Glass recovery system and crusher

Abstract

To achieve improvement in versatility by crushing an entire laminate, to perform crushing so that adhesion of foreign matters to a glass is reduced as much as possible, and to perform sorting thereafter with good accuracy.SOLUTION: A glass recovery system comprises: a primary crushing part S1 which crushes a laminate W to obtain crushed materials; a classification part S2 which classifies the crushed materials into size ranges of multi-stages by a sieve; a secondary crushing part S3 which further crushes the crushed materials of which a size is classified into a highest level range and feeds again the same to the classification part S2; and a sorting part S4 which sorts and takes out granular glass from the crushed materials of which a size is classified into a low level range by the classification part S2. The primary crushing part S1 comprises a rough crusher 10 which roughly crushes the laminate W, and a crusher 20 which crushes the roughly crushed materials. The crusher 20 comprises many rod-like bodies which strike and crush the crushed materials by rotation of a rotor.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a glass recovery system for recovering glass from components such as solar cell modules that are made using glass sheets and for recycling, and more particularly to a glass recovery system for recovering glass from laminates in which glass sheets are stacked with other components, and also to a crusher that is useful for use in such a glass recovery system. [Background technology]

[0002] Generally, for example, a solar cell module includes a laminated body in which a glass plate and other members are stacked. Solar cell modules include those with one glass plate and those with two glass plates. Examples of solar cell modules with one glass plate include those known as crystalline silicon or thin-film silicon. Examples of solar cell modules with two glass plates include those known as compound (CIS / CIGS) types.

[0003] A solar cell module with one glass plate has a rectangular laminate formed by sandwiching solar cells and electrical components including their wiring between a cover glass plate and a back film using a filler such as EVA, and this laminate is surrounded by a frame such as aluminum. The back film is made of metal or resin.

[0004] In addition, a solar cell module with two glass plates has a rectangular laminate formed between a cover glass plate and a back film, with solar cells and electrical components including their wiring supported by a base glass plate, and these are sandwiched between them using a filler such as EVA, and this laminate is surrounded by a frame such as aluminum (see Figure 10). The backfill is made of metal or resin.

[0005] In recent years, when these solar cell modules reach the end of their lifespan and are no longer in use, the glass is recovered from the laminate and recycled. A known glass recovery system is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2018-86651 (Patent Document 1). This technology recovers glass from a laminate of the aforementioned solar cell module with a single glass plate. The wiring terminal box and cables are removed from the solar cell module, and the frame is removed to obtain a laminate. Then, using a crushing device equipped with a pair of crushing rollers, the laminate is fed between the pair of crushing rollers with the cover glass plate facing downward. The pair of crushing rollers clamp the laminate to crush the glass, and the lower crushing roller scrapes off the glass fragments. This yields crushed glass and a sheet-like member to which a filler material, including electrical components, is attached. The sheet-like member is then subjected to subsequent processing, such as pulverization.

[0006] Since the crushed glass contains resin and other foreign matter, it is then transported on a belt conveyor. During the transport process, foreign matter with a low specific gravity is sucked up using a known suction device, and the glass fragments are separated and collected (specific gravity separation). Alternatively, the crushed glass can be separated and collected by passing it through multiple sieves (shape separation). Alternatively, foreign matter can be identified by optical differences, dropped using an air jet, and the glass fragments can be separated and collected (optical separation). Furthermore, crushed glass can be transported on a belt conveyor, and during the transport process, magnetic foreign matter can be magnetically attracted, and the glass fragments can be separated and collected (magnetic separation). Finally, a known eddy current separation device can be used to separate glass fragments from foreign matter based on differences in electrical properties, and the glass fragments can be collected (eddy current separation).

[0007] The separation and recovery of these glass fragments can be carried out by selecting from any of gravity separation, shape separation, optical separation, magnetic separation, and eddy current separation, or by combining some or all of these separation methods. The recovered glass fragments can be used as raw materials for recycling and used in various products, including glass products. Meanwhile, foreign matter separated from the glass fragments and sheet-like members remaining after crushing the glass plate can be separately crushed, and metals such as silver can be extracted from them to be used as recycled products.

[0008] On the other hand, in the latter type of solar cell module with two glass plates, because a base glass plate exists inside, a crushing device that scrapes off the glass plate cannot crush this base glass plate with a crushing roller to scrape off the glass fragments. Therefore, for this type of solar cell module with two glass plates, a system such as that described in Patent Publication No. 7091571 (Patent Document 2) is used. In this system, for a solar cell module with two glass plates, the wiring terminal box and cables are first removed from the solar cell module, and the frame is removed to obtain a laminate. The entire laminate is then crushed using a crushing device such as a shearing device. That is, the entire laminate is crushed as is without removing the glass plate, and the resulting crushed material is sorted. This crushed material is separated using an electrostatic separator, which separates the crushed material into jumping, falling, and attached materials according to their conductivity and density. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0009] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2018-86651 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 7091571 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0010] In the former system of these conventional glass recovery systems, glass fragments are scraped off from the sheet-like members of the laminate in the initial stage, so there is relatively little foreign matter mixed in with the glass fragments, and there is also little foreign matter adhering to the glass fragments. As a result, subsequent separation from the foreign matter can be carried out relatively easily using well-known separation methods such as specific gravity separation, shape separation, optical separation, magnetic separation, and eddy current separation. However, as mentioned above, this system is not suitable for solar cell modules that have two glass plates, and is therefore less versatile.

[0011] On the other hand, the latter system is highly versatile because it crushes the entire stack using a crushing device such as a shear type, but on the other hand, a lot of foreign matter gets mixed in during crushing, and in particular, many of the crushed pieces are glass pieces with foreign matter attached, so there is a problem that the separation accuracy is extremely poor when it comes to subsequent separation using techniques such as electrostatic separation.In addition, in the examples of Patent Document 2, a sample simulating a solar cell module is created and electrostatically separated, so the properties of the sample differ from those of the actual crushed material and are not realistic.

