Kinetic pulverizer system for treating high abrasion and / or high impact materials and methods thereof

Abstract

Processing high abrasion and / or high impact using a pulverizer can significantly reduce the wear life of the internal surfaces and / or components. There is provided herein a pulverizer with various features that reduce or prevent wear on the internal surfaces and / or components, or otherwise increase the wear life of the internal components and thus increase the wear life of the pulverizer. There is also provided various processes of categorizing an abrasion and / or impact level of the feedstock and providing a pulverizer with optimized features to reduce or prevent wear on the internal surfaces and / or components. The pulverizer can include a housing liner that includes liner panels independently detachable from the housing and can be formed of and / or coated in a high wear and / or high impact reinforcing material to optimize the wear life of that component depending on the abrasion and / or impact nature of the feedstock.

Description

[0001] KINETIC PULVERIZER SYSTEM FOR TREATING HIGH ABRASION AND / OR HIGH IMPACT MATERIALS AND METHODS THEREOF

[0002] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

[0003] The present application claims priority from Canadian Patent Application No. 3,239,951 , filed on May 30, 2024 and entitled “KINETIC PULVERIZER SYSTEM FOR TREATING HIGH ABRASION AND / OR HIGH IMPACT MATERIALS AND METHODS THEREOF”, the specification of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

[0004] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0005] The technical field generally relates to kinetic pulverizers and methods of processing materials for size reduction and / or to separate two or more of the raw materials from each other. More specifically, the technical field generally relates to kinetic pulverizers and methods of processing high abrasion and / or high impact materials.

[0006] BACKGROUND

[0007] Abrasive materials, such as glass, are used in a variety of materials and applications. Recycling or placing the materials in a form for reuse often requires that the materials be size reduced, for example so that the different raw materials of the feedstock materials can be separated from each other. To effectively size reduce these materials, various size reduction equipment, such as a ball mill, hammer mill, grinders, crushers, etc. can be used to cause impacts on the material, thus size reducing the input material. However, the nature of the material can cause damage, wear, and / or removal of surface materials as the material grinds, impacts, and / or rubs against the internal components of the size reduction machine. Damage to the internal components of the machine can require a replacement of some or all of the internal components, which can be costly and results in an interruption to the process.

[0008] Accordingly, there are various challenges associated with the current treatments of high abrasion and / or high impact materials.

[0009] SUMMARY According to one aspect, there is provided a pulverizer for processing a feedstock, the pulverizer comprising: a housing comprising a top end, a bottom end, a sidewall extending between the top end and the bottom end, wherein the sidewall has an inner face defining an interior chamber of the housing, an inlet located in or near the top end for receiving a feedstock to comminute, and an outlet located in or near the bottom end for discharging a pulverized output stream from the housing; an airflow generator comprising a rotatable shaft rotatably mounted in the interior chamber of the pulverizer and at least one pulverizing rotor coupled to the rotatable shaft, the at least one pulverizing rotor comprising a rotor hub and a plurality of rotor arms extending outwardly from the rotor hub and towards the sidewall; and a housing liner comprising a plurality of liner panels being removably coupled to an inner surface of the housing or an internal component of the airflow generator and detachable therefrom independently from adjacent housing liner panels; wherein each of the plurality of liner panels are reinforced with or formed of a reinforcement material according to an abrasion level and / or an impact level of the feedstock.

[0010] In some implementations, each of the plurality of liner panels are detachable from the inner surface of the housing or the internal component of the airflow generator independently from adjacent ones of the plurality of liner panels.

[0011] In some implementations, the plurality of liner panels comprise a plurality of floor liner panels configured to extend over and cover an inner surface of the bottom end.

[0012] In some implementations, the plurality of floor liner panels are comprised of mild steel, steel alloys, cast iron, and / or S7 tool grade steel.

[0013] In some implementations, the plurality of floor liner panels are comprised of hardened steel.

[0014] In some implementations, the hardened steel is at least AR500 or HX500.

[0015] In some implementations, the plurality of floor liner panels are provided with a floor liner panel overlay.

[0016] In some implementations, the floor liner panel overlay comprises a chromium carbide overlay, a tungsten carbide overlay, a chromium-tungsten carbide overlay, a titanium carbide overlay, a nano carbide overlay, a reaction bonded silicon carbide overlay, a sintered silicon carbide overlay, a zirconia aluminia ceramic overlay, an aluminia ceramic overlay, and / or a ceramic putty overlay.

[0017] In some implementations, the plurality of floor liner panels comprise at least one edge with a shape that engages or abuts with a corresponding shape on an adjacent one of the plurality of floor liner panels.

[0018] In some implementations, the plurality of floor liner panels are configured to continuously cover the inner surface of the bottom end from a discharge sidewall of the bottom end to a rotational coupling of the rotatable shaft.

[0019] In some implementations, the plurality of liner panels comprise a plurality of discharge chamber liner panels configured to extend over and cover a discharge sidewall of the bottom end.

[0020] In some implementations, a radial outward side of the plurality of floor liner panels and a lower side of the discharge chamber liner panels engage or abut each other without a gap therebetween.

[0021] In some implementations, the plurality of discharge chamber liner panels are comprised of plastic.

[0022] In some implementations, the plastic comprises HDPE, thermoplastic resins or nylons, urethan polyurethan, and / or LIHMV.

[0023] In some implementations, the plurality of discharge chamber liner panels are provided with a discharge chamber liner overlay.

[0024] In some implementations, the discharge chamber liner overlay comprises a chromium carbide overlay, a tungsten carbide overlay, a chromium-tungsten carbide overlay, a titanium carbide overlay, a nano carbide overlay, a reaction bonded silicon carbide overlay, a sintered silicon carbide overlay, a zirconia aluminia ceramic overlay, an aluminia ceramic overlay, and / or a ceramic putty overlay.

[0025] In some implementations, the plurality of liner panels comprise a plurality of ceiling liner panel configured to extend over and cover an inner surface of the top end. In some implementations, the plurality of ceiling liner panels are comprised of hardened steel.

[0026] In some implementations, the hardened steel is AR400.

[0027] In some implementations, the plurality of ceiling liner panels comprise at least one edge with a shape that engages or abuts with a corresponding shape on an adjacent one of the plurality of ceiling liner panels.

[0028] In some implementations, the plurality of liner panels comprise a plurality of sidewall liner panels configured to at least partially extend over and cover the inner face of the sidewall.

[0029] In some implementations, an upper side of the plurality of sidewall liner panels and a radial outward edge of the plurality of ceiling liner panels engage or abut each other without a gap therebetween.

[0030] In some implementations, the plurality of sidewall liner panels are comprised of plastic.

[0031] In some implementations, the plastic comprises HDPE, thermoplastic resins or nylons, urethan polyurethan, and / or LIHMV.

[0032] In some implementations, the plurality of liner panels comprise a plurality of hub liner panels configured to extend over and cover a top surface and / or a bottom surface of the rotor hub.

[0033] In some implementations, the plurality of hub liner panels are comprised of steel alloys.

[0034] In some implementations, the plurality of hub liner panels are comprised of hardened steel.

[0035] In some implementations, the hardened steel is at least AR500 or HX500.

[0036] In some implementations, the plurality of hub liner panels are provided with a hub liner panel overlay.

[0037] In some implementations, the hub liner panel overlay comprises a chromium carbide overlay, a reaction bonded silicon carbide overlay, a sintered silicon carbide overlay, a zirconia aluminia ceramic overlay, an aluminia ceramic overlay, and / or a ceramic putty overlay. In some implementations, the pulverizer further comprises at least one airflow deflector extending inwardly into the interior chamber from the inner face of the sidewall, the at least one airflow deflector having a flow facing deflecting surface that faces towards the airflow and an opposite deflecting surface that faces away from the airflow, and wherein the flow facing deflecting surface and the opposite deflecting surface extend away from the inner face of the sidewall and converge with each other at an apex.

[0038] In some implementations, the plurality of liner panels comprise a plurality of deflector liner panels configured to extend over and cover the at least one airflow deflector.

[0039] In some implementations, the plurality of deflector liner panels comprise a plurality of opposite deflector liner panels configured to extend over and cover the opposite deflecting surface that faces away from the airflow.

[0040] In some implementations, the plurality of deflector liner panels comprise a plurality of flow facing deflector liner panels configured to extend over and cover the flow facing deflecting surface.

[0041] In some implementations, a radially inward side of a given one of the plurality of opposite deflector liner panels and a radially inward side of a given one of the plurality of flow facing deflector liner panels converge with each other at a deflector liner apex.

[0042] In some implementations, the radially inward side of the given one of the plurality of opposite deflector liner panels and the radially inward side of the given one of the plurality of flow facing deflector liner panels comprise corresponding shapes that engage or abut each other at the deflector liner apex.

[0043] In some implementations, the plurality of deflector liner panels are comprised of mild steel.

[0044] In some implementations, the plurality of deflector liner panels are comprised of hardened steel.

[0045] In some implementations, the hardened steel is at least AR500 or HX500.

[0046] In some implementations, the plurality of deflector liner panels are provided with a deflector liner panel overlay. In some implementations, the deflector liner panel overlay comprises a chromium carbide overlay, a tungsten carbide overlay, a chromium-tungsten carbide overlay, a titanium carbide overlay, a nano carbide overlay, a reaction bonded silicon carbide overlay, a sintered silicon carbide overlay, a zirconia aluminia ceramic overlay, an aluminia ceramic overlay, and / or a ceramic putty overlay.

[0047] In some implementations, the plurality of liner panels comprise a plurality of outlet liner panels configured to extend over and cover an inner surface of the outlet.

[0048] In some implementations, the plurality of outlet liner panels are comprised of hardened steel.

[0049] In some implementations, the hardened steel is at least AR500 or HX500.

[0050] In some implementations, the plurality of outlet liner panels are comprised of plastic.

[0051] In some implementations, the plastic comprises HDPE, thermoplastic resins or nylons, urethan polyurethan, and / or LIHMV.

[0052] In some implementations, the plurality of outlet liner panels are provided with an outlet liner panel overlay.

[0053] In some implementations, the outlet liner panel overlay comprises a chromium carbide overlay, a tungsten carbide overlay, a chromium-tungsten carbide overlay, a titanium carbide overlay, a nano carbide overlay, a reaction bonded silicon carbide overlay, a sintered silicon carbide overlay, a zirconia aluminia ceramic overlay, an aluminia ceramic overlay, and / or a ceramic putty overlay.

[0054] In some implementations, the plurality of outlet liner panels comprise at least one edge with a shape that engages or abuts with a corresponding shape on an adjacent one of the plurality of outlet liner panels.

[0055] In some implementations, the outlet comprises an outlet conduit formed between the bottom end and the discharge end of the outlet, and wherein the plurality of outlet liner panels are configured to continuously cover an inner surface of the outlet conduit.

[0056] In some implementations, the plurality of liner panels comprise a plurality of shelf liner panels configured to at least partially extend over and cover the inner face of the sidewall and at least partially extending radially inward from the inner face of the sidewall to form at least one shelf.

[0057] In some implementations, the plurality of shelf liner panels are comprised of steel alloys.

[0058] In some implementations, the plurality of shelf liner panels are comprised of hardened steel.

[0059] In some implementations, the hardened steel is at least AR500 or HX500.

[0060] In some implementations, the plurality of shelf liner panels are provided with a shelf liner panel overlay.

[0061] In some implementations, the shelf liner panel overlay comprises a chromium carbide overlay, a tungsten carbide overlay, a chromium-tungsten carbide overlay, a titanium carbide overlay, a nano carbide overlay, a reaction bonded silicon carbide overlay, a sintered silicon carbide overlay, a zirconia aluminia ceramic overlay, an aluminia ceramic overlay, and / or a ceramic putty overlay.

[0062] In some implementations, the plurality of liner panels are coupled to a respective one of the inner surface of the housing or the internal component of the airflow generator with a fastener having a fastener head, and the plurality of liner panels comprise a shaped recess configured to receive the fastener head such that the fastener head is flush with or recessed from the respective one of the inner surface of the housing or the internal component of the airflow generator.

[0063] In some implementations, the pulverizer further comprises a rotational coupling system configured to provide the pulverizer with a first position and a second position, wherein a position of the inlet relative to the outlet in the first position is different from a position of the inlet relative to the outlet in the second position.

[0064] In some implementations, a portion of the sidewall is defined by a door that is rotationally coupled to a remaining portion of the sidewall to provide access to the interior chamber, the pulverizer further comprising a rotational coupling system configured to provide the pulverizer with a first position and a second position, wherein a position of the door relative to the inlet and / or the outlet in the first position is different from a position of the door relative to the inlet and / or the outlet in the second position. In some implementations, the rotational coupling system comprises a rotational coupling between the top end and the sidewall and / or a rotational coupling between the sidewall and the bottom end and a locking system configured to lock the rotational coupling in the first position or the second position.

[0065] In some implementations, the sidewall comprises an upper drum flange coupled to or integrally formed at a top side of the sidewall and the rotational coupling between the top end and the sidewall comprises a rotational coupling between the upper drum flange and the top end.

[0066] In some implementations, the sidewall comprises a lower drum flange coupled to or integrally formed at a bottom side of the sidewall and the bottom end comprises an upper discharge flange coupled to or integrally formed at a top side of the bottom end, wherein the rotational coupling between the sidewall and the bottom end comprises a rotational coupling between the lower drum flange and the upper discharge flange.

[0067] In some implementations, the rotational coupling system comprises a removable coupling between the top end and the sidewall and / or a removable coupling between the sidewall and the bottom end.

[0068] In some implementations, the sidewall comprises an upper drum flange coupled to or integrally formed at a top side of the sidewall and the removable coupling between the top end and the sidewall comprises a removable coupling between the upper drum flange and the top end.

[0069] In some implementations, the sidewall comprises a lower drum flange coupled to or integrally formed at a bottom side of the sidewall and the bottom end comprises an upper discharge flange coupled to or integrally formed at a top side of the bottom end, wherein the removable coupling comprises a removable coupling between the lower drum flange and the upper discharge flange.

[0070] In some implementations, the plurality of liner panels comprise a plurality of arm liner panels configured to at least partially extend over and cover a distal portion of the rotor arms extending substantially radially from the rotor hub.

[0071] In some implementations, the plurality of arm liner panels are comprised of steel alloys, cast iron, and / or S7 tool grade steel. In some implementations, the plurality of arm liner panels are comprised of hardened steel.

[0072] In some implementations, the hardened steel is at least AR500 or HX500.

[0073] In some implementations, the plurality of arm liner panels are provided with an arm liner panel overlay.

[0074] In some implementations, the arm liner panel overlay comprises a chromium carbide overlay, a tungsten carbide overlay, a chromium-tungsten carbide overlay, a titanium carbide overlay, a nano carbide overlay, a reaction bonded silicon carbide overlay, a sintered silicon carbide overlay, a zirconia aluminia ceramic overlay, an aluminia ceramic overlay, and / or a ceramic putty overlay.

[0075] According to another aspect, there is provided a process for treating a feedstock comprising: subjecting the feedstock to a categorizing stage wherein the feedstock is categorized with an impact level and / or an abrasion level, wherein the impact level is selected from high impact, moderate impact, and low impact and the abrasion level is selected from high abrasion, moderate abrasion, and low abrasion; providing a pulverizer comprising: a housing comprising a top end, a bottom end, a sidewall extending between the top end and the bottom end and having an inner face defining an interior chamber of the housing, an inlet located in or near the top end for receiving a feedstock to comminute, and an outlet located in or near the bottom end for discharging a pulverized output stream from the housing; an airflow generator comprising a rotatable shaft rotatably mounted in the interior chamber of the pulverizer and at least one pulverizing rotor coupled to the rotatable shaft, the at least one pulverizing rotor comprising a rotor hub and a plurality of rotor arms extending outwardly from the rotor hub and towards the sidewall; and a housing liner comprising a plurality of liner panels configured to cover an internal surface of the housing and / or an internal component of the airflow generator; providing at least some of the plurality of liner panels with a reinforcing material based on the impact level and / or abrasion level of the feedstock; subjecting the feedstock to a pulverization stage with the pulverizer to produce the pulverized output material.

[0076] In some implementations, the housing liner comprises at least one of: a plurality of sidewall liner panels configured to extend over and cover the inner face of the sidewall; a plurality of floor liner panels configured to extend over and cover an inner surface of the bottom end; a plurality of discharge chamber liner panels configured to extend over and cover discharge sidewalls of the bottom end; a plurality of ceiling liner panels configured to extend over and cover an inner surface of the top end; a plurality of deflector liner panels configured to extend over and cover a flow facing deflecting surface and an opposite deflecting surface of one or more deflectors coupled to the sidewall and extending inwardly into the interior chamber; a plurality of shelf liner panels configured to partially extend over and cover the inner face of the sidewall and partially extending radially inward to form at least one shelf; a plurality of hub liner panels configured to extend over and cover the rotor hub of the airflow generator; a plurality of outlet liner panels configured to extend over and cover an inner surface of the outlet from the bottom end to a discharge area of the outlet; and a plurality of arm liner panels configured to extend over and cover a distal portion of the pulverizer arms.

[0077] In some implementations, when the feedstock is categorized as high abrasion, providing the at least some of the plurality of liner panels with the reinforcing material comprises forming the plurality of arm liner panels from cast iron, S7 tool grade steel, chromium carbide, tungsten carbide, chromium-tungsten carbide, titanium carbide, nano carbides, reaction bonded silicon carbide, sintered silicon carbide, zirconia aluminia ceramic, and / or aluminia ceramic.

[0078] In some implementations, when the feedstock is categorized as high abrasion / impact, high impact, or moderate abrasion and / or moderate impact, providing the at least some of the plurality of liner panels with the reinforcing material comprises at least one of: forming the plurality of arm liner panels from hardened steel; forming the plurality of sidewall liner panels from hardened steel; forming the plurality of shelf liner panels from hardened steel; forming the plurality of deflector liner panels from hardened steel; and forming the plurality of sidewall liner panels from hardened steel.

[0079] In some implementations, the hardened steel is at least AR500 or HX500.

[0080] In some implementations, when the feedstock is categorized as high abrasion, moderate abrasion and / or moderate impact, or low abrasion / impact, providing the at least some of the plurality of liner panels with the reinforcing material comprises at least one of: forming the plurality of sidewall liner panels from HDPE, thermoplastic resins and / or nylon, urethane polyurethane, and / or LIHMV; forming the plurality of discharge chamber liner panels from HDPE, thermoplastic resins and / or nylon, urethane polyurethane, and / or LIHMV; and forming the plurality of outlet liner panels from HDPE, thermoplastic resins and / or nylon, urethane polyurethane, and / or LIHMV.

[0081] In some implementations, when the feedstock is categorized as high abrasion, providing the at least some of the plurality of liner panels with the reinforcing material comprises at least one of: providing the plurality of arm liner panels with an overlay; providing the plurality of sidewall liner panels with an overlay; providing the plurality of shelf liner panels with an overlay; providing the plurality of floor liner panels with an overlay; providing the plurality of hub liner panels with an overlay; providing the plurality of discharge chamber liner panels with an overlay; and providing the plurality of outlet liner panels with an overlay.

[0082] In some implementations, the overlay comprises a chromium carbide overlay, a tungsten carbide overlay, a chromium-tungsten carbide overlay, a titanium carbide overlay, a nano carbide overlay, a nano carbide overlay, a reaction bonded silicon carbide overlay, a sintered silicon carbide overlay, a zirconia aluminia ceramic overlay, an aluminia ceramic overlay, and / or a ceramic putty overlay.

[0083] In some implementations, when the feedstock is categorized as moderate abrasion and / or moderate impact, providing the at least some of the plurality of liner panels with the reinforcing material comprises at least one of: forming the plurality of sidewall liner panels from fiberglass and / or steel alloys; forming the plurality of arm liner panels from steel alloys; forming the plurality of shelf liner panels from steel alloys; forming the plurality of floor liner panels from steel alloys; forming the plurality of ceiling liner panels from steel alloys; and forming the plurality of hub liner panels from steel alloys.

[0084] In some implementations, when the feedstock is categorized as moderate abrasion and / or moderate impact or low abrasion / impact, providing the at least some of the plurality of liner panels with the reinforcing material comprises at least one of: chrome plating the plurality of sidewall liner panels; and chrome plating the plurality of shelf liner panels.

[0085] In some implementations, when the feedstock is categorized as low abrasion / impact, providing the at least some of the plurality of liner panels with the reinforcing material comprises at least one of: forming the plurality of sidewall liner panels from fiberglass; forming the plurality of floor liner panels from mild steel; and forming the plurality of ceiling liner panels from mild steel. In some implementations, the categorizing stage is based on at least one of: a size, a shape, a surface-area-to-volume ratio, a density, a strength, a hardness, and a magnetism of the feedstock or a material within the feedstock.

[0086] In some implementations, subjecting the feedstock to the categorizing stage comprises a separation stage.

[0087] In some implementations, the separation stage comprises screening.

[0088] In some implementations, the screening comprises using a single screen or two or more screens arranged in parallel or in series.

[0089] In some implementations, the screening is performed using at least one of: a trommel screen, a vibrating screen, a tumbler screen, a gyratory screen, and a high frequency screen.

[0090] In some implementations, the separation stage comprises a density-based separation stage.

[0091] In some implementations, the separation stage comprises a magnetic separation stage.

[0092] In some implementations, subjecting the feedstock to the categorizing stage comprises conducting a slurry abrasivity test on the feedstock or on a material within the feedstock to determine a Miller Number of the feedstock or of the material within the feedstock.

[0093] In some implementations, the slurry abrasivity test is conducted according to ASTM G75- 07 Standard Test Method for Determination of Slurry Abrasivity procedure.

[0094] In some implementations, subjecting the feedstock to the categorizing stage comprises conducting a Cerchar Abrasivity Index (CAI) test on the feedstock or on a material within the feedstock to determine the CAI of the feedstock or the material within the feedstock.

[0095] In some implementations, the CAI test is conducted according to ASTM D7625-22 Standard Test Method for Laboratory Determination of Abrasiveness of Rock Using the CERCHAR Abrasiveness Index Method.

[0096] In some implementations, the feedstock comprises at least 10%w / w glass and the abrasion level is high abrasion. In some implementations, the feedstock is a single source feedstock comprising solar panels, consumer glass waste, or medical waste.

[0097] In some implementations, the impact level is moderate impact.

[0098] In some implementations, the feedstock comprises at least 10% sand and the abrasion level is high abrasion.

[0099] In some implementations, the feedstock comprises at least 50% seaweed.

[0100] In some implementations, the impact level is low impact.

[0101] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

[0102] FIG. 1 is perspective view of a pulverizer according to one implementation showing a housing coupled to a base;

[0103] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the housing shown in FIG. 1;

[0104] FIG. 3 is a perspective cross-sectional view of the housing shown in FIG. 2;

[0105] FIG. 4 is a front cross-sectional view of the housing shown in FIG. 3;

[0106] FIG. 5 is a bottom perspective view of a portion of the pulverizer shown in FIG. 1;

[0107] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a pulverizing rotor according to one implementation;

[0108] FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of the pulverizing rotor shown in FIG. 6;

[0109] FIG. 8 is an exploded view of the pulverizing rotor shown in FIG. 6;

[0110] FIG. 9 is a perspective and partially exploded view of a housing liner for a pulverizer according to one implementation;

[0111] FIG. 10 is a perspective cross-sectional view of the housing liner shown in FIG. 9;

[0112] FIG. 11 is a top view of a bottom end of a pulverizer according to one implementation; and

[0113] FIG. 12 is a bottom view of a top end of a pulverizer according to one implementation.

