Patent Document

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    The present application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. Ser. No. 12/211,988, filed on Sep. 17, 2008, the contents of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to the recycling of waste plastic and rubber and particularly relates to refining equipment and a method that converts waste plastic and waste rubber to fuel oil. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    With the rapid development of the plastic industry, plastic articles are becoming increasingly important in industrial production and in our daily life. More waste plastics are generated with the abundant applications of plastics. Due to the fact that the waste plastics are almost non-decomposable in natural condition, they become a serious problem to the survival of our environment. As such, it becomes very important to solve the pollution problem in our environment caused by the waste plastics, and to get them recycled and re-used. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    In a preferred embodiment, the present invention is directed to a vessel for converting waste plastic or rubber into fuel oil. The reaction vessel includes a wall extending between a first and a second end. Preferably, the wall is cylindrically or cone shaped. The second end of the vessel can have a diameter of up to 144 inches, although larger sized diameters are contemplated depending upon the needs of the user. The vessel further includes a feed-in entrance protruding through the first end, a residue discharge outlet protruding through the second end, and an oil or gas output tube protruding through the second end. Hereinafter, the oil or gas output tube may be interchangeably referred to as a fuel output tube. The feed-in entrance and the oil or gas output tube can be situated on first and second support bearings, respectively. In certain aspects, a filter can be included in or at an end of the oil or gas output tube. Inside of the reaction vessel there is a shield in front of the oil or gas output tube and a helix thruster housed inside of the oil or gas output tube. Furthermore, there is a plurality of supporting tubes housed inside of the reaction vessel wherein the supporting tubes protrude through the wall of the vessel and open out so that heated air or gas can flow therethrough. A heater can be provided to facilitate the heating of the vessel and the supporting tubes. The vessel may be housed inside of a kiln structure including a heat insulation wall. Air or gas inside of the kiln structure is heated to a temperature of up to 800° C., thereby flowing through the supporting tubes and heating the supporting tubes and vessel. 
         [0005]    The vessel, feed-in entrance, oil or gas output tube, supporting tubes and residue discharge outlet can be made from an alloy steel, seamless steel, iron, and the like. 
         [0006]    The supporting tubes can be arranged vertically, horizontally, diagonally and combinations thereof inside of the vessel. Moreover, the supporting tubes can have a diameter of up to 200 mm, although larger sized diameters are contemplated depending upon the needs of the user. 
         [0007]    The inside of the vessel can achieve an operating temperature of up to 450° C. and the vessel can have a length of up to 24 feet. To achieve this operating temperature, the vessel and supporting tubes may be heated via hot air or gas. 
         [0008]    The vessel can have the ability to continuously rotate, preferably about the center longitudinal axis, during operation. A motor, which supplies power and facilitates rotation of a first and a second gear, supplies the power to rotate the vessel. The second gear is provided on the vessel, preferably the feed-in entrance comprises the second gear, whereby rotation of the first and second gears allows rotation of the vessel. 
         [0009]    Also, an embodiment of the present invention provides a discharging system for discharging residue from the vessel. The discharging system can include a first residue discharging system housed inside of the vessel. The residue discharge outlet protruding through the wall of the vessel can include a flange which can be connected to and disconnected from a first tube. The first tube can be connected to a second tube and the second tube may be further be connected to a residue storage tank. 
         [0010]    In certain embodiments, the discharging system can include a second residue discharging system housed inside of the second tube, and a closed residue discharging channel can be formed between the first residue discharging system and the second residue discharging system. 
         [0011]    The first residue discharging system can include a three shaft conveyor system including a driver shaft and a first and second driven shaft wherein each shaft can be supported by one or more sliding bearings. Moreover, the driver shaft can further include a spiral vane disposed thereon and the first and second driven shafts can each further include a residue collecting vane disposed thereon. The driver shaft or one of the driven shafts can extend from inside of the vessel to an inside of the residue discharge outlet. Furthermore, the second residue discharging system can include a single driver shaft conveyor system supported by one or more bearings and have a spiral vane disposed thereon. 
