Waste glass recycling method and recycling system

Abstract

To provide a method for recycling a waste glass, capable of preventing adhesion of a film material after crushing when the film material is pulverized into small pieces.SOLUTION: A method for recycling a waste glass (waste laminated glass) having a glass plate and a film material into a glass material and a plastic material includes: a first crushing step S1 for roughly crushing the waste glass; a second crushing step S2 for crushing the waste glass into small pieces after the first crushing step S1; a sorting step S3 for sorting the waste glass after the second crushing step S2 into the glass material and a glass-attached film material; a cleaning and crushing step S5 for cleaning and crushing the glass-attached film material after the sorting step S3; and a pulverizing step S6 for pulverizing the glass-attached film material after the cleaning and crushing step S5 into small pieces to form the plastic material. It is preferable that a size of a glass particle remaining in the glass-attached film material after the sorting step S3 is 100 μm or less.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a waste glass recycling method and a recycling system for recycling waste glass such as waste laminated glass and waste architectural glass into glass materials and plastic materials.

Background Art

[0002] For example, laminated glass (equipped with a film material as an interlayer) is widely used for vehicle windshields, security window glass of buildings, etc. A typical example of this laminated glass, a vehicle windshield, includes a glass plate facing the inside of the vehicle, a glass plate facing the outside thereof, and an interlayer (film material) interposed between the pair of glass plates. As this interlayer, for example, one formed from polyvinyl butyral (PVB) is used.

[0003] In recent years, for maintaining a clean global environment, resource recycling has been promoted, and attempts have been made to separate waste laminated glass, laminated glass that has become defective in the manufacturing process, etc. (hereinafter also referred to as "waste glass") into a glass plate portion (hereinafter also referred to as "glass material") and a film material portion (hereinafter also referred to as "film material") and recycle them (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0004] In the conventional reprocessing method, waste glass (waste laminated glass) is crushed and sorted into a glass material and a film material with glass attached. For the sorted film material with glass attached, it is further processed as follows to obtain a plastic material. That is, the film material with glass attached is immersed in an organic solvent and melted to separate the fine glass pieces attached to this film agent, and further, the organic solvent is evaporated from the solution of the film material from which the glass pieces have been separated to recover the crushed pieces of the film material.

[0005] Then, an anti-adhesion material (e.g., calcium carbonate, etc.) is mixed with the crushed pieces of the recovered film material and finely pulverized using a pulverizer (e.g., a high-speed rotating mill). By using the anti-adhesion material, adhesion of the film material during this fine pulverization is prevented. Thereafter, an elastic matrix material (e.g., a rubber-asphalt-based material) is dispersion-kneaded into the mixture of the film material and the anti-adhesion material using a kneader to form a vibration damping material. In this way, the film material with glass is recycled and reused as a vibration damping material.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0006]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0007] However, in such a conventional recycling method, when recycling the film material with glass, first, the glass particles are removed using an organic solvent, and then an anti-adhesion material is mixed into the film material, and these mixtures are finely pulverized using a pulverizer. Therefore, in order to recycle the film material with glass, treatments using an organic solvent, an anti-adhesion material, etc. are required, which increases the treatment cost for recycling, makes the recycling process complicated, and further has the problem that this recycling takes time.

[0008] An object of the present invention is to provide a recycling method for waste glass that can prevent adhesion when finely pulverizing the crushed film material with glass.

[0009] Another object of the present invention is to provide a recycling system for waste glass that can recycle waste glass by crushing and pulverizing it into glass materials and plastic materials.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0010] The waste glass recycling method of the present invention is a waste glass recycling method for recycling waste glass having a glass plate and a film material provided on the surface of the glass plate into a glass material and a plastic material, including a first crushing step of coarsely crushing the waste glass, a second crushing step of finely crushing the waste glass after the first crushing step, a sorting step of sorting the waste glass after the second crushing step into a glass material and a film material with glass, a washing and crushing step of crushing the film material with glass while washing it, and a crushing step of finely crushing the film material with glass after the washing and crushing step into a plastic material.

[0011] In such a recycling method, a large number of glass particles remain on the surface of the film material with glass, and it is preferable that the size of these glass particles is 100 μm or less. By configuring in this way, it is possible to prevent the film materials with glass from sticking to each other and also prevent adhesion to the crusher.

[0012] When the size of the glass particles exceeds 100 μm, the recycled plastic material will contain a large amount of glass components, which is not preferable as it is restricted in the recycling and utilization of the plastic material. The size of these glass particles is more preferably 70 μm or less.