[0114] DETAILED DESCRIPTION High abrasion and / or high impact materials are used in a large variety of materials and applications and processing of these materials using a pulverizer (which may also be referred to as a kinetic pulverizer) can significantly reduce the wear life of the internal surfaces and / or components. These high abrasion and / or high impact materials can also cause internal breakages, which can lead to additional internal damage caused by the broken piece or pieces circulating in the interior chamber of the pulverizer.

[0115] There is provided herein a pulverizer with various features that reduce or prevent wear on the internal surfaces and / or components, or otherwise increase the wear life of the internal components and thus increase the wear life of the pulverizer. There is also provided various processes of categorizing an abrasion and / or impact level of the feedstock and providing a pulverizer with optimized features to reduce or prevent wear on the internal surfaces and / or components.

[0116] In some implementations, the pulverizer can include a housing liner that includes liner panels that cover one or more of the internal surfaces or internal components of the kinetic pulverizer housing. These liner panels are individually attached to the internal surface or component of the housing and independently detachable from the housing, such that when one liner panel has reached its wear life or is damaged, the liner panel can be individually replaced, thus preventing the need to replace the entire housing liner.

[0117] In some implementations, various internal components of the kinetic pulverizer can be formed of and / or coated in a high wear and / or high impact material to optimize the wear life of that component. As discussed in further detail herein, these optimizations can be based on the type of feedstock being processed with the kinetic pulverizer. In some implementations, a single kinetic pulverizer can be used to treat multiple types of feedstocks and optionally, the internal wear components can be individually selected based on the type of feedstock the kinetic pulverizer is currently processing.

[0118] Other features disclosed herein include a rotational coupling system where a bottom end with an outlet, optionally defining a discharge chamber, is rotationally coupled to a pulverizing chamber of the housing having an inlet and, optionally, a door providing access to the pulverizing chamber. Additionally, or alternatively, the top end with the inlet can be rotationally coupled to the pulverizing chamber (and, optionally, the discharge chamber) of the housing having the outlet. This provides for the rotation of the pulverizing chamber relative to the bottom end and / or top end, thus changing the position of the inlet and / or housing door relative to the outlet. For example, this can be used for high impact feedstocks that have an elongated shape, such that the feedstock can be fed into the housing with the elongated shape at an angle that causes the feed material to be impacted by the internal rotating components in the housing prior to impacting the side wall of the housing.

[0119] In some implementations, the rotational coupling system can be used to modify the positions of the inlet, the door, and / or the outlet relative to each other to fit within an existing layout in the processing facility. By way of example only, the pulverizer can be used within an existing recycling facility (such as a Municipal Recycling Facility (MRF) that includes existing conveyor systems or unloading machines to move materials. To fit the pulverizer within the existing system, the relative positions of the inlet, door, and / or outlet can be modified to align with the existing conveyors (or optionally, to replace an existing processing machine within the facility). Other features disclosed herein include recessed but accessible fasteners on the internal components to prevent wear on the fastener head, while maintaining the ability to easily remove the fasteners and replace the internal component.

[0120] Referring now to Figures 1 to 5, a pulverizer 10 according to one implementation is shown. The pulverizer 10 is adapted to receive an input material, which can also be referred to as a “feedstock”, and to pulverize or comminute the input material. It will be understood that the terms “pulverize”, “pulverization”, “comminute” and “comminution” are used herein to refer to a reduction in size of the particles in the input material.

[0121] In the exemplary implementation, the pulverizer 10 includes a base 12 and a housing 20 mounted to the base 12. Specifically, the housing 20 includes a bottom end 22, which can also be referred to as a floor of the housing 20, connected to the base 12 and a top end 24, which can also be referred to as a ceiling of the housing 20, opposite the bottom end 22. The housing 20 is hollow and includes a housing sidewall 26 extending between the top end 24 and the bottom end 22 to partially define an interior chamber 28 where the pulverization occurs. In some implementations, the interior chamber 28 of the housing 20 is defined by the housing sidewall 26 having an inner face, the top end 24, and the bottom end 22. In the exemplary implementation, a portion of the housing sidewall 26 is defined by a door 21 that is rotationally coupled to the remaining portion of the sidewall 26 to provide access to the interior chamber 28.

[0122] In the exemplary implementation, the housing sidewall 26 is in the form of a rolled drum (i.e., a single, continuous or unitary piece of material which has been formed in the shape of a cylinder). However, other implementations are also possible, such as the housing sidewall 26 being formed from a plurality of wall sections which extend substantially between the top end 24 and the bottom end 22 of the housing 20 and which are disposed side-by-side to form the housing sidewall 26. In some instances, the plurality of wall sections can form a circular or substantially circular shape. Alternatively, the plurality of wall sections forming the housing sidewall 26 or a single, continuous or unitary piece of material forming the housing sidewall 26 can have a non-circular or non-tubular shape. In some implementations, a housing liner 400 can define a substantially circular or tubular interior chamber 28 of the pulverizer 10 or the housing liner 400 can define a non-circular or non-tubular interior chamber 28. The interior chamber 28 and / or housing 20 may be provided with a shape that promotes the generation of internal vortices and the movement of the input material (or feedstock) and pulverized material within the interior chamber 28.

[0123] The housing 20 includes an inlet 30 to receive the input material or feedstock and an outlet 32 through which the pulverized material may be discharged once having been pulverized in the interior chamber 26. In the exemplary implementation, the top end 24 is a plate with an opening that defines the inlet 30 and the bottom end 22 defines a discharge chamber 22a with a tangentially extending outlet conduit 32a that defines the outlet 32, such that the pulverized material can be discharged in a tangential direction to the housing sidewall 26.

[0124] It is understood that the inlet 30 and / or the outlet 32 may be configured differently. For example, the inlet 30 may be defined by an opening or conduit in the housing sidewall 26, such that the pulverized material is discharged in a tangential or radial direction. Alternatively, the bottom end can comprise a plate with an opening on the bottom side that defines the outlet 32, such that the pulverized material is discharged in an axial direction downwardly from the housing 20 (hopper-style outlet). Other configurations are also possible, such as the outlet 32 being defined by an opening in the sidewall 26 of the housing 20 near the bottom end 22 (or partially in the bottom end 22 and partially in the sidewall 26) or the inlet 30 being defined by an opening in the sidewall 26 of the housing 20 near the top end 24 (or partially in the top end 24 and partially in the sidewall 26).

[0125] In some implementations, the top end 24 of the housing 20 can include a pressure outlet 40 configured to open when the pressure inside the interior chamber 28 reaches a predetermined pressure level, for example, in the event of a thermal event inside the interior chamber 28. In some implementations, the pressure outlet 40 is removably coupled to the outer or top surface of the top end 24 with mechanical fasteners that are configured to break at a force that is equal to the force exerted on the inner or bottom surface of the top end 24 when the predetermined pressure level in the interior chamber 28 is met. The predetermined pressure level can be based on a number of factors, including a fraction or percentage of a failure force of one or more of the internal components of the pulverizer 10. For example, the pressure outlet 40 can be a door rotatably coupled to the top end 24 with shear pins that are configured to break when the pressure in the interior chamber 28 exceeds a predetermine pressure that is a fraction or percentage of the failure force of the portion of the housing liner with the lowest strength. For example, when the sidewall liner panels are comprised of plastic, the pressure outlet 40 can be configured to open when the pressure inside the interior chamber 28 exceeds ! , 1 / 3, 2, 2 / 3, or % of the failure force of the plastic sidewall liner panels. Alternatively, the pressure outlet 40 can include a pressure sensor in the interior chamber 28 and be configured to automatically open when the pressure sensor detects that the pressure in the interior chamber 28 reaches or exceeds the predetermined pressure level.

[0126] In the exemplary implementation, the pressure outlet 40 includes an opening 42 (shown in Figure 10) in the top end 24 that is covered with a large hatch door 44 rotatably coupled (for example, with a hinge) to the outer or top surface of the top end 24 with venting hardware that are configured to break when the pressure in the interior chamber 28 exceeds a predetermined pressure level. The venting hardware includes venting bolts and venting washers that are configured to fail at the predetermined pressure level, causing the hatch door 44 to be released from the top end 24 and open to allow the excess pressure to vent through the opening 42.

[0127] In the exemplary implementation, the pressure outlet 40 further includes a debris blocking grid 46 (as shown in Figure 12) coupled to or within the opening 42 and configured to prevent large items from passing through the opening 42 when (or if) the hatch door 44 is opened to relieve pressure through the opening 42. The size of the gaps in the debris blocking grid 46 may be determined in accordance with the size of the input material.

[0128] In the exemplary implementation, the housing 20 is generally cylindrical and defines a central housing axis H extending between the top end 24 and the bottom end 22 of the housing 20. The housing 20 is adapted to be positioned such that the central housing axis H extends substantially vertically when the pulverizer 10 is in operation. In this configuration, the input material or feedstock fed into the inlet 30, after being subjected to multi-directional flow due to overlapping vortices formed in the interior chamber 28, will eventually tend to fall down towards the outlet 32 by gravity.

[0129] Rotational Coupling System

[0130] In some implementations, the pulverizer 10 can include a rotational coupling system 50 that provides for the rotation of the top end 24 (and thus the inlet 30) and the sidewall 26 (and thus the door 21) of the housing 20 relative to the bottom end 22 (and thus the discharge chamber 22a and the outlet 30). In some implementations, the pulverizer 10 can include a rotational coupling system 50 that provides for the rotation of the top end 24 (and thus the inlet 30) relative to the sidewall 26 (and thus the door 21) of the housing 20 and the bottom end 22 (and thus the discharge chamber 22a and the outlet 30).

[0131] In some implementations, the top end 24 and the sidewall 26 define a pulverization chamber (the portion of the interior chamber 28 outside of the discharge chamber 22a) where a majority of the size reduction occurs and the bottom end 22 defines the discharge chamber 22a configured to discharge the pulverized material from the housing 20. Of course, it may be appreciated that some size reduction may occur in the discharge chamber 22a. In some implementations, the rotational coupling system 50 is configured to provide for a change in the position of the pulverization chamber relative to the discharge chamber, thus changing the position of the inlet and optionally, door, relative to the outlet.

[0132] In some implementations, the rotational coupling system 50 can include a removable coupling between the pulverizing chamber and the discharge chamber, such that the chambers in a first position can be disconnected, the pulverizing chamber (or additionally or alternatively, the discharge chamber) can be rotated to a second position, and the pulverizing chamber and the discharge chamber can be recoupled together in the second position. In other implementations, the rotational coupling system 50 can include a rotational coupling between the pulverizing chamber and the discharge chamber and a locking system to lock the rotational coupling in the respective first position or second position.

[0133] In some implementations, the rotational coupling system 50 can include a removable coupling between the top end 24 having the inlet 30 and the sidewalls 26, such that the top end in a first position can be disconnected, the top end 24 can be rotated to a second position, and the top end 24 and the sidewalls 26 can be recoupled together in the second position. In other implementations, the rotational coupling system 50 can include a rotational coupling between the top end 24 and the sidewalls 26 and a locking system to lock the rotational coupling in the respective first position or second position.

[0134] In the exemplary implementation, the housing 20 includes an upper drum flange 52 coupled to or integrally formed at a top side of the sidewall 26 and a lower drum flange 54 coupled to or integrally formed at a bottom side of the sidewall 26. The bottom end 22 defining the discharge chamber 22a includes an upper discharge flange 56 coupled to or integrally formed at a top side of the discharge sidewalls 37 of the bottom end 22 ( / .e., defining a top end of the discharge chamber 22a). In some implementations, the rotational coupling system 50 can include a rotational or removable coupling between the top end 24 and the upper drum flange 52 and / or a rotational or removable coupling between the lower drum flange 54 and the upper discharge flange 56.

[0135] In the exemplary implementation, the rotational coupling system 50 includes the upper drum flange 52, which is configured to couple to the top end 24 in at least two positions ( / .e., a first position and a second position), thus allowing the top end 24 to rotate relative to the sidewalls 26 to change the position of the inlet 30 relative to the outlet 32. Additionally or alternatively, the rotational coupling system 50 can include the lower drum flange 54 and the upper discharge flange 56, which are configured to couple to each other in at least two positions (i.e. , a first position and a second position), thus allowing the sidewalls 26 (and optionally, the top end 24) to rotate relative to the bottom end 22 to change the position of the door 21 (and optionally, the inlet 30) relative to the outlet 32. It is contemplated that the top end 24 and / or the sidewalls 26 can be arranged in any number of positions relative to the sidewalls 26 and / or the bottom end 22, respectively. For example, in the exemplary implementation, the upper drum flange 52, the bottom drum flange 54, and the upper discharge flange 56 each include a plurality of openings to receive a fastener therethrough. Accordingly, the top end 24 and / or the sidewalls 26 can be arranged in a number of positions relative to the sidewalls 26 and / or the bottom end 22, respectively, that is equal to the number of opening for the fasteners. For clarity and ease of reference, only two positions will be discussed; however, it is understood that the first position relates to a current position of the top end 24 and / or the sidewalls 26 relative to the sidewalls 26 and / or the bottom end 22, respectively, and the second position relates to a position of the top end 24 and / or the sidewalls 26 relative to the sidewalls 26 and / or the bottom end 22, respectively, after the top end 24 or the sidewalls 26 (and optionally top end 24) have been moved from the first position to a new position.

[0136] In some implementations, in the first position, the upper drum flange 52 and the top end 24 are removably coupled to each other on an outside of the outer structural body of the housing 20 with fasteners. To change the position of the inlet 30 relative to the outlet 32, the fasteners can be loosened or removed and the top end 24 can be rotated clockwise or counter-clockwise while the sidewalls 26 and the bottom end 22 remain in the same position (in the exemplary implementation, the bottom end 22 is affixed to the base 12). Once the top end 24 has been rotated to the second position, the fasteners can be recoupled or tightened to re-couple the top end 24 and the upper drum flange 52 together in the second position.

[0137] In some implementations, in the first position, the lower drum flange 54 and the upper discharge flange 56 are removably coupled to each other on an outside of the outer structural body of the housing 20 with fasteners. To change the position of the inlet 30 and / or the door 21 relative to the outlet 32, the fasteners can be loosened or removed and the pulverizing chamber (in the exemplary implementation, the pulverizing chamber is defined by the sidewall 26 and the top end 24) can be rotated clockwise or counterclockwise while the bottom end 22 defining the discharge chamber 22a remains in the same position. Once the pulverizing chamber has been rotated to the second position, the fasteners can be recoupled or tightened to re-couple the lower drum flange 54 and the upper discharge flange 56 to each other, thus coupling the pulverizing chamber and the discharge chamber 22a together in the second position.

[0138] Airflow Generator With specific reference to Figure 4, the pulverizer 10 further includes an airflow generator 100 that creates airflow within the housing 20, causing particles of input material to move within the interior chamber 28 such that they collide with other particles of input material at relatively high speed. In the exemplary implementation, the airflow generator 100 generates a circular airflow revolving about the central housing axis H in the interior chamber 28. The particles of the input material are temporarily suspended within the airflow in the housing 20 and move within the interior chamber 28 by the airflow.

[0139] The pulverizer 10 further includes a plurality of airflow deflectors 200 which extend inwardly from the housing sidewall 26 into the interior chamber 28 to deflect the airflow generated by the airflow generator 100. This prevents the airflow from further revolving around the central housing axis H and forces the airflow to break up into a plurality of vortices.

[0140] In the illustrated embodiment, the airflow generator 100 includes a pulverizing rotor assembly disposed within the interior chamber 28 and a rotary actuator 104 operatively coupled to the pulverizing rotor assembly for rotating the pulverizing rotor assembly in order to generate the airflow. Specifically, the pulverizing rotor assembly includes a rotatable shaft 106 located in the interior chamber 28 and extending between the top end 24 and the bottom end 22 of the housing 20, along the central housing axis H. The airflow generator includes a plurality of pulverizing rotors 108a, 108b, 108c secured to the rotatable shaft 106, such that the pulverizing rotors 108a, 108b, 108c rotate about the central housing axis H when the rotatable shaft 106 is rotated.

[0141] The rotatable shaft 106 includes a top end 110 rotationally coupled to the top end 24 of the housing 20 and a bottom end 112 rotationally coupled to the bottom end 22 of the housing 20. The rotatable shaft 106 may be rotationally mounted to the housing 20 via bearings located at the top end 24 and / or the bottom end 22 of the housing 20 to maintain the rotatable shaft 106 in alignment with the central housing axis H while allowing the rotatable shaft 106 to rotate relative to the housing 20.

[0142] In some implementations, the rotary actuator 104 includes a motor 105 which is located outside of the housing 20. In the exemplary implementation, the motor 105 is mounted to the base 12 adjacent to the housing 20. With specific reference to Figure 5, in some implementations, the pulverizer 10 includes a transmission assembly 114 for transmitting rotation of the motor 105 to the rotatable shaft 106. In the exemplary implementation, the transmission assembly 114 includes a belt 116 which loops around an output shaft 118 extending from the motor 105 and the bottom end 112 of the rotatable shaft 106. Alternatively, instead of a belt, the transmission assembly 114 could instead include a chain which loops around the output shaft 118 of the motor 105 and the bottom end 112 of the rotatable shaft 106. In yet another embodiment, the transmission assembly 114 could instead include intermeshing gears, or any other suitable rotation transmission components which would allow transmission of rotational movement from the motor 105 to the rotatable shaft 106. In yet another embodiment, the pulverizer 10 may not even include a transmission assembly. The output shaft 118 of the motor 105 could instead be coaxial with the rotatable shaft 106 and secured to the rotatable shaft 106 to directly rotate the rotatable shaft 106.

[0143] In the exemplary implementation, the plurality of pulverizing rotors 108a, 108b, 108c includes an upper pulverizing rotor 108a located near the top end 24 of the housing 20, a lower pulverizing rotor 108b located below the upper pulverizing rotor 108a, and an outlet pulverizing rotor 108c located in the discharge chamber 22a defined by the bottom end 22. Alternatively, the pulverizing rotor assembly could include one or two pulverizing rotors or four or more pulverizing rotors. In the exemplary implementation, the outlet pulverizing rotor 108c is adapted to assist in discharging the pulverized material through the outlet 32.

[0144] With specific reference to Figure 4, in the exemplary implementation, the pulverizing rotors 108a, 108b, 108c are spaced away from each other, with the lower pulverizing rotor 108b being located closer to the outlet pulverizing rotor 108c than to the upper pulverizing rotor 108a. In other words, the lower pulverizing rotor 108b is spaced from the outlet pulverizing rotor 108c by a first vertical distance and from the upper pulverizing rotor 108a by a second vertical distance which is greater than the first vertical distance. Alternatively, the lower pulverizing rotor 108b could be positioned closer to the upper pulverizing rotor 108a than to the outlet pulverizing rotor 108c, or could be at equal distance from the upper and lower rotors 108a, 108b.

[0145] Referring now to Figures 6 to 8, each pulverizing rotor 108a, 108b, 108c includes a rotor hub 120 and a plurality of rotor arms 122 extending outwardly from the rotor hub 120 and towards the housing sidewall 26. In the exemplary implementation, the rotor hub includes a top rotor hub 120a coupled on a top side of the rotor arms 122 and a bottom rotor hub 120b coupled on a bottom side of the arm, such that the rotor arms 122 are sandwiched between the top and bottom rotor hubs 120a, 120b. However, it is understood that the rotor arms 122 could be coupled to a single rotor hub 120 and / or sandwiched between a single rotor hub 120 and a hub liner panel 418. The rotatable shaft 106 extends through the top and bottom rotor hubs 120a, 120b such that the rotor arms 122 are disposed in a rotation plane, which extends orthogonally through the central housing axis H. In this configuration, when the rotatable shaft 106 is rotated, the rotor arms 122 therefore remain in the rotation plane and move along the rotation plane. Alternatively, instead of all being disposed in a rotation plane, the rotor arms 122 could instead be angled upwardly or downwardly relative to the rotatable shaft 106. In yet another embodiment, the rotor arms 122 could instead be pivotably connected to the rotatable shaft 106 such that the rotor arms 122 could selectively be angled upwardly and downwardly as desired, either manually or automatically using one or more arm actuators.

[0146] More specifically, it is appreciated that the rotor arms 122 of a given pulverizing rotor 108 can be angularly offset around the rotatable shaft with respect to the rotor arms 122 of the other pulverizing rotors 108. As such, the vortices created by the arms of the upper pulverizing rotor 108a would not be vertically aligned with the vortices created by the lower or outlet pulverizing rotors 108b, 108c. This configuration can reduce the chance of material passing through the pulverizer un-impacted. For example, if material manages to get through the upper rotor arms un-impacted (e.g., without getting dragged into a vortex), then the vortices created below the upper level are more likely to interact with the material and effectively pulverize it.

[0147] It should be noted that the plurality of rotor arms 122 are substantially evenly spaced about the rotor hub 120 and the rotatable shaft for creating multiple vortices similarly spaced about the rotatable shaft within the interior chamber. The angle spacing the arms around the rotor hub 120 can depend on the number of arms 122 connected to said hub (e.g., in order to have the rotor arms evenly spaced 360 degrees around the rotatable shaft). For example, the rotor arms can be spaced by about 90 degrees for a rotor hub having four rotor arms, or by about 60 degrees for a rotor hub having six rotor arms connected thereto. However, it is appreciated that the rotor arms 122 can be connected to the rotor hubs 120 at any suitable location, with any suitable angle in-between. In the exemplary implementation, the plurality of airflow deflectors 200 include six deflectors 200 which are substantially similar to each other and which are substantially evenly spaced from each other in an azimuthal direction (i.e. , along a circumference of the housing sidewall 26) around the central housing axis H. Alternatively, all the deflectors 200 may not be similar to each other, may not be spaced from each other evenly and / or the pulverizer 10 may include more or less than six deflectors 200. For example, the pulverizer 10 may include between two and eight deflectors 200. The number of deflectors 200 can also vary depending on the size of the interior chamber 28 of the housing 20 and the circumferential width of the deflectors 20. For example, a housing with a larger interior chamber 28 and thinner deflectors could include more than eight deflectors 200. Consideration should be given to providing enough spacing between the deflectors 200 for the airflow to form into vortices when determining the number and spacing of the deflectors 200.

[0148] In the exemplary implementation, each deflector 200 is elongated and extends substantially parallel to the housing axis H. Specifically, since the housing 20 is positioned such that the central housing axis H extends substantially vertically, the deflectors 200 also extend substantially vertically.

[0149] As best shown in Figure 4, each deflector 200 includes a top end 202 located towards the top end 24 of the housing 20 and a bottom end 204 located near the top side of the bottom end 22 of the housing 20. In the illustrated embodiment, each deflector 200 is positioned so as to intersect the rotation plane of the upper pulverizing rotor 108a and of the lower pulverizing rotor 108b. More specifically, the top end 202 of the deflectors 200 is located above the upper pulverizing rotor 108a while the bottom end 204 of the deflectors 200 is located below the lower pulverizing rotor 108b but above the outlet pulverizing rotor 108c, and the deflector 200 extends continuously between the top end 202 and the bottom end 204.

[0150] It will be understood that rotation of the rotor arms 122 will cause the air within the interior chamber 28 to move outwardly towards the housing sidewall 26. In the above configuration, since the deflectors 200 are adjacent to the upper and lower pulverizing rotors 108a, 108b, the air will be moved outwardly towards the housing sidewall 26 by the upper and lower pulverizing rotors 108a, 108b and the circular airflow around the housing sidewall 26 is deflected by the deflectors 200 to form multiple vortices within the interior chamber 28.

