Patent ID: 8226019

Claim:
A method of enhanced separation of automobile shredder residue comprising the steps of: providing an automobile shredder system; producing shredded pieces from said automobile shredder system; magnetically sorting said shredded pieces to create a collection of metals distinct from a collection of automobile shredder residue; introducing said automobile shredder residue into a wind tunnel sorting system; air locking said wind tunnel sorting system; providing a gravitationally influenced descent of said automobile shredder residue in said wind tunnel sorting system to create a substantially vertical, free-falling flow of residue; horizontally laminar flowing air through said wind tunnel sorting system into said substantially vertical, free-falling flow of residue; dynamically influencing said gravitationally influenced descent of at least some of said automobile shredder residue with said horizontally laminar flowing air so that at least some of said automobile shredder residue is carried with said laminar flowing air in said wind tunnel sorting system; substantially isotropic quantization separating said automobile shredder residue in said wind tunnel sorting system by said horizontally laminar flowing air scattering said automobile shredder residue; categorizingly collecting said automobile shredder residue as said automobile shredder residue variably descends in said wind tunnel sorting system; providing a series of collected substantially isotropic quantized materials; discarding some of said series of collected substantially isotropic quantized materials that are substantially non-recyclable materials; purifying some of said series of collected substantially isotropic quantized materials that are substantially recyclable materials in a subsequent sorting system; separating metals or plastics from said recyclable materials of said series of said collected substantially isotropic quantized materials with said subsequent sorting system; and recycling said metals or plastics recovered from said subsequent separation system.