[0013] In this recycling method, the second crushing step preferably includes an impact crusher step of crushing the waste glass to a medium size and a hammer crusher step of finely crushing the waste glass after the impact crusher step. By crushing the waste glass in two stages in the second crushing step in this way, the waste glass can be crushed small and efficiently.

[0014] In this playback processing method, pellets may be formed from the plastic material to be recycled, and the use of the recycled plastic material can be expanded by pelletizing. Further, when pelletizing, it is preferable to add 1% by weight or more of polypropylene to the plastic material and melt-mix them, so that pellets can be prevented from sticking to each other.

[0015] In addition, the waste glass recycling processing system of the present invention is a waste glass recycling processing system for recycling waste glass having a glass plate and a film material provided on the surface of the glass plate into a glass material and a plastic material, a first crusher for coarsely crushing the waste glass, a second crusher for finely crushing the waste glass crushed by the first crusher, a separator for separating the waste glass crushed by the second crusher into a glass material and a film material with glass, a washing crusher for crushing the film material with glass selected by the separator while washing it, and a crusher for further finely crushing the film material with glass washed and crushed by the washing crusher into a plastic material.

[0016] Also, in such a waste glass recycling processing system, it is preferable that the size of a large number of glass particles remaining on the surface of the film material with glass selected by the separator is 100 μm or less.

Effect of the Invention

[0017] According to the waste glass recycling method (and recycling system) of the present invention, waste glass is roughly crushed in a first crushing step (first crusher), and then finely crushed in a second crushing step (second crusher). By crushing step by step in this way to become smaller, it is possible to separate into a glass material and a film material with glass in a subsequent sorting step (sorting machine). Then, this film material with glass is crushed while being washed by a washing and crushing step (washing and crushing machine), and further crushed to be even smaller by a pulverizing step to obtain a fine film material with glass. The glass materials generated in this second crushing step (second crusher), sorting step (sorting machine), and washing and crushing step (washing and crushing machine) can be reused as glass materials, and the fine film material with glass after the pulverizing step (pulverizer) can be reused as a plastic material. Waste glass (for example, waste laminated glass) can be recycled into glass materials and plastic materials.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0018]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0019] Hereinafter, an embodiment of a method for recycling waste glass (and a recycling processing system for implementing this recycling processing method) according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this embodiment, the case of recycling laminated glass used for the front glass of a vehicle as waste glass having a film material will be described. However, the present invention is not limited to such front glass, and laminated glass (a material in which glass materials are provided on both sides of a film material is referred to as "laminated glass") used for architectural glass such as window glass of a building, and film-attached glass used for rear glass or solar panels of a vehicle (a material in which a glass material is provided on one side of a film material is referred to as "film-attached glass") and the like. The present invention can be similarly applied to the case of recycling various types of waste glass such as laminated glass and film-attached glass used for various applications, and the laminated glass and film-attached glass to be discarded are collectively referred to as "waste glass".

[0020] In FIGS. 1 and 2, in order to recycle waste glass having a film material (for example, the front glass of a vehicle), a first crushing step S1 is performed to largely crush the waste glass, then a second crushing step S2 is performed to finely crush the waste glass, and then a sorting step S3 is performed to sort the crushed waste glass into a glass material and a film-attached glass material.

[0021] In the first crushing step S1, a twin-shaft crusher 2 is used to largely crush the waste glass (front glass). As this twin-shaft crusher 2 (the specific structure is omitted), a commercially available one well-known per se may be used. For example, one having a twin-shaft cutter structure can be used. By passing the waste glass between the cutter structures, the waste glass is largely crushed as the first stage.

[0022] In the second crushing process S2, the second crusher 4 is used to crush the waste glass crushed in the first crushing process S1 into smaller pieces as the second stage. In this embodiment, as the second crusher 4, an impact crusher 6 (impact crusher process) and a hammer crusher 8 (hammer crusher process) are used, and the waste glass is crushed into smaller pieces in two stages.

[0023] As the impact crusher 6 (the specific structure is omitted), a commercially available one well-known per se may be used. For example, one provided with a rotor rotated in a predetermined direction, a striking plate provided on this rotor, and a collision plate disposed opposite to the rotor can be used. The waste glass is fed to the striking plate, and the fed waste glass is collided with the collision plate by utilizing the rotation of the rotor, thereby crushing the waste glass into medium-sized pieces.

