Method of treating waste with a low softening temperature using dynamic crushing

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to the treatment of a waste stream having a portion of a material with a low softening temperature, such as a thermoplastic resin. The waste stream may include manufacturing waste or consumer waste, such as defective composite flooring materials. The process may include a dynamic crushing step utilizing a dynamic crusher that generates an airflow having multiple overlapping vortices, which can efficiently reduce the size of the thermoplastic resin by simultaneously reducing the size of the manufacturing waste and lowering or maintaining the internal temperature of the dynamic crusher compared to conventional size-reducing machines. The dynamic crusher may be selectively operated at a specific speed that serves to reduce the size of most of the waste (e.g., 70% to 100%) in a single pass (one-pass dynamic crushing) or to selectively liberate a portion of the manufacturing waste product. Optionally, the process may include a separation step, such as mechanical screening and / or magnetic screening.

Description

Technology Field

[0001] The technical field generally relates to the treatment of waste for size reduction and related processing. In particular, the technical field concerns the treatment of waste with low softening temperatures, such as defective stone-plastic-composite (SPC) flooring, and the recycling of the treated materials into manufacturing processes. Background Technology

[0002] Waste with low melting points or softening temperatures is commonly found among industrial and consumer goods. For example, during the product manufacturing process, defective materials, such as improperly formed or broken products, can form a separate waste stream that requires disposal. These defective materials generated during the manufacturing process are often removed as waste at the manufacturing plant, which reduces the profitability of the manufacturing process.

[0003] Conventional manufacturing waste treatment involves manually pre-sorting materials or treating manufacturing waste as a waste stream to remove parts that can be reused in the manufacturing process. Some conventional processes involve reducing the size of manufacturing waste using known size-reducing machines such as ball mills, impactors, crushers, grinding mills, and shredders. However, due to the presence of materials with low softening temperatures, these size-reducing processes often require multiple passes to reduce the manufacturing waste to the desired size and re-enter the manufacturing process. This entails additional time and cost in product handling, as well as higher energy costs resulting from increased uptime.

[0004] Furthermore, when reducing the size of waste materials with relatively low softening temperatures or melting points, such as thermoplastics, using conventional machinery, the internal heat generated by the size-reduction machine can cause the material to soften or liquefy. Softened or liquefied material can interfere with the parts of the size-reduction machine, preventing the machine from operating properly and / or causing a much higher energy input to provide the same size reduction.

[0005] One exemplary type of waste is defective SPC flooring generated during manufacturing or post-consumption SPC flooring waste. Due to its structural and chemical properties, SPC flooring waste is difficult to handle and process for the recovery of parts to be reused in the manufacture of additional SPC flooring or other components.

[0006] Another type of waste includes asphalt shingles, including post-consumption (removable) and post-manufacturing (post-production) waste. Grinding and / or hammering techniques can be used to reduce the size of shingles containing asphalt components. However, the bitumen asphalt within the shingles often re-fuses together due to heat from the machinery. Furthermore, many types of asphalt shingles contain chemical sealants that are activated by solar heat to seal the shingles on the roof surface. However, when asphalt shingles pass through conventional size-reduction equipment, the resulting heat from the machinery activates the chemical sealants, making them sticky and increasing the energy required to reduce the size of the shingles. When heated, the chemical sealants can also help the asphalt particles re-fuse together, potentially causing aggregation.

[0007] Conventional methods for processing or recycling asphalt shingles involve adding water and / or sand to shredders and grinders to account for heat generation and / or aggregation caused by chemical sealants. However, the amount of water required to process the shingles increases because the water is contaminated by bitumen asphalt. Furthermore, to recover asphalt products for use in subsequent shingle manufacturing, sand and / or water must be removed from the shrunk material in an additional step.

[0008] Therefore, there are currently several problems associated with the disposal of waste with a low softening temperature, such as SPC flooring waste or asphalt shingles.

[0009] Furthermore, fiber-reinforced materials, such as fiber-reinforced composites (FRC), are high-performance fiber composites that include cross-linking of fiber molecules within the binder components. This cross-linking makes FRC materials stronger than the bonding strength of the individual fibers or binder components. Thanks to this enhanced strength, FRC has become a very commonly used material in a wide variety of applications. However, the strength of FRC makes it very difficult to recycle end-of-life FRC products.

[0010] Several conventional methods for processing end-of-life FRC products involve grinding or reducing the size of the FRC products to various dimensions to use the crushed binder and fiber byproducts as fillers. For example, reduced-size FRC products can be added to concrete mixtures as fillers. However, these processes do not recycle the components of the FRC for reuse; instead, they merely reduce the size of the product to create fillers or other inexpensive products.

[0011] Some conventional methods use strong acids, such as sulfuric acid, to dissolve binder components. However, this generates additional waste because the used sulfuric acid must be disposed of. Furthermore, these methods typically require thermal components and additional energy to process the materials.

[0012] Therefore, there are also several problems currently associated with the processing of fiber-reinforced materials.

[0013] According to a broad aspect, a waste treatment method is provided, the method comprising the steps of: providing a waste stream; allowing the waste stream to undergo a dynamic crushing step—wherein the waste stream is supplied to a dynamic crusher and undergoes self-collision created by vortices within the dynamic crusher to produce a crushed material containing a size-reduced fraction—; withdrawing the crushed material from the dynamic crusher; and supplying the size-reduced fraction to a manufacturing process.

[0014] In some embodiments, the waste stream comprises at least a portion of a material having a melting point or softening temperature of 130°C or less, 100°C or less, 90°C or less, or 80°C or less.

[0015] In some embodiments, a portion of the material is at least 10%, at least 20%, or at least 50%.

[0016] In some embodiments, the waste is manufacturing waste generated in the first manufacturing process.

[0017] In some embodiments, the step of supplying the size-reduced fraction to the manufacturing process is the step of supplying the size-reduced fraction to the first manufacturing process or supplying the size-reduced fraction to the second manufacturing process.

[0018] In some embodiments, the method further includes the step of the crushed material undergoing a separation step to produce a size-reduced stream and an oversized stream.

[0019] In some embodiments, the size-reduced stream is provided to a manufacturing process.

[0020] In some embodiments, the oversized stream undergoes a secondary dynamic crushing step.

[0021] In some embodiments, the dynamic grinder operates at a rotational speed of less than 925 RPM.

[0022] In some embodiments, the rotational speed is 800 RPM to 900 RPM.

[0023] In some embodiments, the separation step includes screening.

[0024] In some embodiments, screening includes using a single screen or two or more screens arranged in parallel or in series.

[0025] In some embodiments, screening is performed using at least one of a trommel screen, a vibrating screen, a tumbler screen, a swivel screen, and a high-frequency screen.

[0026] In some embodiments, the dynamic grinder operates at a rotational speed of more than 925 RPM.

[0027] In some embodiments, the dynamic grinding step is a one-pass dynamic grinding step.

[0028] In some embodiments, at least 80% of the waste stream is reduced in size to 1600 μm or less.

[0029] In some embodiments, the entire waste stream is reduced in size to 1600 μm or less.

[0030] In some embodiments, at least 60% of the waste stream is reduced in size to 500 μm or less.

[0031] In some embodiments, at least 80% of the waste stream is reduced in size to 500 μm or less.

[0032] In some embodiments, at least part of the material is at least about 10% thermoplastic resin.

[0033] In some embodiments, the method further comprises the step of monitoring at least one parameter of a waste stream, a crushed material, an oversized stream, and / or a reduced-size stream; and the step of adjusting a dynamic crushing step based on at least one parameter.

[0034] In some embodiments, at least one parameter comprises at least one of the infeed rate of the waste stream, the size characteristics of the size-reduced fraction in the crushed material, the composition of the crushed material, and the composition of the size-reduced stream.

[0035] In some embodiments, the adjustment of the dynamic crushing step includes the step of adjusting the rotational speed and / or adjusting the feed rate of the waste stream.

[0036] In some embodiments, the waste stream includes defective materials generated in the flooring manufacturing process.

[0037] In some embodiments, the flooring manufacturing process is an elastic floor manufacturing process.

[0038] In some embodiments, the elastic floor manufacturing process includes the step of manufacturing luxury vinyl tile flooring (LVT) or stone polymer composite (SPC).

[0039] In some embodiments, the elastic floor manufacturing process includes the step of manufacturing a product having at least two layers containing different materials.

[0040] In some embodiments, at least two layers include a wear layer, a core layer, a bottom layer, a decorative layer, and / or a protective layer.

[0041] In some embodiments, the different materials are selected from the group consisting of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), limestone, aggregate, cement, sand, crushed stone, rubber, asphalt, solid linseed oil, pine resin, cork, sawdust, and mineral fillers.

[0042] In some embodiments, the manufacturing waste stream includes defective materials generated in the plastic extrusion manufacturing process.

[0043] In some embodiments, the method further includes the step of passing a manufacturing waste stream through an upstream magnetic separation step to remove metal from it and generating a metal reduction feed stream to be fed to a dynamic crushing step.

[0044] In some embodiments, the upstream magnetic separation step is performed by one or more magnetic separators configured for the supply of the waste stream.

[0045] In some embodiments, the method further includes a step of removing metal from a stream of crushed products by passing it through a downstream magnetic separation step.

[0046] In some embodiments, the downstream magnetic separation step is performed by one or more magnetic separators configured for the supply of the crushed product stream.

[0047] In some embodiments, the upstream magnetic separation step or the downstream magnetic separation step is performed by at least one of a non-ferrous metal separator and a ferrous metal separator.

[0048] In some embodiments, the method further includes the step of passing the pulverized material through a dust collection step to recover a dust fraction therefrom and to generate a dust-reduced pulverized stream and a dust flow.

[0049] In some embodiments, at least a portion of the dust fraction is combined with at least a portion of the size-reduced stream.

[0050] In some embodiments, all dust fractions are combined with a size-reduced stream.

[0051] In some embodiments, the dynamic grinder is configured to generate an airflow that lowers the internal temperature in the housing of the dynamic grinder.

[0052] In some embodiments, the dynamic grinder is operated so that the internal temperature does not exceed 105°C.

[0053] In some embodiments, the dynamic grinder is operated so that the internal temperature does not exceed 93°C.

[0054] According to another embodiment, a waste treatment system is provided, the waste treatment system comprises a dynamic crusher configured to receive and treat a waste stream to produce a crushed stream—the dynamic crusher is configured to generate an airflow that lowers the internal temperature in the housing of the dynamic crusher—; and a feed conveyor configured to transport the waste stream to the dynamic crusher, wherein the waste stream has at least a portion of a material having a melting point or softening temperature of 130°C or lower.

[0055] In some embodiments, the waste treatment system further includes an outflow conveyor configured to transport a crushed stream from the outlet of a dynamic crusher to a manufacturing process.

[0056] In some embodiments, the waste treatment system further includes at least one separator operably coupled to the outlet of a dynamic crusher and configured to receive a crushed stream and produce a reduced-size stream and an oversized stream.

[0057] In some embodiments, at least one separator includes a screen.

[0058] In some embodiments, at least one separator comprises at least one of a trommel screen, a vibrating screen, a tumbler screen, a swivel screen, and a high-frequency screen.

[0059] In some embodiments, the separator includes a single screen or two or more screens arranged in parallel or in series.

[0060] In some embodiments, the waste treatment system further comprises: a monitoring unit configured to monitor at least one feed parameter of a manufacturing waste stream and / or at least one output parameter of a crushed stream; and a control unit coupled to the monitoring unit and configured to adjust a dynamic crusher based on at least one feed parameter and / or at least one output parameter.

[0061] In some embodiments, the monitoring unit and the control unit are configured such that at least one supply parameter includes the supply rate of the waste stream and / or the composition of the waste stream.

[0062] In some embodiments, the monitoring unit and the control unit are configured such that at least one output parameter includes a size characteristic of the ground stream, a composition of the ground stream, a flow rate of the ground stream, a flow rate of the ground stream, and / or a composition of the ground stream.

[0063] In some embodiments, the control unit is configured to adjust the rotational speed of the dynamic grinder.

[0064] In some embodiments, the control unit is configured to adjust the feed rate of the waste stream into the dynamic crusher.

[0065] In some embodiments, the waste treatment system further includes an upstream magnetic separator for removing metal from a waste stream and generating a metal reduction feed stream to be fed to a dynamic crusher.

[0066] In some embodiments, the upstream magnetic separator operates on the supply of the waste stream.

[0067] In some embodiments, the waste treatment system further includes a downstream magnetic separator for removing metal from a crushed stream.

[0068] In some embodiments, the downstream magnetic separator operates on the supply of the crushed stream.

[0069] In some embodiments, the waste treatment system further includes a dust collection unit configured to recover a dust fraction from a pulverized stream and generate a dust-reduced pulverized stream.

[0070] In some embodiments, the dust collection unit is configured to supply at least a fraction of the dust to at least a portion of the crushed stream.

[0071] In some embodiments, the dust collection unit includes a dust collector coupled to the outlet of a dynamic crusher or to a crusher conveyor; and a dust recovery unit coupled to the dust collector and configured to separate dust and transport a fraction of dust from the dust collector to a storage container.

[0072] In some embodiments, at least a portion of the material is at least a portion of a thermoplastic resin.

[0073] In some embodiments, at least a portion of the thermoplastic resin is at least 10% thermoplastic resin.

[0074] In some embodiments, the dynamic grinder is operated so that the internal temperature does not exceed 105°C.

[0075] In some embodiments, the dynamic grinder is operated so that the internal temperature does not exceed 93°C.

[0076] According to another embodiment, a method for recycling manufacturing waste is provided, the method comprising the steps of: providing a feedstock containing a manufacturing defect generated in a manufacturing process—the manufacturing defect comprises at least a portion of a material having a melting point or softening temperature of 130°C or less—; causing the feedstock to undergo a dynamic crushing step—the feedstock is supplied to a dynamic crusher and generates a crushed material through self-collision created by a vortex within the dynamic crusher—; withdrawing the crushed material from the dynamic crusher; and supplying the crushed material to a manufacturing process.

[0077] In some embodiments, the method further comprises the step of performing a manufacturing process to generate an unclassified product stream and the unclassified product stream passing through an upstream separation step to generate a classified product stream and a waste stream including defective products.

[0078] In some embodiments, the upstream separation step includes a step of manually removing defective products from an unclassified product stream.

[0079] According to another embodiment, a method for processing asphalt shingles is provided, the method comprising the steps of: providing asphalt shingles comprising a friable asphalt component combined with a ductile component; allowing the asphalt shingles to undergo a dynamic crushing step—wherein the asphalt shingles are fed into a dynamic crusher and undergo self-collision created by vortices within the dynamic crusher to produce a crushed material comprising a reduced fraction derived from the friable asphalt component and an oversized fraction derived from the ductile component—; withdrawing the crushed material from the dynamic crusher; and allowing the crushed material to undergo a separation step to produce a reduced stream containing asphalt and an oversized stream containing paper or fiberglass.

[0080] In some embodiments, the flexible component includes paper or fiberglass.

[0081] In some embodiments, the asphalt shingles further comprise an infrangible material embedded in a fractured asphalt component and / or a ductile component.

[0082] In some embodiments, the asphalt shingles further include a chemical sealant.

[0083] In some embodiments, the method further includes the step of supplying the size-reduced stream to a shingle manufacturing process.

[0084] In some embodiments, the method further includes the step of the size-reduced stream undergoing one or more subsequent separation steps to produce a refined asphalt granule stream and a powdered asphalt stream.

[0085] In some embodiments, the method further includes the step of supplying an asphalt granule stream to a shingle manufacturing process.

[0086] According to one embodiment, a method for processing fiber-reinforced materials is provided, comprising the steps of: providing a fiber-reinforced material stream containing fiber components embedded in a binder component; providing a dynamic grinder with a rotary arm that generates an overlapping vortex that generates an airflow within the dynamic grinder; the fiber-reinforced material undergoing a dynamic grinding step utilizing the dynamic grinder to produce a grinding material containing fiber components and binder components; withdrawing the grinding material from the dynamic grinder; and the grinding material undergoing a separation step to isolate the fiber components from the binder components, respectively, and producing an isolated fiber stream and an isolated binder stream.

[0087] In some embodiments, the method further comprises the step of a fiber-reinforced material stream undergoing a size reduction pretreatment step to produce a size reduction feedstock and the size reduction feedstock undergoing a dynamic grinding step.

[0088] In some embodiments, the separation step includes screening.

[0089] In some embodiments, screening includes using a single screen or two or more screens arranged in parallel or in series.

[0090] In some embodiments, screening is performed using at least one of a trommel screen, a vibrating screen, a tumbler screen, a swivel screen, and a high-frequency screen.

[0091] In some embodiments, the separation step includes a density-based separation step.

[0092] In some embodiments, the separation step includes a magnetic separation step.

[0093] In some embodiments, the method further comprises the step of monitoring at least one parameter of a fiber-reinforced material stream and a pulverized material; and the step of adjusting a dynamic pulverizing step based on at least one parameter.

[0094] In some embodiments, at least one parameter includes at least one of the feed rate of the fiber reinforcing material stream, the moisture content of the fiber reinforcing material stream, the size characteristics of the fiber reinforcing material stream, and the composition of the fiber reinforcing material stream.

[0095] In some embodiments, at least one parameter includes at least one of the size characteristics of the crushed material, the composition of the crushed material, and the flow rate of the crushed material.

