A METHOD AND DEVICE FOR TREATING WASTES

Abstract: A method for treating wastes, such as domestic wastes, industrial wastes and similar, the wastes passing several treatment steps and being thereafter separated in various fractions, <u>characterized in</u> that it consists of at least the following steps: a coarse crossing of the received waste materials; a heavy rejects separation of the waste materials in an aqueous phase and a removal of the rejects for further treatments; a grinding of the accepts from the heavy rejects separation and a transport of the ground materials and the fluid to a pulper; a dissolving of these materials in the pulper with a simultaneous, at least periodic grinding; a separation of the suspension completely treated in the pulper into various fractions; and a transport and a further treatment of the created fractions. The invention also relates to a device for performing the method. By means of the invention, a more effective handling of wastes is achieved and also, a large portion of heavy components are early removed from the process and a hawser-like formation is avoided of string-like components.

Description: A METHOD AND DEVICE FOR TREATING WASTES The present invention relates to a method for treating wastes in accordance with the preamble of claim 1 and a device in accordance with the preamble of claim 6. Such a device is already known from SE-B-466,387, the sewage there passing several treatment steps to separate various fractions to be recovered, burnt or deposited. This known method, however, has in certain application, e.g. in treating domestic wastes, shown to have on one hand problems related to achieve an effective dissolving in the pulper of certain string like waste components, and on the other hand problems related to that heavier waste components are widely spread in the pulp and then are so difficult to separate that residues end in the wrong fraction, especially the fraction aimed to be fired, providing an unnecessarily large amount of ashes. The carry-over of these heavier components also provides a drawback in the various treatment steps to follow. The present invention has the object to propose a method and a device of the kinmd previously mentioned by which said disadvantages arc avoided. This object is achieved by means of a method and a device as mentioned above with the characteristics of claim 1 and 10, respectively. By means of a roughly crossing of the arriving waste materiais and letting the thus crossed material in a preseparator pass a heavy rejects separation, a rough separation of heavy rejects is achieved, in this connection involving a removal of glass, metals, etc from the material treatment to follow. By means of this preseparation it is essentially avoided that glass, metals, etc are pulverized in the waste treatment to follow and obstruct the separation into fractions. By treating the ground accept from the heavy reject separation in a pulper, providing at least periodically a grinding of the pulper contents in connection with its treatment, the above mentioned problem of the string or wire like components is solved, these components otherwise twisting into hawser or rope like formations being difficult to handle. The components in question consist of i.a. tights and plastic strings. Furthermore, it should be mentioned that the heavy reject separation arranged upstrcams of the pulper provides a more effective treatment in the pulper of fibrous components in the waste materials and an effective grinding of the pulper contents in that the load in the grinding step is reduced. Thus, the characteristics of claim 1 provide downstreams of the pulper an easily treatable suspension, to be possibly separated further into a desired number of fractions. Moreover, a treatment is achieved in the pulper so that composite materials of e.g. paper and plastics are separated and thereby the fibres in the waste materials possibly are freed. The initial crossing being achieved by means of shredding or cutting, a coarse separation is guaranteed e.g. of plastic waste baskets, glass bottles, glass pots and metal particles miεht be removed in the then follwoing heavy reject separation step. Typically, a large portion of the heavier components arc removed in this first separation step, and one might expect that most of the heavy metal contents in the resulting fraction to be aimed for firing, thus normally are reduced with at least 50 to 70 per cent. By means of grinding the pulper contents in circulating them by means of a gimding pump, an appropiate solution is achieved, which effectively can treat the materials to avoide a twisting of string like components. The pH-value in the pulper being modified to 4.5 to 5, the following dehydration is improved and the solving of the clay in the paper components is facilitated, the ash content thereby being reduced in the resulting fuel. Advantages arc achieved with devices in accordance with claims 6 to 9 in connection with the corresponding claims for the method. Here below, the invention will be described more in detail with an embodiment and in connection with the attached drawings, in which Figure 1 schematically shows a flow chart of a waste treatment plant according to the invention, Figure 2 schematically shows a plant for washing plastics, and Figure 3 shows a plant for handling heavy rejects. The flow chart shown in figure 1 is based on a station for receiving wastes, such as domestic wastes, industrial wastes or similar. The arriving wastes arc via a shredder 2, coarseiy shredding or catting the wastes, and an intermediate stock 3 led to a prescparator 4, in which a heavy reject separation is performed in an aqueous phase. The reject is removed at 5 in the figure. The accepts from the prescparator 4 pass at least one grinding step at 6 and are togehter with water from a water tank 7 via a waste container 8 led to pulper 9. This pulper 9 treats the waste materials so that a far-reaching separation is achieved of complex materials and so that the fibres in the materials are freed. The plant may also include a source of hot water or steam, said hot water having a temperature of at least 60 ° C.The hot water or steam is delivered to the preseparator 4, and/or to the mill 4, and/or to the pulper 9 thereby to heat these units to a temperature of at least 60 ° C, this temperature being maintained in all following process stages. This arrangement enables the waste to be handled in a completely odoriess manner, therewith enabling the illustrated plant to be located in areas which border on housing estates or similar built-up areas. The wet method according to the present invention enables the constituents of the domestic garbage to be separated effectively into their respective fractions. Although the method utilizes large quantities of water, very little water is actually consumed, because the outgoing concentrations in the process only slightly exceed the ingoing concentrations. No contaminated water leaves the process, and all water is recycled in the process. A circulating Line 11 is coupled to the pulper with a grinding pump 10 being designed wi t h a passage, which guarantees the prevention of hawser or rope like formations building up of string like components prevailing in the materials. The pulper is aiso provided with a device to remove further heavy rejects at 12. Trie, materials completely treated in the pulper are by means of the grinding pumD 10 led to a screening device, in the shown embodiment being divided into three process steps, i.e. a coarse screen 14, a cyclone battery 16 and a dehydrating screw 18. The suspension is for an effective treatment in the cyclone battery diluted to a concentration of about 1 percent and the dewatering screw is thickening the suspension to about 4 percent. The suspension thus obtained is led to a suction filter at 20 and from there to a drying device 23. In case the dried materials are to be used as a fuel peilcrizing is performed in a peiletiziπg piant, and then the pellets are transferred to a fuel stock 25. Figure 2 shows schematically an equipment for washing plastics out of the materials, where the reject materials arriving from ώe coarse screen 14 (figure 1) are inserted (I) in the plant by means of a refiner K, e.g. a disk refiner. During a first step 26 in the plant, stones, gravels, glass and similar heavy items are separated to be treated in a refiner R and transported to a second step 27 in the plant. During this second step a surface scraping of the plastics is performed and a removal of heavy rejecs at 31, the accepts then being recirculated from this plant to the pulper 9 (figure 1). Figure 3 shows schematically the handling of the heavy reject, the reject from the preseparator 4 and the pulper 9 being transported at 12 to a fine refiner 33 together with materiais residuing from a tumbler 35 after recovering magnetic meals at 36. In the rumbier 35 consisting of a partly waterπilea rotative drum, a further splitting is performed and a dissolving of organic materials. These materials are from the fine refiner 33 traπsooπed to a floatation piant 34 for sedimentation and floatation. The accept, in this case being residuing organic materials, are recirculated via 37 into the process via the refiner upstrcams of the pulper 9. The rejects consisting of glass, gravels, stones as well as metals are transported to a plant for recovering both magnetic (MM) and non-magnetic (OM) metal particles, and the residues might after a dehydration AV been used as e.g. loading materials. The invention is only restricted by what is stated in the claims to follow and the description has merely to be considered as exampiifying. Thus, the method stated in the main claims might be used without any washing of the plastics and handling of the heavy rejects in accordance with what has been stated above.