[0024] Also, as the hammer crusher 8 (the specific structure is omitted), a commercially available one well-known per se may be used. For example, one provided with a rotor rotated in a predetermined direction, a hammer provided on this rotor, and a fixed plate for preventing the movement of the waste glass can be used. By utilizing the rotation of the rotor to give an impact to the waste glass with the hammer, the waste glass is crushed into small pieces.

[0025] In the sorting process S3, a sorter 10 is used to sort the glass material (for example, the glass of the windshield) and the film material with glass (for example, the interlayer film of the windshield) (a large number of glass particles remain on the surface of the film material) crushed as described above. When the first crushing process S1 and the second crushing process S2 (impact press process and hammer crusher process) are performed, the waste laminated glass (waste windshield) as waste glass becomes the crushed glass material and the crushed film material with glass. In the sorting process S3, the glass material and the film material with glass generated by crushing are sorted using the sorter 10.

[0026] As the sorting machine, a commercially available one well-known per se may be used. For example, it is provided with a cylindrical frame supported so as to be rotatable while being inclined, and a mesh screen disposed around the cylindrical frame. The glass material falls downward through this mesh screen, and the film material with glass is sent to the downstream side of the cylindrical frame and discharged from the discharge part. By using such a sorting machine 10, it is possible to sort the glass material and the film material with glass.

[0027] The sorted glass material is reused as a glass material, and a desired glass reuse processing step S4 is performed using this glass material. By this glass reuse processing step S4, for example, glass fiber, anti-crime gravel, soil improvement material, etc. can be manufactured.

[0028] In addition, the glass material generated by being pulverized by the twin-shaft pulverizer 2, the glass material generated by being pulverized by the impact crusher 6, and the glass material generated by being pulverized by the hammer crusher 8 are reused as a glass material together with the glass material sorted by the sorting machine 10.

[0029] The film material with glass sorted by the sorting machine 10 is further recycled as follows and reused as a plastic material. For the film material with glass, first, a cleaning and pulverizing step S5 is performed. In the cleaning and pulverizing step S5, a cleaning and pulverizing machine 12 that pulverizes while cleaning the film material with glass is used. As this cleaning and pulverizing machine 12 (the specific structure is omitted), a commercially available one well-known per se may be used. For example, one having a cutting structure that cuts with a fixed blade and a rotating blade can be used. The film material with glass is pulverized by the cutting structure while being cleaned, and the film material with glass is pulverized into small pieces. In this cleaning and pulverizing step S5, since it is pulverized while being cleaned, it is possible to prevent small dust, etc. from scattering around and keep the working environment clean.

[0030] You may also use a cleaning and crushing machine 12 equipped with a drying function. When using a cleaning and crushing machine having this drying function, the glass film material after cleaning and crushing can be dried to remove moisture, and the efficiency of the cleaning and crushing operation can be improved.

[0031] In the cleaning and crushing step S5 (the cleaning and crushing operation by the cleaning and crushing machine 12), since crushing is performed while cleaning, there is a possibility that it becomes difficult for the film materials to stick to each other and be crushed. However, when a large number of glass particles remain on the surface (the entire surface) of the film material, the film materials do not stick to each other, and it becomes possible to crush the glass film material as desired by the cleaning and crushing machine 12.

[0032] If a large amount of glass remains in this film material, the glass component contained in the plastic material increases, and it becomes difficult to recycle this plastic material. For this reason, the size of the large number of glass particles remaining on the surface of the glass film material is preferably, for example, 100 μm or less. When it exceeds 100 μm, the final plastic material will contain a large amount of glass components. Incidentally, the size of the large number of glass particles remaining in this glass film material is more preferably, for example, 70 μm or less. By reducing the size of the glass particles in this way, the glass component contained in the plastic material can be reduced.

[0033] After the cleaning and crushing step S5, a crushing step S6 is performed to further crush the glass film material after cleaning and crushing. In the crushing step S6, a crusher 14 for crushing the glass film material into smaller pieces is used. As this crusher 14 (the specific structure is omitted), a commercially available one well-known per se may be used. For example, a crusher having a crushing structure with a fixed blade and a rotating blade rotated in a predetermined direction can be used. The glass film material can be crushed by this crushing structure and further crushed into smaller pieces. In this embodiment, this glass film material is finally crushed to a size of, for example, about 0.5 to 10 mm.

[0034] The glass materials produced by the cleaning and crushing process S5 (cleaning and crushing machine 12) and the glass materials produced by the crushing process S6 (crushing machine 14) are reused as glass materials together with the glass materials sorted by the sorter 10 as shown in FIG. 2.