[0096] In some embodiments, the adjustment of the dynamic grinding step includes adjusting the rotational speed and / or adjusting the feed rate of the fiber-reinforced material stream.

[0097] In some embodiments, the fiber-reinforced material stream is derived from waste after consumption.

[0098] In some embodiments, the fiber-reinforced material stream comprises at least one building material including a fiber-reinforced composite material.

[0099] In some embodiments, the fiber-reinforced material stream comprises at least a portion of the fiber-reinforced concrete.

[0100] In some embodiments, the binder component includes a concrete matrix.

[0101] In some embodiments, the fiber component comprises at least one of carbon fiber, organic fiber, metal fiber, polypropylene fiber, nylon fiber, and glass fiber.

[0102] In some embodiments, the fiber-reinforced material stream comprises at least a portion of the fiber-reinforced composite.

[0103] In some embodiments, the fiber-reinforced composite comprises a polymer matrix composite.

[0104] In some embodiments, the binder component of the polymer matrix composite comprises at least one of a thermosetting resin, a thermoplastic resin, and an elastomeric resin.

[0105] In some embodiments, the fiber component of the polymer matrix composite comprises at least one of carbon fibers, organic fibers, metal fibers, polypropylene fibers, nylon fibers, and glass fibers.

[0106] In some embodiments, the fiber-reinforced material stream includes wind turbine blades.

[0107] In some embodiments, the fiber-reinforced material stream includes at least a portion of the fabric.

[0108] In some embodiments, at least a portion of the fabric includes carpets and / or rugs.

[0109] In some embodiments, the binder component comprises at least one of acrylic resin, urethane resin, thermoplastic resin, latex, and epoxy resin.

[0110] In some embodiments, the fiber component comprises at least one of synthetic fibers and organic fibers.

[0111] In some embodiments, the synthetic fiber comprises at least one of nylon, polyester, polypropylene, polyester, and polytrimethylene terephthalate.

[0112] In some embodiments, the organic fiber comprises at least one of sisal, cotton, hemp, and wool.

[0113] In some embodiments, the fiber-reinforced material stream further includes a non-fracturing component.

[0114] In some embodiments, the method further includes the step of a fiber-reinforced material stream passing through an upstream magnetic separation step to remove metal from it and generating a metal-reducing feed stream to be fed to a dynamic grinding step.

[0115] In some embodiments, the upstream magnetic separation step is performed by one or more magnetic separators configured for the supply of the fiber-reinforced material stream.

[0116] In some embodiments, the method further comprises the step of removing metal from at least one of the crushed material, the isolated fiber stream, and the isolated binder stream by passing it through a downstream magnetic separation step.

[0117] In some embodiments, the downstream magnetic separation step is performed by one or more magnetic separators configured for at least one of the feeds of the crushed material, the isolated fiber stream, and the isolated binder stream.

[0118] In some embodiments, the upstream magnetic separation step or the downstream magnetic separation step is performed by at least one of a non-ferrous metal separator and a ferrous metal separator.

[0119] In some embodiments, the method further includes the step of passing the pulverized material through a dust collection step to recover a dust fraction therefrom and producing a dust-reduced pulverized stream to be supplied to a pulverizing step.

[0120] In some embodiments, at least a portion of the dust fraction is combined with at least a portion of the crushed material.

[0121] In some embodiments, all dust fractions are combined with a size-reduced stream.

[0122] In some embodiments, the dust collection stage includes a dust collector coupled to the outlet of a dynamic grinder or to a solid transport device configured to transport the ground material away from the dynamic grinder; and a dust recovery unit coupled to the dust collector and configured to separate the dust fraction and transport the dust fraction from the dust collector to a storage container.

[0123] In some embodiments, the dust collector includes a sedimentation chamber.

[0124] In some embodiments, the dust recovery unit includes a baghouse that fluidly communicates with a sedimentation chamber through a duct.

[0125] In some embodiments, the dust recovery unit includes a cyclone that fluidly communicates with a sedimentation chamber through a duct.

[0126] In some embodiments, the solid transport device includes a conveyor.

[0127] In some embodiments, the dust collector surrounds the solid transport device along most of its length.

[0128] According to another embodiment, a fiber reinforced material processing system is provided, the fiber reinforced material processing system comprises: a dynamic crusher configured to receive and process a fiber reinforced material stream to produce a crushed stream; a crusher conveyor configured to transport the crushed stream downstream; and at least one separator operably coupled to the crusher conveyor and configured to receive the crushed stream to produce a size-reduced stream and an oversized stream.

[0129] In some embodiments, the separator includes a screen.

[0130] In some embodiments, the separator includes at least one of a trommel screen, a vibrating screen, a tumbler screen, a swivel screen, and a high-frequency screen.

[0131] In some embodiments, the separator includes a single screen or two or more screens arranged in parallel or in series.

[0132] In some embodiments, the system further comprises: a monitoring unit configured to monitor at least one feed parameter of a fiber-reinforced material stream and / or at least one output parameter of a crushed stream, an oversized stream, and / or a reduced-size stream; and a control unit coupled to the monitoring unit and configured to adjust a dynamic crusher based on at least one feed parameter and / or at least one output parameter.

[0133] In some embodiments, the monitoring unit and the control unit are configured such that at least one supply parameter includes the supply rate of the fiber-reinforced material stream and / or the composition of the fiber-reinforced material stream.

[0134] In some embodiments, the monitoring unit and the control unit are configured such that at least one output parameter includes the size characteristics of the crushed stream, the composition of the crushed stream, the flow rate of the crushed stream, the flow rate of the oversized stream, the flow rate of the reduced-size stream, the composition of the oversized stream, and / or the composition of the reduced-size stream.

[0135] In some embodiments, the control unit is configured to adjust the rotational speed of the dynamic grinder.

[0136] In some embodiments, the control unit is configured to adjust the feed rate of the fiber-reinforced material stream into the dynamic grinder.

[0137] In some embodiments, the system further includes an upstream magnetic separator for removing metal from a fiber-reinforced material stream and generating a metal-reduced feed stream to be fed to a dynamic grinder.

[0138] In some embodiments, the upstream magnetic separator operates on the supply of the fiber-reinforced material stream.

[0139] In some embodiments, the system further includes a downstream magnetic separator for removing metal from at least one of a crushed product stream, an oversized stream, and a reduced-sized stream.

[0140] In some embodiments, the downstream magnetic separator is operated for at least one of the crushed product stream, the oversized stream, and the reduced-sized stream.

[0141] In some embodiments, at least one separator is a downstream magnetic separator.

[0142] In some embodiments, the system further includes a dust collection unit configured to recover a dust fraction from a pulverized stream and produce a dust-reduced pulverized stream fed to a screen.

[0143] In some embodiments, the dust collection unit is configured to supply at least a portion of the dust fraction to be combined with at least a portion of the size-reduced stream.

[0144] In some embodiments, the dust collection unit includes a dust collector coupled to the outlet of a dynamic crusher or to a crusher conveyor; and a dust recovery unit coupled to the dust collector and configured to separate dust and transport a fraction of dust from the dust collector to a storage container.

[0145] In some embodiments, the dust collector includes a sedimentation chamber.

[0146] In some embodiments, the dust recovery unit includes a baghouse that fluidly communicates with a sedimentation chamber through a duct.

[0147] In some embodiments, the dust recovery unit includes a cyclone that fluidly communicates with a sedimentation chamber through a duct.

[0148] In some embodiments, the dust collector surrounds the dynamic grinder along most of its length.

[0149] According to another embodiment, a method for processing fiber-reinforced materials is provided, the method comprising the steps of: providing a feedstock comprising fiber components embedded in a binder component; allowing the feedstock to undergo a dynamic grinding step—the feedstock is fed into a dynamic grinder and undergoes self-impacting created by vortices within the dynamic grinder to produce a grinding material comprising a size-reduced fraction derived from the binder component and an oversized fraction derived from the fiber component—; withdrawing the grinding material from the dynamic grinder; and allowing the grinding material to undergo a separation step to produce a binder stream and a fiber stream.

[0150] In some embodiments, the method further includes the step of the fiber reinforcing raw material passing through an upstream separation step to produce at least one stream of feedstock.

[0151] In some embodiments, the upstream separation step includes mechanical screening to pre-size the fiber-reinforcing raw material to produce an oversized stream and an undersized stream of the feed.

[0152] In some embodiments, the method further includes the step of an oversized stream undergoing a size reduction pretreatment step to produce a size reduction feedstock and the size reduction feedstock undergoing a dynamic grinding step.

[0153] In some embodiments, the method further includes the step of producing a size-reduced feedstock by subjecting the feedstock to a size-reduction pretreatment step.

[0154] In some embodiments, the method further includes the step of the size-reduced feedstock undergoing a size-based pretreatment separation step to produce an oversized stream and an undersized stream of feedstock.

[0155] In some embodiments, the method further includes the step of an oversized stream undergoing a secondary size reduction pretreatment step to produce a secondary size reduction feedstock, and the secondary size reduction feedstock undergoing a size-based pretreatment separation step to produce an oversized stream and an undersized stream of feedstock.

[0156] In some embodiments, the method further includes a step in which a small stream of feedstock undergoes a dynamic grinding step.

[0157] According to another embodiment, a method for processing wind turbine blades is provided, the method comprising: providing a wind turbine blade comprising a fiber component embedded in a binder component; causing the wind turbine blade to undergo a dynamic crushing step to produce a crushed material—the wind turbine blade is fed into a dynamic crusher and undergoes self-collision created by vortices within the dynamic crusher to airstrip the binder component from the fiber component and produce a size-reduced fraction derived from the binder component and an oversized fraction derived from the fiber component—; withdrawing the crushed material from the dynamic crusher; and causing the crushed material to undergo a separation step to produce a binder stream containing the binder component and a fiber stream containing the fiber component.

[0158] In some embodiments, the method further includes the step of producing a reduced-size feedstock by having the wind turbine blade undergo a size reduction pretreatment step.

[0159] In some embodiments, the method further includes the step of the size-reduced feedstock undergoing a size-based pretreatment separation step to produce an oversized stream and an undersized stream.

[0160] In some embodiments, the oversized stream is sent back to a size reduction preprocessing step.

[0161] In some embodiments, the small size stream undergoes a dynamic crushing step.

[0162] In some embodiments, the method further includes a step in which the pulverized material undergoes one or more subsequent dynamic grinding steps.

[0163] In some embodiments, the dynamic crusher is operated to optimize the residence time of the wind turbine blades in the dynamic crusher.

[0164] According to another embodiment, a method for processing fiber-reinforced concrete is provided, the method comprising the steps of: providing fiber-reinforced concrete comprising concrete components bonded to fiber components; allowing the fiber-reinforced concrete to undergo a dynamic grinding step—wherein the fiber-reinforced concrete is fed into a dynamic grinder and undergoes self-impacting created by vortices within the dynamic grinder to degas the concrete components from the fiber components and produce a grinding material comprising a size-reduced fraction derived from the concrete components and an oversized fraction derived from the fiber components—; withdrawing the grinding material from the dynamic grinder; and allowing the grinding material to undergo a separation step to produce a concrete stream containing concrete components and a fiber stream containing fiber components.

[0165] In some embodiments, the method further includes the step of producing a fiber-reinforced concrete through a size reduction pretreatment step to produce a size-reduced feedstock.

[0166] In some embodiments, the method further includes the step of the size-reduced feedstock undergoing a size-based pretreatment separation step to produce an oversized stream and an undersized stream.

[0167] In some embodiments, the oversized stream is sent back to a size reduction preprocessing step.

[0168] In some embodiments, the small size stream undergoes a dynamic crushing step.

[0169] In some embodiments, the method further includes a step in which the pulverized material undergoes one or more subsequent dynamic grinding steps.

[0170] In some embodiments, the dynamic grinder is operated to optimize the residence time of fiber-reinforced concrete in the dynamic grinder.

[0171] According to another embodiment, a method for processing a carpet product is provided, the method comprising the steps of: providing a carpet product comprising a binder backing component bound to a fiber component; subjecting the carpet product to a dynamic grinding step—the carpet product being fed to a dynamic grinder and subjected to self-impact created by a vortex within the dynamic grinder to degas the binder backing component from the fiber component and to produce a grind comprising a size-reduced fraction derived from the binder backing component and an oversized fraction derived from the fiber component—; withdrawing the grind from the dynamic grinder; and subjecting the grind to a separation step to produce a binder backing stream comprising the binder backing component and a fiber stream comprising the fiber component.

[0172] In some embodiments, the method further includes a step in which the pulverized material undergoes one or more subsequent dynamic grinding steps.

[0173] In some embodiments, the dynamic grinder is operated to optimize the residence time of fiber-reinforced concrete in the dynamic grinder. Brief explanation of the drawing

[0174] FIG. 1a is a process flow diagram for processing a manufacturing waste stream using dynamic crushing, optionally followed by a separation step. FIG. 1b is a process flow diagram for processing a fiber-reinforced material stream using dynamic grinding followed by a separation step. FIG. 1c is a process flow diagram for processing a fiber-reinforced material stream using dynamic grinding followed by a separation step. FIG. 2 is a left perspective view of a crushing device according to an embodiment, showing a motor and a housing for the crushing device. FIG. 3 is a right perspective view of the crushing device exemplified in FIG. 2, showing an outlet near the bottom end of the housing. FIG. 4 is a bottom perspective view of the crushing device exemplified in FIG. 2, showing a belt connection connecting a motor and a rotary shaft. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the housing exemplified in FIG. 3, showing a rotary shaft and a rotor positioned within the housing. FIG. 6 is a partially exploded view of the housing for the crushing device exemplified in FIG. 2. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the upper surface of a housing for a crushing device exemplified in FIG. 2, showing a plurality of deflectors spaced apart around a rotary shaft along the side wall of the housing. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the housing shown in FIG. 5 with the rotary shaft and rotor removed, showing shelves positioned at different levels along the side walls within the housing. FIG. 9 is a partial cross-sectional view of a grinding rotor mounted within a housing for a grinding device exemplified in FIG. 2, illustrating a vortex created within the housing. FIG. 10 is a schematic top view of a housing according to an embodiment, illustrating superimposed vortices within an internal chamber of the housing. FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a dynamic crusher according to another embodiment, equipped with an inlet conveyor and an outlet conveyor. FIG. 12 is a process flow diagram for treating a manufacturing waste stream using screening after dynamic crushing, and also includes a magnetic separation step and a dust collection step. FIG. 13 is a process flow diagram for treating a manufacturing waste stream using screening after dynamic crushing, and also includes a dust collection step. Figure 14 is a schematic side view of an exemplary magnetic separation step. Figure 15 is a schematic side view of another example of a magnetic separation step. Figure 16 is a photograph of an exemplary defective SPC flooring material after undergoing a dynamic grinding step and a dust collection step, illustrating the dust reduction grinding result fraction and the dust fraction. Figure 17 is a photograph of an exemplary defective SPC flooring material after undergoing a dynamic grinding step and a dust collection step, illustrating the dust reduction grinding result fraction and the dust fraction. Figure 18 is a photograph of exemplary shingle waste after undergoing a dynamic crushing step and a number of separation steps. Figure 19 is a photograph of exemplary shingle waste after undergoing a dynamic crushing step and a number of separation steps. Figure 20 is a photograph of exemplary shingle waste after undergoing a dynamic crushing step and a number of separation steps. Figure 21a is a photograph of a one-time pre-crushed feedstock generated from a wind turbine blade after undergoing a single size reduction pretreatment step. Fig. 21b is a photograph of the one-time pre-crushed feedstock of Fig. 21a. FIG. 21c is a photograph of the resulting stream of crushed product generated as a result of the one-time pre-crushed feedstock shown in FIG. 21a undergoing a dynamic crushing step. FIG. 21d is a photograph of the small-sized stream produced as a result of the crushed product stream shown in FIG. 21c undergoing a first separation step. FIG. 21e is a photograph of an oversized stream produced as a result of the crushed product stream shown in FIG. 21c undergoing a first separation step. FIG. 22a is a photograph of a twice-pre-crushed feedstock produced as a result of the once-pre-crushed feedstock shown in FIG. 21a undergoing a second size reduction pretreatment step. Fig. 22b is a photograph of the feedstock that has been pre-crushed twice in Fig. 22a. FIG. 22c is a photograph of the resulting stream of the crushed product generated as a result of the twice-pre-crushed feedstock shown in FIG. 22a undergoing a dynamic crushing step. FIG. 22d is a photograph of the small-sized stream produced as a result of the crushed product stream shown in FIG. 22c undergoing a first separation step. FIG. 22e is a photograph of the second undersized stream generated as a result of the undersized stream shown in FIG. 22d undergoing a second separation step. FIG. 22f is a photograph of the third undersized stream generated as a result of the second undersized stream shown in FIG. 22e undergoing a third separation step. FIG. 22g is a photograph of the fourth undersized stream produced as a result of the third undersized stream shown in FIG. 22f undergoing a fourth separation step. FIG. 22h is a photograph of the dust fraction isolated from the crushed product stream shown in FIG. 22c during the dust collection stage. FIG. 22i is a photograph of the second dust fraction isolated from the dust fraction shown in FIG. 22h during the dust separation step. FIG. 23a is a photograph of the pulverized product stream produced as a result of the pulverized product stream shown in FIG. 22a undergoing a second dynamic pulverization step. FIG. 23b is a photograph of the small-sized stream produced as a result of the crushed product stream shown in FIG. 23a undergoing a first separation step. FIG. 23c is a photograph of the second undersized stream generated as a result of the undersized stream shown in FIG. 23b undergoing a second separation step. FIG. 23d is a photograph of the third undersized stream generated as a result of the second undersized stream shown in FIG. 23c undergoing a third separation step. FIG. 23e is a photograph of the fourth undersized stream generated as a result of the third undersized stream shown in FIG. 23d undergoing a fourth separation step. Figure 24a is a photograph of the classified fiber-reinforced concrete feedstock stream generated during the manual classification pretreatment step. Figure 24b is a photograph of non-fracturing (metal) fasteners removed from fiber-reinforced concrete feedstock during the manual classification pretreatment step. FIG. 24c is a photograph of an undersized stream generated as a result of the classified stream shown in FIG. 24a undergoing a size reduction preprocessing step. Fig. 24d is a photograph of the undersized stream shown in Fig. 24c. FIGS. 25a and FIGS. 25b are photographs of a first crushed material produced as a result of the small-sized stream shown in FIG. 24c passing through a dynamic crushing stage operated at 800 to 700 RPM. FIGS. 26a and FIGS. 26b are photographs of a second crushed material produced as a result of the small-sized stream shown in FIG. 24c passing through a dynamic crushing stage operated at 600 RPM. FIG. 27a is a photograph of an oversized stream produced as a result of the first crushed material shown in FIG. 25a and FIG. 25b undergoing a separation step using a 6.3 mm mechanical screen. Figure 27b is a photograph of a second oversized stream produced as a result of the undersized stream of the separation step passing through a second separation step using a 3 mm mechanical screen. FIG. 27c is a photograph of the third oversized stream produced as a result of the second undersized stream of the second separation stage passing through the third separation stage using a 0.9 mm mechanical screen. FIG. 27d is a photograph of the third undersized stream generated in the third separation step. FIG. 28a is a photograph of an oversized stream produced as a result of the second crushed material shown in FIG. 26a and FIG. 26b undergoing a separation step using a 6.3 mm mechanical screen. FIG. 28b is a photograph of a second oversized stream produced as a result of the undersized stream of the separation step passing through a second separation step using a 3 mm mechanical screen. FIG. 28c is a photograph of the third oversized stream produced as a result of the second undersized stream of the second separation stage passing through the third separation stage using a 0.9 mm mechanical screen. FIG. 28d is a photograph of the third undersized stream generated in the third separation step. Specific details for implementing the invention

