Process and apparatus for sorting reusable pieces of raw material
First Claim
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1. A process for sorting reusable raw-material pieces said process comprising:
- continually moving said raw-material pieces in a conveying direction using a transport means,analyzing the chemical composition of the raw-material pieces using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, andimplementing an automated sorting of the raw-material pieces depending on the composition found, the process further comprisingin a first step, using a laser to subject the raw-material pieces to a plurality of first laser pulses in order to remove surface coatings and contaminants from the raw-material pieces,in a second, subsequent step, using the same laser as was used to subject the raw-material pieces to a plurality of said first laser pulses to direct one or more second laser pulses at portions of the raw-material pieces from which the surface coatings and contaminants have been removed, with exposed material of the raw-material pieces being converted by the second laser pulses into a plasma,keeping the focal diameter and the focal point of the laser beam constant between the first laser pulses and the second laser pulses;
ensuring that the area of the raw material pieces over which the first laser pulses are moved and which is freed from surface coatings and contaminants is greater than the area of the raw material pieces embraced by the second laser pulses; and
migrating the first laser pulses over the raw-material pieces so as to repeatedly act on closely adjacent points of the raw-material pieces, thereby causing the first laser pulses to overlap.
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Abstract
A system for sorting reusable raw-material pieces, where the chemical composition of the raw-material pieces is analyzed by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), where the raw-material pieces in a first step are subjected to a plurality of first laser pulses in order to remove surface coatings and/or contaminants from the raw-material pieces, and in a second step, one or more further laser pulses from the same laser are used to generate a plasma.
21 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A process for sorting reusable raw-material pieces said process comprising:
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continually moving said raw-material pieces in a conveying direction using a transport means, analyzing the chemical composition of the raw-material pieces using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, and implementing an automated sorting of the raw-material pieces depending on the composition found, the process further comprising in a first step, using a laser to subject the raw-material pieces to a plurality of first laser pulses in order to remove surface coatings and contaminants from the raw-material pieces, in a second, subsequent step, using the same laser as was used to subject the raw-material pieces to a plurality of said first laser pulses to direct one or more second laser pulses at portions of the raw-material pieces from which the surface coatings and contaminants have been removed, with exposed material of the raw-material pieces being converted by the second laser pulses into a plasma, keeping the focal diameter and the focal point of the laser beam constant between the first laser pulses and the second laser pulses; ensuring that the area of the raw material pieces over which the first laser pulses are moved and which is freed from surface coatings and contaminants is greater than the area of the raw material pieces embraced by the second laser pulses; and migrating the first laser pulses over the raw-material pieces so as to repeatedly act on closely adjacent points of the raw-material pieces, thereby causing the first laser pulses to overlap. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. An apparatus for sorting reusable raw-material pieces, the apparatus comprising:
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a laser for generating first laser pulses for detaching surface coatings and contaminants from raw-material pieces, and second laser pulses for converting exposed material of the raw-material pieces into a plasma, a spectrometer for analyzing light emitted by the plasma, a transport means for moving the raw-material pieces in a conveying direction, a control unit which controls the pulse energy, pulse duration, and pulse frequency of the laser and which moves the first laser pulses over an area of the raw-material pieces, and frees said area from at least one of said surface coatings and said contaminants, said area being greater than the area of the raw-material pieces that is embraced by the second laser pulses, wherein the control unit is capable of migrating said first laser pulses over the raw material pieces so that the first laser pulses repeatedly act on closely adjacent points of the raw material pieces such that the first laser pulses overlap, wherein the control unit keeps constant the focal diameter and the focal point of the laser beam between the first and second laser pulses, and a sorting unit which automatically assigns the raw-material pieces to one or more target fractions depending on the composition found. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
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Specification