[0151] In the exemplary implementation, each deflector 200 is generally wedge-shaped. Specifically, each deflector 200 has a generally triangular cross-section and includes a flow facing deflecting surface which faces towards the airflow when the rotatable shaft 106 is rotated and an opposite deflecting surface which faces away from the airflow. The flow facing deflecting surface and the opposite deflecting surface extend away from the housing sidewall 26 and converge towards each other to meet at an apex which points at least generally towards the housing central axis H. The flow facing deflecting surface is angled relative to an inner face of the housing sidewall 26 at a first deflection angle and the opposite deflecting surface is angled relative to the inner face of the housing sidewall 26 at a second deflection angle.

[0152] In the exemplary implementation, each deflector 200 is symmetrical about a symmetry axis which extends along a radius of the housing 20. In this embodiment, the first deflection angle is therefore substantially equal to the second deflection angle. In one embodiment, the first and second deflection angles may be equal to about 1 degree to 89 degrees, and more specifically to about 30 degrees to 60 degrees. Alternatively, the deflector 200 may not be symmetrical and the first and second deflection angles may be different from each other.

[0153] In the exemplary implementation, the apex of each deflector 200 is spaced radially inwardly from the inner face of the housing sidewall by a radial distance of about 7 % inches or about 20 cm. Still in the illustrated embodiment, the apex is further spaced radially outwardly from a tip of the rotor arms 122 (or a tip of the arm liner panel) by a radial distance of between about 1 / 2 inch or about 1 cm and about 2 inches or about 5 cm. In one embodiment, the radial distance or “clearance space” between the tip of the rotor arms 122 (or a tip of the arm liner panel) and the apex may be selected such that the vortices may be formed as desired when the rotatable shaft 106 is rotated.

[0154] Alternatively, the deflectors 200 could be differently shaped and / or sized. For example, the flow facing deflecting surface and the opposite deflecting surface may not be planar, but may instead be curved. In another embodiment, the deflectors 200 may not comprise an opposite deflecting surface. In yet another embodiment, instead of being wedge- shaped, the deflectors 200 may instead have a rectangular cross-section, or may have any other shape and size which a skilled person would consider suitable.

[0155] During operation of the pulverizer 10, the rotatable shaft 106 is rotated about the housing axis H such that the rotor arms 122 form the circular airflow revolving about the housing axis H. In the exemplary implementation shown in Figure 4, the rotatable shaft 106 is rotated in a clockwise direction when viewed from above to form a counterclockwise airflow in the interior chamber 28.

[0156] The rotatable shaft 106 may be rotated at relatively high speed to provide the desired pulverizing effect in the pulverizer. In one embodiment, the rotatable shaft 106 is rotated at a rotation speed of between about 700 rpm and about 1100 rpm, and more specifically at a rotation speed of between about 1000 rpm and about 1100 rpm. Alternatively, the rotatable shaft 106 may be rotated at a different rotation speed which would allow the formation of the vortices and / or to optimize the size and / or size distribution of the pulverized material. For example, the size distribution can be optimized to provide for the size reduction of one raw material while minimizing the size reduction of another raw material in the input material.

[0157] The airflow travels generally along the inner face of the housing sidewall 26, and is interrupted by the flow facing deflecting surface of the deflectors 200 which cooperates with the rotor arms 122, and more specifically with the tip of the rotor arms 122 to form the multiple overlapping vortices.

[0158] Each vortex overlaps at least one adjacent vortex to cause input material particles in suspension in the vortex to collide with input material particles in suspension in the adjacent vortex or vortices. In some implementations, in addition to the self-collisions of the input material particles via the airflow and vortices, the input material may further be pulverized by the rotor arms 122 impacting the input material particles in the interior chamber 28 as the rotatable shaft 106 is rotated. In such implementations, the combined effect of the input material particles impacting each other in the overlapping vortices and of the rotor arms 122 impacting the input material particles may increase the efficiency of the pulverizer 10.

[0159] In some implementations, the pulverizer 10 includes a plurality of shelves 300a, 300b, 300c which extend inwardly from the housing sidewall 26. Specifically, the plurality of shelves 300a, 300b, 300c include an upper shelf 300a, a lower shelf 300b, and an outlet shelf 300c. Each shelf 300a, 300b, 300c extends circumferentially around the housing axis H and along the housing sidewall 26. It will be understood that the shelves therefore extend substantially orthogonally to the deflectors 200. Specifically, the deflectors 200 extend generally parallel to the housing axis H and can therefore be said to extend in an axial direction relative to the housing 20, while the shelves can be said to extend in an azimuthal direction relative to the housing 20. In the exemplary implementation, the deflectors 200 extend generally vertically while each shelf 300a, 300b, 300c is disposed in a generally horizontal plane and therefore extend generally horizontally.

[0160] Still in the illustrated embodiment, each shelf 300a, 300b, 300c extends substantially continuously around the housing sidewall 26. Alternatively, one or more of the shelves 300a, 300b, 300c may not extend continuously around the housing sidewall 26 and could instead include a plurality of shelf segments spaced from each other to define gaps between adjacent shelf segments.

[0161] In some implementations, some or all of the plurality of shelves 300a, 300b, 300c can be substantially horizontally aligned with a respective pulverizing rotor 108a, 108b, 108c or located below the respective pulverizing rotor 108a, 108b, 108c. Providing the shelves 300a, 300b, 300c below a respective pulverizing rotor 108a, 108b, 108c can further deflect the input material and / or airflow in an upward direction to increase the pulverization time of the input material within the interior chamber 28. In the exemplary implementation, a tip or apex of the upper shelf 300a is substantially horizontally aligned with a bottom side of the upper pulverizing rotor 108a and the lower shelf 300b is substantially horizontally aligned with a middle of the lower pulverizing rotor 108b. In the exemplary implementation, the outlet shelf 300c is located between the lower rotor 108b and the outlet rotor 108c at an interface between the interior chamber 28 and the discharge chamber 22a defined by the bottom end 22. The outlet shelf 300c can further assist with deflecting the input material upwardly to increase the time spent by the input particles in the interior chamber 28, thus increasing the size-reduction of the material in a single run. In the exemplary implementation, the lower pulverizing rotor 108b is located upwardly from the bottom end 22 and the outlet shelf 300c is directly below the lower shelf 300b between the lower pulverizing rotor 108b. In the exemplary implementation, each shelf 300a, 300b, 300c includes a top shelf face 302, as shown in Figure 10, which extends downwardly and away from the housing sidewall 26. In the exemplary implementation, the top shelf face 302 of the shelves 300a, 300b, 300c is planar and extends along the housing sidewall 26 and around the housing axis H such that the top shelf face 302 has a substantially conical shape. In some implementations, the top shelf face 302 can be angled relative to the housing sidewall 26 at an angle of between about 1 degree (where the top shelf face 302 would be almost flat against the housing sidewall 26) and about 89 degrees (where the top shelf face 302 would be almost orthogonal to the housing axis H). In some implementations, the top shelf face 302 could be angled relative to the housing sidewall 26 at an angle of between about 30 degrees to about 60 degrees.

[0162] The shelves 300a, 300b, 300c are configured to deflect the airflow directed towards the shelf upwardly. This allows the input material particles to be temporarily maintained in suspension above the shelf 300a, 300b, 300c. The input material particles can therefore be subject to the effect of the vortices and to pulverization by impact with the rotor arms 122 for a longer period of time, resulting in additional reduction in the size of the input material particles as they travel downwardly towards the next rotor stage or towards the outlet 32 in the bottom end 22.

[0163] The upward deflection of the airflow may further contribute to the formation of overlapping vortices within the interior chamber 28. For example, the vortices may rotate in a plane generally parallel to the housing axis, i.e. , upwardly-downwardly, in addition to rotating in a plane orthogonal to the housing axis H. The combined effect of the shelves 300a, 300b, 300c and the deflectors 200 therefore contribute to forming overlapping vortices which are tridimensional such that air within the vortices moves along a tridimensional path of travel, which may further promote collisions between the input material particles of adjacent, overlapping vortices.

[0164] This configuration can allow the number of vortices generated by the deflectors 200 to be multiplied by the number of shelves 300a, 300b, 300c in the housing 20. For example, in the exemplary implementation, the pulverizer 10 includes six deflectors 200 which can form six vortices above each shelf 300a, 300b, 300c for a total of 18 vortices in the entire interior chamber 28. Liner

[0165] Referring now to Figures 9 to 12, the pulverizer 10 further includes a housing liner 400 comprising a plurality of liner panels that are configured to cover the internal surfaces of the interior chamber 26. In the some implementations, the housing liner 400 can include a plurality of sidewall liner panels 402 configured to extend over and cover the inner face of the sidewall 26, a plurality of floor liner panels 404 configured to extend over and cover an inner (upper) surface of the bottom end 22, a plurality of discharge chamber liner panels 405 configured to extend over and cover the discharge sidewalls 37 of the bottom end 22, a plurality of ceiling liner panels 406 configured to extend over and cover an inner (or bottom) surface of the top end 24, a plurality of deflector liner panels 408 configured to extend over and cover a flow facing deflecting surface and an opposite deflecting surface of one or more of the deflectors 200, a plurality of shelf liner panels 410 configured to partially extend over and cover the inner face of the sidewall 26 and partially extending radially inward to form the shelves 300a, 300b, 300c, a plurality of hub liner panels 418 configured to extend over and cover a top side and / or a bottom side of the rotor hub 120 (for example, covering a top side of the top rotor hub 120a and / or covering a bottom side of the bottom rotor hub 120b), a plurality of outlet liner panels 420 configured to extend over and cover the interior surfaces of the outlet 32 from the bottom end 22 to the discharge area of the outlet 32, and a plurality of arm liner panels 422 configured to extend over and cover a distal portion of the pulverizer arms 122.

[0166] By providing multiple liner panels that cover each inner surface of the housing 20, the housing liner 400 can protect the structural wall of the housing 20 (such as, the internal surfaces of the bottom end 22, the top end 24, the sidewalls 26, and / or the outlet 32) and / or the internal components (such as, the rotor hubs 120, the plurality of arms 122, and / or the deflectors 200) from the abrasion and / or impact of input material particles inside the interior chamber 28. Moreover, providing the housing liner 400 in a plurality of panels facilitates replacement or repair of a single liner panel, as opposed to replacing the entire housing liner 400 when a portion is damaged.

[0167] Providing multiple liner panels also allows for different types, quantity, or quality of reinforcement in different areas of the interior chamber 28. For example, specific areas that exhibit high wear when processing a highly abrasive input material can have stronger reinforcement than other areas of the interior chamber 28, which can reduce the cost when compared with having high reinforcement in all areas of the interior chamber 28. In some implementations, the housing liner 400 can include only one or some types of liner panels, for example to cover the areas in the interior chamber 28 that exhibit higher wear or breakage.

[0168] The plurality of liner panels forming the housing liner 400 can be coupled to the internal surfaces of the housing 20 using any suitable fastening means, such as bolts, screws, rivets, etc. The type of fasteners used could be determined according to the ease and ability to remove the fasteners to replace the liner panels. In some implementations, the liner panels can include shaped recesses configured to receive a fastener head of the fastening means such that the fastener head is not protruding from the inner (i.e. , interior chamber 28 facing) surface of the respective liner panel. Positioning the fastener head flush or recessed from the inner surface of the liner panel can reduce the wear on the fastener head and thus increase the wear life of the fastener. In some instances, positioning the fastener head flush or recessed from the inner surface of the liner panel can reduce the wear on the fastener opening in the liner panel or the area around the fastener opening in the liner panel (for example, by preventing lateral forces or pressure from acting on the fastener head), and thus increase the wear life of the fastener and / or the respective liner panel.

[0169] In some implementations, the liner panels can be coupled to their respective housing 20 or internal component surface using hex bolts 124 extending therethrough. The liner panels can include hexagonal-shaped recesses configured to receive the hexagonal head of the hex bolt 124 and the respective housing 20 or internal component surface includes an opening to receive the hex bolt 124 and a threaded body, such as a nut. The respective housing 20 or internal component surface can include a recess configured to receive and provide access to the threaded body to facilitate easy removal and / or to reduce wear on the distal threaded end of the hex bolt 124, the threaded body, and / or the liner panel.

[0170] Providing a hexagonal shaped recess (or other non-circular shape) further provides additional anti-rotation features to the hex bolt 124. In other words, the hexagonal recess on the liner panel can lock the hex bolt 124 in position and allows the hex bolt 124 to be removed by unthreading the threaded body on an underside of the respective housing 20 or internal component surface. In some implementations, a spring washer or locking washer, such as a spherical washer for example, can be used with the fastener to further prevent undesired rotation of the fastener.

[0171] In some implementations, the liner panels can be coupled to their respective housing 20 or internal component surface using a plow bolt, such as key-locking plow bolts or squareneck oval head plow bolts.

[0172] Sidewall Liner Panels

[0173] As best shown in Figures 9 and 10, the plurality of sidewall liner panels 402 attached to and extending along the inner face of the sidewall 26. In the exemplary implementation, each sidewall liner panel 402 is detachable from the inner face of the sidewall 26 independently from the other sidewall liner panels 402. This allows each sidewall liner panel 402 to be detached to be serviced or replaced without requiring the entire housing liner 400 to be removed.

[0174] In some implementations, a bottom side of the bottom-most sidewall liner panels 402 (in other words, the sidewall liner panels 402 that directly abut the bottom end 22) can have a shape that engages with and / or interlocks with a corresponding shape on a top side of the discharge chamber liner panels 405, such as a groove and tongue engagement, a protrusion and depression engagement, overlapping lips / edges, etc. For example, the bottom side of the bottom-most sidewall liner panels 402 can have a groove that is configured to receive a corresponding lip or tongue on a top side of the discharge chamber liner panels 405. Providing an engagement between the bottom side of the bottom-most sidewall liner panels 402 and a top side of the discharge chamber liner panels 405 can provide a smooth transition between the two liner panels and / or provide a continuous housing liner within the interior chamber 28. The engagement coupling is configured to permit individually attaching and detaching a single sidewall liner panel 402 or discharge chamber liner panel 405 without removing an adjacent liner panel. In other implementations, the bottom side of the bottom-most sidewall liner panels 402 and the top side of the discharge chamber liner panels 405 can have corresponding angled surfaces or straight or substantially straight edges that are configured to abut each other directly without a gap therebetween.

[0175] In the exemplary implementation, the bottom end 22 includes an upper discharge flange 56 that allows the upper portion of the housing 20 (in the exemplary implementation, the top end 24 and the sidewalls 26) to rotate relative to the lower portion of the housing 20 (in the exemplary implementation, the bottom end 22). As such, the engagement between the bottom side of the bottom-most sidewall liner panels 402 and the top side of the discharge chamber liner panels 405 (if present) is configured to allow for the rotation of the upper portion of the housing 20 relative to the lower portion of the housing 20.

[0176] Floor Liner Panels

[0177] The plurality of floor liner panels 404 attach to and extend along the bottom inner surface of the bottom end 22. In the exemplary implementation, each floor liner panel 404 is detachable from the bottom inner surface of the bottom end 22 independently from the other floor liner panels 404. This allows each floor liner panel 404 to be detached to be serviced or replaced without requiring the entire housing liner 400 to be removed.

[0178] In some implementations, a radial outer edge of the floor liner panels 404 (in other words, the outer edge of the floor liner panels 404 that directly abut the discharge sidewall 37 of the bottom end 22 and / or the discharge chamber liner panels 405) can have a shape that engages with and / or interlocks with a corresponding shape on a bottom side of the discharge chamber liner panels 405 (and / or a bottom side of the discharge sidewall 37), such as a groove and tongue engagement, a protrusion and depression engagement, overlapping lips / edges, etc. For example, the bottom side of discharge chamber liner panels 405 can have an overlapping lip that is configured to receive the radial outer edge of the floor liner panels 404. Providing an engagement between the bottom side of the discharge chamber liner panels 405 and the radial outer edge of the floor liner panels 404 can provide a smooth transition between the two liner panels and / or provide a continuous housing liner within the interior chamber 28. The engagement coupling is configiured to permit individually attaching and detaching a single discharge chamber liner panel 405 or floor liner panel 404 without removing an adjacent liner panel. In other implementations, the bottom side of the discharge chamber liner panels 405 and the radial outer edge of the floor liner panels 404 can have corresponding angled surfaces or straight or substantially straight edges that are configured to abut each other directly without a gap therebetween.

[0179] With specific reference to Figure 11 , in the exemplary implementation, the plurality of floor liner panels 404 include two semi-circle shaped panels 404a coupled around the rotatable rotor 106, a plurality of trapezoid-like shaped panels 404b coupled around the semi-circle shaped panels 404a underneath the outlet pulverizing rotor 108c (not shown in Figure 11), a rectangular shaped panel 404c extending from the semi-circle shaped panels 404a to the outlet 32 (and more precisely, in this implementation, partially forming a bottom one of the outlet liner panels 420), and an irregular shaped panel 404d extending between the rectangular shaped panel 404c and an adjacent one of the trapezoid-like shaped panel 404b. For the avoidance of doubt, the trapezoid-liked shaped panels 404b refer to the trapezoid shaped panels with a curved long base 403a corresponding to the curved shape of the discharge sidewall 37 of the discharge chamber 22a, a curved short base 403b corresponding to the curved shape of the radial outward edges of the semi-circle shaped panels 404a, and straight legs 403c that abut and, optionally engage with, an adjacent floor liner panel 404 (such as, an adjacent trapezoid-like shaped panel 404b, rectangular shaped panel 404c, or irregular shaped panel 404d).

[0180] In some implementations, the edges of two adjacent floor liner panels 404 can have corresponding shapes that provide for an overlapping or engagement coupling between the adjacent floor liner panels 404, such as a groove and tongue engagement, a protrusion and depression engagement, overlapping lips / edges, etc. The engagement coupling is configured to permit individually attaching and detaching a single floor liner panel 404 without removing the adjacent floor liner panels 404. In other implementations, the adjacent floor liner panels 404 can have straight or substantially straight edges that are configured to abut each other directly without a gap therebetween.

[0181] In the exemplary implementation, the edges of the floor liner panels 404 are planar or straight surfaces that are configured to abut each other directly without a gap therebetween. The bottom side of discharge chamber liner panels 405 are planar or straight surfaces configured to abut a top surface on the radial edge (i.e. , a top surface at the long base 403a of trapezoid-like shaped panel 404b) of the adjacent floor liner panels 404 without a gap therebetween.

[0182] Discharge Chamber Liner Panels

[0183] The plurality of discharge chamber liner panels 405 attach to and extend along the discharge sidewall 37 of the bottom end 22. In the exemplary implementation, each discharge chamber liner panel 405 is detachable from the discharge sidewall 37 of the bottom end 22 independently from the other discharge chamber liner panels 405. This allows each discharge chamber liner panel 405 to be detached to be serviced or replaced without requiring the entire housing liner 400 or other adjacent liner panels to be removed.

[0184] In the exemplary implementation, the discharge chamber liner panels 405 are elongated panels with a curve matching the curve of the bottom end 22 ( / .e., matching the curve of the discharge sidewall 37), such that the discharge chamber liner panels 405 can be removably coupled directly to the discharge sidewall 37 of the bottom end 22 defining the discharge chamber 22a.

[0185] Ceiling Liner Panels

[0186] With specific reference to Figures 9 and 12, the plurality of ceiling liner panels 406 attach to and extend along the inner (or bottom) surface of the top end 24. In the exemplary implementation, each ceiling liner panel 406 is detachable from the inner surface of the top end 24 independently from the other ceiling liner panels 406. This allows each ceiling liner panel 406 to be detached to be serviced or replaced without requiring the entire housing liner 400 to be removed.

[0187] In some implementations, an entirety of the inner surface of the top end 24 is covered with the plurality of ceiling liner panels 406 except for the opening defining the inlet 30. In the exemplary implementation, the plurality of ceiling liner panels 406 include multiple irregular shaped panels that are shaped and sized to cover the top end 24 except for a portion of the pressure outlet 40 and the opening defining the inlet 30. As is best shown in Figure 12, the plurality of ceiling liner panels 406 collectively extend from the inner face of the sidewall 26 (i.e., from the connection point between the top end 24 and the sidewall 26) to the outer coupling flange of the rotatable shaft 106 with defined openings for the inlet 30 and the pressure outlet 40.

[0188] In some implementations, the edges of two adjacent ceiling liner panels 406 can have corresponding shapes that provide for an overlapping or engagement coupling between the adjacent ceiling liner panels 406, such as a groove and tongue engagement, a protrusion and depression engagement, overlapping lips / edges, etc. The engagement coupling is configured to permit individually attaching and detaching a single ceiling liner panel 406 without removing the adjacent ceiling liner panels 406. In other implementations, the adjacent ceiling liner panels 406 can have straight or substantially straight edges that are configured to abut each other directly without a gap therebetween.

[0189] In the exemplary implementation, the edges of the ceiling liner panels 406 are planar or straight surfaces that are configured to abut each other directly without a gap therebetween. The outward radial edges of the irregular ceiling liner panels 406 are planar or straight surfaces that are configured to abut the inward radial edge of the upper drum flange 52 between the top end 24 and the sidewalls 26.

[0190] In some implementations, the inner (or bottom) surface of the door 44 of the pressure outlet 40 can include a door liner (not shown), be coated with an overlay, and / or be coated with a coating or overlay to increase the wear life of the door 44. However, consideration to the weight of the reinforcements and / or the door 44 should be given when determining the reinforcing material and / or method for the door 44, such that, during a high-pressure event, the door 44 can open quickly to relieve the pressure to prevent damage to the pulverizer 10 or any of the internal components in the interior chamber 28.

[0191] Deflector Liner Panels

[0192] In some implementations, the housing liner 400 can further include a plurality of deflector liner panels 408 (best shown in Figures 9 and 10) which extend against the flow facing deflecting surface (flow facing deflector liner panels 408a) and the opposite deflecting surface (opposite deflector liner panels 408b) of one or more of the deflectors 200. In the exemplary implementation, the flow facing deflecting surface and the opposite deflecting surface are substantially planar and thus the deflector liner panels 408 can also be substantially planar so as to extend flat against the flow facing deflecting surface and the opposite deflecting surface to which they are attached. However, other configurations are possible, such as curved or irregular shaped surfaces.

[0193] In some implementations, the edges of the deflector liner panels 408 abutting the sidewall liner panels 402 or the shelf liner panels 410 can have a shape that corresponds to a shape on the inward facing or inner surface of the sidewall liner panels 402 or the shelf liner panels 410 to provide for an overlapping or engagement coupling between the two types of liner panels, such as a groove and tongue engagement, a protrusion and depression engagement, overlapping lips / edges, etc. For example, the edges of the deflector liner panels 408 abutting the sidewall liner panels 402 or the shelf liner panels 410 can have a tongue shape that corresponds to a groove on the adjacent inner surface of the sidewall liner panel 402 or shelf liner panel 410. Consideration to the ability to individually attach and detach a single deflector liner panel 408 without removing the adjacent sidewall liner panel 402 or the shelf liner panel 410 should be given when determining the engagement coupling. In the exemplary implementation, the edges of the deflector liner panels 408 abutting the sidewall liner panels 402 or the shelf liner panels 410 can have straight or substantially straight edges that are configured to abut directly against the adjacent sidewall liner panel 402 or shelf liner panel 410 directly without a gap therebetween.