[0012] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a glass recovery system and crusher that improves versatility by crushing the entire stack, crushes the glass so that foreign matter adheres to the glass as little as possible, and enables subsequent sorting to be performed accurately. [Means for solving the problem]

[0013] In order to achieve the above object, the glass recovery system of the present invention is a glass recovery system that crushes a laminate in which glass sheets and other members are stacked, classifies the crushed material obtained by crushing using a sieve, and recovers glass, a primary crushing unit for crushing the laminate to obtain crushed material; a classification unit that classifies the crushed material obtained in the primary crushing unit into a plurality of size ranges using a sieve; a secondary crushing section for further crushing crushed material classified into the uppermost range and sending it back to the classifying section, where the uppermost range is the maximum size range classified in the classifying section and the lower range is the range below the uppermost range; a sorting unit that separates and extracts granular glass from the crushed material classified into subranges by the classifying unit, The primary crushing section is equipped with a coarse crushing device that roughly crushes the laminate by shearing, and a crusher that crushes the material that has been coarsely crushed by the coarse crushing device, and the crusher is configured to have a number of rod-shaped bodies attached to a rotating body that strikes and crushes the material by rotating the rotating body.

[0014] The laminates covered here may be any laminate in which glass plates and other components are laminated together, such as laminates contained in solar cell modules, window glass such as automobile windshields with resin films interposed inside, or resin-coated cathode ray tubes.

[0015] Solar cell modules include those that are so-called crystalline silicon or thin film silicon types that have one glass plate, a cover glass plate, and those that are so-called compound type (CIS / CIGS type) types that have two glass plates, a cover glass plate and a base glass plate, but the present invention is particularly effective for solar cell modules that have two glass plates, a cover glass plate and a base glass plate. Of course, it can also be used for solar cell modules that have one glass plate, a cover glass plate.

[0016] As a result, when the glass is recovered from the laminate, the following procedure is carried out. <Crushing by the primary crushing section> First, the laminate is roughly crushed by shearing in a crushing device. Then, the crushed material roughly crushed by this crushing device is crushed by a crusher. In this crusher, as a rotor rotates, a rod-shaped body attached to it strikes the crushed material to crush it. In this case, as the rod-shaped body strikes the crushed material, glass adhering to other components such as resin is broken down into small pieces and detached and separated. This minimizes adhesion of foreign matter to the glass. Furthermore, because the glass is struck, it becomes rounded granules without corners, which makes subsequent handling easier and is also preferable from a safety standpoint.

[0017] <Classification by the Classification Department> The crushed material obtained in the primary crushing section is classified into multiple size ranges using a sieve. In this case, the crushed material classified into the highest range has a relatively large amount of foreign matter attached to the glass, while the crushed material classified into the lower range has granular glass separated from the rest.

[0018] <Crushing by the secondary crushing section> The crushed material classified into the highest range in the classification section is further crushed and broken down into smaller pieces, and then sent to the classification section again. In this case, the crushed material classified into this highest range has a relatively large amount of foreign matter attached to the glass, but since the glass becomes more likely to fall off during the crushing process, when it is sent to the classification section again, it is classified as crushed material belonging to a lower range where granular glass is separated from the rest and present in large amounts.

[0019] <Sorting in the sorting department> The glass particles are separated and extracted from the crushed material that has been classified into sub-ranges by the classification unit. In this case, since the glass particles are separated from the other crushed material in the sub-ranges, it is possible to separate the glass with high accuracy using, for example, an air sorter.

[0020] The crusher may optionally include a cylindrical container having a bottom wall and a central axis extending in the vertical direction, with an inlet for crushed materials at the top and an outlet for crushed materials at the bottom; a columnar rotor rotatably mounted on the bottom wall of the container with its axis aligned with the central axis of the container; a number of rod-shaped bodies suspended in a matrix around the outer periphery of the rotor, which are raised substantially horizontally by centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the rotor to strike and crush the materials introduced through the inlet; and a drive unit for rotating the rotor. The rod-shaped bodies are preferably made of a hard, wear-resistant material, such as iron, metal castings, or ceramics.

[0021] As a result, in the crusher, the rod-shaped body, whose axis is raised almost horizontally by the centrifugal force caused by the rotation of the rotor, strikes and crushes the material to be crushed, causing an extremely large impact, which breaks the glass into small pieces and easily separates from the rest, improving separation efficiency.

[0022] If necessary, a plurality of crushers may be provided to crush the materials one by one. By repeatedly striking and crushing the materials, the glass is further broken down into smaller pieces, which can be easily separated from the other pieces, greatly improving separation efficiency.

[0023] Furthermore, if necessary, the secondary crushing section may be provided with a pre-treatment crusher that crushes the crushed material classified into the highest range by the classification section by shearing, and a post-treatment crusher that crushes the crushed material crushed by the pre-treatment crusher, and the post-treatment crusher is configured to have a number of rod-shaped bodies attached to a rotating body that hits and crushes the crushed material by rotating the rotating body.

[0024] As a result, in the secondary crushing section, the crushed material classified into the highest range in the classifying section is further crushed and broken down in the pre-processing crusher, and then further crushed in the post-processing crusher. During this process, as in the primary crushing section, when the rotor rotates, the rod-shaped bodies attached to it strike the crushed material, causing glass adhering to other components such as resin to be further broken down and detached and separated. This further reduces the adhesion of foreign matter to the glass, allowing the sorting section to separate the glass with greater accuracy.