Claims: Claims 1. A method for treating wastes, such as domestic wastes, industrial wastes and similar, the wastes passing several treatment steps and thereafter separated in various fractions, characterized in that it consists of at least the following steps: - a coarse crossing of the received waste materials, - a separation of heavy reject of the waste materials in a aqueous phase and a removal of the rejects for further treatments, - a grinding of the accepts from the heavy rejects separation and a transport of the round materials and the fluid to a pulper, - a dissolving of these materials in the pulper with a simultaneous, at leas: periodic grinding, - a separation of the suspension completely treated in the pulper into various fractions, and - a rraπspoπ arc a farmer treatment of the created fractions. 2. A me±od according to claim 1, characterized in that the coarse crossing is performed by means of shredding or caring. 3. A me±od according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that ±e grinding of the trainer contents is achieved simultaneously with its treatment in ±e pulper by means of circularing ±e pulper contents by means of a grinding pump. 4. A me±od according to anyone of ±e preceding claims, characterized in that ±e heavy rejecs separation is performed in a floatation step (34) preceded by a fine grinding step (33). 5. A me±od according to anyone of ±e preceding claims, characterized in that ±e pH- value of ±e pulper contents is modified to be to 5. 6. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised of heating the waste material to at least 60 ° C. 7. A method according to claim 6, characterized of heating the waste material by delivering hot water or steam to the separation step and/or grinding step and/or to the pulper. 8. A device for treating wastes, such as domestic wastes, industrial wastes and similar, the device comprising several treatment stations for separating ±e wastes into various fractions, characterized in that that it comprises: - a crossing device (2) for a coarse crossing of the received waste materials, - a heavy rejects separator (4) for a preseparation in an aqueous phase of the waste materials and a removal of the rejects for further treatments, - a first grinding device (6) for grinding the accepts from the heavy rejects separator, - a pulper (9) to receive the ground materials and the fluid (7) and to dissolve the materials during a simultaneous, at least periodic grinding in a second grinding device (10), - a device (14, 16, 18) for separating the suspension completely treated in the pulper (9) into various fractions, and - means for removing and for further treatments of the received fractions. 9. A device according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the crossing device (2) consists of a shredding or cutting device. 10. A device according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the second grinding device consists of a grinding pump ( 10) connected by means of a circulating line (1 1) to the pulper (9). 1 1. A device according to anyone of the claims 8 to 10, characterized in that the heavy rejects separator includes a floatation plant (34) preceded by a fine grinding mill (33).

Inventors: GRUNDITZ LEIF, GRUNDITZ, LEIF
Applicants: GRUNDITZ LEIF, RECULTURE AB, GRUNDITZ, LEIF
Application year: 1997
Main classification: B02C18
IPC codes: B02C21, B02C23, B03B9, B09B3