[0175] materials with a low softening temperature

[0176] The treatment of waste streams derived from manufacturing waste, manufacturing raw materials, or post-consumption waste may include a dynamic grinding step using a dynamic grinder to produce a size-reduced stream. The size-reduced waste can be re-implemented into the manufacturing process that received the waste or used to produce secondary products in a subsequent manufacturing process. For example, deformed, damaged, scratched, or broken products generated in the manufacturing process may be sent to a dynamic grinding step, either automatically or manually, to facilitate size reduction. Alternatively, post-consumption waste containing materials with low softening temperatures may undergo a dynamic grinding step to produce a size-reduced stream. The size-reduced stream may then undergo screening before being introduced into or re-introduced into the manufacturing process, if necessary.

[0177] In some embodiments, the grinding step enables the processing of waste with a low softening temperature in a single pass ("one pass"). The generation of a counter-rotating airflow vortex within the dynamic grinder lowers the internal temperature of the dynamic grinder compared to conventional size-reduction machines. During operation, the internal temperature of the dynamic grinder is higher than the ambient temperature, but the vortex sufficiently lowers the internal temperature to prevent materials with a low melting point or softening temperature from softening or liquefying. For some waste, such as waste containing at least some materials with a melting point or softening temperature of 130°C or less, lowering the internal temperature prevents the material from softening or liquefying, thereby enabling higher grinding results, smaller particle sizes, reduced energy input required for size reduction, and longer operating times. The ground material may optionally undergo a separation step, which may include mechanical screening, magnetic separation, density-based separation, etc., to separate any remaining oversized material from the size-reduced material. The separated oversized material may optionally undergo a second dynamic grinding step. In some embodiments, the size-reduced material can then be directly introduced or reintroduced into the manufacturing process.

[0178] In some embodiments, the grinding step may be adjusted and / or optimized to enable consistent size reduction of the waste and / or processing of the waste in a single pass. In other embodiments, the grinding step may be adjusted and / or optimized to enable the separation and liberation of fractions of the waste. Adjusting or optimizing the grinding step may include adjusting the rotor speed, which affects the rotational speed of the arm on the dynamic grinder and the airflow inside the dynamic grinder (which may ultimately affect the internal temperature of the dynamic grinder and the temperature of the material being reduced in size). Additionally or alternatively, adjusting or optimizing the grinding step may include adjusting the feed rate at the inlet of the dynamic grinder.

[0179] Referring to FIG. 1a, an exemplary process for processing manufacturing waste for subsequent use in a manufacturing process is illustrated. A feedstock (10) originating from and / or generated at a manufacturing plant (12) and / or obtained from a pre-sorting step (14) is fed to a dynamic crushing step (16) to produce a crushed product stream (18). In some embodiments, the manufacturing plant (12) includes a manufacturing step (13) for producing an unsorted product stream (15A). The unsorted product stream (15A) may be sorted automatically or manually in the pre-sorting step (14) to remove any defective materials, such as deformed, incomplete, or damaged products, and to produce a sorted product stream (15B) and a waste stream (15C). In an exemplary embodiment, the product stream (15B) is a manufactured product, such as a stone-plastic composite floor tile. However, it is also considered that the product stream (15B) may be the manufacture of a product different from the product that generated the manufacturing waste.

[0180] The feedstock (10) can be obtained from a waste stream (15C). In some embodiments, the waste stream (15C) undergoes a dynamic crushing step (16) automatically or manually during separation. For example, an unclassified product stream (15A) may undergo a pre-classification step (14) that automatically separates defective materials into a classified product stream (15B) and a waste stream (15C). The waste stream (15C) may be classified or diverted to a conveyor belt that automatically feeds the waste stream (15C) as feedstock (10) into a dynamic crusher, thereby causing the waste stream (15C) to undergo a dynamic crushing step (16).

[0181] In another embodiment, the waste stream (15C) is transferred to a storage area (17) and then undergoes a dynamic crushing step (16) when predetermined conditions are met, such as a predetermined amount of defective material, a predetermined cooling temperature (e.g., for injection molding waste or other manufactured products requiring heat), or according to a predetermined schedule (e.g., compliance with the manufacturing plant (12) staff schedule). The storage area (17) may include a sensor and / or timer to determine when the predetermined condition(s) are met and to signal the process to automatically undergo the dynamic crushing step (16) when the predetermined condition(s) are met. In some embodiments, the waste stream (15C) is generated at the manufacturing plant (12) and then transported to a dedicated facility to perform the dynamic crushing step (16).

[0182] In some embodiments, the feedstock (10) may be generated from the waste after consumption of a manufactured product. For example, the product is produced during the manufacturing step (13) and sold to a consumer. After the consumer uses the product for its intended purpose, it is discarded as waste after consumption. The waste after consumption product may be separated from a general waste stream, such as municipal waste or landfill waste, or a specific waste stream, such as construction debris and demolition debris, to generate a waste after consumption stream as the feedstock (10). The waste after consumption stream may then be processed using a dynamic crushing step (16).

[0183] Depending on the type of product being manufactured, the feedstock (10) may include not only fractured materials but also non-fractured materials and / or ductile materials. Fractured materials are typically hard, brittle, or easily crumbled, so dynamic grinding facilitates significant size reduction, thereby converting fractured materials into a size-reduced fraction. Fractured materials are reduced in size to particles, for example, sand or silt-sized, and homogenized to produce a grinding result stream (18). On the other hand, ductile materials are flexible, and the dynamic grinder may be operated so that the size of the ductile material is not significantly reduced by the dynamic grinding step (16). In contrast, in the context of the present application, non-fractured materials typically include hard and unbreakable materials and mean that their size is not significantly reduced by the grinder, such as metal.

[0184] In some embodiments, the feedstock (10) comprises at least 85%, 90%, 95%, 99%, or 100% of fractured material, and at least 85%, 90%, 95%, 99%, or 100% of the feedstock (10) is reduced in size in the resulting grind stream (18). In some embodiments, the feedstock (10) comprises a fractured fraction and a soft fraction, and the dynamic grinding step is optimized to reduce the size of the soft fraction along with the fractured fraction. For example, the dynamic grinding step (16) may be optimized to reduce the size of the fractured fraction and the soft fraction in a single pass (one pass) to have a relatively uniform particle size. Alternatively, the dynamic grinding step (16) may be optimized to reduce only the size of the fractured fraction while maintaining the soft fraction at an oversized size so that it can be separated based on size.

[0185] In some embodiments, the crushed product stream (18) may undergo a separation step (20) to ensure that the particle size of the material is reduced sufficiently and that the size reduction stream (22) mainly consists of smaller pieces of decomposed brittle material and optionally non-brittle material that can be reintegrated into a manufacturing process, and an oversized material stream (24) mainly consists of brittle material, larger pieces of non-brittle material that have not undergone sufficient size reduction, and / or soft material.

[0186] The size-reduced stream (22) may be directly reintegrated into the manufacturing step (13) that produced the original product, or directly reintegrated into a new manufacturing step (13) for, for example, to produce a new product, or may undergo a processing step (23), which may be, for example, a separation step or other processing step, to prepare the size-reduced stream (22) for reintegration into the original manufacturing step (13) or a new (secondary) manufacturing step (13). In some embodiments, the processing step (23) is a separation step that may include separation based on size, density, color, shape, etc. In an exemplary embodiment, the processing step (23) is a separation step for producing a first recycling stream (25A) and a second recycling stream (25B). The first and second recycling streams (25A, 25B) may be introduced into the manufacturing step (13) simultaneously or at different stages of manufacturing (e.g., to produce different layers of a layered product).

[0187] For example, if the defective manufacturing waste is a multilayer floor tile comprising an inorganic material such as aggregate or stone and a polymer material such as thermoplastic resin, the processing step (23) may include a density separation step for separating the inorganic material into a first recycling stream (25A) and the polymer material into a second recycling stream (25B). Then, the first and second recycling streams (25A, 25B) may be reused as the inorganic material and polymer material during the manufacturing step (13). In some embodiments, the first and / or second recycling streams (25A, 25B) may be used in the same manufacturing step (13) from which the manufacturing waste originated or in a secondary manufacturing step for the production of other products (i.e., sold or reused as raw materials for manufacturing new items unrelated to the product from which the waste stream originated).

[0188] The oversized material stream (24) may go through another separation step (20) or be sent back to a secondary dynamic grinding step (16). In some embodiments, the oversized material stream (24) is automatically sent back to a dynamic grinder for the dynamic grinding step (16).

[0189] The separation step (20) may be performed in one or more stages and various separation equipment may be used. For example, various types of screens such as vibrating screens, trommel screens, tumbler screens, swivel screens, and / or high-frequency screens may be used. Other types of separation equipment, such as dust removal and / or magnetic separation or metal separation, may also be used. The separation equipment may be new dedicated equipment for the dynamic grinding step (16) or may be part of existing equipment in the manufacturing plant (12). In some embodiments, the grinding result stream (18) undergoes separation to produce more than two streams that may have various properties. For example, if the dynamic grinding step is optimized to separate soft materials, the soft materials may be separated from the ground brittle materials. In some embodiments, the separation step (20) may assist in separation and enable downstream repurposing or disposal. The separation step (20) may include a plurality of separators arranged in parallel or in series, for example (e.g., screens, metal separation, sensor-based classifiers, and dust separation).

[0190] In some embodiments, the separation step (20) may include a metal separation step for separating a non-fracturing fraction of iron and / or non-ferrous metal from the crushed product material (18) to produce a metal reduction stream.

[0191] In some embodiments, the separation step (20) may include other separation techniques, such as solvent precipitation separation, density-based separation techniques such as hydrocyclone separators or flotation separation pools, optical separation techniques such as laser separation or color-based separation, etc. The separation step (20) may be used to isolate one or more of the components used in the manufacturing process, so that the isolated components can be reused in the manufacturing process. For example, if the feedstock is manufacturing waste, which is defective material generated in the elastic flooring manufacturing process, or post-consumption waste derived from used elastic flooring products, the resulting crushed material may include a mixture of all materials used to manufacture elastic flooring, such as PVC and limestone. The separation step (20) may include solvent precipitation separation techniques for separating PVC from limestone, so that a pure or concentrated PVC or limestone stream can be reintroduced into the manufacturing process.

[0192] fiber-reinforced materials

[0193] Fiber-reinforced materials, such as fiber-reinforced concrete, fiber-reinforced composites (FRC), and / or fabrics containing non-fiber binder components, are used in a wide variety of materials and applications. For example, FRC materials can be used to produce high-strength, lightweight materials in industries such as aerospace, power generation, automotive, and construction. FRC materials can be used to produce numerous products, including but not limited to construction materials such as wind turbine blades, siding, and FRC panels, vehicle parts, epoxy, glass reinforcement (fiberglass), and aircraft fuselages. Similarly, fiber-reinforced concrete can be used in numerous applications, including construction and building materials. Fiber-reinforced materials may also include fabrics containing fiber components and binder components, such as carpets or rugs, which contain fibers woven onto a support binder material, such as polypropylene and / or polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyurethane, and / or thermoplastic resins including latex.

[0194] Fiber-reinforced materials comprise materials containing fiber components embedded or surrounded by a binder component. In the context of this disclosure, the "binder component" may include any non-fiber component of the fiber-reinforced material, such as plastic within fiber-reinforced plastic materials, a cementitious or concrete matrix within fiber-reinforced concrete, and / or a support material within carpets or rugs. Fiberglass is a fiber-reinforced material comprising, for example, glass fibers embedded in a plastic resin matrix. Separation of the fiber component from the binder component can be achieved through a dynamic grinding step. When processing fiber-reinforced materials using a dynamic grinder, the size of the fiber-reinforced material is reduced, and the fiber component is degassed from the binder component in a simultaneous or sequential dynamic grinding step. After the dynamic grinding step, separation technology can be used to isolate the fiber component from the binder component to provide two separate, homogeneous reinforcing fiber and binder streams. The isolated fiber component and / or binder component can then be recycled for subsequent use in other products.

[0195] In some embodiments, the size of the binder component is reduced by a grinding step, while the fiber component is liberated and remains as an oversized fraction in the ground material, which can be isolated using size-based separation techniques such as screening. In other embodiments, the binder component and the fiber component are reduced to a size similar or substantially uniform, and then isolated individually using separation techniques such as solvent-based separation, density-based separation, optical separation, etc. In other embodiments, the fiber component can be separated using a dust collection step and / or as an undersized stream in a separation step. The separation technique used to isolate the fiber component from the binder component in the separation step may depend on the type of feedstock (i.e., the type of fiber and / or binder in the fiber-reinforced material) and / or the level of separation achieved by the dynamic grinder.

[0196] Now, referring to FIG. 1b, a feedstock (10) containing at least a portion of fiber-reinforced material is fed to a dynamic crushing step (16) to produce a crushed product stream (18). The feedstock (10) can be obtained from a pre-sorting step (14), in which waste or recycling streams can be sorted and fiber-reinforced material components can be isolated as feedstock (10) using a manual or automatic sorting system (e.g., according to size, density, color, weight, etc.).

[0197] In some embodiments, the crushed product stream (18) may then undergo a separation step (20) to recover a size-reduced stream (22) consisting mainly of decomposed binder components and optionally small non-destructible material pieces such as metal, and an oversized material stream (24) consisting mainly of fiber components and optionally non-destructible material pieces. The separation step (20) may be performed in one or more stages and various separation equipment may be used. For example, various types of screens such as vibrating screens, trommel screens, tumbler screens, swivel screens, and / or high-frequency screens may be used. Other types of separation equipment, such as dust removal, magnetic separation, or metal separation, may also be used. The separation equipment may be new dedicated equipment for the fiber component and binder component recovery process described herein, or it may be part of an existing separation step of the facility.

[0198] In some embodiments, the crushed product stream (18) undergoes a separation step (20) to produce more than two streams that may have various properties to aid in separation and enable downstream repurposing or disposal. The separation step (20) may include a plurality of separators arranged in parallel or in series, for example (e.g., screens, metal separators, sensor-based classifiers, weight-based separators, density-based separators, and dust separators).

[0199] In some embodiments, as illustrated in FIG. 1b, a size-reduced stream (22) containing a binder component and / or an oversized stream (24) containing a fiber component and, if present, a non-fracturing fraction may undergo a secondary separation step (20A) to separate the binder component, the fiber component, and, if present, the non-fracturing fraction into a binder stream (23), a fiber stream (36), and a non-fracturing stream (38), respectively. The separation step (20A) may include mechanical screening to classify the oversized stream (24) according to size, or a metal separation step to separate the non-fracturing fraction of ferrous and / or non-ferrous metals from the ductile fraction of non-metallic material to produce a non-fracturing stream (38) and a ductile stream (36). In another embodiment, the separation step (20A) may include a metal separation step for separating a non-fracturing fraction of iron and / or non-ferrous metal from a binder fraction of non-metallic material to produce a non-fracturing stream (38) and a binder stream (23), respectively.