[0035] The film material with glass thus crushed is reused as a plastic material, and a desired plastic reuse processing step S7 is performed using this plastic material. By this plastic reuse processing step S7, for example, plastic floorboards, vehicle stoppers, steel bar mats, etc. can be manufactured using the reused plastic material, and it can also be used as a filler for resins, such as fillers for polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), polyamide (PA), ABS resin, etc.

[0036] The film material with glass as this plastic material can be used as a raw material for pellets. In this case, a pellet processing step S8 is performed. In this pellet processing step S8, a pellet manufacturing machine 16 for manufacturing chip-shaped pellets from the film material with glass is used. The pellet manufacturing machine 16 (the specific structure is omitted) may be a commercially available one well-known per se. For example, a machine having a melting part for melting the film material with glass as a plastic material, an extrusion part for extruding the melted plastic material, and a cutting part for cutting the extruded plastic material can be used. By using such a pellet manufacturing machine 16, chip-shaped pellets can be manufactured from the plastic material.

[0037] When forming such pellets, it is desirable to add 1% by weight or more, preferably 3% by weight or more of polypropylene when melting the plastic material using the pellet manufacturing machine 16. By adding polypropylene in this way, it is possible to prevent the pellets from sticking to each other after molding.

[0038] The manufactured pellets are reused in the form of pellets, and using these pellets, the desired pellet reuse processing step S9 is performed. By this pellet reuse processing step S9, for example, plastic spacers, sheet materials, etc. can be manufactured, and it can also be used as a resin extender, such as an extender for polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), polyamide (PA), ABS resin, etc.

[0039] In the above-described waste glass recycling method (recycling system), waste glass (such as waste composite glass) is crushed into a glass material and a film material with glass by the first crushing step S1 and the second crushing step S2, and by sorting what has been crushed in this way with a sorting machine, it can be sorted into a glass material suitable for reuse and a film material with glass. Then, this film material with glass can be processed into a plastic material suitable for reuse by the washing and crushing step S5 and the crushing step S6.

[0040] As described above, an embodiment of the waste glass recycling method (recycling system) according to the present invention has been explained, but the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0041] 2 First crusher (twin - shaft crusher) 4 Second crusher 6 Impact crusher 8 Hammer crusher 10 Sorting machine 12 Washing and crushing machine 14 Crusher 16 Pellet manufacturing machine

Claims

1. A method for recycling waste glass having a glass plate and a film material provided on the surface of the glass plate into a glass material and a plastic material, comprising: a first crushing step of coarsely crushing the waste glass; a second crushing step of finely crushing the waste glass after the first crushing step; a sorting step of sorting the waste glass after the second crushing step into a glass material and a film material with glass; a washing and crushing step of crushing the film material with glass while washing it after the sorting step; and a crushing step of finely crushing the film material with glass after the washing and crushing step into a plastic material.

2. The method for recycling waste glass according to claim 1, wherein a large number of glass particles remain on the surface of the film material with glass after the sorting step, and the size of the large number of glass particles is 100 μm or less.

3. The method for recycling waste glass according to claim 2, wherein the size of the large number of glass particles is 70 μm or less.

4. The method for recycling waste glass according to claim 1, wherein the second crushing step includes an impact crusher step of crushing the waste glass after the first crushing step to a medium size and a hammer crusher step of finely crushing the waste glass after the impact crusher step.

5. The method for recycling waste glass according to claim 1, wherein a pellet forming step of forming pellets from the plastic material is performed after the crushing step.

6. The method for recycling waste glass according to claim 5, wherein in the pellet forming step, 1% by weight or more of polypropylene is added to the plastic material and melt-mixed to form the pellets.

7. A waste glass recycling system for recycling waste glass having a glass plate and a film material provided on the surface of the glass plate into a glass material and a plastic material, comprising: A waste glass recycling system, comprising: a first crusher for coarsely crushing the waste glass; a second crusher for finely crushing the waste glass crushed by the first crusher; a separator for separating the waste glass crushed by the second crusher into a glass material and a film material with glass; a washing crusher for crushing the film material with glass selected by the separator while washing it; and a crusher for finely pulverizing the film material with glass washed and crushed by the washing crusher into a plastic material.

8. The waste glass recycling system according to claim 7, characterized in that a large number of glass particles remain on the surface of the film material with glass selected by the separator, and the size of the large number of glass particles is 100 μm or less.

Images