Systems and methods for sorting recyclables at a material recovery facility

• US 7,264,124 B2
• Filed: 11/17/2004
• Issued: 09/04/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/17/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Re Community Holdings II, Inc. (Republic Services Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Casella Waste Systems Incorporated
• Inventors: Duffy, Sean P., Bohlig, James W.
• Primary Examiner(s): RODRIGUEZ, JOSEPH C
• Application Number:
  US10/989,604
• Publication Number:
  US 20050126958A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,021 Days
• Field of Search: 209/21, 209 30- 37, 209/44.4, 241/24.12, 241/24.13, 241/24.14, 241/24.19, 241/24.21, 241/24.22, 241/24.3
• US Class Current: 209/30
• CPC Class Codes: B02C 19/0056 specially adapted for specific materials not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: B02C 23/14 with more than one separator
• CPC Class Codes: B03B 11/00 Feed or discharge devices integral with washing or wet-separating equipment
• CPC Class Codes: B03B 13/00 Control arrangements specially adapted for wet-separating apparatus or for dressing plant, using physical effects
• CPC Class Codes: B03B 9/061 the refuse being industrial
• CPC Class Codes: B03B 9/062 the refuse being glass
• CPC Class Codes: B07C 5/342 according to optical properties, e.g. colour according to radiation transmittivity B07C5/3416
• CPC Class Codes: B07C 5/3425 of granular material, e.g. ore particles, grain investigation moving fluids or granular solids using optical means G01N21/85
• CPC Class Codes: B29B 17/02 Separating plastics from other materials
• CPC Class Codes: B29B 2017/0203 Separating plastics from plastics
• CPC Class Codes: B29B 2017/0224 Screens, sieves
• CPC Class Codes: B29B 2017/0268 Separation of metals
• CPC Class Codes: B29B 2017/0272 Magnetic separation
• CPC Class Codes: B29B 2017/0279 Optical identification, e.g. cameras or spectroscopy
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2023/06 PE, i.e. polyethylene
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2023/12 PP, i.e. polypropylene
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2025/00 Use of polymers of vinyl-aromatic compounds or derivatives thereof as moulding material
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2027/06 PVC, i.e. polyvinylchloride
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2067/00 Use of polyesters or derivatives thereof, as moulding material
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2705/00 Use of metals, their alloys or their compounds, for preformed parts, e.g. for inserts
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2705/02 : Aluminium
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2705/04 : Lead
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2705/08 : Transition metals
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2705/12 : Iron
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2709/02 : Ceramics
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2709/08 : Glass
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2711/12 : Paper, e.g. cardboard
• CPC Class Codes: B29L 2007/008 : Wide strips, e.g. films, webs
• CPC Class Codes: B29L 2031/7158 : Bottles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02W 30/52 : Mechanical processing of waste for the recovery of materials, e.g. crushing, shredding, separation or disassembly
• CPC Class Codes: Y02W 30/60 : Glass recycling
• CPC Class Codes: Y02W 30/62 : Plastics recycling; Rubber recycling
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 209/93 : Municipal solid waste sorting

Abstract

Systems and methods for providing a quantity of cullet having at least two colors of glass from an input stream of recyclable material and non-recyclable material. In an embodiment, the system includes a sortation station, a screening apparatus, an air classifier, and a crushing apparatus to provide as output substantially pure cullet having at least two colors.

Claims

1. A system for providing a quantity of cullet having at least two colors of glass from an input stream of recyclable material and non-recyclable material having at least two colors of glass, comprising:

a sortation station for receiving the input stream, and removing from the input stream at least a portion of the non-recyclable material;

a first screening apparatus configured to substantially remove corrugated fiber products from the input stream;

a second screening apparatus configured to substantially remove newspaper from the input stream;

an air classifier for receiving glass from the input stream, and extracting at least one of plastic, aluminum and paper elements from the input stream;

a crushing apparatus that receives the glass from said air classifier, and breaks substantially all of the glass into pieces having a largest dimension equal to or less than a predetermined length; and

a third screening apparatus for receiving the crushed glass and removing additional non-glass contaminants, thereby providing as output the cullet comprising at least two colors.

2. The system according to claim 1, the first screening apparatus comprises a disc screen.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the second screening apparatus comprises a dual screen separator having an upper screen deck and a lower screen deck.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein said sortation station comprises at least one manual sorter.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the non-recyclable material removed at said sortation station comprises at least one of milk cartons, light bulbs, and styrofoam.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the largest dimension is approximately three inches.

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein the largest dimension is approximately two and one-half inches.

8. The system according to claim 1, wherein the at least two colors comprise one of:

a) flint and amber, b) flint and green, b) amber and green, and d) flint, amber and green.

9. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a ceramic detector and remover that receives the cullet from said third screening apparatus, and removes at least a portion of any ceramic from the input.

10. The system according to claim 1, further comprising an eddy current separator configured to remove non-ferrous metal from the input stream.

11. A method for providing a quantity of cullet having at least two colors of glass from an input stream of recyclable material and non-recyclable material having at least two colors of glass, comprising:

a) removing from the input stream at least a portion of the non-recyclable material;

b) removing corrugated fiber products from the input stream by used of a disc screen apparatus;

c) removing newspaper from the input stream;

d) extracting at least one of plastic, aluminum and paper elements from the input stream;

e) breaking, subsequent to step b), the glass of the input stream into pieces having a largest dimension equal to or less than a predetermined length; and

f) removing additional non-glass contaminants, thereby providing as output the cullet comprising at least two colors.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein said step a) is performed by a manual sorter.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the removed non-recyclable material comprises at least one of milk cartons, light bulbs, and styrofoam.

14. The method according to claim 11, further comprising the step of receiving subsequent to removing the corrugated fiber products any residual non-glass items that were separated from the glass stream.

15. The method according to claim 11, wherein a dual screen separator having an upper screen deck and a lower screen deck is used to remove the newspaper from the input stream.

16. The method according to claim 11, wherein the largest dimension is approximately three inches.

17. The method according to claim 11, wherein the largest dimension is approximately two and one-half inches.

18. The method according to claim 11, wherein the at least two colors comprise one of:

a) flint and amber, b) flint and green, b) amber and green, and d) flint, amber and green.

19. The method according to claim 11, wherein the non-glass contaminants in said step f) comprise ceramic.

20. The method according to claim 11, further comprising the steps of breaking any residual glass items in a same manner as is done at said step e), and directing plastic items to a repository.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein said directing is performed by at least one manual sorter.

22. The method according to claim 20, further comprising the step of directing the ferrous items to a repository.

23. The method according to claim 22, further comprising the step of directing the non-ferrous items to a repository.

24. The method according to claim 23, further comprising the step of breaking any residual glass remaining subsequent to directing said non-ferrous items in a same manner as is done at said step e).

25. The method according to claim 11, further comprising removing non-ferrous metal from the input stream by use of an eddy current separator.

26. A system for providing a quantity of cullet having at least two colors of glass from an input stream of recyclable material and non-recyclable material having at least two colors of glass, comprising:

a sortation station for receiving the input stream, and removing from the input stream at least a portion of the non-recyclable material;

an air classifier for receiving glass from the input stream, and extracting at least one of plastic, aluminum and paper elements from the input stream;

a crushing apparatus that receives the glass from said air classifier, and breaks substantially all of the glass into pieces having a largest dimension equal to or less than a predetermined length;

a first screening apparatus for receiving the crushed glass and removing additional non-glass contaminants, thereby providing as output the cullet comprising at least two colors;

a second screening apparatus for substantially removing corrugated fiber products from the input stream;

a third screening apparatus for substantially removing newspaper from the input stream, and

a fourth screening apparatus that receives non-glass items and residual glass from said third screening apparatus, and substantially removes paper items from the non-glass items.

27. The system according to claim 26, wherein the received non-glass items comprise at least one of:

a) plastic items, b) ferrous items, c) non-ferrous items, and d) paper items.

28. The system according to claim 26, further comprising a second sortation station that receives an output from said fourth screening apparatus, and directs glass items to said crushing apparatus, and said plastic items to a repository.

29. The system according to claim 28, further comprising a ferrous separator that receives the ferrous items and the non-ferrous items from said second sortation station, and directs the ferrous items to a repository.

30. The system according to claim 29, further comprising a non-ferrous separator that receives said non-ferrous items from said ferrous separator, and directs said non-ferrous items to a repository.

31. The system according to claim 28, wherein the second sortation station comprises at least one manual sorter.

32. The system according to claim 30, wherein any residual glass provided as output from said non-ferrous separator is provided as input to said crushing apparatus.

33. The system according to claim 30, wherein the non-ferrous separator comprises an eddy current separator configured to remove non-ferrous metal from the input stream.

34. The system according to claim 26, wherein said sortation station comprises at least one manual sorter.

35. The system according to claim 26, wherein the non-recyclable material removed at said sortation station comprises at least one of milk cartons, light bulbs, and styrofoam.

36. The system according to claim 26, wherein the largest dimension is approximately three inches.

37. The system according to claim 26, wherein the largest dimension is approximately two and one-half inches.

38. The system according to claim 26, wherein the at least two colors comprise one of:

a) flint and amber, b) flint and green, b) amber and green, and d) flint, amber and green.

39. The system according to claim 26, further comprising a ceramic detector and remover that receives the cullet from said third screening apparatus, and removes at least a portion of any ceramic from the input.