[0200] Now, referring to FIG. 1c, a fiber-reinforced material (410) comprising a binder component, a fiber component, and optionally a non-destructive component can be transported to a processing facility. In some embodiments, the fiber-reinforced material (410) undergoes a size reduction pretreatment step (415), and the size-reduced feedstock (412) undergoes a size-based pretreatment separation step (420A), for example using a mechanical screen, to produce an over-stream (422) and an under-stream (424). The size-based pretreatment separation step (420A) can be set to a size that can be accommodated by a dynamic grinder based on the type of feedstock (410). For example, a size-based pretreatment separation step (420A) may be configured to filter out pieces of size-reduced feedstock (412) that are between about 2 inches and about 10 inches or larger for high-density feedstocks, or between about 10 inches and about 24 inches or larger for low-density feedstocks. Density is an important factor in determining the size of the size-reduced feedstock (412), but other factors such as shape (thin, slender feedstocks like siding may have larger sizes), weight, and desired product size may be considered.

[0201] The oversized stream (422) can be moved directly back to the size reduction pretreatment step (415), for example, via a conveyor belt, either automatically or manually, and this can be repeated until the desired size of the size-reduced feedstock (412) is achieved. The undersized stream (424) can be moved directly to the dynamic crushing step (430), for example, via a conveyor belt, either automatically or manually.

[0202] Alternatively, the undersized stream (424) may optionally undergo a magnetic separation pretreatment step (450A) using a magnetic or iron separator (452) to remove iron particles (454) (i.e., at least some of the non-destructive components) from the undersized stream (424). Then, the iron-reduced undersized stream (456) may be moved directly to a dynamic crushing step (430), for example, via a conveyor belt, either automatically or manually.

[0203] The undersized stream (424) and / or iron-reduced undersized stream (456) are provided to a dynamic grinding step (430) to produce a ground product stream (432). In some embodiments, the ground product stream (432) undergoes a post-processing separation step (420B). In an exemplary embodiment, the post-processing separation step (420B) is a size-based separation step, for example, using one or more screens of a desired size in parallel. In some embodiments, the dynamic grinding step (430) is configured to degas the binder component from the fiber component and grind the binder component while keeping the fiber component in a state that is not substantially reduced in size. In such embodiments, the post-processing separation step (420B) is configured to separate the fiber component, from the ground binder component as an undersized stream (436), as an oversized stream (434), in which all or most of the degassed binder component has been degassed. In some embodiments, the oversized stream (434) and / or undersized stream (436) may then be used in the manufacture of subsequent products or sold as recycled components for use in the manufacture of other items including fiber-reinforced materials. Alternatively, if the post-processing separation step (420B) is configured to separate larger pieces of the crushed product stream (432) that require a subsequent dynamic crushing step (430), the oversized stream (434) may be sent back to the dynamic crushing step (430), and the undersized stream (436) may pass through a second post-processing separation step (420B) using a screen configured to isolate the fiber component from the crushed binder component.

[0204] In some embodiments, the crushed product stream (432) may undergo several post-processing separation steps (420B), for example in parallel, to isolate fractions of different sizes of the crushed product stream (432). One or more of the post-processing separation steps (420B) may be density-based, for example using a float pool, to isolate fiber components from binder components based on density. For example, the crushed product stream (432) may undergo a size-based post-processing separation step (420B) to isolate an oversized stream (434) requiring one or more subsequent dynamic crushing steps (430) and an undersized stream (436) containing both fiber components and crushed binder components. Then, the undersized stream (436) may undergo a density-based (or size-based) post-processing separation step (420B) to isolate fiber components from binder components.

[0205] Depending on the type and quality of the original feedstock (410), the oversized stream (434), the undersized stream (436), and / or the density separation stream (not shown) may optionally contain small, non-fragmentable pieces of material. In some embodiments, the crushed product stream (432), the oversized stream (434), and / or the undersized stream (436) may undergo a post-processing magnetic separation step (450B) to produce an iron reduction product stream (442), an iron reduction oversized stream (444), and / or an iron reduction undersized stream (446), respectively. Then, the iron reduction product stream (442), the iron reduction oversized stream (444), and / or the iron reduction undersized stream (446) may be used in the manufacture of subsequent products or may be sold as recycled components for use in the manufacture of other items.

[0206] feedstock

[0207] materials with a low softening temperature

[0208] Various manufacturing feedstocks can undergo a dynamic grinding step to produce target size-reduced products. Specific manufacturing waste feedstocks and their characteristics will be described in more detail below.

[0209] Manufacturing waste refers to a waste stream generated during the manufacture of products such as building materials, such as bricks, resilient flooring, and tiles, or consumer goods, such as plastic toys and household goods. For example, if the manufacturing process involves injection molding, manufacturing waste may include injection molding waste, for example, from sprues, runners, gate locations, and / or flash overflow material leaking from the cavity. Manufacturing waste may also include defective waste, such as improperly formed or broken products or other types of defective products. Defective waste may be automatically separated from the manufactured product stream into a manufacturing waste stream, for example, through a defective product separator or a laser separator, or may be visually inspected and manually separated into a manufacturing waste stream. In other embodiments, manufacturing waste may include consumer waste, such as recalled items or returned products.

[0210] In some embodiments, the feedstock (10) may include post-consumption waste of manufactured products, such as used building materials, which may be supplied from a separate post-consumption waste stream (e.g., a single used product) or separated from a broader post-consumption waste stream, such as general waste (municipal waste or landfill waste) or construction debris and demolition debris. For example, if the post-consumption waste includes used resilient flooring products (i.e., resilient flooring that was installed as flooring and removed after reaching the end of its service life), the feedstock may be obtained directly from the removed resilient flooring or separated from a general waste stream or construction debris and demolition debris in a pre-sorting stage.

[0211] In some embodiments, the feedstock (10) has a concentration of at least 10%, 15%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, or more of a material having a melting point or softening temperature of at least 80°C. In some embodiments, the feedstock (10) has a concentration of at least 10%, 15%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, or more of a material having a melting point or softening temperature of 90°C or less, 100°C or less, 110°C or less, 120°C or less, or 130°C or less.

[0212] In some embodiments, the feedstock (10) may be a dry feedstock with little or no moisture. The feedstock (10) may be fed directly to the dynamic grinding step (16) without pretreatment, such as surface wetting pretreatment for dust reduction. In other embodiments, the feedstock (10) may be a wet feedstock that is fed directly to the dynamic grinding step (16) without pretreatment, such as drying pretreatment, because the dynamic grinder can effectively handle wet or dry feedstocks. For example, the feedstock may have a moisture content of up to 50% or 10% to 40% and may be fed directly to the dynamic grinder without pre-drying or pre-wetting. For a wetter feedstock with a moisture content exceeding 50%, a pre-drying step may be performed to dry the material to less than 50%. For drier feedstocks with a moisture content of less than 10%, a surface wetting step can be performed to reduce the amount of dust generated during the dynamic grinding step (16).

[0213] Now, referring to FIG. 2, in some embodiments, the dynamic crusher (50) may be optimized for a specific type of waste with a low softening temperature. For example, the size and geometry of the inlet (70) and / or housing (60) of the dynamic crusher (50) may be factors determining the size of the feedstock. In some embodiments, the feedstock is pre-crushed or reduced in size prior to the dynamic crushing step (16). In some embodiments, the density of the feedstock may be factors determining the size and / or feeding rate of the feedstock. For example, the feeding rate of the feedstock may be varied by taking into account the density of the feedstock, so that low-density feedstock may be fed to the dynamic crusher at a faster feeding rate than high-density feedstock.

[0214] elastic flooring

[0215] In some embodiments, manufacturing waste includes defective waste generated during the manufacturing stage of the elastic flooring. The elastic flooring refers to an engineered polymer floor. The elastic flooring may have one or more layers, such as a wear layer, a core layer, a bottom layer, a decorative layer, and a protective layer. These layers may be composed of a single material or may be a composite mixture of two or more materials. The materials constituting the layers of the elastic flooring may include materials such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), limestone, fillers (e.g., aggregate, cement, sand, crushed stone, etc.), rubber, asphalt, and organic materials (e.g., solid linseed oil, pine resin, cork, sawdust, mineral fillers, etc.).

[0216] In some embodiments, the elastic flooring is a high-end vinyl tile flooring (LVT), which may include a wear layer, a core layer, a bottom layer, and a decorative layer. The LVT flooring may include a filler such as PVC or limestone, and a pigment manufactured into a flat sheet using heat and pressure.

[0217] In another embodiment, the elastic flooring may be a stone polymer composite (SPC) flooring, which may also be referred to as a solid polymer composite flooring. The SPC flooring includes a rigid core that mimics the feel of a hard surface floor, such as hardwood and stone. In some embodiments, the rigid core includes a stone plastic composite, such as PVC and limestone, which is formed without a foaming agent to form an ultra-high density core.

[0218] Elastic flooring can be made in any size and shape, including tiles (i.e., about 12 inches (12") × 12", 12" × 24", 16" × 16", 18" × 18", etc.), slabs (i.e., about 6", 8", or 10" × 48", 60", or 72"), or slabs (i.e., about 24" or 36" × 36" or 48").

[0219] thermoplastic resin

[0220] In some embodiments, manufacturing waste may include defective waste from manufactured products having a concentration of at least 10%, 15%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, or more of a material having a melting point or softening temperature of 80°C, 90°C, 100°C, 110°C, 120°C, or 130°C or lower. In some embodiments, the material having a melting point or softening temperature of 80°C, 90°C, 100°C, 110°C, 120°C, or 130°C or lower is a thermoplastic resin. For example, toys, beverage bottles, food storage containers, sporting goods, automotive parts, etc. contain high concentrations of thermoplastic resin. In this context, a thermoplastic resin refers to a plastic polymer that becomes flexible or moldable at high temperatures and solidifies upon cooling. As such, reducing the size of conventional products with a high proportion of thermoplastic resin can be difficult because the thermoplastic resin becomes flexible and may cause gumming inside the size reduction machine.

[0221] The dynamic grinding step described herein provides an airflow that lowers the internal temperature of the dynamic grinder, thereby at least partially preventing materials with a low softening temperature, such as thermoplastic resins, from becoming flexible and consequently shrinking in size. In some embodiments, the dynamic grinder may be operated such that the internal temperature does not exceed the minimum melting point or softening temperature of a material having a melting point or softening temperature of 80°C, 90°C, 100°C, 110°C, 120°C, or 130°C or lower. In some embodiments, the dynamic grinder may be operated such that the internal temperature does not exceed 80°C, 90°C, or 100°C. For example, the dynamic grinder may be operated such that the internal temperature does not exceed 105°C, which is the melting temperature of low-density polyethylene (LDPE), or 85°C, which is the melting temperature of PVC. In an exemplary embodiment, the airflow generated in the dynamic grinder serves to lower the internal temperature of the dynamic grinder so that the internal temperature does not exceed 93°C (about 200°F). In the case of a feedstock containing a mixture of components such as PVC and limestone, if the internal temperature is below about 93°C, the thermoplastic components within the feedstock are prevented from softening or melting, thereby increasing the size reduction efficiency.

[0222] Thermoplastic resins can be remelted and reused multiple times, thereby separating incorrectly manufactured items (i.e., defective waste), manufacturing waste, and / or post-consumption waste, reducing their size, and reintroducing them into the manufacturing process. Examples of thermoplastic resins include, but are not limited to, polypropylene, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, polyethylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS).

[0223] Asphalt shingles

[0224] In some embodiments, the waste stream may be defective asphalt shingles and / or waste asphalt shingles after consumption (i.e., used asphalt shingles that have reached the end of their service life). When processed using a conventional size-reducing machine, the asphalt melts, resulting in more energy being required to reduce the size of the asphalt shingles. Furthermore, some asphalt shingle types contain a chemical sealant that is activated by solar heat to activate and seal the shingles on the roof surface. When activated by solar heat, the chemical sealant becomes sticky or tacky, creating a strong adhesion between the roof surface and the shingles. In the dynamic crushing stage, the airflow created by multiple overlapping vortices causes the asphalt components of the shingles to collide with each other, thereby lowering the internal temperature of the dynamic crusher compared to conventional machines. Furthermore, the temperature of the shingles being processed does not rise rapidly in the dynamic crusher as in conventional machines, because the reduction in size is due to material impact between the shingles rather than the internal parts of the machine coming into contact with the material. Therefore, kinetic energy transfer occurs between the particles of the reduced material (shingles) rather than between the internal parts of the dynamic crusher and the material, thereby reducing the amount of heat generated internally.

[0225] fiber-reinforced materials

[0226] Various fiber-reinforced feedstocks can undergo dynamic grinding to produce target size-reduced products. Specific fiber-reinforced feedstocks and their characteristics will be described in more detail below.

[0227] In some embodiments, the fiber-reinforcing material may comprise a fiber-reinforcing composite such as a polymer matrix composite (PMC). The PMC may comprise a binder component comprising any known thermosetting, thermoplastic, and / or elastomeric resin embedded with any type of fiber including carbon fibers, organic fibers (hemp, cotton, coir, silk, etc.), metal fibers, polypropylene fibers, nylon fibers, and / or glass fibers. For example, the fiber-reinforcing feedstock may comprise at least a portion of fiberglass comprising a binder component and a glass fiber component. The fiberglass undergoes a dynamic grinding step to isolate the binder component used to form the fiberglass. During this process, the glass fiber component may also be isolated. In some embodiments, the binder component may comprise a polyester resin, a vinyl resin, and / or an epoxy resin. The binder component may optionally comprise a catalyst (e.g., methyl ethyl ketone peroxide (MEKP)) and / or a curing agent for curing or hardening the binder component.

[0228] In some embodiments, the fiber-reinforced feedstock may include fiber-reinforced concrete. Fiber-reinforced concrete includes a concrete matrix component and a fiber component such as carbon fibers, organic fibers (hemp, cotton, coir, silk, etc.), metal fibers, polypropylene fibers, nylon fibers, and / or glass fibers.

[0229] In some embodiments, the fiber-reinforcing feedstock may comprise a fabric such as a carpet product (carpet, rug, etc.) or a fabric comprising a binder component such as an acrylic resin, a urethane resin, a thermoplastic resin, a latex, or an epoxy resin. For example, if the feedstock is a carpet or a rug, the fiber component may comprise synthetic fibers such as nylon fibers, polyester fibers, polypropylene fibers (olefin fibers), polyester fibers, and / or polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT) fibers (triecta fibers), and / or organic fibers such as sisal fibers, cotton fibers, and / or wool fibers. The fibers are woven into a support material comprising a binder component such as a thermoplastic resin including polypropylene and / or polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyurethane, and / or latex.

[0230] In some embodiments, the feedstock (10) may be a dry feedstock with little or no moisture. The feedstock (10) may be fed directly to the dynamic grinding step (16) without pretreatment, such as surface wetting pretreatment for dust reduction. In other embodiments, the feedstock (10) may be a wet feedstock that is fed directly to the dynamic grinding step (16) without pretreatment, such as drying pretreatment, because the dynamic grinder can effectively handle wet or dry feedstocks. For example, the feedstock may have a moisture content of up to 50% or 10% to 40% and may be fed directly to the dynamic grinder without pre-drying or pre-wetting. For a wetter feedstock with a moisture content exceeding 50%, a pre-drying step may be performed to dry the material to less than 50%. For drier feedstocks with a moisture content of less than 10%, a surface wetting step can be performed to reduce the amount of dust generated during the dynamic grinding step (16).

[0231] In some embodiments, the fiber-reinforced feedstock (10) may include post-consumption waste of manufactured products, such as used building materials (e.g., fiber-reinforced concrete siding or panels, used carpets or rugs, etc.), which may be supplied from a separate post-consumption waste stream (e.g., a single used product) or separated from a broader post-consumption waste stream, such as general waste (municipal waste or landfill waste) or construction debris and demolition debris. For example, if the post-consumption waste includes used products composed at least partially of fiber-reinforced materials, such as siding, carpets, or wind turbine blades (i.e., products composed of fiber-reinforced materials that were installed or used in a conventional manner and removed after reaching the end of their lifespan), the feedstock may be obtained directly from the removed used products or separated from a general waste stream or construction debris and demolition debris in a pre-sorting stage.

[0232] In some embodiments, the feedstock (10) has a concentration of at least 10%, 15%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, or more of the fiber reinforcing material. In some embodiments, the feedstock (10) has a concentration of the fiber reinforcing material that is entirely composed of the fiber reinforcing material or at least 70%, 80%, 90%, 95%, or 99% of the fiber reinforcing material.

[0233] In some embodiments, the size and geometry of the inlet (70) and / or housing (60) of the dynamic grinder (50) may be factors determining the size of the feedstock. In some embodiments, the feedstock undergoes a size reduction pretreatment step to pre-grind the feedstock or reduce its size prior to the dynamic grinding step (16). In some embodiments, the density of the feedstock may be factors determining the size and / or feed rate of the feedstock. For example, the feed rate of the feedstock may be varied by taking into account the density of the feedstock, so that low-density feedstocks such as fiberglass may be fed to the dynamic grinder at a faster feed rate than high-density feedstocks such as fiber-reinforced cement.