[0025] In this case, if necessary, the post-processing crusher is configured to include a casing having an inlet and an outlet for the crushed material, a pair of rotating disks housed in the casing and each rotating independently around a substantially horizontal central axis and having inner surfaces facing each other, a number of rod-shaped bodies having axes parallel to the above-mentioned axis and protruding at equal intervals on a plurality of concentric circles of different phases on the inner surface of each disk and facing the facing space formed between the facing inner surfaces of the disks, and a drive unit that rotates each disk so that it rotates in opposite directions relative to each other, and the material fed from the inlet is crushed by being struck by the numerous rod-shaped bodies in the facing space.

[0026] As a result, in the post-processing crusher, a large number of rod-shaped bodies hit and crush the material to be crushed, so the impact is extremely large, the glass is broken down into small pieces and easily separated from the rest, and separation efficiency can be improved.

[0027] Furthermore, if necessary, a magnetic metal removal means may be provided to remove magnetic metals from the crushed material by magnetic attraction before the crushed material reaches the classification section, and a non-magnetic metal removal means may be provided to remove non-magnetic metals from the crushed material by an eddy current sorting device. This allows magnetic metals to be removed from the crushed material before it reaches the classification section, and non-magnetic metals to be removed, thereby improving the separation efficiency of glass in the fractionating section after classification in the classification section.

[0028] If necessary, the classifying unit may be configured to classify the crushed objects into three stages: an uppermost range of the maximum size range, a first lower range below the uppermost range, and a second lower range below the first lower range; The sorting unit is configured to include a first air sorter that sorts the crushed material in the first sub-range into heavy crushed material mainly consisting of granular glass and light crushed material, an optical sorter that separates transparent granular glass from the heavy crushed material sorted by the first air sorter, and a second air sorter that separates the crushed material in the second sub-range into heavy crushed material mainly consisting of granular glass and light crushed material.

[0029] As described above, most of the crushed material reaching the sorting section is in a state where glass has been separated, and furthermore, magnetic and non-magnetic metals have been removed from the crushed material, leaving the glass as heavy crushed material, mixed with lighter crushed material such as resin. Therefore, the glass can be easily separated using the air sorter. In particular, since crushing is mainly performed by beating, most of the glass is concentrated in the first sub-range of crushed material, so most of the glass can be separated using the first air sorter. Moreover, since the optical sorter separates transparent granular glass from the heavy crushed material separated by the first air sorter, colored glass due to foreign matter attached to the glass is removed, resulting in the production of high-purity transparent glass, further improving sorting accuracy.

[0030] Furthermore, although fine magnetic and non-magnetic metal particles inevitably remain, these are classified into the second subrange of crushed material and, together with extremely fine glass particles, are separated into heavy crushed material. The amount of glass in this heavy crushed material is extremely small compared to the glass classified into the first subrange, and the magnetic and non-magnetic metals contain valuable metals such as precious metals, so these valuable metals can be separated and processed by other means or used for purposes other than glass recycling.

[0031] In this case, the laminate is preferably a solar cell module laminate having two glass plates, a cover glass plate and a base glass plate. As described above, the laminate of the present invention may be any laminate in which glass plates and other components are laminated, but the present invention is particularly effective for solar cell modules, particularly solar cell module laminates having two glass plates. In the primary crushing section, the glass contained in the crushed material sent to the classification section is crushed to a particle size of, for example, 5 mm or less, so that it can be separated from other components as much as possible, and the glass can be beaten and recovered as rounded, corner-free, transparent glass particles.

[0032] The crusher of the present invention for achieving the above object is a crusher for crushing crushed material obtained by roughly crushing a laminate in which a glass plate and another member are stacked by shearing, It is comprised of a cylindrical container having a bottom wall and a central axis extending in the vertical direction, with an inlet for crushed materials at the top and an outlet for crushed materials at the bottom, a columnar rotor rotatably mounted on the bottom wall of the container with its axis aligned with the central axis of the container, a number of rod-shaped bodies suspended in a matrix around the outer periphery of the rotor, which are raised almost horizontally by the centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the rotor to strike and crush the materials fed in from the inlet, and a drive unit for rotating the rotor. [Effects of the Invention]

[0033] According to the present invention, since the entire stack is crushed, it is possible to deal with various types of stacks, improving versatility. Furthermore, since the glass is crushed so as to minimize adhesion of foreign matter to the glass, subsequent sorting can be performed with high accuracy, and high-quality granular glass can be obtained. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0034] [Figure 1] 1 is a plan view showing a glass recovery system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is a front view showing a glass recovery system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] 1 is a side view showing a glass recovery system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a rough crushing device of a primary crushing section in a glass recovery system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 5] 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a crusher of a primary crushing unit in a glass recovery system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] 1 is a diagram showing a vibration separator constituting a classification unit in a glass recovery system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 7] 1 is a diagram showing a pre-crushing machine of a secondary crushing unit in a glass recovery system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 8] 1A and 1B are diagrams showing a schematic view of a post-processing crusher of a secondary crushing section in a glass recovery system according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view of a main part, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1A. [Figure 9] 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an air sorter constituting a sorting unit in a glass recovery system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] 1 is a partially cutaway cross-sectional view schematically showing a solar cell module having a laminate to be treated by a glass recovery system according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0035] Hereinafter, a glass recovery system and a crusher according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The crusher according to the embodiment is used in the glass recovery system according to the embodiment, and therefore will be described in the glass recovery system.

[0036] 1 to 3 show a glass recovery system S according to an embodiment of the present invention. The glass recovery system S according to the embodiment of the present invention crushes a laminate W in which glass sheets and other components are laminated, and classifies the crushed material using a sieve to recover glass. The target laminate W may be any laminate W in which glass sheets and other components are laminated, such as a laminate W included in a solar cell module, window glass such as an automobile windshield with a resin film inserted therein, or a resin-coated cathode ray tube.