[0194] Similarly, in some implementations, the edges of the flow facing deflector liner panels 408a abutting the adjacent opposite deflector liner panels 408b (and vice versa) can have corresponding shapes that provide for an overlapping or engagement coupling between the adjacent deflector liner panels 408, such as a groove and tongue engagement, a protrusion and depression engagement, overlapping lips / edges, etc. In some implementations, the abutting edges of the flow facing deflector liner panels 408a and the opposite deflector liner panels 408b can be angled such that they meet at a radially inward side of the apex of the deflector 200 to form the deflector liner apex. In such implementations, the deflector liner apex is defined by the radially outward (inner facing) corners of both the flow facing deflector liner panels 408a and the opposite deflector liner panels 408b.

[0195] In the exemplary implementation, the edges of the flow facing deflector liner panels 408a and the opposite deflector liner panels 408b are substantially straight or planar. The radially outward edge (or an opposite or non-flow facing edge) of the flow facing deflector liner panels 408a extends past the opposite deflecting surface and the opposite deflector liner panels 408b abuts the radially outer side of the flow facing deflector liner panels 408a. In such implementations, the deflector liner apex is defined by the radially inner (inner facing) corner of the flow facing deflector liner panel 408a.

[0196] Shelf Liner Panels

[0197] In some implementations, the housing liner 400 can further include a plurality of shelf liner panels 410 which are disposed side-by-side against the housing sidewall 26 to form the shelves 300a, 300b, 300c. It will be appreciated that providing the shelves 300a, 300b, 300c in multiple, distinct portions that are detachable from each other allows only parts of the shelves 300a, 300b, 300c to be detached to be serviced or replaced without requiring the entire shelf 300a, 300b, 300c to be removed.

[0198] In the exemplary implementation, each of the plurality of shelf liner panels 410 include an upper portion 411 configured to extend along the inner face of the sidewall 26 of the housing 20 and a lower angled portion 412 which is angled relative to the upper portion

[0199] 411 to form a respective one of the shelves 300a, 300b, 300c. The lower angled portions

[0200] 412 of the plurality of shelf liner panels 410 include a top face 413 which collectively define the top shelf face 302 of the corresponding shelf 300a, 300b, 300c.

[0201] In some implementations, each shelf liner panel 410 is located adjacent one of the deflectors 200. In the exemplary implementation, the shelf liner panels 410 include gaps 417 such that the deflectors 200 extend continuously from the top end 24 to a bottom of the sidewall 26 (i.e., at the interface between the sidewall 26 and the bottom end 22). Accordingly, as shown best in Figure 10, a radial tip of the shelves 300a, 300b, 300c is at substantially the same radial distance from the sidewall 26 as the apex of the deflectors 200. In such implementations, the shelf liner panels 410 adjacent to the deflectors 200 further include a substantially triangular wing portion 414 which extends laterally from the lower angled portion 412 to abut the adjacent deflector 200 and thereby bridges the gap between the lower angled portion 412 and the adjacent deflector 200.

[0202] In the exemplary implementation, the shelf liner panels 410 are formed of two or more pieces that abut each other to cover the entire surface of the sidewall 26 and form the shelves 300a, 300b, 300c. Alternatively, the shelf liner panels 410 could be provided as single, unitary pieces on either side of the deflectors 200 instead of being provided as multiple, separate pieces.

[0203] In some implementations, the shelf liner panel 410 can further include an upper angled portion defining a downward facing horizontal shelf above the shelf 300a, 300b, 300c formed by the lower angled portion 412. In some implementations, each upper angled portion is a mirror image of a corresponding lower angled portion 412 coupled to an upper side of the upper portion 411 of the shelf liner panel 410. Specifically, the upper angled portion includes a bottom surface which faces generally downwardly. This configuration may contribute to further deflecting the airflow into tridimensional vortices in which the airflow moves in the vertical direction.

[0204] In some implementations, as best shown in Figures 4 and 9, an upper side of the upper portion 411 of the shelf liner panel 410 directly abuts a lower side of the adjacent sidewall panel 402, such as shown with the upper shelf 300a and the intermediate shelf 300b. In some implementations, a shelf bridge panel 415 can extend radially inwardly from the sidewall 26 towards, and optionally abutting with or coupled to, the lower side of the lower angled portion 412. In such implementations, there is no exposed surface of the sidewall 26 in the area between the shelf liner panel 410 and the sidewall liner panels 402. In some implementations, the side of the shelf bridge panel 415 exposed to the interior chamber can further be covered with a liner panel, such as a sidewall liner panel 402.

[0205] Alternatively, or additionally, an upper side of the upper portion 411 of a lower shelf liner panel 410 (in the exemplary implementation, the shelf liner panels 410 of the lower shelf 300c) can be adjacent to or directly abut a lower side of the upper portion 411 of an adjacent upper shelf liner panel 410 (in the exemplary implementation, the intermediate shelf 300b). When the lower side of the upper portion 411 of an upper shelf liner panel 410 and the upper side of the upper portion 411 of a lower adjacent shelf liner panel 410 are directly abutting, there is substantially no exposed surface of the sidewall 26 in the area between the shelf liner panel 410 and the sidewall liner panels 402. In some implementations, the lower angled portion 412 of the shelf liner panel 410 on the upper shelf (in the exemplary implementation, the intermediate shelf 300b) can be angled downwardly such that the lower side of the lower angled portion 412 in the upper shelf is below an upper side of the upper portion 411 in the adjacent lower shelf liner. This can minimize the exposed area of the sidewall 26 in the area between the shelf liner panel 410 and the sidewall liner panels 402 when the lower side of the upper portion 411 of an upper shelf liner panel 410 and the upper side of the upper portion 411 of a lower adjacent shelf liner panel 410 are adjacent to each other with a small gap therebetween.

[0206] Hub Liner Panels

[0207] Referring back to Figures 6 to 8, the house liner 400 can further include a plurality of hub liner panels 418 configured to extend over and cover a top side and / or a bottom side of one or more of the rotor hubs 120. In some implementations, the plurality of hub liner panels 418 can each include at least two hub panel portions that have corresponding ends that couple to each other, such as a jig-saw coupling (i.e., male and female coupling parts), a tongue and groove coupling, a protrusion and depression coupling, etc. Providing the hub liner panels 418 with two or more hub panel portion allows the hub liner panel 418 to fully encircle the rotatable shaft 106 and protect the top or bottom surface of the rotor hub 120. In the exemplary implementation, each hub liner panel 418 includes two hub panel portions that each have an end with a jig-saw male coupling part and a jig-saw female coupling part, such that the two hub panel portions can be removed and / or coupled to the rotatable shaft 106 without uncoupling any additional parts.

[0208] In the exemplary implementation, as best shown in Figure 8, a hub liner panel 418 is coupled to a spacing plate 123 on a top side of the top rotor hub 120a. In this implementation, the hub liner panel 418 is welded to a spacer plate 123 and both are coupled to the top rotor hub 120a with fasteners. However, it is understood that the hub liner panel 418 and the top rotor hub 120a can be directly coupled to each other. The plurality of rotor arms 122 are coupled to a bottom or underside of the top rotor hub 120a and to a top side of the bottom rotor hub 120b, such that the plurality of arms 122 are secured between the top rotor hub 120a and the bottom rotor hub 120b.

[0209] Other implementations are also possible, such as the housing liner 400 including a bottom hub liner panel 418 coupled to a bottom side of the bottom rotor hub 120b or having a single (top or bottom) rotor hub 120 and coupling the arms 122 between the rotor hub 120 and a top or bottom hub liner panel 418.

[0210] The hub liner panels 418, top and bottom hub rotors 120a, 120b, and the plurality of arms 122 can be coupled together using any suitable fastening means, such as bolts. In some implementations, the hub liner panel 418 (or, alternatively, a bottom hub liner panel) can include shaped recesses configured to receive a fastener head of the fastening means such that the fastener head is not protruding from the inner (top) surface of a top hub liner panel 418 (or, alternatively, the inner (bottom) surface of a bottom hub liner panel). Positioning the fastener head flush or recessed from the inner surface of the top or bottom hub liner panel 418 can reduce the wear on the fastener head and thus increase the wear life of the fastener. In some instances, positioning the fastener head flush or recessed from the interior chamber 28 facing surface of the hub liner panel 418 can reduce the wear on the fastener opening in the hub liner panel 418 or the area around the fastener opening in the hub liner panel 418 (for example, by preventing lateral forces or pressure from acting on the fastener head), and thus increase the wear life of the fastener and / or the hub liner panel 418. In some implementations, such as shown in Figure 7, the jig-saw coupling of the hub liner panels 418 can be offset from the jig-saw coupling of the top or bottom rotor hub 120a, 120b. Similarly, the jig-saw coupling of the top and bottom rotor hubs 120a, 120b can be offset from each other.

[0211] In the exemplary implementation, the hub liner panel 418, the top and bottom rotor hubs 120a, 120b, and the plurality of arms 122 are coupled together using hex bolts 124 extending therethrough. The hub liner panel 418 includes hexagonal-shaped recesses 126 configured to receive the hexagonal head of the hex bolt 124 and the bottom hub liner panel 418b includes an opening to receive the hex bolt 124 and a threaded body, such as a nut. In some instances, the bottom rotor hub 120b (or, alternatively, the hub liner panel 418) can include a recess configured to receive and provide access to the threaded body to facilitate easy removal and / or to reduce wear on the distal threaded end of the hex bolt 124, the threaded body, the hub liner panel 418, and / or the top and / or bottom rotor hubs 120a, 120b.

[0212] Providing a hexagonal shaped recess 126 (or other non-circular shaped recess) further provides additional anti-rotation features to the hex bolt 124. In other words, the hexagonal recesses 126 on the hub liner panel 418 locks the hex bolt 124 in position, even during rapid rotation of the hub 120, and allows the hex bolt 124 to be removed by unthreading the threaded body on an underside of the bottom rotor hub 120b.

[0213] As is best shown in Figure 8, a radial inward or proximal portion 122a of the plurality of arms 122 is coupled or sandwiched between the top and bottom hub rotors 120a, 120b and a radial outward or distal portion 122b of the plurality of arms 122 extends substantially radially from the rotor hub 120. However, it is also contemplated that the distal portion 122b of the plurality of arms 122 can extend from the rotor hub 120 at an angle towards or away from the flow facing direction. For example, the rotor arms 122 can be tilted, or canted, relative to the rotor hub 120, whereby an angle is defined between a longitudinal axis of the rotor arms and a corresponding radial axis extending radially outwardly from the hub 120. This configuration can facilitate the creation of additional vortices within the interior chamber 28 as the generation of flow currents moving outwardly along respective longitudinal axis of each arm is promoted. The distal portion 122b of the arms 122 of each rotor hub 120 can extend outwardly by about the same distance, although it is appreciated that other configurations are possible. For example, in some implementations, the arms 122 of the outlet pulverizing rotor 108c can extend radially outwardly at a distance less than those of the upper or lower pulverizing rotors 108a, 108b. Alternatively, or additionally, the housing sidewall 26 can have a smaller diameter around the outlet pulverizing rotor 108c (or the bottom end 22 of the housing 20 can have a smaller diameter than the housing sidewall 26), such that the distance between the housing sidewall (or more specifically the deflector apex 210 of the deflectors 200 or the deflector liner apex), and the tip of the rotor arms 122 remain generally the same. In other implementations, the length and / or shape of the distal portion 122b of the arms 122 of the outlet pulverizer rotor 108c can be optimized to provide an airflow that pushes the pulverized material through the outlet 32. In the exemplary implementation, the arms 122 of the outlet pulverizing rotor 108c extend radially outwardly at a distance that is the same as the upper and lower pulverizing rotors 108a, 108b.

[0214] Outlet Liner Panels

[0215] Referring back to Figures 9 and 10, in some implementations, the housing liner 400 can further include a plurality of outlet liner panels 420 configured to extend over and cover the outlet 32 (or more specifically, the outlet conduit 32a extending from the discharge chamber 22a to the outlet 32 where the pulverized material is discharged). The plurality of outlet liner panels 420 can include a bottom outlet liner panel, side outlet liner panels, and a top outlet liner panel to form a liner around the outlet conduit 32a extending from the discharge chamber 22a to the discharge area of the outlet 32. In some implementations, the plurality of floor panels 404 can extend through the outlet conduit 32a and thus form the bottom outlet liner panel. In the exemplary implementation, the outlet liner panels 420 include a first side outlet liner panel 420a extending tangentially outwards from the sidewall 26 of the housing 20, a second side outlet liner panel 420b extending from the adjacent discharge chamber liner panel 405 along the discharge sidewall 37 of the discharge chamber 22a to the outlet 32, a top outlet liner panel 420c coupled to an underside of the upper or top surface of the outlet conduit 32a, and the portion 420d of the rectangular shaped panel 404c that is coupled to a top surface of the outlet conduit 32a. In some implementations, the bottom outlet liner panel can be separate from the rectangular shaped panel 404c. In some implementations, the edges of two adjacent outlet liner panels 420 (or the edges of an outlet liner panel 420 and of an adjacent floor liner panel 404 or discharge chamber liner panel 405) can have corresponding shapes that provide for an overlapping or engagement coupling between the liner panels, such as a groove and tongue engagement, a protrusion and depression engagement, overlapping lips / edges, angled surfaces, etc. Consideration to the ability to individually attach and detach a single outlet liner panel 420 without removing the adjacent outlet liner panels 420 should be given when determining the engagement coupling. In other implementations, the adjacent outlet liner panels 420 can have straight, substantially straight, or angled edges that are configured to abut each other directly without a gap therebetween.

[0216] In the exemplary implementation, the edges of the outlet liner panels 420 are planar, straight, or curved surfaces that are configured to abut each other or an adjacent floor liner panel 406 or adjacent discharge chamber liner panel 405 directly without a gap therebetween.

[0217] Arm Liner Panels

[0218] In some implementations, the housing liner 400 can further include arm liner panels 422 configured to extend over and cover at least a portion of the distal portion 122b of the plurality of arms 122. In some implementations, in contrast to some other types of liner panels, the arm liner panels 422 have a shape and size that is larger than the distal portion 122b of the arm 122 to which the arm liner panel 422 is removably coupled to. The arm liner panel 422 can be shaped and configured to impact materials fed into the pulverizer during the rotation of the arms 122, and can be individually replaced if damaged or worn.

[0219] In some implementations, the arm liner panel 422 can be substantially rectangular and be connected at the distal end 122b via fasteners (e.g., bolts, screws, glue, etc.). In the exemplary implementation, the fasteners are bolts extending through a flow facing surface of the arm liner panel 422 and through the rotor arm 122 and have a rounded bolt head on the flow facing surface. The flow facing surface of the arm liner panel 422 can be generally flat, which can increase the breakage of the input material when they are impacted by the arm liner panel 422. Other shapes, sizes, and configurations of the arm liner panels 422 are also possible. For example, the arm liner panel can include recesses on the flow facing surface, such that the fastener head is substantially flush or recessed from the flow facing surface.

[0220] In the exemplary implementation, as is best shown in Figure 6, the arm liner panel 422 is coupled to the arm 122 such that the proximal end of the arm liner panel 422 is abutting or closely adjacent to the rotor hub 120. As such, the arm liner panel 422 covers and protects the entire distal portion 122b of the arm 122 that extends radially outward from the rotor hub 120. In other words, the flow facing side of the distal portion 122b of the arm 122 is entirely covered by the arm liner panel 422. As is best shown in Figure 6, a top side of the proximal end of the arm liner panel 422 abuts the rotor hub 120 and a bottom side of the proximal end of the arm liner panel 422 abuts the bottom hub liner panel 418b. In the exemplary implementation, the arm liner panel 422 has a length that is longer than a length of the distal portion 122b of the arm 122 and a width that is wider than a width of the distal portion 122b, such that the arm liner panel 422 defines the entire flow facing surface that impacts the input material. However, it is understood that other shapes, sizes, and configurations of the arm liner panel 422 and / or the distal portion 122b of the arm 122 can be used to define an optimized collective flow facing surface of the arm 122 and / or arm liner panel 422.

[0221] In some implementations, the arm liner panel 422 can be sized, shaped, and / or configured such that both planar surfaces of the arm liner panel 422 ( / .e., in the implementation shown in Figure 6, the surface facing the distal portion 122b of the arm 122 and the flow facing surface facing away from the distal portion 122b of the arm 122) can be the flow facing surface. In other words, the arm liner panel 422 is configured to be flipped on the distal portion 122b of the arm 122, instead of being replaced, effectively increasing (e.g., doubling) the lifespan of the arm liner panel 422.

[0222] Feedstocks

[0223] The pulverizer 10 described above can be used to process or size reduce different types of feedstocks, which can also be referred to as input material. The various wear features described above can be specifically optimized based on the type of feedstock the pulverizer 10 is being used with. In some implementations, processing the different materials can include subjecting the feedstock to a categorizing stage wherein the feedstock is categorized as high impact, high abrasion, both high abrasion and impact (also referred to as high abrasion / impact), moderate abrasion, moderate impact, both moderate abrasion and moderate impact (also referred to as moderate abrasion / impact), or low abrasion / impact.

[0224] In some implementations, once categorized, the pulverizer 10 can be optimized to process high abrasion materials, high impact materials, high abrasion / impact materials, moderate abrasion materials, moderate impact materials, moderate abrasion / impact materials, and low abrasion / impact materials. High abrasion and / or high impact can include a feedstock that includes one or more abrasive component and / or impact component mixed with low or moderate abrasive / impact materials. To provide sufficient reinforcements within the interior chamber 28 of the pulverizer 10, materials can be categorized based on the material with the highest abrasive and / or impact level. For example, construction and demolition (C&D) debris that includes high abrasion materials (such as asphalt shingles), high impact materials (such as hardwood), moderate abrasion materials (such as, gypsum drywall) and moderate impact materials (such as softwood) should be categorized as high abrasion and high impact if the concentration of the high abrasion material and the high impact material exceeds between about 5%w / w or exceeds about 10%w / w.

[0225] For the avoidance of doubt, “abrasive” refers to the ability of a substances or materials to remove a thin portion of a hard surface via friction (such as, by rubbing or grinding). The level of abrasiveness of a material can be determined by the roughness of a substance that causes abrasions (i.e., generally having a texture of a surface or edge that is not smooth but is irregular and uneven), the size, the density, and / or a hardness of the substance. In some implementations, the level of abrasiveness of the feedstock can be determined based on a concentration of abrasive material within the feedstock. The abrasive materials can be organic, non-organic, synthetic, and natural.

[0226] Generally, as materials get harder and their surfaces get rougher (or smaller with an irregular shape, which results from the size reduction process), the higher the level of abrasiveness the material exhibits. For example, a pane of glass may not have abrasive features; however, once the pulverization process begins, the size-reduced, pulverized, or partially pulverized glass particulates exhibit highly abrasive characteristics. In some cases, materials that are highly frangible tend to be categorized as high abrasion or moderate abrasion as opposed to high or moderate impact. In some implementations, the abrasion level of the feedstock can be determined by the Miller Number (MN) of the feedstock (or one or more components contained therein). In some implementations, the MN can be determined using the standard ASTM G75-07 Standard Test Method for Determination of Slurry Abrasivity procedure, as is understood in the art. The MN is a measure of the abrasiveness related to the mass loss rate of a standard metal block. As the MN of a feedstock increases, the wear on the interior surfaces or components of the pulverizer increases. In some implementations, feedstocks with an MN of 61 or higher or that include at least about 5%w / w or at least about 10%w / w of a material with an MN of 61 or higher would be categorized as “high abrasion”, whereas feedstocks with an MN of between 20 and 60 or include at least about 25%w / w of a material with an MN of between 20 and 60 would be categorized as “moderate abrasion”. In some implementations, feedstocks that include at least about 2%v / v of a material with an MN of 61 or higher would be categorized as “high abrasion”, whereas feedstocks with an MN of between 20 and 60 or include at least about 10%v / v of a material with an MN of between 20 and 60 would be categorized as “moderate abrasion”. Material or feedstocks with an MN of less than 20 would generally not have an abrasion level (or be low abrasion) and would be categorized based on the impact level.

[0227] Table 1 - Miller Numbers It is understood that one type of material can have a MN that varies greatly from the same type of material based on the source and / or composition of the material. As can be seen in Table 1 , sand can have an MN that varies between 51 and 246 depending on the source of the sand. For example, Bunker Hill Sand has an MN of 218, whereas Saskatchewan Sand has an MN of 149. Additionally, the MN of some materials varies greatly depending on the constituents within the materials. For example, tailings (mining by-products) can have an MN that varies between 24 and 644, which can depend on the percentage of different constituents in the tailings, such as high or lower concentrations of sand, crushed ore, etc. Similarly, the MN of coal can vary between 6 and 57, which may be attributed to the percentage of ash within the coal (coal generally contains between 5% and 25% ash), which is the most abrasive constituent in coal. The MN of ash can also vary (such as between 14 and 83) from soft calcareous to hard and sharp siliceous.

[0228] As such, in some implementations, the categorization stage can include conducting a slurry abrasivity (Miller Number) test on the feedstock or on a material within the feedstock to determine the Miller Number, and thus the abrasivity level of the material and / or feedstock. In some implementations, the slurry abrasivity (Miller Number) test is conducted accordingly to ASTM G75-07 Standard T est Method for Determination of Slurry Abrasivity procedure.

[0229] In some implementations, for example, to determine the abrasion level for stones or other aggregates, the abrasion level of the feedstock can be determined by the Cerchar Abrasivity Index (CAI) determined by the standard ASTM D7625-22 Standard Test Method for Laboratory Determination of Abrasiveness of Rock Using the CERCHAR Abrasiveness Index Method. The CAI is a dimensionless unit value and is calculated by measuring the wear on the tip of a steel stylus with a cone shape and of known Rockwell Hardness caused by scratching the steel stylus against a freshly broken or saw cut rock surface for 10 mm.

[0230] Table 2 - Average Cerchar Abrasivity Index (CAI) sandstone, the abrasion level of a rock or aggregate material can depend on the percentage of quartz content. In other words, quartz is one of the main abrasive minerals in rocks and other aggregates, such that the abrasion level of a material increases with the quartz content of the material. In some implementations, feedstocks with a CAI of 2.1 or higher, or that include at least about 5%w / w or at least about 10%w / w of a material with a CAI of 2.1 or higher would be categorized as “high abrasion”, and feedstocks with a CAI of between 0.5 and 2.0 or that include at least 25%w / w of a material with a CAI of between 0.5 and 2.0 would be categorized as “moderate abrasion”. In some implementations, feedstocks that include at least about 2%v / v of a material with a CAI of 2.1 or higher would be categorized as “high abrasion”, and feedstocks that include at least about 10%v / v of a material with a CAI of between 0.5 and 2.0 would be categorized as “moderate abrasion”.

[0231] In some implementations, the categorization stage can include conducting a Cerchar Abrasivity Index (CAI) test on the feedstock or on a material within the feedstock to determine the CAI value, and thus the abrasivity level of the material and / or feedstock. In some implementations, the CAI test is conducted according to ASTM D7625-22 Standard Test Method for Laboratory Determination of Abrasiveness of Rock Using the CERCHAR Abrasiveness Index Method procedure.

[0232] In some implementations, the abrasion level can be determined based on known characteristic of one or more of the materials in the feedstock. For example, ceramics and fiberglass materials, such as alumina, silicon nitride, cobalt-bonded titanium, tungsten carbides, etc., contain highly abrasive material when size-reduced and thus feedstocks with concentrations of at least about 20%w / w or at least about 30%w / w can be considered a “high abrasion” feedstock.