[0234] fibrous material

[0235] In some embodiments, the feedstock may be a fibrous material, such as a portion of plant material including hemp, cotton, and flax. In some embodiments, the fibrous material may be in the form of raw materials, such as hemp or flax stems, waste by-products from manufacturing processes using fibrous materials, and / or products formed from fibrous materials, such as fabrics, organic plastic materials, or paper. In some embodiments, the fibrous material may be processed as described herein and / or in a manner similar to fiber-reinforced materials. For example, a fabric made of hemp (which may also be considered as fiber-reinforced material) may be processed using a dynamic grinding step to reduce the feedstock to basic monomers and isolate the fibers for fiber-to-fiber recycling. In some cases, the fabric may comprise a fabric containing a mixture of multiple fibers, and the fiber types may be isolated from each other and separated for secondary use using the process described herein. In some embodiments, for example, if the feedstock is an organic plastic material formed from a fibrous material (which may also be considered as a fiber-reinforcing material), the fibrous component within it can be isolated from each binder component constituting the organic plastic material using the process described herein.

[0236] Preprocessing step

[0237] Prior to the dynamic crushing step (16), there may be a number of upstream pretreatment steps capable of processing the feedstock (10). For example, an upstream separation step including upstream mechanical screening and / or upstream magnetic separation for pre-sorting the feedstock (10) by size may pre-sort the feedstock to remove at least some of the non-destructible material prior to the dynamic crushing step (16). In some embodiments, an automatic or manual pre-sorting step may be used to isolate the feedstock from a larger material stream, such as a waste stream. If the feedstock contains large and / or high-density components, the feedstock may undergo a size reduction pretreatment step using manual equipment, such as a saw, for example, or conventional size reduction equipment, such as a grinder, crusher, etc. The size reduction pretreatment step may be used to reduce the size of the feedstock to a size suitable for the inlet (70) and / or housing (60) of the dynamic crusher (50).

[0238] In some embodiments, for example, if the feedstock undergoes a size reduction pretreatment step, the upstream dust collection step may pre-sort the feedstock to remove dust. In other embodiments, the upstream separation step may include manual sorting to remove materials within the feedstock that may be sold as a final product or subjected to a separation treatment step.

[0239] Dynamic grinding stage

[0240] In relation to the dynamic crushing step (16), a single dynamic crusher may be implemented and operated in a one-pass step. For example, the feedstock may be fed to the top of the dynamic crusher, which includes a drum with baffles and an internal rotating shaft with a plurality of arms that generate a vortex within the drum chamber. The feedstock enters the vortex and undergoes self-collision to reduce the size of the entire feedstock (10), or optionally reduce the size of the brittle material within the feedstock (10), while optionally leaving the ductile material in excess size and not significantly reducing the size of the non-brittle material. Thus, if the feedstock (10) contains a material in which the brittle material is connected to the ductile material (e.g., fiberglass or shingles with asphalt embedded in an organic mat support), the dynamic crushing step (16) can facilitate the separation of the brittle material (asphalt) from the ductile material (fiberglass or organic support).

[0241] As another example, the fiber-reinforced material enters a vortex and undergoes self-collision, primarily reducing the size of the binder component within the fiber-reinforced material, and the airflow created by the vortex serves to degas the binder component from the fiber component. Therefore, depending on the type of fiber in the fiber-reinforced feedstock, the size of the soft fiber component is often not significantly reduced, and the brittle binder component is crushed and removed from the fiber component. Thus, if the feedstock (10) includes a material in which a brittle binder component is connected to a soft fiber material, the dynamic crushing step (16) facilitates the separation of the soft binder component from the brittle fiber component, thereby isolating each of the components of the fiber-reinforced material for subsequent use, for example, in producing a new fiber-reinforced material.

[0242] The dynamic grinding step (16) uses kinetic energy, vortices, and collisions between materials to achieve a reduction in size of the entire feedstock (10) or a reduction in size of brittle materials within the feedstock (10), and optionally achieves a glass of ductile material. In some embodiments, degassing can achieve a reduction in size of the binder component and separation of the fiber component from the binder component.

[0243] The airflow generated by the vortex can serve to lower the internal temperature of the dynamic grinder. Furthermore, when using conventional size-reduction machines such as grinders, crushers, or hammer mills, size reduction occurs through repeated contact between the machine's internal components and the material. The gradual rise in the internal temperature of conventional machines creates multiple contact points between the internal components and the material being reduced, leading to softening or melting of the material. If the material softens, melts, or even burns, the energy required to operate the machine increases, and the final product degrades. In contrast, the superimposed vortex created by the dynamic grinder induces self-collision (i.e., impact between materials) of the reduced particles. These particle self-collision causes a temperature rise at a much slower rate than mechanical devices that rely on machine-to-material impact. Therefore, in addition to the airflow generated by the rotating arm lowering the internal temperature of the dynamic grinder, size reduction due to self-collision significantly slows down the rate of heat generation inside the dynamic grinder. In this way, the dynamic grinding step (50) can be performed as a "dry" process in which water or other coolant liquid is not added to the dynamic grinder during operation.

[0244] In some embodiments, the feedstock may undergo one or more subsequent dynamic grinding steps to increase the separation between the fiber component and the binder component. The dynamic grinder may be operated to optimize the residence time of the fiber-reinforced material in the dynamic grinder. For example, materials with a very strong binder component, such as wind turbine blades, may require a longer residence time in the dynamic grinder than materials with a weak binder component, such as consumer products made of fiber-reinforced composites. A longer residence time in the dynamic grinder may lead to greater separation between the fiber component and the binder component. In some embodiments, as the strength of the binder component increases, the residence time or number of dynamic grinding steps may be increased to provide separation between the fiber component and the binder component.

[0245] In some cases, the process, the dynamic crushing step (16), and / or the dynamic crusher (50) may be operated in a continuous mode or a semi-batch mode. The material may be crushed through the dynamic crusher (50) in a single pass or using multiple passes. If multiple passes are used, the material from the first pass is filtered out, and only a fraction such as an oversized fraction may be fed through subsequent passes. More generally, a specific material or fraction may undergo multiple crushing steps, which can be performed in the same dynamic crusher (50) or in multiple dynamic crushers (50) operating in series through recycling. The material may be fed in batches or continuously to the dynamic crusher (50). Each pass through the dynamic crusher (50) may be performed under the same or different operating conditions (e.g., rotational speed, feed rate), where the change in operating conditions is determined, for example, based on the composition of the feed for each pass.

[0246] The material is transferred to the lower region of the dynamic grinder (50) and discharged through the lower outlet as a stream of the ground product (18). The dynamic grinder may be operated at a rotational speed of 500 RPM to 1,200 RPM, 600 RPM to 1,100 RPM, or 700 RPM to 1,000 RPM. The rotational speed may be adjusted in response to other process parameters or maintained relatively constant. In some embodiments, the rotational speed is adjusted to control the size and / or quality of the resulting material. In some embodiments, the rotational speed is adjusted or varied to separate ductile material from brittle material.

[0247] In some embodiments, the rotational speed is adjusted or changed based on the density of the feedstock. For example, a high-density feedstock, such as fiber-reinforced concrete, can be reduced in size at a lower rotational speed to produce larger fiber-reinforced concrete aggregate pieces, or the feedstock can be crushed at a higher rotational speed to reduce in size and achieve a smaller particle size.

[0248] The dynamic grinding step not only enables the target size reduction of the feedstock but can also facilitate drying and / or pathogen reduction for a higher quality product stream. In some embodiments, the grinding step can reduce moisture by 5 to 8% and then further reduce the moisture content of the size-reduced fraction through a separation step.

[0249] Separation step

[0250] If the dynamic grinding step is optimized to separate the soft material from the brittle material, the separation step (20) can selectively remove the soft material, which is an oversized material, from the grinding result stream (18). The oversized material includes a low-density flexible fraction of the feedstock (i.e., soft material) and / or non-brittle material such as metal. If the oversized material includes non-brittle material, the grinding result stream (18) may undergo a magnetic separation step. The oversized fraction may substantially consist of soft material including plastic and paper film or fiber, which can be separated from the brittle material through a size separation technique such as screening.

[0251] As described above, the oversized fraction can be separated from the reduced fraction using size-based separation techniques such as screening. Screening can be performed using various types of mechanical screens, such as vibrating screens, tumbler screens, trommel screens, swivel screens, and / or high-frequency screens. Mechanical screens can be configured or operated based on the composition and size distribution of the pulverized product stream (18) to be advantageous for separating the reduced fraction and the oversized fraction from each other. Screens can be provided to favor or maximize high purity or high yield of the oversized stream (24) (e.g., fiber components), or to favor other parameters related to the reduced stream (22) (e.g., binder components) and / or the oversized stream (24). Then, the reduced stream (22) and / or the oversized stream (24) may undergo further processing and recovery if desired.

[0252] In other embodiments, as described above, the fiber component can be separated from the binder component by utilizing density-based separation techniques such as magnetic density separation, magnetic float sinks, float sinks, gravity separation, and / or hydrocyclone separators. Alternatively, optical separation techniques such as laser separation or color-based separation can be utilized.

[0253] In some embodiments, for example, if the fiber-reinforced material contains a metal fiber component, the separation step (20) includes a magnetic separation step for isolating the fiber component. For example, some types of fiber-reinforced concrete may contain metal fibers that can be isolated from the crushed concrete binder component using magnetic separation.

[0254] In some embodiments, the non-fracturing material may contain small fragments that cannot be removed by mechanical screening (i.e., small metal particles homogenized with the crushed fractured material) or density separation. The separation step (20) may include a metal separation step upstream and / or downstream of the dynamic crushing step (16) and / or mechanical screening. When the non-fracturing material is embedded within the fractured material, for example, when a metal fastener is embedded in fiber-reinforced concrete, the dynamic crushing step (16) may release the non-fracturing material to enable separation during the downstream magnetic separation step (20). On the other hand, an upstream magnetic separation step may be required to remove large non-fracturing materials that could be damaged by the dynamic crusher, such as fasteners or straps for fiber-reinforced building materials. In some embodiments, the feedstock (10) undergoes an upstream metal separation step to substantially reduce any non-fracturing material in the feedstock (10).

[0255] In some embodiments, the separation step (20) and the grinding step (16) are coordinated so that one operation can influence the other. For example, the screen and the grinder are monitored and controlled via a controller (26) to achieve desired parameters, such as specific properties of the size-reduced stream (22) and / or the oversized stream (24). For example, if the grinder produces a larger size fraction in the ground stream (18) due to a change in the input feedstock, the screen can be controlled accordingly to favor a specific desired separation. Additionally, the dynamic grinder can be controlled, for example, by controlling the motor (28) to increase the rotational speed or by controlling the feed conveyor to decrease the feed speed, thereby bringing the size-reduced fraction back within the target range and facilitating the desired separation.

[0256] Inflow detector D I (30) and leak detector D O Monitoring instruments such as (32) can be provided to monitor the characteristics of the stream (e.g., size distribution, composition, moisture content, mass, and / or volumetric flow rate). Depending on the size-reduced product to be produced, the screen and dynamic grinder may be operated and designed in a specific way to produce a specific product, such as a final product with maximum size. Note that the screen design may be determined according to market demand to provide various size distributions of the size-reduced material.

[0257] In some embodiments, a conveyor system is used to transport various streams between stages to facilitate continuous operation, but other transport methods may also be used. Depending on the equipment and other factors, the process may be operated in a continuous, batch-fed, or other manner.

[0258] materials with a low softening temperature

[0259] With respect to the grinding result stream (18), in some embodiments, the grinding step (16) produces material ranging from less than 500 μm to about 1,600 μm. In some embodiments, at least 60%, at least 70%, or even more than 80% of the grinding result stream (18) passes through 35 US mesh (500 μm or 0.0197 inches). In some embodiments, at least 70%, at least 80%, at least 90%, or even 100% of the grinding result stream (18) passes through 3 or 4 US mesh (0.0630 inches or 1,600 μm).

[0260] fiber-reinforced materials

[0261] With respect to the grinding result stream (18), in some embodiments, the grinding step (16) produces material ranging from silt particles or dust-sized particles to larger particles, most of which (e.g., more than 50% or 50% to 70% or even more than 90%, 95% or 99%) passes through a 1 / 4-inch screen. For example, in some embodiments, 85% to 100% of the grinding result stream (18) may pass through a 6.3 mm (1 / 4-inch) screen, and more than 50% of the grinding result stream passes through a 3 mm screen. The oversized stream may contain flexible fibrous portions of the feedstock (i.e., soft material) and non-fracturing material, whereas the undersized stream often contains brittle, hard, and brittle ground fractured binder components.

[0262] Dynamic grinder

[0263] The dynamic grinder may have various structural and operational features. In some embodiments, the dynamic grinder may have one or more features as described in International Application PCT / CA2019 / 050967, which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0264] Now, referring to FIGS. 2 through 10, a grinder (50) according to one embodiment is illustrated. The grinder (50) is configured to receive input materials as described herein and to grind or subdivide the input materials.

[0265] The terms "grind," "grinding," "comminute," and "comminution" as used herein should be understood to mean the reduction of particle size within the input material.

[0266] In the illustrated embodiment, the grinder (50) comprises a base (52) and a housing (60) mounted on the base (52). Specifically, the housing (60) comprises a lower end (62) connected to the base (52) and an upper end (64) opposite the lower end (62). The housing (60) is hollow and includes a housing side wall (66) extending between the upper end and the lower end (64, 62) to define an internal chamber (68) where grinding occurs. Specifically, the housing (60) comprises an inlet (70) located at the upper end (64) for receiving input material and an outlet (72) located at the lower end (62) from which the ground material can be discharged when ground in the internal chamber (66).

[0267] In the embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 2 through 10, the crushed material may be discharged tangentially to the housing sidewall (66) through the outlet (72). It should be understood that the outlet (72) may be configured in a different way. For example, the outlet (72) may be located on the bottom surface of the housing (60), so that the crushed material may be discharged downward axially from the housing (60) (as illustrated in the alternative dynamic crusher (50') shown in FIG. 11). Alternatively, it should be understood that the outlet (72) may be positioned substantially toward the bottom end (62) but may not be positioned precisely at the bottom end (62) of the housing (60). Similarly, the inlet (70) may not be positioned precisely at the top end (64) of the housing (60) but may instead be positioned approximately toward the top end (64).

[0268] In the illustrated embodiment, the housing (60) is generally cylindrical and defines a central housing axis (H) extending between the upper end and the lower end (64, 62) of the housing (60). The housing (60) is configured such that the central housing axis (H) extends substantially vertically when the grinder (50) is in operation. In this configuration, the input material supplied to the inlet (70) ultimately tends to fall toward the outlet (72) by gravity.

[0269] In the illustrated embodiment, the airflow generator (100) comprises a crushing rotor assembly (102) disposed within an inner chamber (68) and a rotary actuator (104) operably coupled to the crushing rotor assembly (102) to rotate the crushing rotor assembly (102), thereby generating an airflow to lower, for example, the internal temperature of the dynamic crusher (50) to reduce or prevent softening of the thermoplastic resin present in the feedstock (10), and / or facilitate degassing, thereby optionally helping to remove / separate the fiber component from the binder component. Specifically, the grinding rotor assembly (102) includes a rotary shaft (106) located in an inner chamber (68) and extending along a central housing axis (H) between the upper end and the lower end (64, 62) of the housing (60), and a plurality of grinding rotors (108a, 108b, 108c) fixed to the rotary shaft (106) so as to rotate around the central housing axis (H) when the rotary shaft (106) is rotated.

[0270] Each grinding rotor (108a, 108b, 108c) includes a rotor hub (120) and a plurality of rotor arms (122) extending outwardly from the rotor hub (120) toward the housing sidewall (66). A rotary shaft (106) extends through the rotor hub (120), and the rotor arms (122) are positioned in a rotation plane (R) that extends orthogonally through the central housing axis (H). In this configuration, when the rotary shaft (106) is rotated, the rotor arms (122) are held in the rotation plane (R) and move along the rotation plane (R). Alternatively, instead of being positioned in the rotation plane, the rotor arms (122) may instead be tilted upward or downward relative to the rotary shaft (106). In another embodiment, the rotor arm (122) is instead rotatably connected to a rotary shaft (106) and can be selectively tilted upward and downward as desired, either manually or automatically, using one or more arm actuators.

[0271] In the illustrated embodiment, the plurality of airflow deflectors (200) comprises six deflectors (200) that are substantially similar to each other and are substantially uniformly spaced from each other in the azimuth direction with respect to the central housing axis (H) (i.e., along the circumference of the housing sidewall (66)). Alternatively, all deflectors (200) may not be similar to each other and may not be uniformly spaced from each other, and / or the grinder (50) may comprise more or fewer deflectors (202) than six. For example, the grinder (50) may comprise two to eight deflectors (200).

[0272] In the illustrated embodiment, each deflector (200) is elongated and extends substantially parallel to the housing axis (H). Specifically, since the housing (60) is positioned so that the central housing axis (H) extends substantially vertically, the deflector (200) also extends substantially vertically.

[0273] As best illustrated in FIGS. 6 through 8, each deflector (200) comprises an upper end (202) positioned toward the upper end (64) of the housing (60) and a lower end (204) positioned toward the lower end (62) of the housing (60). In the illustrated embodiment, each deflector (200) is positioned to intersect the rotation plane (R) of the upper grinding rotor (108a) and the rotation plane (R) of the intermediate grinding rotor (108c). More specifically, the upper end (202) of the deflector (200) is positioned above the upper grinding rotor (108a), while the lower end (204) of the deflector (200) is positioned below the intermediate grinding rotor (108c), and the deflector (200) extends continuously between the upper end and the lower end (202, 204).

[0274] It should be understood that due to the rotation of the rotor arm (122), the air inside the inner chamber (68) will move outward toward the housing side wall (66). In the above configuration, since the deflector (200) is aligned horizontally with the upper and middle grinding rotors (108a, 108c), the air will resist the deflector (200) and move outward by the upper and middle grinding rotors (108a, 108c) to form a vortex (V) deflected by the deflector (200), which is optimally illustrated in FIGS. 9 and FIGS. 10.