[0037] As mentioned above, solar cell modules include those that are so-called crystalline silicon or thin-film silicon types, which have a single glass plate (cover glass), and those that are so-called compound (CIS / CIGS) types, which have two glass plates (cover glass and base glass). Figure 10 shows a solar cell module M with two glass plates. This module is configured by sandwiching a rectangular laminate W between a cover glass plate 1 and a back film 2. The laminate W includes a solar cell cell and electrical components 3, including their wiring, supported by a base glass plate 4, and a filler 5, such as EVA. The laminate W is surrounded by a frame 6, such as aluminum, via an adhesive 7. The back film 2 is made of metal or resin. The laminate W includes two glass plates, the cover glass plate 1 and the base glass plate 4. Depending on the type, some modules also include an aluminum plate (not shown) in addition to the base glass plate 4. This embodiment focuses on the type with the aluminum plate.

[0038] The glass recovery system S according to the embodiment is basically configured with a primary crushing section S1 for crushing the stack W to obtain crushed material, a classification section S2 for classifying the crushed material obtained in the primary crushing section S1 into multiple size ranges using a sieve, a secondary crushing section S3 for further crushing the crushed material classified into the upper size range and sending it back to the classification section S2, and a sorting section S4 for separating and extracting granular glass from the crushed material classified into the lower size ranges by the classification section S2. Furthermore, before the crushed material reaches the classification section S2, a magnetic metal removal means J1 is provided for removing magnetic metal from the crushed material by magnetic attraction, and a non-magnetic metal removal means J2 is provided for removing non-magnetic metal from the crushed material by an eddy current sorting device 30.

[0039] 1 and 2, the primary crushing section S1 is configured to include a coarse crushing device 10 that roughly crushes the stack W by shearing, and a crusher 20 that crushes the material roughly crushed by the coarse crushing device 10. A plurality of crushers 20 (two in this embodiment) are provided, and the materials are successively crushed by these two crushers 20. The primary crushing section S1 is also provided with magnetic metal removal means J1 that removes magnetic metal from the materials by magnetic attraction.

[0040] As shown in Fig. 4, the coarse crushing device 10 is configured to include a crushing chamber 13 into which the stack W is fed through a hopper 11 and which has a discharge outlet 12 at the bottom from which the crushed material is discharged, a fixed blade 15 provided at the opening edge of a communication passage 14 which communicates with the discharge outlet 12, a rotor-type movable blade 16 which is rotatably provided in front of the discharge outlet 12 and which cooperates with the fixed blade 15 to crush the stack W, and a screen 17 which is provided closer to the discharge outlet 12 than the flexible blade 16 and covers the movable blade 16 to allow crushed material of a predetermined size to pass through. In Fig. 4, reference numeral 18 denotes a pushing device which pushes the fed stack W toward the movable blade 16.

[0041] 5, the crusher 20 is composed of a container 21 having a bottom wall 22 and a cylindrical shape with a vertical axis, an inlet 23 for crushed material at the top, and an outlet 24 for crushed material at the bottom, a columnar rotor 25 rotatably mounted on the bottom wall 22 of the container 21 with a center line P coaxial with the axis of the rotor 25, a number of rod-shaped bodies 26 suspended in a matrix on the outer periphery of the rotor 25, whose axes are raised substantially horizontally by the centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the rotor 25, and which strike and crush the material introduced from the inlet 23, and a drive unit 27 which rotates the rotor 25. The drive unit 27 is composed of an electric motor 27a and a belt-driven mechanism 27b which transmits the rotation of the electric motor 27a to the rotor 25.

[0042] It is desirable to select a material that is hard and has low wear resistance for the rod-shaped bodies 26. Examples include metals such as iron, metal castings, and ceramics. In this embodiment, iron castings are used. The vessel 21 has a diameter of, for example, about 1000 mm and a height of, for example, about 1500 mm, and the rod-shaped bodies 26 have a diameter of, for example, about 60 mm and a length of, for example, about 300 mm. 50 to 80 of the rod-shaped bodies 26 are attached to the rotor 25. In this embodiment, the glass is crushed so that the particle size of the glass discharged from the crusher 20 on the downstream side is as small as possible, 5 mm or less.

[0043] Symbol 28 denotes a belt conveyor that transports crushed material discharged from the discharge outlet 12 of the coarse crushing device 10 to the inlet 23 of the upstream crusher 20 and deposits it into the container 21, and symbol 29 denotes a belt conveyor that transports crushed material discharged from the outlet 24 of the upstream crusher 20 to the inlet 23 of the downstream crusher 20 and deposits it into the container 21.

[0044] A well-known drum magnetic separator (not shown) is provided as magnetic metal removal means J1 at the end of each of the belt conveyors 28, 29 on the side of the inlet 23. The principle is that a fixed magnet is provided inside the rotating drum around which the belt of the belt conveyor is wound, and when crushed material is transported by the belt, the magnetic metal is magnetically attracted by the magnet and transported to the underside of the belt, where it is released and collected outside the reach of the magnetic force of the magnet.

