Mobile Glass Recycling System with Segmented Crushing and Sorting
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Solution Overview
Problem
The low recycling rate of used glass in the United States is attributed to a lack of efficient infrastructure for sorting, processing, and transporting glass, leading to high costs and inefficiencies in glass manufacturing plants, as current methods are cumbersome and costly, and there is no commercially successful mobile glass recycling system to convert used glass into melt-ready external cullet.
Innovation Solution
A mobile glass recycling system equipped with glass crushing, milling, ferrous and non-ferrous metal separating apparatuses, and optional fines separating and dust control systems, which can travel to the source of used glass artifacts, process them into external cullet, and transport the cullet to a glass manufacturing plant for remelting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If used glass artifacts are collected and processed through fixed infrastructure, then glass recycling can be performed, but the cost and complexity of infrastructure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The glass recycling system is divided into separate functional modules (crushing unit, sorting unit, washing unit, drying unit) that can be independently operated and maintained. This modular design reduces overall system complexity while maintaining complete recycling capability.
Solution Approach 2:
A mobile processing unit serves as an intermediary between glass collection points and fixed recycling infrastructure. This mobile unit performs preliminary processing (crushing, sorting, washing) to prepare glass for efficient transport and final recycling, reducing the burden on fixed infrastructure.
2Reliability
If used glass is transported to fixed processing facilities, then glass can be recycled, but transportation costs and inefficiencies increase
Solution Approach 1:
Glass artifacts are crushed, sorted, and washed at the collection location before transport. This preliminary processing reduces the volume and weight of material requiring transportation, making the subsequent transport to fixed facilities more efficient and cost-effective.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs a mobile processing unit that can be relocated to different collection points. This dynamic approach allows processing to occur closer to the source of glass waste, reducing transportation requirements and associated time losses.
3Productivity
If current glass processing equipment is used, then glass can be crushed and sorted, but the equipment is costly and cumbersome
Solution Approach 1:
Processing equipment is segmented into separate functional units (crusher, sorter, washer, dryer) that can be independently deployed. Each unit is simpler and less costly than a complete integrated system, yet collectively they provide full processing capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses simpler, less expensive processing equipment designed for portable deployment rather than permanent installation. These units are easier to transport and deploy, reducing both equipment cost and complexity while maintaining adequate processing productivity.
4Productivity
If mobile glass recycling system is deployed, then processing can occur at source, but the system must be transportable in compact configuration
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile recycling system is divided into separate functional modules that can be independently transported and assembled. This segmentation allows each component to be compact and easily transportable, while the complete system provides full processing capability when assembled at the deployment location.
Solution Approach 2:
The system is designed to collapse or disassemble into a compact transport configuration that fits within standard shipping containers or on flatbed trailers. When deployed, the same components expand or assemble into a functional processing line, effectively changing the system's spatial dimensions between transport and operational states.
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 mobile system efficiently processes used glass into high-quality external cullet, reducing raw material consumption and carbon emissions by increasing the recycled glass content in glass furnaces, with the ability to produce between two and four tons of cullet per hour, and can be transported and deployed in a compact configuration.
Implementation Method 1
a ferrous metal separating apparatus
Implementation Method 2
a non-ferrous metal separating apparatus
Data Source
AI summary
A mobile glass recycling system and a related method are disclosed. The mobile glass recycling system may be transported from one location to another on a trailer and, once at a glass recycling destination, the glass recycling equipment stowed on the trailer in a transport configuration may be deployed to an operational configuration of the system. The glass recycling equipment carried on the trailer and deployed for recycling produces a stream of external cullet from a recyclable stream of glass that includes used glass artifacts. The glass recycling equipment includes at least a glass crushing apparatus to crush used glass artifacts into crushed glass pieces, a ferrous metal separating apparatus to separate out ferrous metal, and a non-ferrous metal separating apparatus to separate out non-ferrous metal.