[0275] In the illustrated embodiment, each deflector (200) is generally wedge-shaped. Specifically, each deflector (200) has a generally triangular cross-section and includes a flow-direction deflector surface (206) facing the airflow when the rotary shaft (106) is rotated, and an opposite deflector surface (208) facing away from the airflow. The flow-direction deflector surface (206) and the opposite deflector surface (208) extend away from the housing sidewall (26) and converge toward each other to meet at a vertex (210) facing the housing center axis (H). The flow-direction deflector surface (206) is tilted at a first deflector angle (θ1) with respect to the inner surface (34) of the housing sidewall (26), and the opposite deflector surface (208) is tilted at a second deflector angle (θ2) with respect to the inner surface (74) of the housing sidewall (76).

[0276] In the illustrated embodiment, each deflector (200) is symmetric with respect to a symmetry axis (S) extending along the radius of the housing (60). In this embodiment, therefore, the first deflection angle (θ1) is substantially the same as the second deflection angle (θ2). In one embodiment, the first and second deflection angles (θ1, θ2) may be equal to about 1 to 89 degrees, more specifically about 30 to 60 degrees. Alternatively, the deflector (200) may not be symmetric, and the first and second deflection angles (θ1, θ2) may be different from each other.

[0277] In the illustrated embodiment, the apex (210) of each deflector (200) is spaced radially inward from the inner surface (74) of the housing sidewall by a radial distance of about 7 ¾ inches or about 20 cm. In the further illustrated embodiment, the apex (210) is spaced radially outward from the tip (130) of the rotor arm (122) by a radial distance of about ½ inch, or 1 cm, or about 2 inches, or 5 cm. In one embodiment, the radial distance or "gap space" between the tip (130) of the rotor arm (122) and the apex (210) can be selected so that a vortex (V) can be formed as desired when the rotary shaft (106) is rotated.

[0278] Alternatively, the deflector (200) may be made in a different shape and / or size. For example, the flow direction deflection surface (206) and the opposite deflection surface (208) may not be flat, but instead may be curved. In another embodiment, the deflector (200) may not include the opposite deflection surface (208). In yet another embodiment, the deflector (200) may not have a wedge shape, but instead have a rectangular cross-section, or may have any other shape and size that a person skilled in the art would consider suitable.

[0279] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of the vortex (V) generated in the inner chamber (68) when the grinder (50) is in operation.

[0280] During the operation of the grinder (10), the rotary shaft (106) rotates around the housing axis (H) and the rotor arm (122) forms a circular airflow that rotates around the housing axis (H). In the example illustrated in FIG. 10, the rotary shaft (106) rotates clockwise when viewed from above to form a counterclockwise airflow in the inner chamber (68).

[0281] The rotary shaft (106) may be rotated at a relatively high speed to provide a desired grinding effect in the grinder. In one embodiment, the rotary shaft (106) is rotated at a rotational speed of about 500 rpm to about 1200 rpm, more specifically at a rotational speed of about 700 rpm to about 1100 rpm or at a rotational speed of about 1000 rpm to about 1100 rpm. Alternatively, the rotary shaft (106) may be rotated at a different rotational speed to enable the formation of vortices as described below. As understood by those skilled in the art, the rotational speed of the rotary shaft (106) may be adjusted to produce a desired particle size of a reduced fraction and / or to prevent or reduce the reduction of ductile and / or non-fracturing materials in an oversized fraction.

[0282] The airflow generally travels along the inner surface (34) of the housing sidewall (66), but is interrupted by the flow direction deflection surface (206) of the deflector (200) which forms a vortex (V) in cooperation with the rotor arm (122) and, more specifically, the tip of the rotor arm (122). As shown in FIG. 10, the vortex (V) can be guided inward again toward the central housing axis (H) by an adjacent deflector (200').

[0283] Referring further to FIG. 10, each vortex (V) overlaps with at least one adjacent vortex (V1, V2) so that input material particles suspended in the vortex (V) collide with the input material particles suspended in the adjacent vortex or the vortex (V1, V2). More specifically, each created vortex (V) generally includes an outward moving portion (500) defined by an airflow circulating from the shaft (106) toward the housing sidewall (66) and an inward moving portion (502) defined by an airflow circulating from the housing sidewall (26) toward the shaft (106). As illustrated in FIG. 10, the outward movement portion (500) of each vortex (V) overlaps with the inward movement portion (502) of the first adjacent vortex (V1), and the inward movement portion (502) of each vortex overlaps with the outward movement portion (500) of the second adjacent vortex (V2).

[0284] In this configuration, therefore, an input material particle within the vortex collides with an input material particle moving at twice the speed of the particle movement within the vortex (V). For example, in one embodiment, the vortex (V, V1, V2) rotates at about one-third the speed of sound. When an input material particle from the first and second adjacent vortex (V1, V2) collides with an input material particle suspended in the vortex (V) moving at the same speed but in the opposite direction, the particles will collide with each other at about two-thirds the speed of sound.

[0285] In one embodiment, in addition to the collision of input material particles through the airflow and vortex (V), the input material may be further crushed by a rotor arm (122) that strikes the input material particles in the inner chamber (68) as the rotary shaft (106) rotates. In this embodiment, the combination of the effect of the input material particles striking each other in the superimposed vortex (V, V1, V2) and the effect of the rotor arm (122) striking the input material particles can increase the efficiency of the crusher. Furthermore, because the particles strike each other rather than the surface inside the housing (20) due to the superimposed vortex (V), wear on parts inside the housing (20) can be reduced.

[0286] The vortex (V) illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10 is simplified for ease of understanding, and it should be understood that in reality, the vortex (V) may not be exactly circular as illustrated or located exactly as shown in FIG. 10.

[0287] In the illustrated embodiment, the grinder (50) further comprises a plurality of shelves (300a, 300b) extending inwardly from the housing sidewall (26). Specifically, the plurality of shelves (300a, 300b) comprises an upper shelf (300a) and a lower shelf (300b) spaced downward from the upper shelf (300a). Each shelf (300a, 300b) extends circumferentially along the housing sidewall (26) around the housing axis (H). Therefore, it should be understood that the shelves extend substantially orthogonally to the deflector (200). Specifically, the deflector (200) can be said to extend axially with respect to the housing (60) as it extends generally parallel to the housing axis (H), whereas the shelves can be said to extend azimuthically with respect to the housing (60). In the illustrated embodiment, the deflector (200) is generally extended vertically, whereas each shelf (300a, 300b) is generally positioned on a horizontal plane and is generally extended horizontally.

[0288] In the illustrated embodiment, each shelf (300a, 300b) extends substantially continuously around the housing sidewall (66). Alternatively, the shelves (300a, 300b) may not extend continuously around the housing sidewall (66) and may instead include a plurality of shelf segments spaced apart from each other to define a gap between adjacent shelf segments.

[0289] In the illustrated embodiment, the upper shelf (300a) is substantially horizontally aligned with the upper grinding rotor (108a), and the lower shelf (300b) is substantially horizontally aligned with the middle grinding rotor (108c). Alternatively, each shelf (300a, 300b) may be located slightly below the corresponding grinding rotor (108a, 108c).

[0290] In the illustrated embodiment, each shelf (300a, 300b) includes an upper shelf surface (302) that extends downward from the housing sidewall (66). Specifically, since the shelves (300a, 300b) extend along the housing sidewall (66) around the housing axis (H), the upper shelf surface (302) is substantially conical. In the further illustrated embodiment, the upper shelf surface (302) is tilted relative to the housing sidewall (66) at an angle between about 1 degree, where the upper shelf surface (302) can be nearly flat relative to the housing sidewall (66), and about 89 degrees, where the upper shelf surface (302) can be nearly orthogonal to the housing axis (H). In one embodiment, the upper shelf surface (302) can be tilted relative to the housing sidewall (66) at an angle between 30 and 60 degrees.

[0291] The shelves (300a, 300b) are configured to deflect the airflow toward the shelves upward. This allows the input material particles to remain temporarily suspended above the shelves (300a, 300b). Therefore, the input material particles are subjected to the effect of the vortex for a longer period and can be crushed by impact with the rotor arm (122), which further reduces the size of the input material particles as they move downward toward the next rotor stage or toward the outlet (72).

[0292] The upward deflection of the airflow can further contribute to the vortex (V) within the inner chamber (68). More specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 9, the vortex (V) can rotate in a plane orthogonal to the housing axis (H) as illustrated in FIG. 10, i.e., upward-downward, in addition to rotating in a plane generally parallel to the housing axis. Therefore, the combined effect of the shelf (300a, 300b) and the deflector (200) contributes to forming a three-dimensional vortex (V), and accordingly, the air within the vortex (V) moves along a three-dimensional path, which can further promote collisions between adjacent and overlapping input material particles of the vortex (V).

[0293] With this configuration, the number of vortices (V) generated by the deflector (200) can be multiplied by the number of shelves (300a, 300b) in the housing (60). For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the grinder (50) includes 6 deflectors (200), which can form 6 vortices on each shelf (300a, 300b) to form a total of 12 vortices in the entire inner chamber (68).

[0294] The crusher can be designed and sized to handle feedstocks for one-pass processing. For example, the crusher can be sized to handle 5 to 20 tons or 10 to 15 tons per hour of a manufacturing waste stream containing a mixture of components as described above or a fiber reinforced material stream containing fiber components and binder components, and can operate as a one-pass unit at a rotational speed of 500 RPM to 1,200 RPM to produce one or more of the resulting size streams as described herein.

[0295] Now, referring to FIG. 11, a dynamic crusher (50') according to another embodiment is illustrated. The dynamic crusher (50') includes an inlet (70') for receiving a feedstock (10) and an outlet (72') for discharging a stream of crushed products (18). The dynamic crusher (50') includes a rotary shaft (106') and a plurality of rigid rotor arms (122)' extending radially from it to generate an airflow. The dynamic crusher includes an airflow deflector (200') that induces or channels the airflow to generate a vortex within the dynamic crusher (50'), causing self-collision to reduce the size of the feedstock (10).

[0296] In some embodiments, the inlet (70') may be modified or adjusted to accommodate the size of the feedstock (10). For example, if the feedstock (10) is manufacturing waste of an elongated shape, such as flooring boards or other building materials, the inlet (70') may include a hood (78') to send the feedstock (10) to a dynamic crusher (50').

[0297] In some embodiments, a feed conveyor (80') may be used to transfer the feed material (10) to a dynamic crusher (50'). For example, the feed conveyor (80') may transfer manufacturing waste directly from a manufacturing stage (13) where defective material is generated to a dynamic crushing stage (16). The feed conveyor (80') may be modified or adjusted to accommodate the size of the feed material (10). For example, if the manufacturing waste is a slender material such as flooring boards or other building materials, the feed conveyor (80') may be equipped with cleats (82') that prevent the material from sliding or slipping due to gravity. In some embodiments, the cleats (82') are spaced apart by a predetermined distance configured to fit the size of the defective material being fed as the manufacturing waste feed material (10). In the illustrated embodiment, the cleats (82') are spaced about 152 cm (60 inches) apart to accommodate larger manufacturing waste, such as a 36-inch × 48-inch elastic floor tile slab. However, it should be understood that any configuration of the cleat-type feeding conveyor (80') can be used to optimize the feeding operation for a specific type of feedstock (10) in which the dynamic crusher (50') is used.

[0298] In some embodiments, the feed conveyor (80') includes a nose (84') (i.e., a nose on the conveyor) to help the material move downward before entering the dynamic crusher (50').

[0299] In the illustrated embodiment, the outlet (72') is located at the bottom side of the dynamic crusher (50'), so that the crushed product stream (18) is discharged axially under the rotary shaft (106'). In some embodiments, an outflow conveyor (86') may be positioned below the outlet (72') or operably coupled to the outlet (72'). The outflow conveyor (86') may be configured to transport the crushed product material (18) to the screening stage (20), for example, to a mechanical screen or magnetic separator, or to transport it directly back to the manufacturing stage (13). Similarly, an additional conveyor may be provided from the screening side of the screening stage to transport the size-reduced stream (22) directly back to the manufacturing stage (13).

[0300] metal separation step

[0301] Now, referring to FIG. 12, in some embodiments, the process includes a metal or magnetic separation step (2000) upstream of a dynamic grinding step (16) to capture metal from a feedstock (10). The separated metal (2002) may be fed as scrap metal for resale, recycled, reintroduced into a manufacturing step (13), or discarded. In some embodiments, the magnetic separation step (2000) may include a non-ferrous metal separator for separating non-ferrous metals using magnets and / or permanent magnets for separating ferrous metals from the feedstock (10).

[0302] A metal reduction feedstock (2004) can be supplied to a dynamic grinding stage (16). A magnetic separator can be designed and operated to remove high-weight metals to reduce wear and damage to the dynamic grinder. For example, the magnetic separator can be provided based on the nominal size of the feedstock and the iron objects that may be desirable for removal. For example, the magnetic separator can be provided to ensure the removal of high-weight solid iron objects in a low overall volume. While some geometric structures, such as flat sheets, may have little effect on the operation of the dynamic grinder (50), other geometric structures, such as blocks, chunks, etc., may increase wear and damage, so the magnetic separator stage (2000) facilitates removal to improve downstream processing. The magnetic separator can be configured based on the size of the feedstock, the size of the iron objects, and the material loading depth. The magnetic separator can be actively controlled or simply powered on to enable separation. The magnetic separation step (2000) reduces the risk of wear and damage to the dynamic crushing step (16) and facilitates the recovery of scrap metal materials.

[0303] In some embodiments, the magnetic separation step (2000) may be downstream of the dynamic grinding step (16) to remove non-fracturing material from the grinding product stream (18), the size-reduced stream (22), and / or the oversized stream (24). For example, small metal fragments that cannot be separated from the size-reduced fraction by mechanical screening may be removed using the downstream magnetic separation step (2000). If the feedstock (10) contains non-fracturing material embedded in the fractured material, the non-fracturing metal material may be removed using the downstream magnetic separation step (2000). If the oversized stream (24) contains both the ductile material and the non-fracturing material, the non-fracturing material may be separated from the ductile material using the downstream magnetic separation step (2000). In some embodiments, the process may include upstream and downstream magnetic separation steps (2000).

[0304] The magnetic separation step (2000) may use various types of magnetic separators that can be selected based on the feedstock and throughput. For example, the magnetic separator may be a dry magnetic separator or a wet magnetic separator depending on the moisture content of the feedstock. The magnetic separator may have a magnetic field strength designed to remove target ferrous metal objects that may be problematic in the dynamic grinding step (16). The magnetic separator may also include permanent magnets and electromagnetic magnetic separators. The magnetic separator may also have various design and structural features, such as drum type, roller type, disc type, ring type, and belt type. The magnetic separator may also use a constant magnetic field, an alternating magnetic field, a pulsating magnetic field, or a rotating magnetic field depending on the design and configuration of the system and the feedstock. The magnet itself may be composed of various materials.

[0305] While magnetic separation is a preferred mechanism for removing metal from feedstock, there are various other metal removal methods that can be used instead of or in addition to magnetic separation. Additional metal removal steps may be designed to remove relatively heavy and thick non-ferrous metals with high gravitational density, for example, particularly metal debris. In some embodiments, a metal removal method (e.g., magnetic separation) is performed to remove all metal debris with an average diameter of 1 inch or more. Metal debris in the form of lumps or elongated shapes is removed, but metal debris having a flat sheet shape is selectively removed.

[0306] Now, referring to FIGS. 13 and FIGS. 14, two exemplary configurations for the magnetic separation step (2000) are illustrated. FIGS. 13 illustrates a belt magnetic separator (2006) comprising a self-cleaning magnetic belt (2008) on a conveyor (2010). The magnetic belt (2008) discharges ferrous metal into a storage container (2012). The magnetic belt (2008) may be mounted on a magnetic frame (2014) that crosses the conveyor (2010), such as a feed conveyor and / or an outfeed conveyor. FIGS. 14 illustrates an alternative configuration comprising a fixed magnet (2018) on a rail (2020) mounted on the conveyor (2010) and configured to move back and forth.

[0307] dust collection stage

[0308] Referring again to FIG. 12, this process may also include a downstream dust collection stage (3000) for recovering dust that is part of the pulverized product stream (18) coming from the dynamic pulverizing stage (16). The pulverized product stream (18) enters a dust control stage (3000), which recovers the dust stream (3002) and produces a dust-reduced pulverized stream (3004) that is supplied to the separation stage (20). The dust collection stage (3000) facilitates dust control and may include various units such as a sedimentation chamber, a baghouse, or a cyclone filtration unit.

[0309] Referring to FIG. 13, the dust collection step (3000) may include a dust collector (3006) coupled to the outlet of the dynamic grinding step (16) and may include a sedimentation chamber (3008) with a dust outlet (3010) positioned at the top. The dust outlet may be fluidly connected through a duct (3012) to a dust recovery unit (3014) including a baghouse or cyclone filtration unit (3016) having a dedicated motor (3018). The dust recovery unit (3014) may also include a dust recovery container (3020) that receives dust from the baghouse or cyclone filtration unit, for example, through a hopper.