         [0012]    A preferred embodiment of the present invention also provides a method of converting waste plastic or rubber into fuel oil. The method can include the steps of providing a device including a reaction vessel having a wall extending between a first end and a second end of the vessel, preferably a cone shaped or cylindrically shaped wall. The method may include the step of housing the reaction vessel inside of a kiln including a heat insulation wall. The method can also include the steps of providing a feed-in entrance protruding through the first end of the reaction vessel and situated on a first support bearing, providing a residue discharge outlet protruding through the second end of the reaction vessel and providing an oil or gas output tube protruding through the second end of the reaction vessel and situated on a second support bearing. The method can also include the steps of providing a shield housed inside of the reaction vessel in front of the oil or gas output tube, providing a helix thruster housed inside of the oil or gas output tube, providing a heater, and providing a plurality of supporting tubes housed inside of the reaction vessel wherein the supporting tubes protrude through the wall of the reaction vessel and open out. 
         [0013]    A motor may be provided and activated whereby the motor facilitates rotation of a first and a second gear. The second gear can be provided on the reaction vessel, preferably the feed-in entrance comprises the second gear, causing the reaction vessel to rotate, preferably about the center longitudinal axis. The method further can include the steps of heating the vessel and supporting tubes and feeding waste plastic, rubber, a catalyst, or any combination thereof through the feed-in entrance while heating the reaction vessel and the supporting tubes. The outside of the supporting tubes and vessel can be heated to an operating temperature of up to 800° C. and the inside of the vessel can achieve an operating temperature of up to 450° C. Heating the supporting tubes and vessel facilitates the next step of vaporizing the waste plastic or rubber to produce waste plastic or waste rubber vapor whereby during rotation of the vessel, the waste plastic or rubber vapor flows through the oil or gas output tube. A further step of the method of converting waste plastic or rubber into fuel oil can include condensing the waste plastic or rubber vapor in a condenser to form a condensate. Transmitting the condensate from the condenser through an oil-water separator to obtain an oil phase product and bringing the oil phase product into a mixing tank are other steps that can be included in the present method. Moreover, a catalyst can be added to the mixing tank to improve the stability of the oil phase product against oxidation. Yet another step according to the present method can include refining the oil phase product to produce gasoline, diesel oil, and other hydrocarbon fractions. 
         [0014]    The preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawing figures. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES 
         [0015]      FIG. 1  is a side view of the revolving waste plastic-oil converting equipment and discharging system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0016]      FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional top view of a reactor incorporating a preferred embodiment of the first residue discharging system of the present invention. 
           [0017]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional side view of a reactor. 
           [0018]      FIG. 4  is a sectional view along line A-A as shown in  FIG. 3  or  FIG. 5 . 
           [0019]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional side view of a reactor according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0020]      FIG. 6  is a sectional view along line A-A as shown in  FIG. 3  or  FIG. 5 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0021]    The following description concerns preferred embodiments of the waste plastic to fuel oil converting distillation vessel. The waste plastic to fuel oil converting distillation vessel disclosed herein can be interchangeably referred to as a vessel, reactor, distillation vessel, reaction vessel, or the like. 
         [0022]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a reaction vessel  3 . The reaction vessel  3  has a wall, preferably a cone-shaped wall or a cylindrically shaped wall, which makes up its body. The wall extends between a first and a second end of the vessel and the vessel  3  has a total length of up to 24 feet, preferably about 15-21 feet. The first and second ends of the vessel can be configured to any suitable operating diameters although in a preferred embodiment, the diameter of the second end is in a range of from about 72-144 inches. Furthermore, the reaction vessel  3  can be made from any suitable material that can handle the high temperatures that the vessel is exposed to, such as iron, an alloy steel, and the like. The reaction vessel  3  may also be housed inside of a kiln structure  27  (shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 ). 
