 is surmounted 
by another two stirrers 70 and 72 of which the shafts 74 and 76 extend 
downward into the container 50. The shafts 74 and 76 are also preferably 
water-cooled. 
The stirrers 66, 70 and 72 may be driven by means of electric motors (not 
shown) provided with a reduction gear. A fluidized bed generally denoted 
by the reference numeral 79 is formed inside the container 50 by the 
co-operation of the compressed air delivered through the nozzles 62 with 
the granulate 15". The stirrers 66, 70 and 72 prevent the granulate from 
agglomerating. The granulate 15' is delivered through an outlet passage 80 
to a sieve 82, where any lumps present in it are separated out, and is 
then carried off by means of a conveyor belt 84. The compressed air 
delivered through the base 61, which has become heated by contact with the 
hot granulate 15" during its passage through the fluidized bed 79, is run 
off through an outlet 64 and may be used for heat recovery. 
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the inlet opening 56 and the outlet 
passage 80 are arranged on opposite sides of the container 50. However, it 
is of greater advantage to arrange the inlet opening and the outlet 
passage offset by about 90.degree. rather than 180.degree. relative to one 
another in order to prevent any of the granulate 15" from directly passing 
to the outlet passage 80. An inlet opening arranged offset by 90.degree. 
relative to the outlet passage 80 is indicated at 86. In addition, this 
arrangement of the inlet opening at 86 affords the advantage that most of 
the granulate 15" entering the container 50 does not come into contact 
with the shafts 74 and 76 of the stirrers 70 and 72, but instead is 
delivered between them to the fluidized bed 79. In FIG. 3, the front wall 
51 of the container 50 corresponds to the partition 22 in FIG. 1. Where 
the inlet openings 86 are arranged offset through 90.degree. relative to 
the outlet passage 80, another outlet (not shown) may be provided in that 
wall of the container 50 which is opposite the inlet opening 86 to enable 
that part of the granulate corresponding to fraction C in FIG. 1 which, 
for the most part, consists of particles of the stream 10 which are not 
attached to the granulate to be removed from the container 50 separately 
from the rest of the granulate. 
The operation of the apparatus shown in FIG. 3 is illustrated by the 
following Examples: 
EXAMPLE 1 
Blast furnace slag was granulated by the process according to the 
invention, powdered granite having a grain size of from up to 2 mm serving 
as the fine-grained solid particles 11 of the stream 10. The ratio of 
weight of melt to particles was 1:1. The stream of granulate was 
introduced into a fluidized bed 79 having a diameter of 3 meters. 600 
cubic meters per minute of air were delivered to the fluidized bed through 
the base 61. On leaving the fluidized bed 79, the granulate has a 
temperature of 540.degree. C. and the following composition: 
______________________________________ 
CaO SiO.sub.2 
Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 
MgO FeO TiO.sub.2 
S alkali 
______________________________________ 
% by 21.7 52.3 14.5 4.5 3.3 0.65 0.5 4.3. 
weight 
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The granulate 15" has a grain size of from up to 4 mm. 
The granulate was melted in a tank and spun into mineral wool in a 
four-wheel spinner. 
EXAMPLE 2 
Steel slag was granulated by the process according to the invention, 
granulated material up to 4 mm in diameter consisting of a mixture of 
substantially insoluble crude phosphate, NaCO.sub.3, FeSi and SiO.sub.2 in 
a ratio of 68:20:5:7 being used for the stream 10 of granulated material. 
The ratio of melt to solid fine-grained particles was 1:1. The fraction 15' 
of the granulate had a high metallic content from which the metal was 
preferably magnetically separated. After cooling and the magnetic removal 
of metal, the granulate 15" was finely ground into a fertilizer having a 
phosphorus content of 6.2%, of which 5.0% were soluble in citric acid. 