[0310] The sedimentation chamber (3008) can receive all the resulting material from the dynamic grinding stage (16), receiving relatively fine particles that settle on the discharge conveyor (3022), and the fine particles are added to the converted material. While the fine particles settle on the discharge conveyor (3022), ultrafine dust particles accumulate and are withdrawn from the sedimentation through the dust outlet (3010). The sedimentation chamber (3008) can be extended along a portion or the entire length of the discharge conveyor (3022) depending on the process design and the target dust control level. Since the dynamic grinder may undergo vibration, the sedimentation chamber (3008) can communicate with the outlet of the dynamic grinder through a flexible tubular member.

[0311] The amount of dust in the grinding result stream (18) depends largely on the type and dryness of the feedstock supplied to the dynamic grinding step (16). For example, a high result conversion rate of about 30% was observed for some feedstocks. In some embodiments, the feedstock (10) may undergo a surface wetting pretreatment step to help increase the moisture content and reduce the amount of dust generated. After the moisture content of the feedstock (10) is increased, the grinding step reduces the moisture, so an additional dust collection step (3000) is required.

[0312] Note that the amount of material captured in the dust collector can be increased by adjusting the power and suction of the dust collection stage (3000). For example, the dust recovery unit (3014) can be controlled to provide the desired suction in the dust collector (3006). Therefore, the dust collection stage (3000) can be designed and operated as a tool for separating material discharged from the dynamic grinding stage (16), for example, as a tool for separating small, low-density, brittle material from large, or high-density, brittle material. In some embodiments, when processing defective materials generated in the elastic flooring manufacturing process, it may be desirable to isolate very fine powder (dust) through the dust collection stage (3000) and use the dust stream (3002) for a specific layer of the manufacturing process. Similarly, when processing shingle waste, it may be desirable to isolate smaller powder (size <595 to 250 microns or less than 250 microns), some of which is collected through a dust collection step (3000) and the dust collection stream (3002) can be used for an asphalt layer in a subsequent shingle manufacturing process or as an isolated and purified asphalt or asphalt limestone stream. Alternatively, it may be desirable to isolate small particles that may contain asphalt limestone from purified asphalt granules. In such an embodiment, asphalt limestone can be removed from purified asphalt granules using a dust collection step (or separation step). Additionally, it should be noted that the dust collector (3006) may pick up some soft materials, such as pieces of paper or plastic film, which are relatively light, and accordingly, these soft materials can be separated by either or both of the separation step (20) and the dust collection step (3000).

[0313] Referring again to FIG. 13, baghouse filtration or cyclone filtration (3016) traps finer and lighter material that can be stored in a container (3020). This finely recovered material (3024) can be added back to the converted result stream, disposed of, and / or maintained as a fine product for sale. The finely recovered material (3024) can be recycled back to one or more stages of the system. In some embodiments, the finely recovered material (3024) can be fed to a dust-reduced stream (3004) or a size-reduced stream (22), or maintained as a separate product stream that can be sold or mixed with other materials to provide commercial products. Note that the recovered dust can be processed, transported, and used in various ways, some of which are described herein.

[0314] Exemplary implementation example

[0315] High-quality vinyl tile flooring as a feedstock

[0316] In some embodiments, a dynamic grinding step (16) may be used in conjunction with the manufacture of high-grade vinyl tile (LVT) flooring. During the manufacturing step (13), a layer containing PVC, filler, and pigment is pressed with heat to form a wear layer, a core layer, a bottom layer, and a decorative layer. If the layer is improperly formed or the flooring is damaged in some other way, the LVT flooring may be separated into a stream of defective material. If the ground PVC and filler forming the defective LVT flooring are ground to a sufficiently small particle size, they may be used as part of the filler used in a subsequent manufacturing step (i.e., to form new LVT flooring). In some embodiments, up to 20% of the ground defective LVT material may be included as filler in the subsequent manufacturing process. In some embodiments, the particle size of the filler is less than about 1600 μm.

[0317] The manufactured LVT products can be pre-sorted to separate defective materials (such as tiles that are misshapen or damaged) from the manufactured products that are usable or sellable. Then, the sorted defective materials (manufacturing waste) can undergo a dynamic crushing step (16) to automatically or manually reduce the size of the crushed product stream (18) and produce it.

[0318] In some embodiments, the dynamic crusher (50) may be operated so that most of the manufacturing waste is reduced in size in a single pass. For example, the dynamic crusher may be operated at a rotor shaft speed of 750 rpm to 1025 rpm. In some embodiments, the rotor speed of the dynamic crusher (50) is optimized to provide a crushed product stream in which at least 80%, at least 90%, at least 95%, or at least 99% of the manufacturing waste is reduced in size to at least 2000 μm in a single pass. In some embodiments, the entire (100%) of the manufacturing waste is reduced in size to at least 1600 μm in a single pass (one pass). In some embodiments, the dynamic crusher may be operated at 975 rpm to crush LVT defective material, so that 100% of the crushed product stream (18) has a particle size of less than 1600 μm ( in other words, (Passed through a 1600 μm screen).

[0319] In some embodiments, when the dynamic grinder is optimized to grind 100% of the manufacturing waste, the grinding result stream (18) may be sent back to the manufacturing stage manually or automatically without passing through the separation stage (20). Alternatively, the grinding result stream (18) may then pass through the separation stage (20) to ensure that all materials introduced back into the manufacturing stage (13) have a sufficiently small particle size. When less than 100% of the feedstock is ground, the oversized fraction may be separated from the ground fraction to produce a size-reduced stream (22) and an oversized stream (24). In these embodiments, the oversized stream (24) may pass through the dynamic grinding stage again automatically or manually, and the size-reduced stream (22) may be sent back to the manufacturing stage manually or automatically.

[0320] In some embodiments, the dynamic crusher (50) may be operated so that the soft material embedded in the manufacturing waste can be separated from the brittle material. In some embodiments, the LVT flooring panel comprises a rigid core containing brittle PVC and filler, and a decorative layer covered with a thin PVC wear layer. When operated at a sufficiently fast speed, such as more than 925 rpm, the size of the decorative layer and / or wear layer can be reduced to less than 1600 μm. However, the dynamic crusher (50) may be operated so that the overall size of the rigid core is reduced, but the decorative layer and wear layer are reduced only partially. For example, the dynamic crusher (50) may be operated at a rotor shaft speed of 800 rpm to 900 rpm to reduce the size of the core layer while reducing the size of the decorative layer and wear layer by only partially. In other words, when an LVT flooring panel undergoes a dynamic grinding step (16) in which a dynamic grinder (50) is operated at 800 rpm to 900 rpm, the resulting grinding stream (18) comprises a soft fraction including a decorative layer and a wear layer, and a brittle fraction including a core layer. Then, the resulting grinding stream (18) may undergo a separation step (20) to separate the soft (oversized) fraction from the brittle fraction to produce a reduced-size stream (22) and an oversized stream (24). In other words, a portion of the decorative layer and the wear layer may be removed from the ground core layer. In some embodiments, removing the decorative layer and the wear layer may improve the quality of the reduced-size fraction that is reintroduced into the manufacturing process. Then, the reduced-size stream (22) may be sent back to the manufacturing step (13).

[0321] In some embodiments, the crushed product material (18) may undergo a dust collection step, wherein a fraction of the dust is selectively removed from the crushed product material (18). In the context of LVT flooring panels, the dust collected in the dust collection step is fine powder, which may be sent back individually to the manufacturing step (13), re-added to the crushed product material (18) or the size-reduced stream (22) before being added to the manufacturing step, or recycled for other purposes.

[0322] Stone polymer composite flooring as a feedstock

[0323] In some embodiments, the dynamic grinding step (16) may be used in conjunction with the manufacture of stone polymer composite (SPC) flooring, also referred to as solid polymer composite flooring. SPC flooring may be formed of a dense filler, a PVC layer, and an outer wear PVC layer. In some embodiments, up to 20% of the filler used in the manufacturing step (13) may be ground SPC flooring classified as defective material.

[0324] The SPC waste recycling process is similar to the process for recycling LVT waste. Defective materials generated during the manufacturing stage (13) for producing SPC flooring are optionally subjected to a dynamic crushing stage (16) to reduce the size of the manufacturing waste. For example, the dynamic crusher (50) can be operated at a rotor shaft speed of 925 rpm to 1025 rpm, or in some embodiments at a rotor shaft speed of 975 rpm, so that most of the SPC flooring is reduced in size in a single pass. In some embodiments, the rotor speed of the dynamic crusher (50) can be optimized to provide a crushed product stream (18) in which at least 60%, at least 70%, at least 75%, at least 80%, at least 85%, or at least 90% of the manufacturing waste is reduced in size to at least 750 μm in a single pass. In some embodiments, about 80% of the manufacturing waste is reduced in size to at least 500 μm in a single pass (one pass). In some embodiments, the dynamic grinder is operated at 975 rpm to grind the SPC defective material, so that 80% of the resulting grind stream (18) has a particle size of less than 500 μm (i.e., passes through a 500 μm screen after a single pass through the dynamic grinder). The oversized fraction can be separated from the ground fraction in the separation step (20) to produce a size-reduced stream (22) and an oversized stream (24). In these embodiments, the oversized stream (24) can be automatically or manually passed through the dynamic grinding step again.

[0325] In some embodiments, the dynamic grinder (50) may be operated, for example, at a rotational speed of about 800 rpm to 900 rpm, so that a portion of the oversized PVC wear layer of the SPC flooring may be selectively separated from the fractured core. Then, the grinding result stream (18) may undergo a separation step (20) to separate the soft (oversized) fraction from the fractured fraction to produce a size-reduced stream (22) and an oversized stream (24). Then, the size-reduced stream (22) may be sent back to the manufacturing step (13).

[0326] In some embodiments, the crushed product material (18) may undergo a dust collection step, wherein a fraction of the dust is selectively removed from the crushed product material (18). In the context of SPC flooring panels, the dust collected in the dust collection step is fine powder, which may be sent back individually to the manufacturing step (13), re-added to the crushed product material (18) or the size-reduced stream (22) before being added to the manufacturing step, or recycled for other purposes.

[0327] Asphalt shingles as a feedstock

[0328] In some embodiments, a dynamic grinding step (16) may be used in conjunction with the manufacture of asphalt shingles. The asphalt shingles may be formed with a flexible underlayer bonded to a fractured asphalt and mineral granule toplayer, thereby enabling the grinding step to enable the separation and recovery of asphalt granules and mineral granules from the flexible underlayer film or membrane. The flexible underlayer contains a chemical sealant that softens under solar heat to seal the shingles to the roof surface. The asphalt shingles may be sorted or unsorted and may be shingles of various sizes, ranging from ¼ inch to full size, such as 12 inches × 36 inches. In some embodiments, the asphalt shingles may be used shingles removed during demolition or roofing work, comprising a fiberglass or paper underlayer film bonded to the asphalt toplayer, and may optionally include used metal fasteners, such as roofing nails, embedded in the shingles. In some embodiments, a single stream feedstock may contain factory defects, such as deformed shingles that do not contain used fasteners.

[0329] In some embodiments, the asphalt shingles contain about 19% to 36% asphalt cement, about 8% to 40% mineral filler stabilizer (e.g., limestone, silica, or dolomite), and about 20% to 38% mineral granules bonded to a felt mat sublayer, typically composed of paper or fiberglass mat. In some embodiments, the asphalt shingles contain a chemical sealant that is activated by low levels of heat (e.g., solar heat on the roof).

[0330] The asphalt shingle recycling process may optionally include obtaining defective shingle material generated during the manufacturing step (13) of producing asphalt shingles, or this may be obtained or isolated from post-consumption waste such as a general waste stream or a construction and demolition debris stream. In some embodiments, the asphalt shingle waste stream may undergo a size reduction pretreatment step to produce a size reduction feedstock, for example, with a size of less than 3 / 8 inch. The asphalt shingle waste and / or size reduction feedstock may optionally undergo a dynamic grinding step (16) to grind the fractured asphalt while keeping the ductile underlayer substantially unshrinked. Specifically, the dynamic grinder grinds and homogenizes the more fractured asphalt components and separates the asphalt components from the less fractured mineral granules and the ductile plastic or fibrous underlayer.

[0331] If the feedstock (10) includes shingles, the feedstock (10) may further include a brittle material (e.g., metal fastener) that is not significantly reduced in size and may be separated from the material during a downstream separation step. In some embodiments, a specific size fraction of the crushed product stream (18) containing brittle components and / or soft components may be recirculated through a second dynamic crushing step (16). The second dynamic crushing step (16) may be a second dynamic crusher (50), or the crushed product stream (18) may be recirculated through the same dynamic crusher (50).

[0332] As described herein, a dynamic grinder induces collisions between materials within a vortex created by the dynamic grinder. Asphalt shingles typically contain about 19% to 36% asphalt cement, which can become a sticky, black, and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form when heated. Conventional methods of grinding asphalt shingles generate heat, which can cause the asphalt and / or chemical sealant to form a sticky and viscous semi-solid, thereby degrading the function of the grinder and / or the quality of the final product. However, when the asphalt shingles undergo a dynamic grinding step, the shingles undergo collisions between materials within a vortex that essentially has an airflow that reduces the heat generated from the collisions between materials. In some embodiments, the dynamic grinding step (16) is about 15 to 20 seconds for a given material, before which the material is discharged through a lower outlet, resulting in significantly less heat generation. The resulting grinding product stream (18) comprises a ground fractured material (i.e., a micronized or nanosized and homogenized unheated or cooled asphalt product) separated from an oversized soft material (i.e., paper or fiberglass underlayer), and optionally, when the feedstock (10) includes a fractured material (i.e., metal fasteners or other impurities) when the feedstock (10) includes used asphalt shingles.

[0333] In some embodiments, the dynamic crushing step (16) may be used in a process for separating and extracting raw materials from residential roofing products, such as asphalt shingles, such as the processes described, for example, in U.S. Patents No. 8,919,681, No. 9,156,035, and No. 9,440,239, all of which are incorporated herein by reference. In some embodiments, the dynamic crusher (50) as described herein may replace one or more of the size reduction steps in these processes. For example, the dynamic crushing step (16) described herein may be used to mechanically reduce the size of residential roofing products to produce shredded products and / or chip products, while leaving the soft underlayer as an oversized fraction.

[0334] In some embodiments, the dynamic crusher (50) is operated so that most of the asphalt and mineral top layer is reduced in size to less than about 2380 microns, less than about 595 microns, or less than about 250 microns in a single pass. In some embodiments, the rotor speed of the dynamic crusher (50) may be optimized so that in a single pass, at least 60%, at least 70%, at least 75%, at least 80%, at least 85%, or at least 90% of the shingle waste stream provides a crushed product stream (18) reduced in size to 2380 microns or less or 595 microns or less. In some embodiments, about 80% of the shingle waste stream is reduced in size to about 2380 microns or less, less than about 595 microns, or less than about 250 microns in a single pass (one pass).

[0335] During the separation step (20), the oversized fraction originating from the shingle underlayer can be separated from the crushed fraction originating from the asphalt and mineral upper layer to produce a size-reduced stream (22) and an oversized stream (24). In some embodiments, the oversized stream (24) may undergo a dynamic crushing step again, either automatically or manually, to remove any additional brittle material from the ductile underlayer.

[0336] In some embodiments, the separation step (20) may include one or more subsequent separation steps for further separating different components of the size-reduced stream (22) and / or the oversized stream (24). For example, after the soft lower layer and the brittle upper layer are separated into the oversized stream (24) and the undersized stream (22), respectively, the undersized stream (22) may undergo an additional separation step (20) to separate granular asphalt from powdered asphalt limestone to produce a refined or partially refined asphalt stream and an asphalt limestone stream. By processing the asphalt shingles in a dry process (in contrast to adding moisture to control the heat and melting of the asphalt), the resulting stream (18) produced in the dynamic grinding step (16) can efficiently convert the asphalt into clean granular asphalt with minimal contamination from other minerals such as limestone, which can then be used manually or automatically in a subsequent shingle manufacturing process. In some embodiments, to prevent the chemical sealant from causing aggregation during asphalt shingle post-treatment (i.e., after the dynamic grinding step), the separated granular asphalt component is included directly in the manufacturing process. In some embodiments, a separation step (20), which may include known chemical separation techniques, density separation, size-based separation, etc., is performed immediately after the dynamic grinding step (e.g., along a conveyor line connected in line with the outlet of the dynamic grinder).

[0337] In some embodiments, the crushed product stream (18) and / or the sub-size stream (22) containing asphalt granules may undergo a density-based separation step (20) to separate the asphalt components from other minerals. Then, the purified stream may be used in the production of petroleum products, road construction, etc., in the manufacturing process for shingles or other types of products.

[0338] In some embodiments, the dynamic grinder (50) may be operated to grind a portion of the asphalt component into a powder size (e.g., 595 microns to 250 microns or less than 250 microns), which may contain refined asphalt or asphalt limestone in a high concentration (e.g., more than 60%, more than 70%, more than 80%, more than 90%, more than 95%, or even more than 99%), which may be used as conventional asphalt to produce petroleum products, roads, etc., or as a filler. The remainder of the asphalt is granular in size (e.g., about 2380 microns to 595 microns, or about 1000 microns to 595 microns, or about 595 microns to 250 microns), which may be refined asphalt (clean particles) and may be used to produce new asphalt shingles. In some embodiments, the dynamic grinder is operated at rotational speeds of 850 rpm, 800 rpm, 750 rpm, 700 rpm, 650 rpm or less. In some embodiments, the dynamic grinder may be operated at speeds exceeding about 850 rpm, 900 rpm, 950 rpm, or higher to reduce the size of asphalt granules and powdered asphalt.

