E-scrap Recycling Process Preventing Pollutant Release
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for processing electronic scrap (e-scrap) fail to prevent the release of pollutants during initial comminution, violating current legal regulations and being inefficient and costly due to manual pre-sorting and mechanical shredding of pollutant-containing components.
Innovation Solution
A process line that includes initial manual or mechanical separation of pollutant-containing components, followed by gentle crushing using a 'smasher' to avoid damage, subsequent magnetic separation, flotation for plastic and metal separation, and precise identification and sorting of materials to prevent pollutant release, utilizing a rotating drum and controlled pulsation in flotation stages.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If hammer mills are used for comminution of e-scrap, then the scrap can be crushed and processed, but capacitors and mercury switches containing pollutants are destroyed and pollutants are emitted into the environment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by performing manual or mechanical pre-sorting to remove pollutant-containing components (capacitors, mercury switches) from the e-scrap before comminution. This pre-removal prevents the destruction and pollutant release that would occur during hammer mill processing, while still allowing efficient comminution of the remaining clean materials.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If manual pre-sorting is used to remove pollutant-containing components, then pollutant release can be prevented, but the process becomes inefficient and time-consuming with high financial expenditure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the e-scrap processing into distinct stages: first manual/mechanical pre-sorting to remove pollutant-containing components, then separate comminution of the cleaned material. This segmentation allows efficient automated processing in the comminution stage while limiting manual sorting to only the necessary pre-removal step, improving overall productivity compared to continuous manual sorting.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and removes pollutant-containing components (capacitors, mercury switches, batteries) from the e-scrap stream before comminution through manual or mechanical pre-sorting. This extraction prevents these components from entering the comminution process, avoiding pollutant release while enabling efficient processing of the remaining clean materials through automated systems.
3Ease of manufacture
If comminution is performed before removing pollutant-containing components, then material processing can proceed, but the original material structures are destroyed and pollutant release cannot be prevented
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by performing the removal of pollutant-containing components through manual or mechanical pre-sorting before the comminution process. This sequence reversal ensures that only clean materials undergo comminution, preventing pollutant release while maintaining efficient material processing through subsequent automated comminution and separation stages.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Ensures environmentally friendly and resource-conserving separation and recycling of e-scrap components, preventing pollutant release and enabling high-quality material reuse while minimizing costs and environmental impact.
Implementation Method 1
a rotating drum of large diameter which, when rotating, pushes the supplied material up to the highest point in the drum
Implementation Method 2
Fe and Ne materials are removed from plastics in the usual way, e.g. B. by means of magnetic or high-frequency screening
Implementation Method 3
metals are separated from plastics from a mixture of different substances in a flotation process
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a method comprising the industrial disposal of electronic scrap in an integral manner. It includes all stages that are necessary in order to sort materials contained in said scrap so as to recycle same to appropriate, meaningful reuses and thereby not only conserve resources, but also accommodate ecological and economical interests. The invention involves combining a processing stage of the electronic scrap, to a first separating stage for materials containing harmful substances in a closed-off room, a destruction stage by way of a so-called "smasher", a further sorting stage for separating released components containing additional harmful substances, also in a closed-off room, followed by a magnetic separation stage for dividing off Fe metals, and followed by a comminution of the remaining material by way of a shredder. Said shredded material is freed from plastics having different configurations in a first flotation stage, said plastics being further separated from each other with respect to the densities thereof in a subsequent flotation stage.