         [0023]      FIG. 3  shows a feed-in entrance  21  protruding through the first end of the reaction vessel  3 . The feed-in entrance  21  can be connected to an automatic hydraulic feeder (not shown) or any other known method to perform feeding or continuous feeding of the waste plastic or rubber. Moreover, the feed-in entrance  21  can be situated on or engaged with, and supported by, a support bearing  26 . At the second end of the reaction vessel  3 , a residue discharge outlet  4  is shown protruding therethrough. The residue discharge outlet  4  can also be referred to as a curved tube. An oil or gas output tube  24  is also shown protruding through the second end of the vessel  3 . The oil or gas output tube  24  or fuel output tube  24  can have a helix thruster  25  and a filter (not shown) disposed therein. Also, the oil or gas output tube  24  can be situated on or engaged with, and supported by, a support bearing  26 . A shield  23  is placed inside of the vessel  3  near an entrance of the oil or gas output tube  24  to block unwanted residue from escaping through this tube. If the unwanted residue were to get into the oil or gas output tube  24 , the helix thruster  25  set in the tube can push the residue back into the vessel  3 . The shield  23 , feed-in entrance  21 , residue discharge outlet  4 , oil or gas output tube  24 , helix thruster  25 , and support bearings  26  can be made from any suitable materials that can handle the operating temperatures of the vessel  3 , such as iron, an alloy steel, and the like. 
         [0024]    A plurality of supporting tubes  22  are housed inside of the reaction vessel  3  wherein the supporting tubes  22  protrude through the wall of the reaction vessel  3  and open out. These supporting tubes  22  can be arranged horizontally, vertically, diagonally, and any combination thereof inside of the vessel  3 . The quantity of supporting tubes  22  used depends upon the length of the reaction vessel  3  where a longer vessel  3  could require more supporting tubes  22 . Each end of the supporting tubes  22  goes through the vessel wall and opens out so heated air or gas can be supplied therethrough. When the vessel  3  is housed inside of a kiln structure  27 , the air or gas inside of the kiln  27  is heated and in turn, heats the vessel and flows through the open ends of the supporting tubes  22  to heat them as well. With the supporting tubes  22  going through the vessel  3 , the waste plastic or rubber therein is evenly heated and the reaction vessel  3  is capable of achieving much higher operating temperatures than a vessel  3  not including the supporting tubes  22 . The supporting tubes  22  can have any suitable diameter, preferably a diameter of up to 200 mm, and be made from any material that can withstand the operating temperatures that the vessel  3  is exposed to such as seamless steel, an alloy steel, iron, and the like. 
         [0025]    As a result of the placement of the supporting tubes  22  inside of the reaction vessel  3 , the strength of the vessel  3  is greatly improved. Due to the high temperatures that can be achieved inside of the vessel  3 , such as 450° C., and outside of the vessel  3 , such as 800° C., the shape of the vessel  3  could easily become distorted as it does with the vessels in the prior art. However, the vessel  3  of the present invention is not subjected to the shape distortion problems associated with the prior art reaction vessels at least because of the supporting tubes  22  of the present invention. Also due to the supporting tubes  22 , the first and second ends of the vessel  3  can have a much larger diameter than those found in the prior art so the vessel is capable of handling the demand of large-scale manufacturing. Moreover, the life of the vessel  3  is greatly increased due to the supporting tubes  22 . Finally, the supporting tubes  22  allow the waste plastic or rubber to be heated evenly inside of the vessel  3 , which causes a complete reaction of all of the waste plastic or rubber into vapor. 
         [0026]    In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the reaction vessel  3  further includes a rotation mechanism. The rotation mechanism allows the vessel  3  to continuously rotate, preferably about the center longitudinal axis, during operation. The rotation mechanism can include a motor that supplies power and facilitates rotation of a first and a second gear (not shown), whereby rotation of the first and second gears allows rotation of the vessel  3 . In a preferred embodiment, the second gear is provided on the vessel  3 , preferably the feed-in entrance  21  comprises the second gear, so that rotation of the first and second gears facilitates rotation of the reaction vessel  3 . Although the rotation mechanism can comprise a motor, and a first and second gear, various other rotation mechanisms can be used, such as pulleys, magnets and the like, in accordance with the present invention as is commonly known by those skilled in the art. 