[0045] Between the downstream crusher 20 and the classification section S2, a well-known eddy-current separator 30 is provided as non-magnetic metal removal means J2 for removing non-magnetic metals from the crushed material. In this embodiment, the eddy-current separator 30 is primarily intended to remove aluminum. As shown in Fig. 2, it comprises a belt conveyor 31, a cover 33 that covers the belt conveyor 31 and has an inlet 32 ​​on the top for introducing crushed material onto the belt conveyor 31, a drum 34 that is provided at the end of the conveyance and around which the belt is wound, and a magnet rotor (not shown) that rotates at high speed within the drum 34. The high-speed rotating magnet rotor generates an alternating magnetic field on the surface of the drum 34. When non-magnetic metals pass through this magnetic field, eddy currents are generated by electromagnetic induction, which imparts a propulsive force to the non-magnetic metals, causing them to fly forward and be discharged through a first discharge outlet 35, while crushed material other than non-magnetic metals falls and is discharged through a second discharge outlet 36. Reference numeral 37 denotes a belt conveyor that transports and feeds crushed material discharged from the outlet 24 of the downstream crusher 20 to the inlet 32 ​​of the eddy-current sorting device 30. Reference numeral 38 denotes a belt conveyor that transports crushed material discharged from the second outlet 36 of the eddy-current sorting device 30 to the classifying section S2.

[0046] 1, 3, and 6, the classification section S2 classifies the crushed material into three sizes: an uppermost range representing the maximum size range, a first lower range below the uppermost range, and a second lower range below the first lower range, and is configured with a well-known vibrating sieve machine 40. Specifically, the vibrating sieve machine 40 includes multiple (three in this embodiment) sieving vessels 41, 42, and 43 stacked in multiple stages (three in this embodiment), and a vibration applying section 44 that supports the stacked sieving vessels 41, 42, and 43 and applies vibrations to them. The upper and middle sieving vessels 41 and 42 are configured with cylindrical frames, on which mesh sieves (not shown) are stretched for sieving the crushed material, and have discharge ports 41a and 42a for discharging the crushed material remaining on the sieves. The lower sieving vessel 43 is configured with a cylindrical frame with a bottom and a discharge port 43a for discharging the crushed material. The belt conveyor 38 transports the crushed material discharged from the second discharge port 36 of the eddy current sorting device 30 to the sieve container 41 on the upper stage of the vibrating sieve machine 40 and places it therein.

[0047] In the vibrating sieve machine 40, crushed material in the top range of the largest size range remains on the sieve in the upper sieve container 41 and is collected, crushed material in a first lower range below the top range remains on the sieve in the middle sieve container 42 and is collected, and crushed material in a second lower range below the first lower range that is below the sieve of the middle sieve container 42 falls and is collected in the lower sieve container 43. The crushed material classified into the top range is then transported by belt conveyor 45 to the secondary crushing section S3. In Figure 1, symbol 46 denotes a belt conveyor that transports and inputs crushed material discharged from the sieve container 42 in the middle stage of the vibrating sieve machine 40 into the first wind sorter 70 described below in the sorting section S4, and symbol 47 denotes a belt conveyor that transports and inputs crushed material discharged from the sieve container 43 in the lower stage of the vibrating sieve machine 40 into the second wind sorter 90 described below in the sorting section S4.

[0048] In this embodiment, for example, the mesh size of the sieve in the upper sieve container 41 is set to 5.0 mm to collect crushed material larger than 5.0 mm, and the mesh size of the sieve in the middle sieve container 42 is set to 1.2 mm to collect medium-sized particles larger than 1.2 mm. Therefore, the fine particles that do not fit through the sieve in the middle sieve container 42 are collected in the lower sieve container 43. The mesh size is not limited to this.

[0049] The secondary crushing section S3 is configured with a pre-processing crusher 50 that crushes by shearing the crushed material that has been classified into the highest range by the vibrating sieve 40 of the classification section S2 and transported on the belt conveyor 45, and a post-processing crusher 60 that crushes the crushed material crushed by the pre-processing crusher 50.

[0050] As shown in Figure 7, the pre-treatment crusher 50 is configured to include a crushing chamber 53 into which crushed material is fed through a hopper 51 and which has a discharge outlet 52 at the bottom from which crushed material is discharged, a fixed blade (not shown) provided at the opening edge of a communication passage which communicates with the discharge outlet 52, a rotor-type movable blade 54 which is rotatably provided in front of the discharge outlet 52 and which works together with the fixed blade to crush the crushed material, and a screen (not shown) which is provided on the discharge outlet 52 side of the flexible blade 54, covers the movable blade 54, and allows crushed material of a predetermined size to pass through.

[0051] 1, 3, and 8, the post-processing crusher 60 includes a casing 61 having an inlet 62 and an outlet 63 for crushed material, a pair of rotating disks 64 housed in the casing 61 and independently rotating about a substantially horizontal central axis Q with inner surfaces facing each other, a number of rod-shaped bodies 65 having axes parallel to the central axis Q and projecting at equal intervals on a plurality of concentric circles in different phases from each other on the inner surface of each disk 64 and facing a facing space e formed between the facing inner surfaces of the disks 64, and a drive unit 66 for rotating the disks 64 in counter-rotating directions. The rod-shaped bodies 65 are formed, for example, of ceramics in the facing space e, so that the material introduced from the inlet 61 is crushed by being struck by the rod-shaped bodies 65. The group of rods 65 on one disk 64 and the group of rods 65 on the other disk 64 are alternately arranged in the radial direction, and gaps are formed between the rods 65 to prevent them from interfering with each other.

[0052] In Figure 1, reference numeral 67 denotes a belt conveyor that transports and inputs crushed material discharged from the discharge outlet 52 of the pre-processing crusher 50 to the input port 62 of the post-processing crusher 60. The post-processing crusher 60 is installed on an installation stand 68 above the belt conveyor 38 that transports and inputs crushed material from the eddy-current sorting device 30 to the vibrating sieve 40, and crushed material discharged from the outlet 63 of the casing 61 is placed on this belt conveyor 38 and sent to the vibrating sieve 40 again.