[0233] “Impact” refers to the strength, density, and / or size of a substance or material that allows the substance or material to withstand collisions or another object coming forcibly into contact with it without breaking. The strength of the material can include its tensile strength, compression strength, and / or torsion strength, which can be measured using known strength testing techniques. Generally, as materials get stronger, denser, bigger, and / or their surface-area-to-volume ratio decreases, the higher the level of impact the material exhibits. For example, railway ties or other types of wood debris having a high strength and density can be resistant to size-reduction and without proper reinforcements in the interior chamber 28, can cause damage to the internal components of the pulverizer 10.

[0234] In some implementations, the impact level can be determined by the shape, volume, density, hardness, and / or surface-area-to-volume ratio of the feedstock (or one or more components contained therein). The impact categorization of a material can vary depending on the type of material. It is understood that the volumes described herein refer to the volume of a single piece of the material and not the volume of the material within the feedstock.

[0235] Table 3 - Metal Materials

[0236] ** Can vary greatly depending on the Brinell hardness.

[0237] These numbers are provided for reference; however, it is understood that the concentration of the metal material in the feedstock plays an important role in categorizing the impact level. For example, a single 8 cm stainless steel cube in a feedstock otherwise comprising only moderate or low impact materials would not convert the feedstock to a high impact feedstock. However, a feedstock including at least about 5%w / w to 10%w / w of a high impact material can be categorized as high impact. Conversely, feedstocks that contain at least about 50%w / w metal with a density greater than 6 g / cm3and a volume greater than 1 cm3may be considered a high impact feedstock, regardless of the type of metal or the volume of the individual pieces. For example, a feedstock containing 51 %w / w stainless steel pieces each having a volume of 2 cm3would be considered a “high impact” feedstock.

[0238] Similarly, the relative size and shape of the metal material (surface-area-to-volume ratio) also plays an important role in categorizing the impact level. For example, an aluminum billet (solid cylinder of aluminum) or other solid block of aluminum would have a significantly lower surface-area-to-volume ratio than hollow aluminum tubing, and therefore larger quantities of hollow aluminum tubing can be processed as “moderate impact” than that of solid blocks of aluminum. By way of another example, smaller metal items, such as metal nails (for example, 8d, 10d, 12d, or 16d nails), small bolts, scissors, cutlery, present in the feedstock would be considered moderate impact materials; whereas, larger pieces of metal, such as large bolts or rebar (for example, present in C&D debris or C&D fines) may be “high impact” when the volume exceeds 442 cm3(or 256 cm3if comprised of iron).

[0239] In some implementations, metal materials having a density higher than about 6 g / cm3, a Brinell hardness of between about 100 N / mm2and 500 N / mm2, and a volume greater than about 442 cm3can be categorized as “high impact”; whereas, metal materials having a density lower than about 6 g / cm3and a Brinell hardness of less than about 100 N / mm2can have a volume of up to about 2,250 cm3before being categorized as “high impact”. Conversely, metal materials having a density higher than about 6 g / cm3and a Brinell hardness of greater than about 500 N / mm2are categorized as “high impact” when the volume is greater than about 125 cm3.

[0240] Table 4 - Wood

[0241] In some cases, the hardness can be affected by the moisture level in the material. For example, the same type of wood would have a different density and hardness when previously dried (for example, wood used in construction materials) than the same wood as a freshly cut tree (for example, yard waste or wood chips).

[0242] In some implementations, the wood materials having a density between about 0.5 g / cm3and about 0.9 g / cm3can be categorized as “high impact” when the volume is greater than 1 ,180 cm3(or is otherwise are categorized as “moderate impact”); whereas wood materials having a density of less than about 0.5 g / cm3can be categorized as “high impact” when the volume is greater than about 2,360 cm3. In some implementations, wood material having a density of greater than 0.9 g / cm3can be categorized as “high impact” when the volume is greater than 590 cm3(or is otherwise are categorized as “moderate impact”). In some implementations, a wood material having a Janka hardness of between about 4 kN and about 12 kN can be categorized as “high impact” when the volume is greater than 1 ,180 cm3(or is otherwise are categorized as “moderate impact”); whereas wood materials having a Janka hardness of less than about 4 kN can be categorized as “high impact” for volumes greater than about 2,360 cm3. In some implementations, wood material a Janka hardness of greater than about 12 kN can be categorized as “high impact” when the volume is greater than 590 cm3(or is otherwise are categorized as “moderate impact”).

[0243] Table 5 - Stones and Other Aggregates

[0244] In some implementations, stone or aggregate materials having a MOHs hardness of about 5 or higher can be categorized as “high impact” when the volume is greater than 256 cm3(or is otherwise are categorized as “moderate impact”); whereas stone or aggregate materials having a MOHs hardness of less than about 5 can be categorized as “high impact” for volumes greater than about 738 cm3.

[0245] Similar to metal materials, the concentration of the stone material within the feedstock also plays a role in the impact categorization. For example, a single 8 cm concrete cube (512 cm3) in a feedstock otherwise comprising only moderate or low impact materials would not convert the feedstock to a high impact feedstock. However, a feedstock including at least about 5%w / w to 10%w / w of a high impact material can be categorized as high impact. Conversely, feedstocks that contain above about 70%w / w to 80%w / w stones or aggregate material with a density above 1.6 g / cm3and a volume greater than 1 cm3may be considered a high impact feedstock, regardless of the type of stone or aggregate or the volume of the individual pieces. For example, a feedstock containing 85%w / w of limestone pieces with each piece having a volume of about 200 to 300 cm3would be considered a “high impact” feedstock, even though each piece of the limestone would be categorized as moderate impact.

[0246] Table 6 - Other Materials (such as composite or man-made materials)

[0247] Other materials, including composite and / or man-made materials that are composed of multiple components, can be categorized based on the density, brittleness, and / or hardness. In some implementations, composite or man-made materials having a density of less than 2 g / cm3, a brittleness (also referred to as fracture toughness) of less than 1 M Pa*m1 / 2, and / or a MOHs hardness of less than 3 can be considered a low impact material regardless of the volume of the individual pieces. For example, any size of clean gypsum drywall pieces (assuming all fasteners or other non-drywall materials have been removed) or any size pane of glass can be processed as a low impact material (not taking into account the abrasion level).

[0248] In some implementations, composite or man-made materials having a density of greater than 2 g / cm3and a brittleness of between about 4 MN / m1 5and about 8 MN / m1 5are categorized as “high impact” when the volume exceeds about 4,500 cm3(or is otherwise categorized as “moderate impact”). In some implementations, feedstocks containing at least about 10%w / w of a composite or man-made material having a density of greater than 2 g / cm3, a brittleness of between about 4 MN / m1 5and about 8 MN / m1 5, and a volume greater than of 4,500 cm3can be categorized as a “high impact” feedstock. In some implementations, feedstocks containing at least about 50%w / w of a composite or manmade material having a density of greater than 2 g / cm3and a brittleness of between about 4 MN / m1 5and about 8 MN / m1 5can be categorized as “high impact” feedstocks when the volume of the individual pieces are greater than 2,250 cm3.

[0249] It is understood that the following examples of categorizations are merely examples intended to provide context to the types of abrasion and impact categories. However, the categorization of the same feedstock may vary greatly depending on various factors of the feedstock, such as the different components and their concentrations, the geographical origin, the relative size and shape of the components, the moisture content, etc. For example, wind turbine blades that have been pre-shredded and screened with a 30 cm minus screen (12-inch minus screen) to a size of less than about 30 cm (12 inches) can be categorized as moderate impact, whereas wind turbine blades that include pieces larger than 30 cm can be categorized as high impact. By way of another example, different types of mining waste or aggregates can vary significantly depending on the geographical location (and depth) they are isolated from. For example, the impact level of sandstone can vary depending on the age of the sandstone and the concentration of quartz within the sandstone. By way of another example, MRF, MSW, or C&D fines can be categorized as high abrasion, high impact, moderate impact, and / or moderate abrasion depending on the concentration of specific components (such as sand, glass, metal, wood, etc.) and the size and shape (surface-area-to-volume ratio) of different components (such as metal, wood, stones and other aggregates). By way of another example, the moisture content of a feedstock may affect the abrasion level, such as a feedstock of wet gypsum or wet dry wall may have a lower Miller Number (and thus potentially a lower abrasion level) than a feedstock of dry gypsum or dry drywall.

[0250] By way of example and without limitation, high abrasive materials can include glass (including large pieces of glass, crushed glass, panes of glass, glass bottle waste, glass medical waste, solar panels without a frame, etc.), shingles (including asphalt shingles), resilient flooring (such as, engineered polymer floor boards), bottom and fly ash, compost and soil amendments, light aggregates (such as, sand, etc.), light mining feedstocks, lithium clay slurries, small dimensional MSW fines, MRF fines and / or C&D fines that have all tramp items removed (for example, pre-screened with a 2.5-inch minus screen), gypsum, and / or drywall.

[0251] By way of example and without limitation, high impact materials can include C&D materials (such as beams, wall portions, concrete, rebar, etc.), municipal solid waste (MSW) materials or material recovery facility (MRF) materials, large pieces of wood debris, hardwood, railway ties, wooden spools, heavy mining feedstocks, and / or metals (such as batteries, including lithium ion batteries, rebar, fasteners, etc.).

[0252] It should be noted that some feedstocks may be categorized as both high abrasion and high impact (which can be referred to as high abrasion / impact). When processing high impact materials, some types of liner panels can be hardened and robust to withstand the impact of high impact material without chipping, breaking, or shattering and when processing high abrasion materials, some types of liner panels can be reinforced to withstand extreme abrasion and the constant impact of the abrasive material as the abrasive material moves around the interior chamber 28 in the vortices, which can have a sand blasting effect on the internal surfaces and components.

[0253] By way of example and without limitation, materials that are both high abrasion and high impact (high abrasion / impact) can include MSW fines, MRF fines and / or C&D fines that include tramp items (large or dense items) that were not or cannot be removed prior to pulverization through a separation stage, larger stones and aggregates (more specifically, for some feedstocks, as the larger aggregates enter the interior chamber 28, they are high impact materials, however, as they are size reduced within the interior chamber 28, they can form small particulates that have high abrasion qualities, such as sand), mining materials that include large dense materials and abrasive materials, yard waste that includes larger pieces of wood (such as tree branches), and / or fiber-reinforced materials and / or ceramic composites (such as, fiber-reinforced concrete, wind turbine blades, siding, vehicle components, epoxies, fiberglass, airplane hulls, etc.).

[0254] By way of example and without limitation, moderate abrasion materials can include limestone, slate, clay (depending on lithium or other mineral concentration within the clay slurry), and / or low maturity sandstone, small dimensional MSW fines, MRF fines and / or C&D fines that have all tramp items removed (for example, pre-screened with a 2.5-inch minus screen), gypsum, and drywall. By way of example and without limitation, moderate impact materials can include MSW fines, MRF fines and / or C&D fines that have all tramp items removed (for example, prescreened with a 6-inch minus screen), softwood, agriculture waste (unwanted or unsalable materials produced from agriculture operations, such as crop waste (grape vines, vegetable residues, tree branches, rice residues, straw, sugarcane bagasse, etc.), animal waste (manure, deceased animals, etc.), processing waste (packaging materials, fertilizer containers, etc.), and hazardous waste (pesticides, insecticides, etc.)), clay minerals, larger pieces of limestone, flooring pieces, compost, etc.

[0255] By way of example and without limitation, low abrasion / impact materials can include leaf and other low density organic waste (pre-compost).

[0256] For the avoidance of doubt, construction and demolition (C&D) materials or C&D debris refers to the unprocessed debris that is generated in the construction, renovation, and / or demolition of buildings (for example, large broken pieces of wood, metal beams, metal fasteners, etc.) and municipal solid waste (MSW) materials or material recovery facility (MRF) materials refers to unprocessed municipal waste (i.e., garbage) of unknown or municipal origin. In contrast, C&D fines refers to pre-sized, pre-screened, and / or preconditioned construction and demolition debris that passes through a screen having an opening size of about 6.35 cm (2-inch minus screen), for example from a sorting and / or processing system, and MSW fines or MRF fines refers to pre-sized, pre-screened, and / or pre-conditioned MSW or MRF material that has pass through a 2-inch minus screen. In some implementations, the C&D fines, MSW fines, and / or MRF fines can include screenings from C&D debris or MSW / MRF debris processing plants, which contain a combination of high abrasion and moderate to low abrasion / impact components — commonly referred to as “fines”, “rejects”, or “residual” material.

[0257] When categorizing the feedstock or material, consideration should be given to the impact factor first when determining the reinforcement materials for the housing liner. The limiting factor for increased wear on the internal surfaces and components of the pulverizer is the impact level of the feedstock. For example, if the housing liner is not properly reinforced for high impact or moderate impact materials, the internal surfaces or components can break off (for example, the arm liner panels 422), causing increased damage within the interior chamber 28 of the pulverizer 10. Moreover, without proper reinforcements, high impact or moderate impact materials can chip away at the carbide overlay, which exacerbates the wear that high abrasion or moderate abrasion materials cause on the internal surfaces or components.

[0258] Pulverizer Reinforcements

[0259] As discussed herein, the pulverizer 10 includes a housing liner 400 that includes a plurality of liner panels each configured to be removably attached to and cover / protect an internal surface or component of the pulverizer 10. Depending on the type of feedstock (i.e., high abrasion, high impact, high abrasion / impact, moderate impact, moderate abrasion, moderate abrasion / impact, and low abrasion / impact), different internal surfaces or components of the pulverizer 10 may require more or less reinforcement than other surfaces or components. By providing multiple different types of liner panels, the pulverizer 10 can be optimized with a type, quantity, and / or quality of reinforcement on the internal surfaces or components, which can reduce the cost while maintaining longer wear life on the internal components when compared with having high reinforcement in all areas of the pulverizer 10. In some implementations, the reinforcing material on the liner panels can be optimized to reduce the overall weight and / or cost of the reinforcing materials in the pulverizer 10.

[0260] The plurality of liner panels of the housing liner 400 (including, sidewall liner panels 402, floor liner panels 404, discharge chamber liner panels 405, ceiling liner panels 406, deflector liner panels 408, shelf liner panels 410, hub liner panels 418, outlet liner panels 420, and arm liner panels 422) can be formed of different types of reinforcing material to increase the wear life of the internal surface or component the liner panel is configured to cover. The reinforcing material can include i) steel, such as mild steel, hardened steel (such as, abrasion resistant (AR) steel, including AR400, AR500, etc. and / or HX steel, including HX500, HX550, HX600, etc.), steel alloys (such as, 4140 steel), cast iron, and / or S7 tool grade steel (shock resisting general purpose air-hardening tool steel); ii) carbide (including carbide overlays) material, including chromium carbide, tungsten carbide, chromium-tungsten carbide, titanium carbide, nano carbides, reaction bonded silicon carbide, and sintered silicon carbide); iii) plastics, such as high density polyethylene (HDPE), thermoplastic resins or nylons (such as, Nylatron™ or Estaloc™), urethane polyurethan (such as, 90A Durometer Urethane), and ultra-high molecular viscosity (UHMV) plastic (such as, Quadrant™ EPP Tivar 88 ESD); iv) fiberglass or other fiber- reinforced composites; v) ceramics, such as silicates (such as alumosilicates and magnesium silicates), oxides (such as alumina, zirconia, silica, magnesia, and other metal oxide-based materials, including zirconia alumina ceramic), non-oxides (such as nickel, platinum, and other metal materials), and glass-ceramics (such as polycrystalline materials produced through controlled crystallization of base glass); and vi) chrome plating. By way of example only and without limitation, Table 7 refers to the types of reinforcement that can be used for the different types of liner panels of the housing liner 400.

[0261] 5 Table 7 - Reinforcement Type

[0262]

[0263] 5

[0264] *As the ceiling liner panels 406 experience less wear (and especially less abrasive wear) than other internal surfaces of the interior chamber 28, it is contemplated that a hardened steel of lesser strength than other liner panels can be used, such as AR400 instead of AR500. As can be seen in Table 7, various areas of the housing liner 400 can be reinforced with different reinforcement materials, depending on the type of feedstock that is being processed.

[0265] In some implementations, when the feedstock is categorized as a high abrasion material, the wear life of the pulverizer 10 can be extended by forming the arm liner panels 422 from cast iron, S7 tool grade steel, chromium carbide, tungsten carbide, chromium-tungsten carbide, titanium carbide, nano carbides, reaction bonded silicon carbide, and / or sintered silicon carbide, zirconia aluminia ceramic, aluminia ceramic, and / or providing an overlay with chromium carbide, tungsten carbide, chromium-tungsten carbide, titanium carbide, nano carbides, reaction bonded silicon carbide, sintered silicon carbide, zirconia aluminia ceramic, aluminia ceramic, and / or ceramic putty. In contrast, when the feedstock is a high impact, high abrasion / impact material, or moderate abrasion and / or moderate impact material, the arm liner panels 422 can be formed of hardened steel (or steel alloys for moderate abrasion and / or moderate impact materials) to reduce the instances of breakage of the arm liner panels 422 when coming into contact with the high impact or moderate abrasion and / or impact materials at a high speed.

[0266] In some implementations, when the feedstock is categorized as a high abrasion material, the wear life of the pulverizer 10 can be extended by forming the sidewall panels 402 from HDPE, thermoplastic resins / nylons, urethan polyurethane, LIHMV, chromium carbide, tungsten carbide, chromium-tungsten carbide, titanium carbide, nano carbides, , reaction bonded silicon carbide, sintered silicon carbide, zirconia aluminia ceramic, and / or aluminia ceramic and / or providing an overlay with chromium carbide, tungsten carbide, chromium- tungsten carbide, titanium carbide, nano carbides, reaction bonded silicon carbide, sintered silicon carbide, zirconia aluminia ceramic, aluminia ceramic and / or ceramic putty. In contrast, when the feedstock is a high impact, high abrasion / impact material, or moderate abrasion and / or impact material, the sidewall liner panels 402 can be formed of hardened steel (or steel alloys for moderate abrasion and / or impact materials).

[0267] In some implementations, when the feedstock is categorized as a high abrasion material, the wear life of the pulverizer 10 can be extended by forming the shelf liner panels 410 of chromium carbide, tungsten carbide, chromium-tungsten carbide, titanium carbide, nano carbides, reaction bonded silicon carbide, sintered silicon carbide, zirconia aluminia ceramic, and / or aluminia ceramic and / or providing the shelf liner panels 410 with an overlay with chromium carbide, tungsten carbide, chromium-tungsten carbide, titanium carbide, nano carbides, reaction bonded silicon carbide, sintered silicon carbide, zirconia aluminia ceramic, aluminia ceramic, and / or ceramic putty. In contrast, when the feedstock is a high impact, high abrasion / impact material, or moderate abrasion and / or impact material, the shelf liner panels 410 can be formed of hardened steel (or steel alloys and / or chrome plating for moderate abrasion and / or impact materials).

[0268] In some implementations, when the feedstock is categorized as a high abrasion material, high impact material, high abrasion / impact material, or a moderate abrasion and / or impact material, the wear life of the pulverizer 10 can be extended by forming the deflector liner panels 408 from hardened steeled, chromium carbide, tungsten carbide, chromiumtungsten carbide, titanium carbide, nano carbides, reaction bonded silicon carbide, sintered silicon carbide, zirconia aluminia ceramic, and / or aluminia ceramic and / or providing them with an overlay with chromium carbide, tungsten carbide, chromiumtungsten carbide, titanium carbide, nano carbides, reaction bonded silicon carbide, sintered silicon carbide, zirconia aluminia ceramic, aluminia ceramic, and / or ceramic putty. In some implementations, due to the frequent and continuous contact of the particulates hitting the deflector liner panels 408, the deflector liner panels 408 can be formed of hardened steel to protect the deflectors 200 and the deflector liner panels 408 against impacts and be provided with an overlay to protect the deflectors 200 and the deflector liner panels 408 from abrasion.

[0269] In some implementations, when the feedstock is categorized as a high impact material or a high abrasion / impact material, the wear life of the pulverizer 10 can be extended by forming the floor liner panels 404 and / or the ceiling liner panels 406 from hardened steel. In contrast, when the feedstock is a moderate abrasion and / or impact material, the floor liner panels 404 and / or the ceiling liner panels 406 can be formed of steel alloys and when the feedstock is a low abrasion / impact material, the floor liner panels 404 and / or the ceiling liner panels 406 can be formed of mild steel or be provided with a chromium carbide overlay. In some implementations, the ceiling liner panels 406 can be formed of any steel, plastic, or fiberglass material with or without an overlay or chrome plating due to the ceiling liner panels 406 potentially experiencing less wear (and especially less abrasive wear) than other internal surfaces of the interior chamber 28. Similarly, in some implementations, when the feedstock is categorized as a moderate abrasion and / or impact or low abrasion / impact, or optionally, even when the feedstock is categorized as high abrasion, high impact, or high abrasion / impact, the ceiling liner panels 406 can be formed of HDPE, thermoplastic resins / nylons, urethan polyurethane, LIHMV, and / or fiberglass, and / or be chrome plated.

[0270] In some implementations, when the feedstock is categorized as a high abrasion material, the wear life of the pulverizer 10 can be extended by providing hub liner panels 418 formed from hardened steel, chromium carbide, tungsten carbide, chromium-tungsten carbide, titanium carbide, nano carbides, reaction bonded silicon carbide, sintered silicon carbide, zirconia aluminia ceramic, and / or aluminia ceramic and / or provided with an overlay of chromium carbide, tungsten carbide, chromium-tungsten carbide, titanium carbide, nano carbides, reaction bonded silicon carbide, sintered silicon carbide, zirconia aluminia ceramic, aluminia ceramic, and / or ceramic putty. In contrast, when the feedstock is a moderate abrasion and / or impact material, the hub liner panels 418 can be formed of steel alloys.

[0271] In some implementations, when the feedstock is categorized as a high abrasion material, the wear life of the pulverizer 10 can be extended by forming the discharge chamber liner panels 405 and / or the outlet liner panels 420 from hardened steel, HDPE, thermoplastic resins / nylons, urethan polyurethane, LIHMV, chromium carbide, tungsten carbide, chromium-tungsten carbide, titanium carbide, nano carbides, reaction bonded silicon carbide, sintered silicon carbide, zirconia aluminia ceramic, and / or aluminia ceramic, and / or providing an overlay with chromium carbide, tungsten carbide, chromium-tungsten carbide, titanium carbide, nano carbides, reaction bonded silicon carbide, sintered silicon carbide, zirconia aluminia ceramic, aluminia ceramic, and / or ceramic putty. In other implementations, the discharge chamber liner panels 405 can be formed with the same reinforcing material as the sidewall liner panels 402.

[0272] In some implementations, when the feedstock is categorized as a moderate abrasion and / or impact or low abrasion / impact, certain portions of the housing liner 400 can be replaced with light and / or cheaper materials. For example, the sidewall panels 422, the discharge chamber liner panels 405, and / or the outlet liner panels 420 can be formed of HDPE, thermoplastic resins / nylons, urethan polyurethane, and / or LIHMV. In some implementations, the sidewall panels 422, the discharge chamber liner panels 405, and / or the outlet liner panels 420 can be formed of fiberglass and / or be chrome plated.

[0273] It will be understood that the above implementations are provided as examples only and that the use of various other materials for processing certain types of feedstock may be considered. For example, the sidewall liner panels 402 could still be formed from hardened steel even when the pulverizer 10 is used to process low abrasion / impact feedstock.