[0339] In some embodiments, the shingle waste feedstock undergoes a size reduction pretreatment (upstream) step to reduce the feedstock to about 3 / 8 inch or less. The size-reduced feedstock may optionally undergo an upstream magnetic separation step before undergoing a dynamic grinding step (16) to produce a grinding result stream (18). The grinding result stream (18) undergoes a separation step (20) using a mechanical screen to produce an under-stream (22) containing asphalt granules and other minerals such as limestone, sand, etc., and an over-stream (24) containing fiberglass, organic matter, or other types of support materials.

[0340] In some embodiments, one or more secondary separation steps using dust collection may be performed on the undersized stream (22) to isolate, for example, a refined stream of powdered asphalt or asphalt limestone. In some embodiments, the undersized stream (22) undergoes one or more secondary screening steps based on density or size to isolate the asphalt components, for example, as an oversized stream, from other minerals present in the upper layer of the shingle.

[0341] The undersized stream (22) of the first separation stage and / or the oversized stream of the second separation stage can be immediately sent to a manufacturing stage for producing asphalt shingles. In some embodiments, sand is mixed with the undersized stream (22) of the first separation stage and / or the oversized stream of the second separation stage to prevent aggregation after dynamic grinding.

[0342] experiment

[0343] Example 1 ― LVT flooring slab

[0344] After the manufacturing stage, defective LVT flooring slabs measuring approximately 36 inches × 48 inches were separated from properly formed LVT flooring slabs as defective material. The defective LVT flooring slabs were fed to a dynamic grinder via a cleat-type conveyor belt. The dynamic grinder operated at a shaft speed of 975 rpm. The grinding product stream passed through a dust collection stage at the outlet to produce a dust fraction and a dust-depleted grinding product stream. The dust-reduced grinding product stream passed through a separation stage with a 1600 μm mechanical screen. After one pass through the dynamic grinder ("one-pass dynamic grinding stage"), 100% of the dust-reduced grinding product stream passed through the 1600 μm screen. Then, the filtered dust-reduced grinding product stream, with particle sizes smaller than 1600 μm, was reintroduced into the manufacturing stage as filler for subsequently produced LVT flooring tiles, boards, or slabs. In other words, 100% of the defective LVT flooring slabs were crushed for subsequent LVT flooring components and reintroduced into the manufacturing process.

[0345] Example 2 ― LVT flooring slab

[0346] After the manufacturing stage, defective LVT flooring slabs measuring approximately 36 inches × 48 inches were separated from properly formed LVT slabs as defective material. The defective LVT flooring slabs were fed to a dynamic crusher via a cleat-type conveyor belt. The dynamic crusher was operated at a shaft speed of 900 rpm. The resulting crushed stream was collected from the outlet of the dynamic crusher and filtered through a 1600 μm screen to selectively isolate parts of the decorative layer and the wear layer.

[0347] Example 3 ― SPC flooring slab

[0348] After the manufacturing stage, a defective SPC flooring slab measuring approximately 36 inches × 48 inches was separated from the properly formed SPC flooring slab as defective material. The defective SPC flooring slab was fed to a dynamic grinder via a cleat-type conveyor belt. The dynamic grinder was operated at a shaft speed of 975 rpm. Referring now to FIG. 16, the grinding product stream passed through a dust collection stage at the outlet to produce a dust fraction (402) and a dust-depleted grinding product stream (404). The dust-reduced grinding product stream (404) passed through a separation stage with a 500 μm mechanical screen. After one pass through the dynamic grinder ("one-pass dynamic grinding stage"), 80% of the dust-reduced grinding product stream (404) passed through the 500 μm screen. Then, the filtered dust-reducing pulverized product stream (404) with a particle size of less than 500 μm was reintroduced into the manufacturing stage as a filler for subsequently produced SPC floor tiles.

[0349] Example 4 ― SPC flooring slab

[0350] After the manufacturing stage, a defective SPC flooring slab, approximately 36 inches × 48 inches in size, was separated from the properly formed SPC slab as defective material. The defective SPC flooring slab was fed to a dynamic crusher via a cleat-type conveyor belt. The dynamic crusher was operated at a shaft speed of 900 rpm. Now, referring to FIG. 17, the crushed product stream underwent a dust collection stage at the outlet to produce a dust fraction (502) and a dust-reduced crushed product stream (504). As can be seen, the dust-reduced crushed product stream (504) contains a portion of the decorative layer and the wear layer that has not been reduced in size to less than 500 μm. The crushed product stream can undergo a separation stage by screening using a 500 μm screen to produce a reduced-size stream suitable for reintegration as a filler in the manufacturing stage and an oversized stream containing the decorative layer and the wear layer.

[0351] Example 5 ― Asphalt shingles

[0352] Three types of asphalt shingles underwent a dynamic grinding step using the dynamic grinders described herein. Sample 1 included full-size DYNASTY™ shingles, Sample 2 included Lincoln Young™ shingles ground and processed to a particle size of less than 3 / 8 inch using a ROTO-CHOPPER™, and Sample 3 included a 3E shredder and 3 2 It included IKO HY™ factory defective products with a size of less than 4 inches, partially reduced in size using a Schutte-Buffalo™ hammer mill equipped with an inch hammer and a 2-inch spaced grid. Three samples underwent a dynamic grinding step at 850 rpm and / or 950 rpm, and the resulting grinding products were subjected to several separation steps using screens with mesh sizes of 8 (2380 microns), 20 (841 microns), 30 (595 microns), 40 (400 microns), 50 (297 microns), 60 (250 microns), 80 (177 microns), 100 (149 microns), and 200 (74 microns) to determine the size at which clean asphalt particles are contaminated with asphalt limestone powder. The resulting grinding products were visually inspected, and the results are shown in FIGS. 18 to 20. A dust collection step was also performed after the dynamic grinding step. In all samples, 100% of the dust fraction isolated from the dust collection stage passes through a 60 mesh screen (i.e., size less than 250 microns).

[0353] Now, referring to Fig. 18, Sample 1 underwent a dynamic grinding step at 850 rpm. As can be seen, when the shingles did not undergo a size reduction pretreatment step, the material passing through a 60 mesh screen (250 microns or less) contained asphalt limestone and powdered fiberglass. The dust fraction isolated from the dust collection step also included a portion of the fiberglass support.

[0354] Now, referring to Fig. 19, Sample 1 underwent a dynamic grinding step at 950 rpm. As can be seen, when the shingles did not undergo a size reduction pretreatment step, the samples that did not pass through the 8-mesh screen (greater than 2380 microns) contained larger pieces of the flexible support material (fiberglass). The materials that passed through the 60-mesh screen (less than 250 microns) contained asphalt limestone and powdered fiberglass. The dust fraction isolated from the dust collection step also included parts of the fiberglass support.

[0355] Now, referring to FIG. 20, Sample 2 underwent a dynamic grinding step at 850 rpm. As can be seen, when the shingles underwent the size reduction pretreatment step, the material passing through the 60 mesh screen (250 microns or less) contained asphalt limestone and powdered fiberglass; however, the material passing through the 8 mesh screen but not the 30 mesh screen (i.e., particle size 2380 microns to 595 microns) and the material passing through the 30 mesh screen but not the 60 mesh screen (i.e., particle size 595 microns to 250 microns) appear to have clear asphalt granules with minimal contamination by limestone. Thus, it was observed that when the feedstock underwent a size reduction pretreatment step (less than 3 / 8 inch) prior to the dynamic grinding step, the dynamic grinding step produced a higher concentration of refined asphalt granules.

[0356] Example 6 - Wind turbine blade

[0357] Now, referring to FIGS. 21a through 23e, a wind turbine blade containing high-strength fiberglass was obtained after the end of its service life and treated to isolate the fiber component from the binder component.

[0358] Referring specifically to FIGS. 21a through 21e, wind turbine blades were subjected to a single size reduction pretreatment step using a grinder to produce 4,600 pounds of one-time pre-crushed feedstock (1600) ( FIG. 21a and FIG. 21b). The one-time pre-crushed feedstock (1600) had various dimensions as shown in FIG. 21b.

[0359] 2,140 pounds (1.07 tons) of one-time pre-crushed feedstock (1600) was subjected to a dynamic grinding stage at 950 RPM for a runtime of 6 minutes and 54 seconds to produce a grinding product stream (1602). The total throughput was 9.3 tons per hour (tph). The grinding product stream (1602) produced in the first dynamic grinding stage (Fig. 21c) was subjected to a dust collection stage to produce a dust fraction. The dust reduction stream was subjected to a separation stage using a ¼-inch mechanical screen (Figs. 21d and 21e) to produce a small size stream (1604) of less than ¼ inch and a large size stream (1606) of more than ¼ inch.

[0360] Referring specifically to FIGS. 22a through 22i, 2,460 pounds (1.23 tons) of one-time pre-crushed feedstock (1600) was subjected to a second size reduction pretreatment step using a grinder to produce a twice-crushed feedstock (1700) (Figs. 22a and 22b). The twice-crushed feedstock (1700) was subjected to a dynamic grinding step at 950 RPM for a runtime of 7 minutes and 4 seconds. The total throughput was 10.4 tons per hour (tph). The grinding product stream (1702) (Fig. 22c) produced in the first dynamic grinding step was subjected to a dust collection step to produce a dust fraction (1708a) (Fig. 22h). The dust fraction (1708a) was filtered through a separation step using a 0.45 mm (0.018 inch) screen to produce a dust fraction (1708b).

[0361] The crushed product stream (1702) (Fig. 22c) underwent a separation step using a 6.35 mm (0.25 inch) mechanical screen to produce a small size stream (1704) and an oversize stream (not shown) of less than 6.35 mm. The small size stream (1704) underwent a second separation step using a 0.9 mm (0.35 inch) mechanical screen to produce a second small size stream (1710). The second small size stream (1710) underwent a third separation step using a 0.45 mm (0.018 inch) mechanical screen to produce a third small size stream (1712). The third small size stream (1712) underwent a fourth separation step using a 250 mesh (0.061 mm or 0.0024 inch) mechanical screen to produce a fourth small size stream (1714).

[0362] Referring specifically to FIGS. 23a through 23e, ¼ of the grinding product stream (1702) (Fig. 22c) generated in the first dynamic grinding step was subjected to a second dynamic grinding step for a duration of 1 minute and 45 seconds at 950 RPM. The grinding product stream (1802) of the second dynamic grinding step was subjected to a second dust collection step to produce a dust fraction. The second dust collection step contained a dust fraction of a similar volume isolated from only ¼ of the feedstock that had passed through the second dynamic grinding step, which was equal to the volume of the dust fraction collected during the first dust collection step. Thus, it was observed that the second dynamic grinding step produced approximately 4 times more dust fraction than the first dynamic grinding step.

[0363] The crushed product stream (1802) underwent a separation step using a 6.35 mm (0.25 inch) mechanical screen to produce an undersized stream (1804) and an oversized stream (1806) of less than 6.35 mm. The undersized stream (1804) underwent a second separation step using a 0.9 mm (0.35 inch) mechanical screen to produce a second undersized stream (1808) and a second oversized stream (1810). The second undersized stream (1808) underwent a third separation step using a 0.45 mm (0.018 inch) mechanical screen to produce a third undersized stream (1812) and a third oversized stream (1814). The third undersized stream (1812) was subjected to a fourth separation step using a 250 mesh (0.061 mm or 0.0024 inch) mechanical screen to produce a fourth undersized stream (1816) and a fourth oversized stream (1818).

[0364] Based on visual observation, there is a theory that 80% to 95% of the second undersized stream (1808) is a crushed binder component, and more than 99% of the third undersized stream (1812) is a crushed binder component.

[0365] Example 7 - Hardie ™ siding

[0366] Now, referring to FIGS. 24a through 28e, Hardie™ siding boards were obtained at the end of their service life to form fiber-reinforced feedstock. Hardie™ siding boards consisted of fiber-reinforced concrete. The Hardie™ siding boards underwent a manual sorting step, in which large pieces of non-fracturing material were manually sorted from the fiber-reinforced feedstock (Fig. 24b) to produce a sorted stream (Fig. 24a). The sorted stream underwent a size reduction pretreatment step to produce a small-sized stream having a size of less than about 10 inches (Figs. 24c and 24d).

[0367] A 6-pound undersized stream produced a first pulverized material through a dynamic grinding stage in which a dynamic grinder operating at 800 RPM was reduced to 750 RPM and further reduced to 700 RPM (Figs. 25a and 25b). A 4-pound undersized stream produced a second pulverized material through a dynamic grinding stage using a dynamic grinder operating at 600 RPM (Figs. 26a and 26b). The duration of the operation time from 800 RPM to 700 RPM was 12 minutes and 10 seconds, and the operation time at 600 RPM was 5 minutes and 8 seconds.

[0368] Now, referring to FIGS. 27a through 27d, the first crushed material underwent several sequential separation steps using 6.3 mm, 3 mm, and 0.9 mm mechanical screens, respectively. Now, referring to FIGS. 28a through 28d, the second crushed material underwent several sequential separation steps using 6.3 mm, 3 mm, and 0.9 mm mechanical screens, respectively. The resulting size reduction fraction of the crushed material is shown in Table 1.

[0369] [Table 1]

[0370]

[0371] While the foregoing description provides examples of embodiments, it will be understood that some features and / or functions of the described embodiments may be modified without departing from the spirit and principles of operation of the described embodiments. Accordingly, the foregoing description is illustrative and non-limiting, and those skilled in the art will understand that other variations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

Claim 1 A waste treatment method comprising: a step of providing a waste stream; a step of causing the waste stream to undergo a dynamic crushing step—the waste stream being supplied to a dynamic crusher and undergoing self-collision created by a vortex within the dynamic crusher to produce a crushed material including a size-reduced fraction—; a step of withdrawing the crushed material from the dynamic crusher; and a step of supplying the size-reduced fraction to a manufacturing process. Claim 2 A waste treatment method according to claim 1, wherein the waste stream comprises at least a portion of a material having a melting point or softening temperature of 130°C or less, 100°C or less, 90°C or less, or 80°C or less. Claim 3 A waste treatment method according to paragraph 2, wherein at least a portion of the material has a concentration of at least 10%, at least 20%, or at least 50% of the waste stream. Claim 4 A waste treatment method according to paragraph 2 or 3, wherein at least a portion of the material is a thermoplastic resin. Claim 5 A waste treatment method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the waste is manufacturing waste generated in a first manufacturing process. Claim 6 A waste treatment method according to claim 5, wherein the step of supplying the size-reduced fraction to the manufacturing process is the step of supplying the size-reduced fraction to the first manufacturing process. Claim 7 A waste treatment method according to claim 5, wherein the step of supplying the size-reduced fraction to the manufacturing process is the step of supplying the size-reduced fraction to a second manufacturing process. Claim 8 A waste treatment method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising the step of generating a size-reduced stream and an oversized stream through a separation step of the crushed material, wherein the size-reduced stream is provided to the manufacturing process. Claim 9 A waste treatment method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the dynamic crusher is operated at a rotational speed of less than 925 RPM, or the rotational speed is 800 RPM to 900 RPM. Claim 10 A waste treatment method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the dynamic crusher is operated at a rotational speed of more than 925 RPM. Claim 11 A waste treatment method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the dynamic crushing step is a one-pass dynamic crushing step. Claim 12 A waste treatment method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein at least 80% of the waste stream is reduced in size to 1600 μm or less, or the entire waste stream is reduced in size to 1600 μm or less. Claim 13 A waste treatment method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein at least 60% of the waste stream is reduced in size to 500 μm or less, or at least 80% of the waste stream is reduced in size to 500 μm or less. Claim 14 A waste treatment method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the waste stream comprises defective materials generated in a flooring manufacturing process. Claim 15 In Clause 14, the above floor material manufacturing process is an elastic floor manufacturing process, a waste disposal method. Claim 16 A waste disposal method according to claim 15, wherein the elastic floor manufacturing process includes a step of manufacturing a high-grade vinyl tile flooring (LVT), or the elastic floor manufacturing process includes a step of manufacturing a stone polymer composite (SPC). Claim 17 A waste disposal method according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the elastic floor manufacturing process comprises the step of manufacturing a product having at least two layers each comprising different materials. Claim 18 A waste treatment method according to any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein the dynamic crusher is configured to generate an airflow that lowers the internal temperature in the housing of the dynamic crusher, and the dynamic crusher is operated such that the internal temperature does not exceed 105°C or 93°C. Claim 19 A waste treatment system comprising: a dynamic crusher configured to receive and treat a waste stream to produce a crushed stream—the dynamic crusher being configured to generate an airflow that lowers the internal temperature in the housing of the dynamic crusher—; and a feed conveyor configured to transport the waste stream to the dynamic crusher, wherein the waste stream comprises at least a portion of a material having a melting point or softening temperature of 130°C or lower. Claim 20 A method for recycling manufacturing waste, comprising the steps of: providing a feedstock containing a manufacturing defect generated in a manufacturing process, wherein the manufacturing defect comprises at least a portion of a material having a melting point or softening temperature of 130°C or lower; causing the feedstock to undergo a dynamic crushing step, wherein the feedstock is supplied to a dynamic crusher and generates a crushed material through self-collision created by a vortex within the dynamic crusher; withdrawing the crushed material from the dynamic crusher; and supplying the crushed material to the manufacturing process.

Images