[0053] As shown in Figure 1, the sorting section S4 is configured with a first air sorter 70 that separates the crushed material of the first sub-range discharged from the sieve container 42 in the middle of the vibrating sieve machine 40 and transported by the belt conveyor 46 into heavy crushed material mainly consisting of granular glass and light crushed material, an optical sorter 80 that separates transparent granular glass from the heavy crushed material separated by the first air sorter 70, and a second air sorter 90 that separates the crushed material of the second sub-range discharged from the sieve container 43 in the lower part of the vibrating sieve machine 40 and transported by the belt conveyor 47 into heavy crushed material mainly consisting of granular glass and light crushed material.

[0054] As shown in Figure 9, the first wind sorter 70 and the second wind sorter 90 have an inlet 71 for receiving crushed material from the vibrating sieve machine 40, a first discharge outlet 72 for discharging heavy crushed material, and a second discharge outlet 73 for discharging light crushed material.They are also equipped with a hollow sorting chamber 75 equipped with a partition 74 for sorting heavy crushed material from light crushed material, a hopper 76 for receiving crushed material from the vibrating sieve machine 40, a vibrating feeder 77 for transporting crushed material from the hopper 76 toward the inlet, and a sirocco fan 78 installed in the sorting chamber to apply wind force to the crushed material, blowing and sorting the light crushed material.

[0055] The optical sorter 80 is a well-known color sorting device that removes as much colored foreign matter as possible and separates and extracts colorless glass particles from the crushed material (mainly consisting of glass particles) sorted by the first air sorter 70. For example, a well-known method can be used in which glass particles are dropped and, during this process, an identification sensor such as a CCD camera detects whether or not the glass particles contain colored particles, and when it is detected that colored particles are included, a small group of glass particles containing colored particles is removed using, for example, an air ejector.

[0056] 1 and 3, a hopper device 81 for temporarily storing crushed material is provided between the first air sorter 70 and the optical sorter 80. Reference numeral 82 denotes a belt conveyor that transports the heavy crushed material discharged from the first discharge outlet 72 of the first air sorter 70 to the hopper device 81, and reference numeral 83 denotes a vibrating feeder that transports the heavy crushed material from the hopper device 81 to the optical sorter 80.

[0057] Therefore, according to the glass recovery system S of the embodiment, the glass is recovered from the laminate W as follows. The terminal box and cables for wiring are removed from the solar cell module M, and the frame 6 is removed to obtain the laminate W in advance.

[0058] <Crushing by the primary crushing section S1> First, as shown in FIG. 4, the stack W is roughly crushed by shearing in the crushing device 10. The crushed material roughly crushed by the crushing device 10 is then crushed by the crusher 20. In the crusher 20, as shown in FIG. 5, when a rotor 25 rotates, a rod-shaped body 26 attached to the rotor 25 strikes the material to crush it. In this case, the rod-shaped body 26 strikes the material, so that glass adhering to other components such as resin is broken down into small pieces and separated. In particular, in the crusher 20, the rod-shaped body 26, whose axis is raised almost horizontally by the centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the rotor 25, strikes and crushes the material, so that the impact is extremely large, and the glass is broken down into small pieces and easily separated from the other pieces, improving separation efficiency.

[0059] In addition, there are two crushers 20, and the crushed material is crushed sequentially by these two crushers 20. As the crushed material is repeatedly pounded and crushed, the glass is further broken down into smaller pieces and easily separated from the other pieces, significantly improving separation efficiency. This minimizes adhesion of foreign matter to the glass. In addition, because the glass is pounded, it becomes rounded granules without corners, which makes subsequent handling easier and is also preferable from a safety standpoint. The crushed material crushed by the crushers 20 is transported to the classifier S2 through the eddy current separator 30.

[0060] <Metal Removal> In addition, the belt conveyor 28 that transports the crushed material from the coarse crushing device 10 to the upstream crusher 20, and the belt conveyor 29 that transports the crushed material from the upstream crusher 20 to the downstream crusher 20, are equipped with a drum magnetic separator as magnetic metal removal means J1, so that magnetic metals (recovered material K6) can be removed from the crushed material by magnetic attraction before the crushed material reaches the classification section S2, as shown in Figures 1 and 2.

[0061] Furthermore, between the downstream crusher 20 and the classification section S2, an overcurrent sorting device 30 is provided as a non-magnetic metal removal means J2 for removing non-magnetic metals from the crushed material, thereby enabling non-magnetic metals (recovered material K7) to be removed from the crushed material before it reaches the classification section S2, as shown in Figure 2.

[0062] <Classification by classification unit S2> The crushed material obtained in the primary crushing section S1 is classified into multiple size ranges (three ranges in this embodiment) by the sieves of the vibrating sieve machine 40. That is, as shown in Fig. 6, in the vibrating sieve machine 40, crushed material in the top size range, the largest size range, remains on the sieve and is collected in the upper sieve container 41, crushed material in a first sub-range below the top size range remains on the sieve and is collected in the middle sieve container 42, and crushed material in a second sub-range below the first sub-range that is below the sieve of the middle sieve container 42 falls and is collected in the lower sieve container 43, thereby classifying the crushed material into three sizes. In this case, crushed material classified into the top size range has a relatively large amount of foreign matter attached to the glass, but crushed material in the lower size ranges has granular glass present separately from the other glass. In particular, since the shattering is mainly caused by beating, most of the glass is concentrated in the first subrange of shattered material.