[0274] For the avoidance of doubt, reinforcement materials that are provided with an overlay can potentially be formed of any material, such as steel or another type of metal, plastic, and / or fiberglass or other fiber-reinforced composites (such as steel fiber, carbon fiber, plastic fiber, etc. reinforced composites). In some implementations, the overlay can be a liquid, putty, or other substance that can be coated on the surface and allowed to harden. In other implementations, the overlay can be a surface attachment that is coupled on the surface, such as attached with fasteners, mortar, welded, or another suitable attachment means.

[0275] In some implementations, a pulverizer 10 used to process a material categorized as high impact or high abrasion / impact materials can include arm liner panels 422, sidewall liner panels 402, shelf liner panels 410, floor liner panels 404, discharge chamber liner panels 405, outlet liner panels 420, and / or hub liner panels 418 formed of hardened steel (such as AR500+ or HX500+ steel), the deflector liner panels 408 can be provided with an overlay, optionally formed of a chromium carbide overlay, reaction bonded silicon carbide, sintered silicon carbide, zirconia aluminia ceramic, aluminia ceramic, and / or ceramic putty and / or the ceiling liner panels 406 can be formed of a hardened steel that is less hardened than the other types of hardened steel (such as, AR400 steel).

[0276] In some implementations, a pulverizer 10 used to process high abrasion materials can include arm liner panels 422, sidewall liner panels 402, the deflector liner panels 408, shelf liner panels 410, floor liner panels 404, discharge chamber liner panels 405, and / or outlet liner panels 420 provided with an overlay, optionally formed of chromium carbide, reaction bonded silicon carbide, sintered silicon carbide, zirconia aluminia ceramic, aluminia ceramic, and / or ceramic putty, the hub liner panels 418 can be formed of hardened steel (such as AR500+ or HX500+ steel), and / or the ceiling liner panels 406 can be formed of a hardened steel that is less hardened than the other types of hardened steel (such as, AR400 steel).

[0277] In some implementations, a pulverizer 10 used to process high abrasion materials can include arm liner panels 422, sidewall liner panels 402, the deflector liner panels 408, shelf liner panels 410, floor liner panels 404, discharge chamber liner panels 405, and / or outlet liner panels 420 provided with an overlay comprised of an epoxy or putty. For example, a ceramic putty, such as, without limitation an alumina and / or zirconia-filled epoxy compound, can be coated on the flow facing surface of the liner panel to further protect the liner panel from wear.

[0278] Processes using the Pulverizer

[0279] A feedstock or input material can be supplied to a pulverizer 10 for a kinetic pulverization stage to produce a pulverized output stream. The feedstock can be obtained from a categorization stage, where the feedstock is categorized as being a high abrasion material, a high impact material, a high abrasion / impact material, a moderate abrasion material, a moderate impact material, or a low abrasion / impact material.

[0280] Categorization Stage

[0281] The categorization stage can include a separation stage where the feedstock is subjected to one or more separation techniques based on a characteristic of the feedstock, such as size, density, strength, weight, magnetism, etc., whether manually or automatically using known separation techniques. Additionally, or alternatively, the categorization stage can include an on-site or off-site sorting stage, for example, a high abrasion / impact material can undergo a sorting stage where large or dense materials are removed from the feedstock to produce a high impact material stream and a high abrasion material stream. In some implementations, the categorization stage can include conducting one or more test on the feedstock material to determine whether the feedstock includes material that is categorized as high or moderate impact and / or high or moderate abrasion and / or to determine the percentage of the feedstock that is a high or moderate impact material and / or a high or moderate abrasion material.

[0282] In some implementations, the categorization stage can include removing a sample from the feedstock and categorizing the sample, which can then be inferred as the categorization of the entire feedstock. For example, the abrasion level of the feedstock can be determined by the Miller Number (MN) and / or a Cerchar Abrasivity Index (CAI) of the sample of the feedstock. The MN of the sample or feedstock can be tested using the standard ASTM G75-07 Standard Test Method for Determination of Slurry Abrasivity procedure, as is understood in the art, and / or the CAI of the sample or the feedstock can be determined by the standard ASTM D7625-22 Standard Test Method for Laboratory Determination of Abrasiveness of Rock Using the CERCHAR Abrasiveness Index Method, as is understood in the art. Similarly, the impact level of the feedstock can be determined by the density, volume, surface area, surface-area-to-volume ratio, hardness, and / or percentage of metal material of the sample of the feedstock.

[0283] In other implementations, for example when the feedstock is a source separated or singlestream feedstock, the categorization stage can simply include identifying the feedstock as being a high abrasion material, a high impact material, a high abrasion / impact material, a moderate abrasion material, a moderate impact material, or a low abrasion / impact material. Source separated or single-stream feedstocks are feedstocks that mostly (for example, at least 80%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 99%, etc.) or entirely comprises a single type of material or mixed component. For example, source-separated or singlestream feedstocks can include feedstocks substantially consisting of glass, shingles, drywall panels, wood, wind turbine blades, carpet panels, resilient flooring, etc. Source separated or single-stream feedstocks can include used materials that have been removed and discarded (ex. used shingles or drywall, used wind turbine blades, used batteries, etc.), factory or manufacturing rejects, items pre-separated, such as at a C&D, MSW, or MRF processing facility, etc.

[0284] In some implementations, a source-separated or single-stream feedstock can undergo a categorization stage where an abrasion level and / or impact level of the feedstock, or a sample of the feedstock, is determined. For example, when the feedstock is mining waste, testing a sample of the mining waste may be required to determine the abrasion and / impact level given that the consistency and components present in mining waste varies greatly depending on several factors, including the type of material being mined, the method of mining, the geographical location of the mine, etc. Alternatively, when the feedstock is organic waste, such as seaweed, the feedstock can undergo a categorization stage where a percentage of an abrasive material, such as sand, is determined. In some implementations, the feedstock can undergo a size separation stage prior to being processed in the pulverizer 10 to separate high impact materials from moderate and / or low abrasion / impact materials. For example, a feedstock of agriculture waste (crop waste) comprising tree branches and other wood debris can undergo a separation stage to separate large pieces of wood or hardwood (high impact) from small pieces of wood or softwood (moderate impact). In such an exemplary utilization, a screen could be used to separate wood pieces having a size above 6-inches (by way of example only) to be processed as a high impact material and a size below 6-inches to be processed as a moderate impact material.

[0285] In some implementations, the feedstock can undergo a size separation stage prior to being process in the pulverizer 10 to separate high abrasion materials from high impact materials. For example, a C&D debris, MSW debris, and / or MRF debris stream can undergo a size separation stage to separate C&D materials, MSW materials, and / or MRF materials, respectively from C&D fines, MSW fines, and / or MRF fines, respectively. However, it should be noted that depending on the contents of the C&D fines, MSW fines, and / or MRF fines, the feedstock may still be categorized as high abrasion / impact after undergoing a size separation stage. For example, tramp items (large and / or dense items) in C&D, MSW, and / or MRF debris can occasionally go through the screen process (for example, thin, elongated materials, like metal rebar or the like), resulting in the C&D, MSW, and / or MRF fines material, respectively, being categorized as high abrasion / impact. Other factors for categorizing C&D, MSW, and MRF debris include the presence, size, strength, and / or quantity of metal in the C&D, MSW, and MRF debris.

[0286] In some implementations, the separation stage can include a metal or magnetic separation stage as a pre-treatment stage upstream of the pulverization stage to capture or remove metal from the feedstock. The separated metal can be supplied as scrap metal for resale, recycled, or disposed of. In some embodiments, the post-treatment or downstream magnetic separation stage can include magnets to separate ferrous metals from the feedstock and / or a non-ferrous metal separator to separate non-ferrous metals with permanent magnets.

[0287] The metal depleted feedstock can be fed to the pulverization stage. The magnetic separator can be designed and operated to remove metal with a high weight density to reduce wear and damage on the pulverizer 10. For example, the magnetic separator can be provided based on nominal size of the feedstock and ferrous objects that would be desirable for removal. For instance, the magnetic separator can be provided to ensure removal of solid ferrous objects that have a high weight in an overall low volume. While some geometries, such as flat sheets, may pose little concern to the operation of the pulverizer and categorized as moderate impact, other geometries such as blocks, chunks, and the like can increase wear and damage and are categorized as high impact. The magnetic separation stage can facilitate the removal of all or portions of the metal (such as metal having a low surface-area-to-volume ratio) to enhance downstream processing. The magnetic separator can be configured based on size of the feedstock, ferrous object size, and material burden depth. The magnetic separator could be actively controlled or simply turned on to enable the separation. The magnetic separation stage can facilitate the reduction of a feedstock from high impact to moderate impact, thus allowing for lighter and / or less expensive reinforcement materials to be used in the housing liner. The magnetic separation stage can also reduce the risk of wear and damage to the pulverizer and divert more waste from going to the landfill by recovering scrap metal material.

[0288] The magnetic separation stage can use various types of magnetic separators, which can be selected based on the feedstock and throughput. For example, the magnetic separator can be a dry-type magnetic separator or wet type magnetic separator depending on the moisture content of the feedstock. The magnetic separator can have a magnetic field strength that is designed for removal of target ferrous metal objects that could be problematic for the pulverization stage. The magnetic separator could also include a permanent magnet and electromagnetic magnetic separator. The magnetic separator can also have various design and structural features, e.g., drum type, roller type, disc type, ring type, belt type, among others. The magnetic separator can also use constant, alternating, pulsating, or rotating magnetic fields depending on the design and configuration of the system and the feedstock. The magnet itself can be composed of various materials.

[0289] In some implementations, the magnetic separation stage can be used to remove all ferrous and nonferrous metals from the feedstock to reduce the impact categorization of the feedstock. For example, C&D material, MSW material, and MRF material can undergo a size separation stage to remove large tramp items as high impact materials, followed by a magnetic separation stage to remove all remaining metal pieces as high impact materials, such that the remaining material can be categorized as high abrasion (as opposed to high impact or high abrasion / impact). In some implementations, a source separated or single-stream feedstock can be subjected to a magnetic separation stage to remove any remaining metal within the stream. The magnetic separation stage can be particularly useful for source separated or single-stream feedstocks that come from used materials that were removed or disassembled from their original purpose. For example, feedstocks that are mostly or substantially comprised of used shingles, drywall, or wood can undergo a magnetic separation stage to remove any remaining fasteners (such as nails, screws, bolts, etc.) within the material.

[0290] In some implementations, the feedstock can undergo a density separation stage prior to being process in the pulverizer 10 to separate high impact materials from moderate or low abrasion / impact materials. Density separation stages can include, without limitation, an x- ray transmission and x-ray fluorescence sorting system for dry density sorting of bulk materials, cascaded separator elements, air jig with vibrating feeder, dry sink-float separation, sensor-based sorting systems, visual separators that separate based on visual characteristics of the materials, etc. For example, a feedstock of crop waste comprising wood debris or other types of wood debris can undergo a density separation stage to separate the hardwood from the softwood based on density. Alternatively, a C&D debris stream can undergo a density separation stage to separate highly dense materials, such as metals, hardwoods, concrete from lower density materials, such as softwoods and drywall / gypsum.

[0291] It is understood that the type of liner panels that comprise the housing liner 400 and their reinforcing material can be modified on the pulverizer 10 to optimize the ability of the pulverizer 10 to size reduce the material without breakage and to increase the wear life of the pulverizer 10. Modification of the pulverizer 10 depending on the categorization of the feedstock can increase the wear life of the pulverizer 10, decrease the overall weight of the pulverizer 10, and decrease the cost of the reinforcements in the pulverizer 10.

[0292] Pulverization Stage

[0293] Once the feedstock has been categorized as high abrasion, high impact, high abrasion / impact, moderate abrasion, moderate impact, or low abrasion / impact in the categorization stage, a pulverizer 10 can be provided for the pulverization stage based on the categorization of the feedstock. Specifically, the pulverizer used for the categorized feedstock can be provided with reinforcing materials that are optimized to increase the wear life of the internal surfaces and components of the pulverizer 10, reduce the overall weight of the pulverizer 10, and / or to reduce the overall cost of the reinforcing materials for the pulverizer 10.

[0294] Regarding the pulverization stage, a single pulverizer 10 can be implemented and operated as a one-pass stage. For example, the feedstock can be fed into the inlet 30 of the pulverizer 10 and be subjected to the vortices within the interior chamber 28. The feedstock passes into the vortices and experience self-collision for size reduction of the material.

[0295] In some implementations, the process, pulverization stage and / or pulverizer 10 can be operated in continuous mode or in semi-batch mode. It is also possible to pulverize the material in a single pass or using multiple passes through the pulverizer 10. When multiple passes are used, the pulverized material from a first pass can be screened and only a fraction (such as an oversized fraction) fed through a subsequent pass. More generally, certain materials or fractions can be subjected to multiple pulverization stages, which may be done in the same kinetic pulverizer 10 via recycling or in multiple pulverizers 10 operated in series. The material can be batch fed or continuous fed into the kinetic pulverizer 10. Each pass through the kinetic pulverizer 10 may be done at the same or different operating conditions (e.g., rotation speed, feed rate) where variations in operating conditions are determined based on the composition of the feed for each pass, for example. The pulverization stage uses kinetic energy, vortices and matter-on-matter collisions to achieve size reduction of the feedstock.

[0296] The material passes to the discharge chamber 22a of the pulverizer 10 and is expelled via the outlet 32 as the pulverized output stream. The kinetic pulverizer can be operated with a rotation speed between 500 RPM to 1 ,200 RPM or between 600 RPM and 1 ,100 RPM or between 700 RPM and 1 ,000 RPM. The rotation speed can be adjusted in response to other process parameters or maintained relatively constant. In some implementations, the rotation speed is adjusted to control the size and / or quality of the output material. In some implementations, the rotation speed is adjusted or varied based on the categorization of the feedstock. For example, lower impact feedstocks, such as drywall, can be size reduced with a lower rotational speed than higher impact feedstocks, such as hardwood. Lowering the rotational speed of the pulverizer can reduce the overall energy consumption of the process and / or reduce wear on the internal surfaces and components of the pulverizer 10 by high abrasion or moderate abrasion materials.

[0297] Pre-Treatment (or Upstream) Stages

[0298] In some implementations, the process can include one or more pre-treatment stages prior to or upstream of the categorization stage and / or the pulverization stage. For example, the process can include a pre-size reduction stage (such as, a pre-crushing or a pregrinding stage) upstream of the pulverization stage. For example, a crusher, high-speed grinder, or roller can be used to reduce the size of the feedstock (for example, pre-size to reduce the feedstock to a volume of less than 256 cm3) and / or increase the surface-area- to-volume ratio (such as from 0.95 to 2.25), for example by crushing or rolling out the feedstock material. In some implementations, the pre-size reduction stage can occur prior to or upstream from the categorization stage, for example, to reduce the volume and / or surface-area-to-volume ratio of the feedstock and thus, potentially change the impact level of the feedstock.

[0299] In other implementations, for example, when the categorization stage includes a separation stage, the pre-size reduction stage can occur after or downstream from the categorization stage. For example, the pre-size reduction stage can reduce the volume and / or surface-area-to-volume ratio of a feedstock categorized as having high impact materials, such that the feedstock can be categorized as moderate impact. By way of example and without limitation, when the feedstock includes C&D debris, the categorization stage can include a size separation stage where larger materials (C&D materials) are separated from the C&D fines to produce an oversized stream comprising high impact material and an undersized stream comprising high abrasion material. In such implementations, the undersized stream can be subjected to the pulverization stage in a pulverizer having a housing liner configured for high abrasion material and the oversized stream can be subjected to a pre-size reduction stage, for example, in a crusher, grinder, roller, or a pulverizer 10 that is configured to process high impact materials. The output from the pre-size reduction stage can be subjected to a second categorization stage to determine whether the pre-size reduced stream can be categorized as moderate impact material and thus can be subjected to a pulverization stage in a pulverizer 10 configured to process moderate impact materials. In some implementations, a pre-size reducing stage can be conducted simply for ease of transport or handling of the material. By way of example and without limitation, when the feedstock is wind turbine blades, which can have excessive lengths, such as between 35 and 52 meters, the feedstock can undergo a pre-size reduction stage to facilitate transport and / or to fit within the inlet 30.

[0300] In some implementations, for example, when the feedstock is subjected to a size-reduction pre-treatment stage, an upstream dust collection stage can be used to remove dust from the feedstock and / or isolate a material that can be sold as an end product or undergo a pulverization and / or separation stage to isolate a valuable component.

[0301] In some implementations, the pre-treatment stage can include a washing stage to remove or reduce the percentage of contaminants on the feedstock prior to the categorization stage and / or the pulverization stage. Contaminants can include organic or inorganic contaminants, biohazardous material (such as, human or animal blood, bacteria, etc.), food waste, clay, sand, etc. The washing stage can include a variety of techniques used to remove some or all of the contaminants in the feedstock. For example, the washing stage can include subjecting the feedstock to i) pressurized nozzle spray of water or a cleaning solution; ii) a vibrating screen, a vibrating bath, ultrasonic cleaner, tumbler, or other agitation machine with water or a cleaning solution; iii) treatment in an autoclave; iv) treatment with a sanitizing solution; treatment with LIV radiation or other germicidal radiation; and / or other washing processes that are known in the art.

[0302] In some implementations, the feedstock can be placed on a vibrating screen or conveyor and subjected to pressurized nozzle spray to remove some or all of the contaminants on the feedstock. Additionally, or alternatively, the feedstock can be placed in an agitation machine, such as a tumbler, with water or a cleaning solution and then undergo a separation stage (for example, screening or centrifugation) to remove the water or cleaning solution. In some implementations, the cleaning solution can include a grit material, such as pulverized glass, sand, tumbler grit (silicon carbide abrasive), etc.

[0303] By way of example only and without limitation, when the feedstock includes source separated glass waste (such as recycled glass isolated from a MRF facility or panes of glass isolated from C&D debris) or contaminated glass waste (such as, a feedstock of unsorted recycled glass waste, glass bottle or other waste, and / or biohazard disposal glass, including glass syringes), the feedstock can undergo a washing stage prior to the pulverization stage to remove the contaminants not removed with a separation stage.

[0304] Similarly, other feedstocks can utilize a pre-treatment washing stage, such as mining material or mining waste (for example, clay covered ores or aggregates), being subjected to a pre-treatment washing stage to remove clay, mud, sand, and other small particles from the mining material, or seaweed waste being subjected to a pre-treatment washing stage to remove excess sand. In some implementations, the washing stage can produce a washed feedstock that is then subjected to the pulverization stage or the categorization stage and pulverization stage and a washing solution stream that includes the water or cleaning solution and small particles screened out with the water or cleaning solution. In some implementations, the washing solution stream can include valuable components (such as sand) that can isolated from the water or cleaning solution and either be sold for re-use or subjected to the categorization and pulverization stages as a different feedstock than the washed feedstock. In some implementations, once the contaminations are removed from the washing solution stream, the water or cleaning solution (devoid of contaminants) can be reintroduced in the washing stage.

[0305] In some implementations, the washing stage can be combined with another stage. For example, if the categorization stage includes a density separation stage, the density separation stage can be a sink-float separation stage in water or a cleaning solution to simultaneously separate out a portion of high density (cleaned) material and low density (cleaned) material. Alternatively, or additionally, when the feedstock can be subjected to a pre-size reduction stage simultaneously with a washing stage by including water or a washing solution with the feedstock in the size-reduction machine. Additionally, or alternatively, the washing stage and the pulverization stage can be combined, such that water and / or cleaning solution is co-fed to the pulverizer 10 with the feedstock. However, consideration should be given to the run time of the pulverizer 10 when determining whether to combine the wash stage with the pulverization stage.

[0306] In some implementations, the process can include a pre-treatment drying stage. The drying stage can include processing the feedstock with a dehydration or heating chamber. For example, when the feedstock is seaweed, the drying stage can include subjecting the seaweed to a drying temperature for a predetermined amount of time, such as at 75°C for about 10 hours. In other implementations, the drying stage can include leaving the feedstock in a dehydrating environment for a period of time. For example, when the feedstock is seaweed, the drying stage can include spreading the seaweed out in the sun and allowing the seaweed to naturally dry over a period of time. Other drying stages can include subjecting the feedstock to an airstream, heat, and / or pyrolysis (for organic waste, for example).

[0307] In other implementations, the pulverization stage can not only enable targeted size reduction of the material, but can also facilitate drying and / or pathogen reduction for a higher quality output stream. In some implementations, the pulverizing stage reduces the moisture by 5 to 8%. Accordingly, the feedstock can be wet feed material that is fed directly to the kinetic pulverization stage without pre-treatment, such as a drying pre-treatment stage, as the pulverizer 10 is capable of effectively handling wet or dry feed material. For example, the feedstock can have a moisture content of up to 50% or between 10% and 40%, and can be fed directly into the pulverizer 10 without a pre-treatment drying stage. In some implementations, such as for wetter feedstocks having a moisture content over 50%, the drying stage can be performed to dry the material below 50%.

[0308] In some implementations, the pulverizer 10 can further include a flash drying mechanism, thus allowing for a flash drying stage that is simultaneous with the pulverization stage. In some implementations, the flash drying stage can be useful for feedstocks that have undergone the washing stage. In some implementations, the flash drying stage (simultaneous with the pulverization stage) can replace the drying stage as a posttreatment to the washing stage. For example, when the feedstock is glass, the glass can undergo a washing stage and be immediately subjected to the pulverization stage with a flash drying stage. In some limitations, the flash drying stage can be used to reduce the moisture content of an unwashed feedstock. For example, when the feedstock is seaweed, the feedstock can be fed directly to the pulverizer 10 having a flash drying mechanism without a drying stage and simultaneously subjected to a pulverization stage and a flash drying stage.

[0309] Post-Treatment or Downstream Stages

[0310] In some implementations, the pulverized output stream can be subjected to one or more post-treatment or downstream stages. In some implementations, the post- treatment stage can include a downstream separation stage that uses the same techniques as the upstream separation stages that form part of the categorization stage (such as, separation based on size, strength, density, weight, density, magnetism, etc.). For example, a C&D fines feedstock containing small pieces of metal can be categorized as a high abrasion / impact material when entering the pulverization stage ( / .e., without undergoing an upstream magnetic separation stage). The pulverized output stream from the pulverization stage can then be subjected to a downstream magnetic separation stage to remove any remaining metal materials.

[0311] Other downstream separation stages can be utilized to separate different components of a mixed feedstock post-pulverization stage. For example, when the feedstock is mining waste, the pulverized output stream can undergo a magnetic and / or density separation stage to separate the aggregates from a valuable component, such as precious metals or minerals. Other examples include subjecting a pulverized output stream from a fiber- reinforced composite material (ex. wind turbine blades, carpets, etc.) to a density or size separation stage to isolate the reinforcing fibers from the binder component and / or subjecting a pulverized output stream from a feedstock containing a frangible component and a ductile component (such as, C&D materials or fines, MSW materials or fines, MRF materials or fines, drywall, shingles, glass, etc.) to a size separation stage to isolate the frangible component (which is substantially sized reduced during the pulverization stage and represents an undersized fraction of the pulverized output material) from the ductile component (which is less sized reduced and represents an oversized fraction of the pulverized material).

