Movable Sieve Plate for Plastic Flotation Separation
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing methods for separating plastics of different densities in a flotation process are hindered by the accumulation of heavier materials like metal parts on the sieve floor, which causes clogging and introduces unwanted liquid movement when attempting to remove these deposits, disrupting the separation process.
Innovation Solution
The sieve floor is designed to move horizontally, creating a gap between the sieve floor and the tank wall, utilizing a drive system and control unit to accelerate and decelerate the movement, leveraging mass inertia to push metal heaps into a collection basin for discharge, minimizing liquid disturbance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If heavier materials like metal parts are separated by settling on the sieve floor in the flotation tank, then the separation of plastics of different densities can be achieved in subsequent stages, but the sieve plate becomes clogged with metal deposits, significantly reducing the efficiency of the separation process
Solution Approach 1:
The sieve plate is made dynamically movable rather than stationary. It is equipped with a drive mechanism that enables horizontal displacement back and forth, allowing the sieve plate to move away from and return to its initial position. This dynamic movement prevents clogging by periodically clearing metal deposits from the sieve openings while maintaining separation efficiency during the flotation process.
2Productivity
If scraping or rinsing methods are used to remove metal deposits from the sieve plate, then the sieve plate can be kept clear, but these methods introduce undesirable movement into the flotation tank that disrupts the separation process of plastics and metal components
Solution Approach 1:
The metal deposits are extracted from the sieve plate by utilizing the movement of the sieve plate itself. The sieve plate moves horizontally to carry the metal deposits away from the separation zone and deposits them into a collection basin, thereby removing the harmful clogging effect without introducing disruptive movements into the flotation tank that would affect the separation process.
3Reliability
If the sieve plate is made stationary to maintain stable flotation conditions, then liquid movement is minimized, but metal deposits accumulate on the sieve floor causing clogging and requiring interruption of the separation process for cleaning
Solution Approach 1:
The sieve plate performs periodic horizontal movements at intervals during the flotation process. These periodic displacements are designed to clear metal deposits from the sieve plate surface without disrupting the overall stability of the flotation process. The periodic nature of the movement allows the system to maintain stable separation conditions while periodically removing clogging deposits, enabling continuous operation.
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
This method effectively removes metal deposits without disrupting the flotation process, maintaining the separation efficiency of plastics by using mass inertia to move metal parts into a collection basin, preventing clogging and ensuring continuous operation.
Implementation Method 1
The control unit (14) is designed in such a way that the sieve plate (1) moves slowly in the direction of a narrowing gap (7) and, upon reaching the end position in that direction, accelerates abruptly in the opposite direction and stops abruptly upon reaching the other end position. This movement process is repeated at intervals, causing a rapid, sudden acceleration to be followed by an abrupt deceleration until the sieve floor comes to a standstill, so that the piles of metal move on the sieve floor towards the gap due to the inertial forces
Data Source
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AI summary
This invention concerns an arrangement for separating plastics and other materials of different densities in a liquid bath by flotation. The batches of plastics fed to the flotation baths often also contain ferrous metals and non-ferrous metals and other materials which are heavier than plastics. Since these materials in the batch which is to be separated are heavier than plastics, they settle quickly on the perforated base (1) while the plastics particles are still floating in the flotation bath. The still-floating plastics particles are transferred to a second stage and separated there in accordance with their different densities. The heavier materials, which settle from the batch in the first stage, easily result in the through-openings for liquid in the perforated base (1) closing. For this reason, it is the problem of this invention to remove these materials, usually settling on the perforated base in pile form, again without causing the liquid settled in the settling tank (27) to move in an undesirable manner, and thus to prevent already settled materials from rising up and mixing again with still-floating plastics particles. The invention proposes to mount the perforated base (1) in a movable manner, to leave a gap between the perforated-base boundary and the wall of the settling tank and to displace the perforated base (1) at intervals slowly in a direction which reduces the size of the gap and quickly and abruptly in the opposite direction: as a result of the abrupt movement of the perforated base (1), the kinetic energy stored in the piles of metal or the other heavy materials moves these materials in the direction of the gap periphery (S) and conveys them through the gap (7) into the settling chamber located beneath the perforated base. These materials can then easily be guided away from there.