[0063] <Crushing by secondary crushing section S3> The crushed material classified into the top range in the classification section S2 is further crushed and broken down into smaller pieces and sent back to the classification section S2. Specifically, the crushed material classified into the top range is sent from the sieve container 41 at the upper stage of the vibrating sieve machine 40 to the pre-processing crusher 50 of the secondary crushing section S3, where it is further crushed and broken down into smaller pieces, and then further crushed in the post-processing crusher 60. In this post-processing crusher 60, as shown in FIG. 8, when the disks 64, 64 rotate in opposite directions, the crushed material introduced through the inlet 62 is crushed by being struck by the numerous rod-shaped bodies 65 in the facing space e where the disks 64 face each other. Therefore, similar to the crusher 20 of the primary crushing section S1, the rod-shaped bodies 65 strike and crush the crushed material, so that glass adhering to other components such as resin is further broken down and separated. This further reduces the adhesion of foreign matter to the glass.

[0064] In particular, in the post-processing crusher 60, a large number of rod-shaped bodies 65 hit and crush the crushed material, which creates an extremely large impact, allowing the glass to be broken down into smaller pieces and easily separated from the rest, improving separation efficiency. In other words, the crushed material classified into the highest range by the vibrating sieve machine 40 often has foreign matter attached to the glass, but during the crushing process in this secondary crushing section S3, the glass becomes more easily separated, so when it is sent again to the classifying section S2, it can be classified as crushed material belonging to a lower range in which granular glass is separated from the rest and present in large quantities.

[0065] <Sorting in Sorting Section S4> First, crushed material classified into the first sub-range is transported from the sieve container 42 in the middle of the vibrating sieve machine 40 to the first air sorter 70, where it is separated into heavy crushed material, primarily consisting of granular glass, and light crushed material. In this case, the crushed material reaching the sorting section S4 is in a state where most of the glass has been separated, and furthermore, magnetic and non-magnetic metals have been removed from the crushed material in advance, leaving the glass as heavy crushed material mixed with light crushed material such as resin. Therefore, as shown in Figure 9, the first air sorter 70 can easily separate the glass. In particular, since crushing is mainly by beating, most of the glass is concentrated in the crushed material in the first sub-range, and therefore the first air sorter 70 can separate most of the glass. As shown in Figure 1, in the first air sorter 70, heavy crushed material, mainly consisting of glass, is sent to a hopper device 81, while light crushed material (recovered material K3), mainly consisting of resin, is removed and recovered.

[0066] Next, as shown in Figure 1, the heavy crushed material, mainly consisting of granular glass, which is separated in the first air sorter 70 and sent to a hopper device 81, is processed by an optical sorter 80, and transparent granular glass (recovered material K1) is separated from the heavy crushed material. In this case, colored glass due to foreign matter adhering to it is removed as foreign matter (recovered material K4), and high-purity transparent glass can be obtained by sorting, further improving the accuracy of sorting.

[0067] Furthermore, the crushed material classified into the second lower range is transported from the sieve container 43 at the lower stage of the vibrating sieve machine 40 to the second air sorter 90, where it is separated into heavy crushed material (recovered material K2) mainly consisting of granular glass and light crushed material (recovered material K5), as shown in Figure 1. In this case, the crushed material reaching the sorting section S4 is in a state where most of the glass has been separated, and furthermore, magnetic and non-magnetic metals have been removed from the crushed material in advance, leaving the glass as heavy crushed material mixed with light crushed material such as resin, so that the second air sorter 90 can easily separate the glass.

[0068] In this case, fine magnetic and non-magnetic metal particles inevitably remain, but these are classified into the second subrange of crushed material and, together with extremely fine glass particles, are separated into heavy crushed material, which contains an extremely small amount of glass compared to the glass classified into the first subrange.

[0069] The recovered materials K1 to K7 are used, for example, as follows: Material K1 (transparent granular glass) is transparent glass, so it can be reused as glass. Material K2 (powdered material primarily consisting of glass) contains foreign matter, such as fine magnetic and non-magnetic metals, in addition to glass. Since the magnetic and non-magnetic metals contain valuable metals such as precious metals, these valuable metals can be separated and processed by other means or used for purposes other than glass recycling. Materials K3 (lightweight crushed material primarily consisting of resin), K4 (foreign matter), and K5 (lightweight crushed material primarily consisting of resin) are primarily resins, so they can be used, for example, as fuel, and their ash can be used as cement material. Material K6 (magnetic metals) is magnetic metals such as iron, and material K7 (non-magnetic metals) is non-magnetic metals such as aluminum, so they can be recycled accordingly.

[0070] In the above embodiment, two crushers 20 are provided to crush the materials sequentially. However, this is not necessarily limited to this. One crusher, or three or more crushers, may be provided, and modifications may be made as appropriate. Furthermore, the laminate W to be processed is a solar cell module with the frame removed. However, since the laminate W is to be processed, the frame may be removed and processed as is, and modifications may be made as appropriate. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the object to be processed is a solar cell module M including a laminate W having two glass plates. However, this is not necessarily limited to this. It may also be a solar cell module including a laminate having a single glass plate, or any other solar cell module. Furthermore, the object to be processed is not limited to solar cell modules, but may be any laminate including glass plates and other components, such as a window glass, such as an automobile windshield, with a resin film interposed therein, or a resin-coated cathode ray tube. The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. Those skilled in the art will readily make numerous modifications to these exemplary embodiments without substantially departing from the novel teachings and effects of the present invention, and these numerous modifications are within the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0071] S Glass recovery system M solar cell module W laminate 1 cover glass plate (glass plate) 2 Backing film 3 Electrical components 4 Base glass plate (glass plate) 5 Filling material S1 Primary crushing section S2 classification section S3 Secondary crushing section S4 sorting section J1 Magnetic metal removal means J2 Non-magnetic metal removal means 10. Coarse crushing equipment 11 Hopper 12 Outlet 13 Crushing Room 14 Communication path 15 Fixed blade 16 Movable blade 17 screens 18 Pushing device 20 Crusher 21 Container 22 Bottom wall 23 Inlet 24 Exit P center line 25 Rotating Body 26 Rod-shaped body 27 Drive unit 28 Conveyor Belt 29 Conveyor Belt 30 Overcurrent screening device 31 Conveyor Belt 32 Inlet 33 Drums 35 1st outlet 36 2nd outlet 37 Conveyor Belt 38 Conveyor Belt 40 Vibrating sieve machine 41 Upper sieve container 42 Middle sieve container 43 Lower sieve container 44 Vibration applying section 45 Conveyor Belt 46 Conveyor Belt 47 Conveyor Belt 50 Pre-treatment crusher 51 Hopper 52 Outlet 53 Crushing Room 54 Movable blade 60 Post-processing crusher 61 Casing 62 Inlet 63 Exit Q center axis 64 Disk (rotating object) e Face-to-face space 65 Rod-shaped body 66 Drive unit 67 Conveyor Belt 68 Installation stand 70 No. 1 Wind Sorter 71 Entrance 72 1st outlet 73 2nd outlet 74 Divider 75 Sorting Room 76 Hopper 77 Vibration feeder 78 Sirocco fan 80 Optical sorting machine 81 Hopper device 82 Conveyor Belt 83 Vibration feeder 90 No. 2 Wind Sorter K1 Recovered material (transparent glass particles) K2 Recovered materials (powdered materials, mainly glass) K3 Recovered materials (lightweight crushed materials mainly consisting of resin) K4 Recovered material (foreign matter) K5 Recovered materials (lightweight crushed materials mainly consisting of resin) K6 Recovered materials (magnetic metals) K7 Recovered materials (non-magnetic metals)