[0312] In some implementations, the post-treatment stage can include a chemical separation stage that includes subjecting the pulverized output material to a chemical additive that facilitates separation. It is understood that, depending on the nature of the feedstock and the chemical additive used in the chemical separation stage, the chemical separation stage can occur either before, during, or after the pulverization stage. In such implementations, the chemical separation stage may also be considered an upstream or pre-treatment stage. The chemical additive can be any chemical compound used to isolate a component from a mixture, such as an acidic or basic solvent or an ionic solution. For example, when the feedstock is lithium-enriched clay, the chemical separation stage can include subjecting the feedstock, the pulverized output material, or another postpulverization stage stream, to an ionic solution to facilitate an ionic isolation and precipitation of the lithium. By way of another example, when the feedstock is or includes electronic waste, the chemical separation stage can include subjecting the feedstock, the pulverized output material, or another post-pulverization stage stream, to an acid (such as, sulfuric acid, hydrogen peroxide, thiourea, nitric acid, emulsion liquid membrane, and hydrochloric acid) to leach out any gold within the stream being subjected to the chemical separation stage.

[0313] It is understood that other separation techniques known in the art can also be used, either as a pre-treatment or post-treatment stage depending on the nature of the feedstock and the component being isolated or removed. For example, a pre-treatment or post-treatment separation stage could include one or more of electrostatic separation, air or air density separation, hydrocyclone separation, filtration or sedimentation separation, supercritical fluid extraction, dissolution / reprecipitation, evaporation separation, optical or laser separation, colour separation, sensor-based sorting separation, gravity separation, magnetic density separation, floatation separation, etc.

[0314] The downstream size separation stage can be conducted to separate out larger pieces of frangible material that may require a second pulverization stage or a size-reduction stage; to classify the various size fractions of the pulverized output material, and / or to screen for contaminates. In some implementations, larger size fractions of the pulverized output material can be re-introduced into the pulverizer 10 for a second pulverization stage, sold as larger aggregate pieces, or be subjected to a post-size reduction stage. In some implementations, the downstream size separation stage can remove contaminants, such as ductile material (plastics, plastic films, paper films, etc.) in the feedstock.

[0315] For example, when the feedstock is glass, the pulverized output material can be subjected to a downstream size separation stage, such as screening. The downstream size separation stage can classify the different size fractions of pulverized glass (for example, for different avenues of resale, such as a sand replacement, landscaping glass pebbles, soil amendment, use in water filters, for sand blasting, etc.). Additionally, or alternatively, the downstream size separation stage can remove plastic contaminants in the glass, such as labels on bottles, plastic films, etc. For the avoidance of doubt, the pulverization stage subjects the glass (or other feedstock) to self-collisions within the interior chamber 28, such that the frangible materials (such as glass) are significantly size reduced, while the ductile components (such as the labels or plastic films on glass bottles) remain oversized and can be separated out by size. In some implementations, by subjecting the pulverized output material to a post-treatment or downstream separation stage, substantially all of the plastic contaminants can be removed from the feedstock. In other implementations, a downstream density separation stage may be required to remove remaining ductile or plastic contaminants.

[0316] By way of another example, when the feedstock is drywall or asphalt shingles, the fiberglass, paper, or plastic film comprising ductile material can remain as an oversized fraction, such that they can be removed from the pulverized output material via a posttreatment or downstream size separation stage.

[0317] In some implementations, the post-treatment stages can include a second pulverization stage. The second pulverization stage can be batch fed or continuous. For example, the downstream size separation stage can include a screen having the desired particle size to produce an undersized stream comprising the properly sized fraction of pulverized output material and an oversized stream comprising the material requiring further size reduction. The oversized stream can be manually (batch fed) or automatically (for example, continuously fed by a conveyor) redirected to the pulverizer 10 used for the first pulverization stage or a second pulverizer 10 for a second pulverization stage. In some implementations, when the second pulverization stage is conducted in a second pulverizer 10, the housing liner 400 of the second pulverizer can be optimized for the categorization of the pulverized output material, which may or may not be the same categorization as the original feedstock.

[0318] For example, when the feedstock is MRF or MSW material that has not undergone a pretreatment stage, such as pre-size reducing, or a separation stage to remove large tramp items, the first pulverization stage can be conducted in a pulverizer 10 that is optimized for a high impact or high impact / abrasion feedstock. The pulverized output material can undergo a post-treatment size separation stage to produce an undersized fraction and an oversized fraction. The undersized fraction can be further treated to post-treatment separation stages, for example, to remove valuable components, such as metal material, and / or contaminants, such as plastic. The oversized stream can be subjected to a second pulverization stage as a MRF or MSW fines feedstock in a pulverize optimized for processing a moderate impact and / or moderate or high abrasion material. In some implementations, the oversized stream can undergo a second categorization stage prior to be subjected to the second pulverization stage, such that the second pulverizer can have a housing liner optimized for the category of the oversized stream.

[0319] In some implementations, the post-treatment stage can include a magnetic separation stage downstream of the pulverization stage to remove any infrangible and / or magnetic material from the pulverized output stream (or in some implementations, from the undersized stream and / or the oversized stream). For example, small fragments of metal that cannot be size separated from the pulverized output material with mechanical screening can be removed with a downstream magnetic separation stage. When the feedstock includes infrangible materials that are embedded in frangible materials, such as nails or screws embedded in shingles or drywall panels, the infrangible metal material can be removed with a downstream magnetic separation stage. When the oversized stream includes both ductile materials and infrangible materials, the infrangible material can be separated from the ductile material with a downstream magnetic separation stage. In some implementations, the process can include both a pre-treatment or upstream magnetic separation stage (as part of the categorization stage or as a pre-treatment phase) and a post-treatment or downstream magnetic separation stage.

[0320] While magnetic separation is one mechanism to remove metals from the feedstock, there are various other metal removal methods that could be used instead of or in addition to magnetic separation. An additional metal removal stage could be designed to remove nonferrous metals, for example, particularly metal debris that has a high weight density and are thus relatively heavy and thick. In some implementations, the metal removal method (e.g., magnetic, size, or density separation) is performed to remove all metal debris having an average diameter of 1 inch or greater. In some implementations, metal debris that is lump shaped or elongated is removed (low surface-area-to-volume ratio), while metal debris that has a flat sheet shape (high surface-area-to-volume ratio) is optionally removed.

[0321] In some implementations, the post-treatment stage can include a dust collection stage. In such implementations, the pulverizer 10 comprises a dust collection system to subject the pulverized output material to a dust collection stage to recover a dust fraction from the pulverized output stream exiting the pulverization stage. When the pulverized output stream is subjected to the dust collection stage, the dust collection system recovers a dust stream and produces a dust reduced pulverized stream. In some implementations, the dust reduced pulverized stream can be manually or automatically (for example, by a conveyor belt) fed to a post-treatment stage, such as a downstream separation stage. The dust collection stage can facilitate dust control and can include various units, such as a settling chamber and a baghouse or cyclone filtration unit.

[0322] In some implementations, the dust collection stage can be used to isolate a valuable component. For example, when the feedstock includes a valuable component that is embedded in the feedstock, such as rare earth elements embedded in solar panels, valuable raw materials (such as, gold, silver, copper, platinum, rhodium, ruthenium, cobalt, palladium, indium, and / or antimony) embedded in electronic waste (also known as e- waste), and / or lithium embedded in a clay matrix, in some implementations, the valuable component can be isolated with the dust collection stage (either in addition to or instead of another separation stage, such as density separation, chemical separation, size separation, magnetic separation, etc.).

[0323] Additionally, or alternatively, the dust collection stage can be used to isolate a size specific fraction (which can also be referred to as classification or output classification). For example, when the feedstock is glass, the dust collection stage can be used to isolate a dust-sized fraction of glass particulates (such as, between about 0.5 microns to 100 microns), which can also be referred to as glass powder. In some implementations, in addition to or separate from the other uses of the dust collection stage, the dust collection stage can be used to reduce airborne dust in the processing facility and thus improve air quality. In some implementations, the dust fraction (for example, glass powder) can be reintroduced into the pulverized output stream or the undersized stream (and therefore the dust collection stage simply acts to reduce airborne dust in the processing facility) or can be sold as an end use product (such as, powdered glass for making electronic tapes or other electronics).

[0324] In some implementations, the dust collection system can include a dust collector that is coupled to the outlet 32 of the pulverizer 10 and may include a settling chamber that has dust outlets positioned on a top side thereof. The dust outlets can be in fluid communication (for example, via ducting) to a dust recovery unit that may include a baghouse or cyclone filtration unit having a dedicated motor. The dust recovery unit can also include a dust recovery vessel that receives the dust from the baghouse or cyclone filtration unit, for example via a hopper. The settling chamber can receive all of the pulverized output material from the pulverization stage and thus receives relatively fine particles that are deposited on an outfeed conveyor so that the pulverized output material is added to the diverted output. Fine particles settle on the outfeed conveyor, while very fine dust particles are accumulated and withdrawn from the settling via the dust outlets. The settling chamber can extend over a part or the entire length of the outfeed conveyor depending on the process design and the target level of dust control. The settling chamber can be in communication with the outlet of the kinetic pulverizer via a flexible tubular member as the pulverizer 10 can experience vibration.

[0325] The quantity of dust in the pulverized output stream is highly dependent upon the type and dryness of the feedstock supplied to the pulverization stage. For instance, output diversion rates as high as about 30% have been observed for some feedstocks. In some embodiments, the feedstock can undergo a surface wetting pretreatment step to increase the moisture content and help reduce the amount of dust being produced. After the moisture content of the feedstock has been increased, the pulverizing stage reduces the moisture, therefore requiring a dust collecting stage.

[0326] It is noted that the power and suction of the dust collection stage can be adjusted to increase the amount of material capture in the dust collector. For example, the dust recovery unit can be controlled to provide a desired suction in the dust collector. Therefore, the dust collection stage can be designed and operated to be a separation stage, for example based on density. In some implementations, the pulverized output material can be subjected to a dust collection stage to separate small and low-density frangible material from larger or more dense frangible materials. For example, when processing C&D material or C&D fines that includes wood and drywall, the dust collection stage could be used to separate the fine or silt-like particles of pulverized gypsum from the larger pulverized wood ( / .e., wood chips). It is also noted that the dust collector can also pick up some ductile materials, such as paper or plastic film pieces, which are relatively light, and such ductile materials can therefore be separated by both or either of a size or density separate stage and a dust collection stage. In some implementations, for example when the feedstock is asphalt shingles, the dust collection stage can be used to separate up to 50% of the resulting frangible component (such as asphalt) in the size-reduced fraction from the oversized fraction (such as the paper or plastic film backing on the asphalt shingles). In some implementations, the baghouse filtration or cyclone filtration traps finer and lighter material, which can be stored in the vessel. This fine recovered material can be added back into the diverted output stream, disposed of and / or kept as a product for sale. The fine recovered material can be recycled back into one or more stages of the system. In some embodiments, the fine recovered material can be supplied into the dust reduced stream or the undersized stream, or would be kept as a distinct product stream that could be sold or mixed with other materials to provide a commercial product. It is noted that the recovered dust material can be treated, transported, and used in various ways, some of which are described herein.

[0327] Exemplary Processes

[0328] G / ass Processing

[0329] An exemplary process having glass as a feedstock can include a categorization stage to determine the abrasion and impact level of the feedstock and a pulverization stage to size reduce the feedstock. When the feedstock includes a majority of glass (such as at least about 80%w / w or higher), the feedstock can be categorized as high abrasion and low impact. However, it is understood that if the non-glass portion includes high impact or moderate impact materials (such as, aluminum solar panel frames, wood window frames, or other tramp material from mixed feedstocks), the feedstock may be categorized as high abrasion / impact or as high abrasion and moderate impact. The housing liner 400 of the pulverizer 10 can be optimized to include the appropriate reinforcing materials based on the categorization of the feedstock. The categorized feedstock is then fed into the pulverizer 10 with the optimized housing liner 400 for a pulverization stage.

[0330] Glass feedstocks can include consumer glass waste (such as glass bottles (beer, wine, oil, sauces, etc.), jars, broken glassware, etc.), which may be source separated (for example, glass recycled from a hospitality company), medical waste (such as glass syringes or other glass medical equipment, sharps waste, etc.), C&D material or fines (such as, window panes (with or without the frame)), MRF or MSW material or fines, and / or solar panels (with or without the aluminum frame).

[0331] In some implementations, the glass feedstock can be categorized as high abrasion (low impact) and subjected to a pulverization stage with a housing liner 400 having various reinforcing materials. For example, the arm liner panels 422 can be made from steel alloys, cast iron, or S7 tool grade steel instead of hardened steel and be provided with an overlay. Additionally, or alternatively, the sidewall liner panels 402, the shelf liner panels 410, the floor liner panels 404, the ceiling liner panels 406, and / or the hub liner panels 418 can be made of steel alloys and provided with an overlay. In other implementations, the sidewall liner panels 402, the discharge liner panels 405, and / or the outlet liner panels 420 can be made of plastics, or optionally fiberglass or chrome plating, and provided with an overlay. In some implementations, the floor liner 404 and / or the ceiling liner 406 can be made of mild steel. The floor liner 404 formed of mild steel can optionally be provided with an overlay.

[0332] In other implementations, the glass feedstock may be categorized as high abrasion and high or moderate impact. As discussed herein, the limiting factor for increased wear on the internal surfaces and components of the pulverizer is the impact level of the feedstock. As such, when processing a high abrasion and moderate or high impact feedstock, the arm liner panels 422, the sidewall liner panels 402, the shelf liner panels 410, the floor liner panels 404, the ceiling liner panels 406, and the hub liner panels 418 can be made of hardened steel (for high or moderate impact) or steel alloys (for moderate impact) and an overlay. The deflector liner panels, the discharge chamber liner panels 405, and the outlet liner panels 420 can be made of hardened steel with an overlay. For moderate impact feedstocks, the sidewall liner panels 402 can be made of fiberglass or be provided with chrome plating and / or the discharge chamber liner panels 405 and / or the outlet liner panels 420 can be made of plastic.

[0333] In some implementations, the glass feedstock can be subjected to pre-treatment stages, such as a pre-size reduction stage, a washing stage, a drying stage, a flash drying stage, and / or a separation stage. For example, the glass feedstock can be subjected to a presize reduction stage, which can include glass crushing and / or milling, grinding, or other size-reduction processes, followed by one or more separation stages to remove any contaminants. The separation stages can include a density separation stage (including floatation separation, air density separation, etc.) to remove lower density materials such as, labels or plastic films and / or magnetic screening to remove magnetic material. Either before, after, or instead of the pre-size reduction and separation stages, the glass feedstock can be subjected to a washing stage to sterilize and / or remove any organic or inorganic contaminants on the glass waste. Optionally, the washing stage can be followed by a drying stage either before or after the pulverization stage and / or a flash drying stage simultaneously with the pulverization stage.

[0334] The pulverized output material can be subjected to various separation stages (which can include a dust collection stage) as described herein to classify the pulverized material into two or more size classifications and / or to remove contaminants. For example, a posttreatment size separation stage can be used to remove the oversized stream that includes ductile material not significantly size reduced during the pulverization stage, such as plastic lids, plastic films, paper or plastic labels, etc. Alternatively, or additionally, the pulverized output material can be subjected to other post- treatment separation stages (such as, density separation, magnetic separation, and / or chemical separation) stage to remove other contaminants.

[0335] In some implementations, the oversized stream of the pulverized output material isolated in a post- treatment size separation stage can be redirected to a second pulverization stage for additional size reduction. In some implementations, the pulverized output material can be subjected to a dust collection stage to improve air quality in the facility and / or to isolate a dust fraction comprising glass powder.

[0336] Glass Processing - Example 1

[0337] A feedstock comprising single source consumer glass waste (glass bottles, glassware, etc.) is provided. The feedstock contains over about 90% or 95% glass by weight and is thus categorized as high abrasion and low impact. The consumer glass waste feedstock undergoes a washing stage followed by a drying stage and / or a flash drying stage. The wet or dried washed feedstock is provided to a pulverizer having at least some high abrasion, low impact reinforcing materials. The pulverized output material is subjected to a size and / or density separation stage to remove ductile materials, such as labels and plastic films. The oversized stream can be isolated as a contaminants stream and the undersized stream comprising clean, pulverized glass, can undergo one or more size separation stages to classify the size of the pulverized glass, which can be isolated for different end-uses. Optionally, a dust collection stage can be used during the pulverization stage.

[0338] G / ass Processing - Example 2 A feedstock comprising single source solar panel waste ( / .e., used solar panels) is provided. The feedstock contains about 60% glass by weight and includes a film backing on the glass and an aluminum frame around the solar panel. The solar panel feedstock can be subjected to a pre-size reduction stage, where the solar panels are manually size- reduced (for example, taken apart or broken up when removed with a machine, such as an excavator) or subjected to a size reduction machine, such as a shredder or grinder, to size reduce the solar panels.

[0339] In some implementations, the solar panel feedstock or the pre-size reduced stream can be subjected to a categorization stage that includes a magnetic separation stage to produce a metal-enriched stream comprising the aluminum frame and portions of the solar panels still attached to the aluminum frame and a metal-depleted stream comprising the glass, film backing, and filaments of the solar panels. The metal-enriched stream, which may include large pieces of hollow aluminum framing and fasteners, can be categorized as moderate impact, provided the aluminum frame is provided in lengths of less than 4.9 m (based on a presumed density of the aluminum being 2.7 g / cm3, a presumed weight of the aluminum being 1.24 kg / m ( / .e., an aluminum 40 mm t-slot extruded frame)). Specifically, as the density of aluminum is quite low compared to other metals and the surface-area-to-volume ratio of the hollow or t-slot frame is high, feedstocks containing larger pieces of aluminum can often be categorized as moderate impact. The metal- depleted stream, which includes the glass, film backing, filament, and optionally small pieces of aluminum material, can be categorized as high abrasion. When an upstream magnetic separation stage is not performed, the solar panel feedstock containing aluminum frames can be categorized as moderate impact and high abrasion.

[0340] In other implementations, the solar panel feedstock or the pre-size reduced stream can be subjected to a categorization stage that includes a manual separation of the aluminum frame (such as, a single source feedstock of solar panels or solar panel rejects), such that the solar panel feedstock includes only solar panel and not the aluminum frame ( / .e., the feedstock contains only glass, film backing, and filament). A solar panel feedstock that does not include the aluminum frame can be categorized as high abrasion.

[0341] Once categorized, the solar panel feedstock, the metal-depleted stream, and / or the metal- enriched stream can be subjected to a pulverization stage using a pulverizer 10 with a housing liner 400 that is reinforced according to the categorization of the feedstock (in this example, either moderate impact, high abrasion, or high abrasion / moderate impact).

[0342] The pulverized output material can then be subjected to various post-treatment separation stages, such as size, density, and / or magnetic separation. In some implementations, the pulverized output material resulting from the metal-depleted stream being subjected to the pulverization stage can be subjected to a downstream size separation stage to remove the ductile materials, such as the film backing on the solar panel, as an oversized stream. The oversized stream can be isolated as a contaminants stream and the undersized stream comprising pulverized glass and filament, can undergo another separation stage (such as size separation, magnetic separation, chemical separation, density separation, etc.) to isolate the glass from the filament. The filament within a solar panel can contain rare earth elements or other valuable components that can be separated in a posttreatment separation stage to produce a glass stream and a valuable component stream. Optionally, a dust collection stage can be used during the pulverization stage.

[0343] In some implementations, the pulverized output material resulting from the solar panel feedstock or metal-enriched stream being subjected to the pulverization stage can be subjected to a downstream magnetic separation stage to remove the metal components and the metal-depleted stream can be subjected to a size separation stage to remove any remaining ductile materials, such as the film backing on the solar panel, as an oversized stream. The reverse can also be conducted, where a downstream size separation stage removes larger pieces of infrangible (metal) material and the ductile material, followed by a downstream magnetic separation stage to separate the ductile material from the metal material. The undersized stream (or undersized, metal-depleted stream) comprising pulverized glass and filament can undergo another separation stage (such as size separation, magnetic separation, chemical separation, density separation, etc.) to isolate the glass from the filament.

[0344] G / ass Processing - Example 3

[0345] A feedstock comprising single source medical waste (such as, glass syringes or other glass medical equipment, sharps waste, etc.) is provided. The feedstock can contain between about 40% to about 90% glass by weight and small infrangible or ductile materials (such as, metal needles, plastic syringe pushers, etc.) and can be categorized as high abrasion and low impact. The medical waste feedstock can undergo a washing stage, optionally followed by a drying stage and / or a flash drying stage. The washing stage can include a washing treatment with water and / or a cleaning solution and / or a sanitization treatment, such as, processing with an autoclave or treating with germicidal radiation. In some implementations, the washing stage can occur before, after, or before and after the pulverization stage.

[0346] The feedstock, the washed feedstock, or the dried washed feedstock can be provided to a pulverizer having at least some high abrasion reinforcing materials. The pulverized output material can be subjected to various separation stages, including size, density, chemical separation, and / or magnetic separation stages, to remove the metal, ductile, and / or organic materials from the pulverized output material, such as plastic films, plastic syringe pushes, metal needles, remaining biohazardous material, etc. For example, the pulverized output material can undergo a magnetic separation stage to remove all metal material and produce a metal-enriched stream comprising metal and a metal-depleted stream comprising ductile (plastic) material and the pulverized glass. The metal-depleted stream can be subjected to a size separation stage, and the oversized stream comprising plastics can be isolated as a contaminants stream and the undersized stream comprising clean, pulverized glass, can undergo one or more size separation stages to classify the size of the pulverized glass, which can be isolated for different end-uses. Optionally, a dust collection stage can be used during the pulverization stage.

[0347] Seaweed Processing

[0348] An exemplary process having seaweed waste as a feedstock can include a categorization stage to determine the abrasion and impact level of the feedstock and a pulverization stage to size reduce the feedstock. In some implementations, the categorization stage can include testing a sample of the feedstock to determine the concentration of sand. When the concentration of sand is at least about 5%w / w or at least about 10%w / w by volume, the feedstock can be categorized as high abrasion, whereas feedstocks with a concentration of sand that is below about 5%w / w or below about 10%w / w by volume can be categorized as moderate abrasion. The categorized feedstock can then be fed into a pulverizer 10 with a housing liner 400 optimized for a pulverization stage of the categorized feedstock. In some implementations, the seaweed feedstock includes a drying stage to remove excess moisture from the seaweed waste. In some implementations, the drying stage can be conducted before the categorization stage as the concentration of sand generally decreases with the moisture level. In other implementations, the seaweed feedstock can be provided directly to the pulverization stage after the categorization stage and optionally be provided with a flash drying stage during the pulverization stage.

[0349] The pulverized output material exiting the pulverizer 10 can be subjected to one or more separation stages (which can include a dust collection stage) as described herein to separate the organic material (seaweed) from the inorganic material (sand). In some implementations, the downstream or post-treatment separation stage can include a density separation stage to remove the sand. In some implementations, the separated organic and inorganic materials can be sold separately, for example, the organic materials being sold as a soil amendment, compost, etc. and the inorganic sand being sold as sand. Alternatively, the pulverized output material can be sold as is, for example as a sandcontaining soil amendment or compost.

[0350] As used herein, “substantially”, “approximately”, and / or “about” means an acceptable variation according to conventional standards, otherwise at most a 5% to 10% variation from an indicated effect or value.

[0351] It is understood that references to specific exemplary mechanical structures or processes are not limiting and are provided for an understanding of the embodiments or implementations disclosed herein. Wording such as “for example”, “such as”, “e.g.”, etc. are not intended to be limiting and are provided without limitation on the present disclosure.

[0352] It will be appreciated that, for simplicity and clarity of illustration, where considered appropriate, reference numerals may be repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements or steps. In addition, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the exemplary embodiments described herein. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art, that the embodiments described herein may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the embodiments described herein. Furthermore, this description is not to be considered as limiting the scope of the embodiments described herein in any way but rather as merely describing the implementation of the various embodiments described herein.