         [0027]    The vessel  3  of the present invention can be used in a method of converting waste plastic or rubber into fuel oil. The method may include any or all of the following steps, not necessarily in the order as described. A motor is activated whereby the motor facilitates rotation of a first and a second gear, wherein the second gear is provided on the reaction vessel  3 , causing the reaction vessel  3  to rotate. Waste plastic or rubber and a catalyst are then manually or automatically fed through the feed-in entrance  21 . The catalyst can be alumina based, silicon dioxide based, or any other catalyst useful in method of converting waste plastic or rubber into fuel oil. The reaction vessel  3  and the supporting tubes  22  are then heated. An operating temperature of up to 800° C., and preferably about 700° C., can be achieved outside of the vessel  3 . Moreover, the inside of the vessel can be heated to a temperature of about 400° C. to 450° C. Such a high operating temperature inside of the vessel  3  is attributable to the supporting tubes  22  incorporated in the vessel  3 , and a vessel not including these supporting tubes  22  would not be capable of achieving such high temperatures. 
         [0028]    The waste plastic or rubber is then transformed from a solid to a liquid state with the increasing temperature. The liquid is then converted into a gas or vapor phase under the action of the catalyst and the waste plastic or rubber vapor flows through the oil or gas output tube  24  and exits the vessel  3 . This vapor is then condensed into a mixture of liquid hydrocarbons in a condenser (not shown), before which the dust impurities carried by the vapor are separated in a settler (not shown). The condensate is then transmitted from the condenser through an oil-water separator (not shown) to obtain an oil phase product. The oil phase product is then brought into a mixing tank (not shown) and the catalyst is added to the mixing tank to improve the stability of the oil phase product against oxidation. Finally, the oil phase product is refined to produce gasoline, diesel oil, or other hydrocarbon fractions. 
         [0029]    A preferred embodiment of the vessel  3  incorporating a continuous residue discharging system will now be described. With respect to  FIG. 2 , a high temperature, separable, continuous residue discharging system includes two sub-systems: a first residue discharging system and a second residue discharging system. The first residue discharging system is assembled in a reactor  3 . The reactor  3  can be any type of reactor that converts plastic, rubber, industrial waste or the like into oil, fuel, or the like. The first residue discharging system is a three unilateral shaft conveyer system. However, the system may include only one shaft or any number of shafts depending on the diameter of the shafts and the size of the reactor that the shafts are housed inside of. In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 2 , the driver shaft  16  of the conveyor system extends the length of the reactor  3  and further into a residue discharge outlet or curved tube  4  (as shown in  FIG. 1 ). A spiral vane  17  is disposed on the driver shaft  16 . 
         [0030]    The curved tube  4  includes a flange  5 , which connects the curved tube  4  to a first tube  10 . The first tube  10  has the ability to retract from the connection with the curved tube  4 . Also shown in  FIG. 1  is the first tube  10  as it connects to the second tube  9 . In a preferred embodiment, the second tube  9  is made of steel and has a diameter of 325 mm but this tube can be made from a variety of materials known in the art and include a large range of diameter sizes. Furthermore, the second tube  9  can be an integral, single body tube or it can comprise multiple segments that are connected together to form a pathway. The second tube  9  is further attached to a residue storage tank  20 . The connection of the curved tube  4  by its flange  5  to the first tube  10 , the first tube  10  to the second tube  9 , and the second tube  9  to the residue storage tank  20  forms a closed residue discharging channel. 
         [0031]    Housed inside of the second tube  9  is a second residue discharging system. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the second residue discharging system includes a single driver shaft  7  with a spiral vane  8  disposed thereon. The spiral vane  8  can be located in between a pair of bearing components (not shown), which support the single driver shaft  7  and allow it to rotate smoothly. However, in other embodiments, the second residue discharging system can include any number of shafts. 
         [0032]    Also depicted in  FIGS. 1 and 2  are the sources used to power the system. A first power source  1  delivers power, through a clutch  2 , to the driver shaft  16  of the first residue discharging system. The second power source  6  is also shown. This power source delivers power to the single driver shaft  7  of the second residue discharging system. The power sources  1 , 6  can include an engine and a decelerator. 