According to the invention, it is of particular advantage to granulate a 
melt 1 consisting essentially of steel slag by means of a stream 10 
containing a fine-grained solid particles 11 which consist at least partly 
of limestone. In this case, the metallic inclusions, which accumulate in 
particular in the region of the fraction A or 15', are mixed with 
limestone particles which, on account of the high temperature of the melt, 
are at least partly converted into quicklime which is of particular 
advantage for the reuse of the metallic inclusions in the production of 
steel, because limestone and quicklime are always added in addition to 
carbon in the production of steel. In addition, the above mentioned 
addition of limestone particles affords the advantage that a large 
proportion of the limestone is converted into quicklime without any need 
for additional energy. In addition, it can be of advantage to add not only 
limestone particles but also particles of quicklime to the stream 10. 
In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the melt 1 is poured from an open 
ladle into a sloping channel 2 and impinges as an accelerated stream on a 
baffle plate 4 or 34 which spreads the melt stream into a film 8 or 38. In 
FIG. 1, the film 8 is directed substantially vertically downwards, whereas 
in FIGS. 2 and 3 the film 38 is inclined towards the vertical to a certain 
extent. In order to obtain more favorable spatial dimensions of the 
granulating apparatus used to practice the process according to the 
invention and/or to lengthen the reaction time between the melt and the 
stream 10 and/or to lengthen the cooling time of the granulate 15, it is 
possible in accordance with the invention for the melt flow or melt flows 
to be directed substantially horizontally or obliquely upwards. To this 
end, it can be of advantage to select for the melt 1 a container whch, at 
its base, comprises one or more openings in the form of jets, particularly 
slot jets (not shown), for the exit of melt streams, an excess pressure 
being applicable to the melt accommodated in the container, for example by 
means of a gas under pressure, so that the melt flows out from the above 
mentioned jets under pressure and the issuing melt streams can be directed 
horizontally or obliquely upwardly. In this modified apparatus, a 
corresponding direction is given to the stream 10 so that in this case, 
too, the incidence angle a between the melt flow and the stream 10 is 
preferably an acute angle, advantageously between about 10.degree. and 
50.degree.. By means of melt flows directed obliquely upward, for example 
at an angle of from 45.degree. to 70.degree. relative to the horizontal, 
in conjunction with a correspondingly directed stream 10, it is possible 
to obtain a trajectory-parabola-like distribution of the granulate for 
favorable spatial dimensions of the apparatus used to practice the process 
of the invention. In this connection, it can be of advantage for the 
arrangement to be such that the melt flows and the stream 10 come into 
contact with one another in a closed container. In this case, the 
container in question may be filled with an inert gas, particularly argon. 
It can also be of advantage, particularly in the granulation of metal 
melts, for the stream 10 to consist solely of compressed air or a gas 
under pressure, particularly an inert gas, for example argon, which is 
only slightly soluble in the metal melt to be granulated. Where an inert 
gas is used for forming the stream 10, the gases included in the metal 
melt escape as the melt enters the inert gas stream and in doing so 
contribute towards dispersing and granulating the melt. The processes 
involved are described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 2,826,489 (Wagner). Even 
in the case of melt flows directed horizontally or obliquely upwardly, the 
granulate may be collected in different fractions in dependence upon the 
distance from the point at which the melt flows and the stream 10 come 
into contact with one another. In this connection, the partitions 20, 22, 
24 and 26 are best not only arranged staggered behind one another in the 
common plane of the melt flow and the stream 10, but are also arranged 
laterally of this plane at different intervals from the point at which the 
melt flows and the stream 10 come into contact with one another, in order 
to enable the relatively light, for example soiled, granulate particles 
travelling laterally further outwards from the above mentioned plane 
during dispersion of the melt to be more effectively separated from the 
heavier purely metallic granulate particles. To this end, the vertical 
partitions 22, 24 and 26 may be secured along substantially oval lines on 
the horizontal collecting surface for the granulate, the longitudinal axes 
of these oval lines lying in the plane behind by the melt flow and the 
stream 10 and the short axes of these oval lines extending substantially 
perpendicularly of that plane. 
While I have shown and described various embodiments in accordance with the 
present invention, it is understood that the same is not limited thereto, 
but is susceptible of numerous changes and modifications as known to those 
skilled in the art, and I, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the 
details shown and described herein, but intend to cover all such changes 
and modifications as are encompassed by the scope of the appended claims.