Lead-Acid Battery Crushing and Helical Screw Sorting
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for treating lead-acid batteries are complex, costly, and inefficient, particularly with the advent of polypropylene casings, which are less brittle than earlier materials, and struggle to achieve high purity in separated products.
Innovation Solution
A device and process involving a crusher and dual helical screw sorting devices to separate coarse and fine debris, with additional separators for metallic and plastic materials, aiming to produce 99.9% pure polypropylene and 90% lead content with minimal impurities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If fine crushing and multiple sorting steps are used to achieve high purity separation, then separation quality improves, but device complexity and processing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The processing device is divided into distinct functional modules: a crusher for size reduction, a first sorting device with a tank and helical screw for separating coarse debris from fine substances, and a second sorting device for further separation. Each module performs a specific separation task with defined opening dimensions (2-6mm for first sorting, 0.2-1mm for second sorting), enabling high purity separation through staged processing rather than requiring one complex sorting system.
2Device complexity
If traditional breaking method (dropping from height) is used, then device complexity is reduced, but treatment effectiveness deteriorates due to polypropylene's resistance to brittle fracture
Solution Approach 1:
The traditional mechanical breaking method (dropping accumulators from height to exploit brittle fracture of ebonite/bakelite) is replaced with a controlled crushing system using a crusher that applies mechanical force directly. This substitution is necessary because polypropylene casings do not exhibit the same brittle fracture behavior, requiring a different mechanical approach to achieve effective size reduction and separation of battery components.
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
The solution enables simpler, cost-effective treatment of lead-acid batteries, achieving high purity in separated products with a low percentage of impurities, improving the recovery of metallic materials and polypropylene, and enhancing the overall treatment quality.
Implementation Method 1
a sorting device arranged downstream of the crusher, the sorting device comprising a tank in which a helical screw is arranged, the tank comprising openings of dimensions between 2 and 6 millimeters so as to separate the coarse debris from the fine substances
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
AI summary
The invention relates to a device for processing non-crushed lead accumulators comprising the following combination: a crusher for crushing the accumulators in order to obtain crushed rubble; a sorting device provided downstream from the crusher, the sorting device including a vat in which a helical screw is provided, the vat including openings of the order of 4 mm in order to separate gross rubble having size larger than 4 mm from fine substances having a size lower than or equal to 4 mm. The invention also relates to an implementation method associated with said device.