         [0033]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , a preferred embodiment of the first residue discharging system includes a three unilateral shaft conveyor system housed in a reactor  3 . The driver shaft  16  is shown as well as a first driven shaft  13  and a second driven shaft  18 . The first and second driven shafts  13 , 18  include residue collecting vanes  14  disposed thereon. The driver shaft  16  includes a spiral vane  8  disposed thereon. These vanes  8 , 14  assist in the residue collection and conveying process by moving the residue from the reactor  3  into the curved tube  4 . The shafts  13 , 16 , 18  of the first residue discharging system are supported at both of their ends by bearing components  12 . The bearing components  12  allow for smooth rotation of each shaft  13 , 16 , 18 . Also shown (but not labeled) is the curved tube  4  and the driver shaft  16  is extending therethrough. The driver shaft  16  includes a driver gear that is engaged with a first gear of the first driven shaft  13  and a second gear of the second driven shaft  18 . All of these gears are housed inside of a gear case  11 . 
         [0034]    While the reaction vessel  3  is still at extremely high operating temperatures, the closed residue discharging channel can be formed as previously described and the residue can be discharged from the vessel  3 . Accordingly, as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the first tube  10  is connected to the flange  5  on the curved tube  4 . The first power source  1  is activated and transfers power, through the clutch  2 , to the driver shaft  16 . The second power source  6  is also activated and it transfers power to the single driver shaft  7 . As power is transferred to these shafts  7 , 16  they begin to rotate. Rotation is smooth because the shafts  7 , 16  are supported on bearing components  12 . As the driver shaft  16  begins to rotate, its driver gear rotates causing the first and second gears of the first and second driven shafts  13 , 18  to rotate, which in turn, causes the first and second driven shafts  13 , 18  to rotate. The residue collecting vanes  14  disposed on the first and second driven shafts  13 , 18  and the spiral vane  8  disposed on the driver shaft  16  collect residue from inside of the reactor  3  and as rotation of the vanes  8 , 14  occurs, residue is pushed or conveyed towards the curved tube  4 . Since the driver shaft  16  and the spiral vane  8  disposed thereon extend through the curved tube  4 , the residue is pushed into the curved tube and falls down, through the first tube  10  and into the second tube  9 . Once the residue falls into the second tube  9 , the spiral vane  8  on the rotating single driver shaft  7  begins to push or convey the residue towards the residue storage tank  20 . Once all of the high temperature, combustible residue has been transferred from the reactor  3  to the residue storage tank  20 , the power sources  1 , 6  are deactivated, the clutch  2  is disengaged which will disconnect the first power source  1  and the driver shaft  16 , and the first tube  10  is retracted from the flange  5 . 
         [0035]      FIG. 5  shows a preferred embodiment of the present invention wherein the reactor  3  is housed inside of a kiln  27 . Under the reactor  3  and inside the kiln  27  is a heat insulation wall  28 . The heated air inside of the kiln  27  can circulate around the reactor  3  and evenly heat it. The kiln  27  and heat insulation wall  28  can be made of fire brick. The heater  29  is also shown in  FIG. 5 . The heater  29  heats the air or gas inside of the kiln  27  and, in turn, heats the vessel  3  and supporting tubes  22 . However, in an embodiment that does not include a kiln  27 , the heater  29  simply heats the vessel  3  and supporting tubes  22 . The heater  29  may operate by the combustion of a fuel, such as fuel oil or natural gas. It should be understood that other heaters commonly known in the art, such as an electric heater, can be used to heat the reaction vessel and supporting tubes. 
         [0036]    Depicted in  FIG. 6  is the reactor  3  housed inside of the kiln  27 . The heater  29  heats the air or gas inside of the kiln  27 . In turn, the reactor  3 , supporting tubes  22 , and the heat insulation wall  28  are heated. The heated air or gas can circulate around the reactor  3  as shown by the arrows in  FIG. 6  and also flow through the supporting tubes  22 . 
         [0037]    From the foregoing, it is believed that one of skill in the art will readily recognize and appreciate the novel advancement of this invention over the prior art and will understand that while the same has been described herein and associated with preferred illustrated embodiments thereof, the same is nevertheless susceptible to variation, modification and substitution of equivalents without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention which is intended to be unlimited by the foregoing except as may appear in the following appended claims.

Technology Category: 8