Patent ID: 7318527

Claim:
An apparatus for separating organic material from inorganic material, comprising: a container having a wall an upper portion, and a lower portion; a feeding apparatus, said feeding apparatus being located in the upper portion of said container and being designed and arranged to introduce inorganic material polluted with organic material into said container; a charging apparatus, said charging apparatus being located in the lower portion of said container and being designed and arranged to introduce cleaning water into said container; a lifting apparatus, said lifting apparatus being located in said container, said lifting apparatus being designed and arranged to substantially subject the inorganic and organic material to an upwardly directed component of movement, said lifting apparatus and said charging apparatus being designed and arranged to produce a fluidized layer in said container during operation of said apparatus, the fluidized layer causing the organic material to be separated from the inorganic material, the fluidized layer having a vertical extension; a discharging apparatus, said discharging apparatus being located in the lower portion of said container and being designed and arranged to discharge inorganic material from said container; a removal apparatus, said removal apparatus being located in the upper portion of said container and being designed and arranged to remove organic material from said container; and a detector, said detector being located in the region of the vertical extension of the fluidized layer and at said wall of said container, said detector being designed and arranged to sense the density in the fluidized layer to control said discharging apparatus to keep the vertical extension of the fluidized layer approximately constant.