Claims

1. A glass recovery system that crushes a laminate of glass sheets and other members, classifies the crushed material using a sieve, and recovers glass, a primary crushing unit for crushing the laminate to obtain crushed material; a classification unit that classifies the crushed material obtained in the primary crushing unit into a plurality of size ranges using a sieve; a secondary crushing section for further crushing crushed material classified into the uppermost range and sending it back to the classifying section, where the uppermost range is the maximum size range classified in the classifying section and the lower range is the range below the uppermost range; a sorting unit that separates and extracts granular glass from the crushed material classified into subranges by the classifying unit, The glass recovery system is characterized in that the primary crushing section comprises a coarse crushing device that coarsely crushes the laminate by shearing, and a crusher that crushes the material coarsely crushed by the coarse crushing device, and the crusher is configured to have a number of rod-shaped bodies attached to a rotating body that strikes and crushes the material by rotating the rotating body.

2. 2. The glass recovery system according to claim 1, wherein the crusher comprises a cylindrical container having a bottom wall and a central axis extending in the vertical direction, with an inlet for crushed material at the top and an outlet for crushed material at the bottom, a columnar rotor rotatably mounted on the bottom wall of the container with its axis aligned with the central axis of the container, a number of rod-shaped bodies suspended in a matrix on the outer periphery of the rotor, with their axes raised almost horizontally by the centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the rotor, thereby striking and crushing the crushed material introduced from the inlet, and a drive unit for rotating the rotor.

3. 3. The glass recovery system according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of crushers are provided, and the crushed objects are successively crushed by the plurality of crushers.

4. 4. The glass recovery system according to claim 3, wherein the secondary crushing section comprises a pre-processing crusher that crushes the crushed material classified into the highest range by the classification section by shearing, and a post-processing crusher that crushes the crushed material crushed by the pre-processing crusher, and the post-processing crusher is configured to have a number of rod-shaped bodies attached to a rotating body that strikes and crushes the crushed material by rotating the rotating body.

5. 5. The glass recovery system according to claim 4, wherein the post-processing crusher comprises a casing having an inlet and an outlet for crushed material, a pair of disks housed in the casing and each rotating independently about a substantially horizontal central axis and having inner surfaces facing each other, a number of rod-shaped bodies having axes parallel to the axis and protruding at equal intervals on a plurality of concentric circles of different phases on the inner surface of each disk and facing into a facing space formed between the facing inner surfaces of the disks, and a drive unit for rotationally driving each disk so that the disks rotate in opposite directions relative to each other, and the crushed material introduced from the inlet is crushed by being struck by the plurality of rod-shaped bodies in the facing space.

6. A glass recovery system as described in any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that a magnetic metal removal means is provided to remove magnetic metals from the crushed material by magnetic attraction before the crushed material reaches the classification section, and a non-magnetic metal removal means is provided to remove non-magnetic metals from the crushed material.

7. The classifying unit is configured to classify the crushed objects into three stages, namely, an uppermost range of a maximum size range, a first lower range lower than the uppermost range, and a second lower range lower than the first lower range, The glass recovery system of claim 6, characterized in that the sorting unit is configured to include a first air sorter that sorts the crushed material of the first sub-range into heavy crushed material mainly consisting of granular glass and light crushed material, an optical sorter that separates transparent granular glass from the heavy crushed material sorted by the first air sorter, and a second air sorter that sorts the crushed material of the second sub-range into heavy crushed material mainly consisting of granular glass and light crushed material.

8. 8. The glass recovery system according to claim 7, wherein the laminate is a laminate of solar cell modules having two glass plates, a cover glass plate and a base glass plate.

9. A crusher for crushing crushed material obtained by roughly crushing a laminate of glass plates and other members by shearing, A crusher comprising: a container formed in a cylindrical shape with a bottom wall and a central axis in the vertical direction, with an inlet for crushed material at the top and an outlet for crushed material at the bottom; a columnar rotor rotatably mounted on the bottom wall of the container with its axis aligned with the central axis of the container; a number of rod-shaped bodies suspended in a matrix on the outer periphery of the rotor, which have their axes raised almost horizontally by the centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the rotor, thereby striking and crushing the material fed from the inlet; and a drive unit for rotating the rotor.

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