[0353] For the sake of simplicity and clarity, namely, so as to not unduly burden the figures with several references numbers, not all figures contain references to all the components and features, and references to some components and features may be found in only one figure, and components and features of the present disclosure which are illustrated in other figures can be easily inferred therefrom. The embodiments, geometrical configurations, materials mentioned and / or dimensions shown in the figures are optional, and are given for exemplification purposes only.

[0354] Moreover, it will be appreciated that positional descriptions such as “above”, “below”, “top”, “bottom”, “forward”, “rearward” “left”, “right” and the like should, unless otherwise indicated, be taken in the context of the figures and correspond to the position and orientation in the pulverizer and corresponding parts when being used. Positional descriptions should not be considered limiting.

[0355] It will be understood that the above embodiments are provided as examples only and that many other variations are possible. While the above description provides examples of the embodiments, it will be appreciated that some features and / or functions of the described embodiments are susceptible to modification without departing from the spirit and principles of operation of the described embodiments. Accordingly, what has been described above has been intended to be illustrative and non-limiting and it will be understood by persons skilled in the art that other variants and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the claims appended hereto.

Claims

CLAIMS1 . A pulverizer for processing a feedstock, the pulverizer comprising: a housing comprising a top end, a bottom end, a sidewall extending between the top end and the bottom end, wherein the sidewall has an inner face defining an interior chamber of the housing, an inlet located in or near the top end for receiving a feedstock to comminute, and an outlet located in or near the bottom end for discharging a pulverized output stream from the housing; an airflow generator comprising a rotatable shaft rotatably mounted in the interior chamber of the pulverizer and at least one pulverizing rotor coupled to the rotatable shaft, the at least one pulverizing rotor comprising a rotor hub and a plurality of rotor arms extending outwardly from the rotor hub and towards the sidewall; and a housing liner comprising a plurality of liner panels being removably coupled to an inner surface of the housing or an internal component of the airflow generator and detachable therefrom independently from adjacent housing liner panels; wherein each of the plurality of liner panels are reinforced with or formed of a reinforcement material according to an abrasion level and / or an impact level of the feedstock.

2. The pulverizer of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of liner panels are detachable from the inner surface of the housing or the internal component of the airflow generator independently from adjacent ones of the plurality of liner panels.

3. The pulverizer of claim 1 or 2, wherein the plurality of liner panels comprise a plurality of floor liner panels configured to extend over and cover an inner surface of the bottom end.

4. The pulverizer of claim 3, wherein the plurality of floor liner panels are comprised of mild steel, steel alloys, cast iron, and / or S7 tool grade steel.

5. The pulverizer of claim 3, wherein the plurality of floor liner panels are comprised of hardened steel.

6. The pulverizer of claim 5, wherein the hardened steel is at least AR500 or HX500.

7. The pulverizer of any one of claims 3 to 6, wherein the plurality of floor liner panels are provided with a floor liner panel overlay.

8. The pulverizer of claim 7, wherein the floor liner panel overlay comprises a chromium carbide overlay, a tungsten carbide overlay, a chromium-tungsten carbide overlay, a titanium carbide overlay, a nano carbide overlay, a reaction bonded silicon carbide overlay, a sintered silicon carbide overlay, a zirconia aluminia ceramic overlay, an aluminia ceramic overlay, and / or a ceramic putty overlay.

9. The pulverizer of any one of claims 3 to 8, wherein the plurality of floor liner panels comprise at least one edge with a shape that engages or abuts with a corresponding shape on an adjacent one of the plurality of floor liner panels.

10. The pulverizer of any one of claims 3 to 9, wherein the plurality of floor liner panels are configured to continuously cover the inner surface of the bottom end from a discharge sidewall of the bottom end to a rotational coupling of the rotatable shaft.

11. The pulverizer of any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the plurality of liner panels comprise a plurality of discharge chamber liner panels configured to extend over and cover a discharge sidewall of the bottom end.

12. The pulverizer of claim 11 , wherein a radial outward side of the plurality of floor liner panels and a lower side of the discharge chamber liner panels engage or abut each other without a gap therebetween.

13. The pulverizer of claim 11 or 12, wherein the plurality of discharge chamber liner panels are comprised of plastic.

14. The pulverizer of any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein the plastic comprises HDPE, thermoplastic resins or nylons, urethan polyurethan, and / or LIHMV.

15. The pulverizer of any one of claims 11 to 14, wherein the plurality of discharge chamber liner panels are provided with a discharge chamber liner panel overlay.

16. The pulverizer of claim 15, wherein the discharge chamber liner panel overlay comprises a chromium carbide overlay, a tungsten carbide overlay, a chromiumtungsten carbide overlay, a titanium carbide overlay, a nano carbide overlay, a reactionbonded silicon carbide overlay, a sintered silicon carbide overlay, a zirconia aluminia ceramic overlay, an aluminia ceramic overlay, and / or a ceramic putty overlay.

17. The pulverizer of any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein the plurality of liner panels comprise a plurality of ceiling liner panel configured to extend over and cover an inner surface of the top end.

18. The pulverizer of claim 17, wherein the plurality of ceiling liner panels are comprised of hardened steel.

19. The pulverizer of claim 18, wherein the hardened steel is AR400.

20. The pulverizer of any one of claims 17 to 19, wherein the plurality of ceiling liner panels comprise at least one edge with a shape that engages or abuts with a corresponding shape on an adjacent one of the plurality of ceiling liner panels.

21. The pulverizer of any one of claims 17 to 20, wherein the plurality of liner panels comprise a plurality of sidewall liner panels configured to at least partially extend over and cover the inner face of the sidewall.

22. The pulverizer of claim 21 , wherein an upper side of the plurality of sidewall liner panels and a radial outward edge of the plurality of ceiling liner panels engage or abut each other without a gap therebetween.

23. The pulverizer of claim 21 or 22, wherein the plurality of sidewall liner panels are comprised of plastic.

24. The pulverizer of claim 23, wherein the plastic comprises HDPE, thermoplastic resins or nylons, urethan polyurethan, and / or UH MV.

25. The pulverizer of any one of claims 1 to 24, wherein the plurality of liner panels comprise a plurality of hub liner panels configured to extend over and cover a top surface and / or a bottom surface of the rotor hub.

26. The pulverizer of claim 25, wherein the plurality of hub liner panels are comprised of steel alloys.

27. The pulverizer of claim 25, wherein the plurality of hub liner panels are comprised of hardened steel.

28. The pulverizer of claim 27, wherein the hardened steel is at least AR500 or HX500.

29. The pulverizer of any one of claims 25 to 28, wherein the plurality of hub liner panels are provided with a hub liner panel overlay.

30. The pulverizer of claim 29, wherein the hub liner panel overlay comprises a chromium carbide overlay, a reaction bonded silicon carbide overlay, a sintered silicon carbide overlay, a zirconia aluminia ceramic overlay, an aluminia ceramic overlay, and / or a ceramic putty overlay.

31. The pulverizer of any one of claims 1 to 30, further comprising at least one airflow deflector extending inwardly into the interior chamber from the inner face of the sidewall, the at least one airflow deflector having a flow facing deflecting surface that faces towards the airflow and an opposite deflecting surface that faces away from the airflow, and wherein the flow facing deflecting surface and the opposite deflecting surface extend away from the inner face of the sidewall and converge with each other at an apex.

32. The pulverizer of claim 31 , wherein the plurality of liner panels comprise a plurality of deflector liner panels configured to extend over and cover the at least one airflow deflector.

33. The pulverizer of claim 32, wherein the plurality of deflector liner panels comprise a plurality of opposite deflector liner panels configured to extend over and cover the opposite deflecting surface that faces away from the airflow.

34. The pulverizer of claim 33, wherein the plurality of deflector liner panels comprise a plurality of flow facing deflector liner panels configured to extend over and cover the flow facing deflecting surface.

35. The pulverizer of claim 34, wherein a radially inward side of a given one of the plurality of opposite deflector liner panels and a radially inward side of a given one of the plurality of flow facing deflector liner panels converge with each other at a deflector liner apex.

36. The pulverizer of claim 35, wherein the radially inward side of the given one of the plurality of opposite deflector liner panels and the radially inward side of the given one of the plurality of flow facing deflector liner panels comprise corresponding shapes that engage or abut each other at the deflector liner apex.

37. The pulverizer of any one of claims 32 to 36, wherein the plurality of deflector liner panels are comprised of mild steel.

38. The pulverizer of any one of claims 32 to 36, wherein the plurality of deflector liner panels are comprised of hardened steel.

39. The pulverizer of claim 38, wherein the hardened steel is at least AR500 or HX500.

40. The pulverizer of any one of claims 32 to 39, wherein the plurality of deflector liner panels are provided with a deflector liner panel overlay.

41. The pulverizer of claim 40, wherein the deflector liner panel overlay comprises a chromium carbide overlay, a tungsten carbide overlay, a chromium-tungsten carbide overlay, a titanium carbide overlay, a nano carbide overlay, a reaction bonded silicon carbide overlay, a sintered silicon carbide overlay, a zirconia aluminia ceramic overlay, an aluminia ceramic overlay, and / or a ceramic putty overlay.

42. The pulverizer of any one of claims 1 to 41 , wherein the plurality of liner panels comprise a plurality of outlet liner panels configured to extend over and cover an inner surface of the outlet.

43. The pulverizer of claim 42, wherein the plurality of outlet liner panels are comprised of hardened steel.

44. The pulverizer of claim 43, wherein the hardened steel is at least AR500 or HX500.

45. The pulverizer of claim 42, wherein the plurality of outlet liner panels are comprised of plastic.

46. The pulverizer of claim 45, wherein the plastic comprises HDPE, thermoplastic resins or nylons, urethan polyurethan, and / or UH MV.

47. The pulverizer of any one of claims 42 to 46, wherein the plurality of outlet liner panels are provided with an outlet liner panel overlay.

48. The pulverizer of claim 47, wherein the outlet liner panel overlay comprises a chromium carbide overlay, a tungsten carbide overlay, a chromium-tungsten carbide overlay, a titanium carbide overlay, a nano carbide overlay, a reaction bonded silicon carbide overlay, a sintered silicon carbide overlay, a zirconia aluminia ceramic overlay, an aluminia ceramic overlay, and / or a ceramic putty overlay.

49. The pulverizer of any one of claims 42 to 48, wherein the plurality of outlet liner panels comprise at least one edge with a shape that engages or abuts with a corresponding shape on an adjacent one of the plurality of outlet liner panels.

50. The pulverizer of any one of claims 42 to 49, wherein the outlet comprises an outlet conduit formed between the bottom end and the discharge end of the outlet, and wherein the plurality of outlet liner panels are configured to continuously cover an inner surface of the outlet conduit.

51. The pulverizer of any one of claims 1 to 50, wherein the plurality of liner panels comprise a plurality of shelf liner panels configured to at least partially extend over and cover the inner face of the sidewall and at least partially extending radially inward from the inner face of the sidewall to form at least one shelf.

52. The pulverizer of claim 51 , wherein the plurality of shelf liner panels are comprised of steel alloys.

53. The pulverizer of claim 51 , wherein the plurality of shelf liner panels are comprised of hardened steel.

54. The pulverizer of claim 53, wherein the hardened steel is at least AR500 or HX500.

55. The pulverizer of any one of claims 51 to 54, wherein the plurality of shelf liner panels are provided with a shelf liner panel overlay.

56. The pulverizer of claim 55, wherein the shelf liner panel overlay comprises a chromium carbide overlay, a tungsten carbide overlay, a chromium-tungsten carbide overlay, a titanium carbide overlay, a nano carbide overlay, a reaction bonded silicon carbideoverlay, a sintered silicon carbide overlay, a zirconia aluminia ceramic overlay, an aluminia ceramic overlay, and / or a ceramic putty overlay.

57. The pulverizer of any one of claims 1 to 56, wherein the plurality of liner panels are coupled to a respective one of the inner surface of the housing or the internal component of the airflow generator with a fastener having a fastener head, and the plurality of liner panels comprise a shaped recess configured to receive the fastener head such that the fastener head is flush with or recessed from the respective one of the inner surface of the housing or the internal component of the airflow generator.

58. The pulverizer of any one of claims 1 to 57, further comprising a rotational coupling system configured to provide the pulverizer with a first position and a second position, wherein a position of the inlet relative to the outlet in the first position is different from a position of the inlet relative to the outlet in the second position.

59. The pulverizer of claim 58, wherein a portion of the sidewall is defined by a door that is rotationally coupled to a remaining portion of the sidewall to provide access to the interior chamber, the pulverizer further comprising a rotational coupling system configured to provide the pulverizer with a first position and a second position, wherein a position of the door relative to the inlet and / or the outlet in the first position is different from a position of the door relative to the inlet and / or the outlet in the second position.

60. The pulverizer of claim 58 or 59, wherein the rotational coupling system comprises a rotational coupling between the top end and the sidewall and / or a rotational coupling between the sidewall and the bottom end and a locking system configured to lock the rotational coupling in the first position or the second position.

61. The pulverizer of claim 60, wherein the sidewall comprises an upper drum flange coupled to or integrally formed at a top side of the sidewall and the rotational coupling between the top end and the sidewall comprises a rotational coupling between the upper drum flange and the top end.

62. The pulverizer of claim 60 or 61 , wherein the sidewall comprises a lower drum flange coupled to or integrally formed at a bottom side of the sidewall and the bottom end comprises an upper discharge flange coupled to or integrally formed at a top side of the bottom end, wherein the rotational coupling between the sidewall and the bottomend comprises a rotational coupling between the lower drum flange and the upper discharge flange.

63. The pulverizer of claim 58 or 59, wherein the rotational coupling system comprises a removable coupling between the top end and the sidewall and / or a removable coupling between the sidewall and the bottom end.

64. The pulverizer of claim 63, wherein the sidewall comprises an upper drum flange coupled to or integrally formed at a top side of the sidewall and the removable coupling between the top end and the sidewall comprises a removable coupling between the upper drum flange and the top end.

65. The pulverizer of claim 63 or 64, wherein the sidewall comprises a lower drum flange coupled to or integrally formed at a bottom side of the sidewall and the bottom end comprises an upper discharge flange coupled to or integrally formed at a top side of the bottom end, wherein the removable coupling comprises a removable coupling between the lower drum flange and the upper discharge flange.

66. The pulverizer of any one of claims 1 to 65, wherein the plurality of liner panels comprise a plurality of arm liner panels configured to at least partially extend over and cover a distal portion of the rotor arms extending substantially radially from the rotor hub.

67. The pulverizer of claim 66, wherein the plurality of arm liner panels are comprised of steel alloys, cast iron, and / or S7 tool grade steel.

68. The pulverizer of claim 66, wherein the plurality of arm liner panels are comprised of hardened steel.

69. The pulverizer of claim 68, wherein the hardened steel is at least AR500 or HX500.

70. The pulverizer of any one of claims 66 to 69, wherein the plurality of arm liner panels are provided with an arm liner panel overlay.

71. The pulverizer of claim 70, wherein the arm liner panel overlay comprises a chromium carbide overlay, a tungsten carbide overlay, a chromium-tungsten carbide overlay, a titanium carbide overlay, a nano carbide overlay, a reaction bonded silicon carbideoverlay, a sintered silicon carbide overlay, a zirconia aluminia ceramic overlay, an aluminia ceramic overlay, and / or a ceramic putty overlay.

72. A process for treating a feedstock comprising: subjecting the feedstock to a categorizing stage wherein the feedstock is categorized with an impact level and / or an abrasion level, wherein the impact level is selected from high impact, moderate impact, and low impact and the abrasion level is selected from high abrasion, moderate abrasion, and low abrasion; providing a pulverizer comprising: a housing comprising a top end, a bottom end, a sidewall extending between the top end and the bottom end and having an inner face defining an interior chamber of the housing, an inlet located in or near the top end for receiving a feedstock to comminute, and an outlet located in or near the bottom end for discharging a pulverized output stream from the housing; an airflow generator comprising a rotatable shaft rotatably mounted in the interior chamber of the pulverizer and at least one pulverizing rotor coupled to the rotatable shaft, the at least one pulverizing rotor comprising a rotor hub and a plurality of rotor arms extending outwardly from the rotor hub and towards the sidewall; and a housing liner comprising a plurality of liner panels configured to cover an internal surface of the housing and / or an internal component of the airflow generator; providing at least some of the plurality of liner panels with a reinforcing material based on the impact level and / or abrasion level of the feedstock; and subjecting the feedstock to a pulverization stage with the pulverizer to produce the pulverized output material.

73. The process of claim 72, wherein the housing liner comprises at least one of: a plurality of sidewall liner panels configured to extend over and cover the inner face of the sidewall;a plurality of floor liner panels configured to extend over and cover an inner surface of the bottom end; a plurality of discharge chamber liner panels configured to extend over and cover discharge sidewalls of the bottom end; a plurality of ceiling liner panels configured to extend over and cover an inner surface of the top end; a plurality of deflector liner panels configured to extend over and cover a flow facing deflecting surface and an opposite deflecting surface of one or more deflectors coupled to the sidewall and extending inwardly into the interior chamber; a plurality of shelf liner panels configured to partially extend over and cover the inner face of the sidewall and partially extending radially inward to form at least one shelf; a plurality of hub liner panels configured to extend over and cover the rotor hub of the airflow generator; a plurality of outlet liner panels configured to extend over and cover an inner surface of the outlet from the bottom end to a discharge area of the outlet; and a plurality of arm liner panels configured to extend over and cover a distal portion of the pulverizer arms.

74. The pulverizer of claim 73, wherein when the feedstock is categorized as high abrasion, providing the at least some of the plurality of liner panels with the reinforcing material comprises forming the plurality of arm liner panels from cast iron, S7 tool grade steel, chromium carbide, tungsten carbide, chromium-tungsten carbide, titanium carbide, nano carbides, reaction bonded silicon carbide, sintered silicon carbide, zirconia aluminia ceramic, and / or aluminia ceramic.

75. The pulverizer of claim 73, wherein when the feedstock is categorized as high abrasion / impact, high impact, or moderate abrasion and / or moderate impact, providing the at least some of the plurality of liner panels with the reinforcing material comprises at least one of:forming the plurality of arm liner panels from hardened steel; forming the plurality of sidewall liner panels from hardened steel; forming the plurality of shelf liner panels from hardened steel; forming the plurality of deflector liner panels from hardened steel; and forming the plurality of sidewall liner panels from hardened steel.

76. The pulverizer of claim 75, wherein the hardened steel is at least AR500 or HX500.

77. The pulverizer of claim 73, wherein when the feedstock is categorized as high abrasion, moderate abrasion and / or moderate impact, or low abrasion / impact, providing the at least some of the plurality of liner panels with the reinforcing material comprises at least one of: forming the plurality of sidewall liner panels from HDPE, thermoplastic resins and / or nylon, urethane polyurethane, and / or LIHMV; forming the plurality of discharge chamber liner panels from HDPE, thermoplastic resins and / or nylon, urethane polyurethane, and / or LIHMV; and forming the plurality of outlet liner panels from HDPE, thermoplastic resins and / or nylon, urethane polyurethane, and / or LIHMV.

78. The pulverizer of claim 73 or 77, wherein when the feedstock is categorized as high abrasion, providing the at least some of the plurality of liner panels with the reinforcing material comprises at least one of: providing the plurality of arm liner panels with an overlay; providing the plurality of sidewall liner panels with an overlay; providing the plurality of shelf liner panels with an overlay; providing the plurality of floor liner panels with an overlay; providing the plurality of hub liner panels with an overlay;providing the plurality of discharge chamber liner panels with an overlay; and providing the plurality of outlet liner panels with an overlay.

79. The pulverizer of claim 78, wherein the overlay comprises a chromium carbide overlay, a tungsten carbide overlay, a chromium-tungsten carbide overlay, a titanium carbide overlay, a nano carbide overlay, a reaction bonded silicon carbide overlay, a sintered silicon carbide overlay, a zirconia aluminia ceramic overlay, an aluminia ceramic overlay, and / or a ceramic putty overlay.

80. The pulverizer of claim 73, wherein when the feedstock is categorized as moderate abrasion and / or moderate impact, providing the at least some of the plurality of liner panels with the reinforcing material comprises at least one of: forming the plurality of sidewall liner panels from fiberglass and / or steel alloys; forming the plurality of arm liner panels from steel alloys; forming the plurality of shelf liner panels from steel alloys; forming the plurality of floor liner panels from steel alloys; forming the plurality of ceiling liner panels from steel alloys; and forming the plurality of hub liner panels from steel alloys.

81. The pulverizer of claim 73, wherein when the feedstock is categorized as moderate abrasion and / or moderate impact or low abrasion / impact, providing the at least some of the plurality of liner panels with the reinforcing material comprises at least one of: chrome plating the plurality of sidewall liner panels; and chrome plating the plurality of shelf liner panels.

82. The pulverizer of claim 73, wherein when the feedstock is categorized as low abrasion / impact, providing the at least some of the plurality of liner panels with the reinforcing material comprises at least one of: forming the plurality of sidewall liner panels from fiberglass;forming the plurality of floor liner panels from mild steel; and forming the plurality of ceiling liner panels from mild steel.

83. The process of any one of claims 73 to 82, wherein the categorizing stage is based on at least one of: a size, a shape, a surface-area-to-volume ratio, a density, a strength, a hardness, and a magnetism of the feedstock or a material within the feedstock.

84. The process of any one of claims 73 to 83, wherein subjecting the feedstock to the categorizing stage comprises a separation stage.

85. The process of claim 84, wherein the separation stage comprises screening.

86. The process of claim 85, wherein the screening comprises using a single screen or two or more screens arranged in parallel or in series.

87. The process of claim 85 or 86, wherein the screening is performed using at least one of: a trommel screen, a vibrating screen, a tumbler screen, a gyratory screen, and a high frequency screen.

88. The process of any one of claims 84 to 87, wherein the separation stage comprises a density-based separation stage.

89. The process of any one of claims 84 to 88, wherein the separation stage comprises a magnetic separation stage.

90. The process of any one of claims 72 to 89, wherein subjecting the feedstock to the categorizing stage comprises conducting a slurry abrasivity test on the feedstock or on a material within the feedstock to determine a Miller Number of the feedstock or of the material within the feedstock.

91. The process of claim 90, wherein the slurry abrasivity test is conducted according to ASTM G75-07 Standard Test Method for Determination of Slurry Abrasivity procedure.

92. The process of any one of claims 72 to 91 , wherein subjecting the feedstock to the categorizing stage comprises conducting a Cerchar Abrasivity Index (CAI) test on the feedstock or on a material within the feedstock to determine the CAI of the feedstock or the material within the feedstock.

93. The process of claim 92, wherein the CAI test is conducted according to ASTM D7625-22 Standard Test Method for Laboratory Determination of Abrasiveness of Rock Using the CERCHAR Abrasiveness Index Method.

94. The process of any one of claims 72 to 93, wherein the feedstock comprises at least 10%w / w glass and the abrasion level is high abrasion.

95. The process of claim 94, wherein the feedstock is a single source feedstock comprising solar panels, consumer glass waste, or medical waste.

96. The process of claim 95, wherein the impact level is moderate impact.

97. The process of any one of claims 72 to 93, wherein the feedstock comprises at least 10% sand and the abrasion level is high abrasion.

98. The process of claim 97, wherein the feedstock comprises at least 50% seaweed.

99. The process of claim 98 wherein the impact level is low impact.

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