Dosing Container for Plastic Waste Homogenization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for recovering special plastics, such as polyolefins, from waste using density separation in liquids face challenges with non-uniform quality and reduced yield due to adhering dirt particles, which hinder clean density separation and throughput.
Innovation Solution
A dosing container system for homogenizing and processing plastic particles, featuring agitators to remove dirt, a tapered design to prevent bridging, adjustable discharge screws with air supply to prevent clogging, and sensors for maintaining a consistent feed, ensuring uniform material distribution and maximum throughput.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If plastic particles are fed directly from shredder to density separation, then processing speed is maintained, but material quality is non-uniform and dirt particles reduce separation yield
Solution Approach 1:
The dosing container performs preliminary homogenization of plastic particles before they enter the density separation process. Agitators continuously mix the particles to ensure uniform distribution and remove adhering dirt, preparing the material in advance for optimal separation without reducing throughput.
Solution Approach 2:
The dosing container acts as an intermediary device between the shredder and density separation unit. It receives particles from the shredder, homogenizes them, and delivers them to the separation process, mediating the transition and ensuring both quality uniformity and continuous flow.
2Productivity
If discharge screws rotate at high speed to maintain throughput, then productivity is improved, but clogging occurs due to bridging of plastic particles
Solution Approach 1:
The discharge screw speed is made dynamically adjustable rather than fixed. The control unit varies the rotation speed based on real-time feedback from sensors that detect material flow conditions, allowing the system to adapt to changing loads and prevent clogging while maintaining high throughput when conditions permit.
Solution Approach 2:
Sensors monitor the material flow and discharge conditions in real-time, providing feedback to the control unit. When bridging or clogging is detected, the system automatically adjusts the discharge screw speed or activates auxiliary mechanisms to restore flow, ensuring continuous operation.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple secondary shredders are supplied from single dosing container, then device versatility is improved, but material distribution uniformity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The dosing container is divided into multiple dosing zones or outlets, each serving a specific secondary shredder. The agitators create multiple material streams that are independently directed to different downstream processes, ensuring that each receives a uniform portion of the homogenized material while the system maintains versatility to serve multiple processes simultaneously.
4Ease of operation
If dosing container has steep wall inclination to prevent bridging, then material flow is improved, but structural stability and wear resistance deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The dosing container is constructed from composite materials or materials with specific surface properties that reduce friction and prevent material adhesion. This allows the container to maintain steeper wall inclinations for improved material flow while the enhanced material properties provide the necessary structural durability and wear resistance.
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 system achieves a uniform, consistent separation of plastic fractions with increased throughput by effectively removing dirt and preventing blockages, resulting in improved separation efficiency and yield.
Implementation Method 1
a measuring system is installed at the upper end of the dosing tank, which controls a corresponding control circuit that ensures a smaller or larger inflow quantity of the plastic mixture to be homogenized, so that there is a constant level in the dosing tank
Implementation Method 2
a measuring system is installed at the upper end of the dosing tank, which controls a corresponding control circuit that ensures a smaller or larger inflow quantity of the plastic mixture to be homogenized
Data Source
AI summary
The method for processing shredded plastic waste for the separation in three-phase centrifuges, comprises homogenously mixing the shredded plastic particles released from adhesive contaminants for several macerators in a common dosing container, and then guiding with respective delivery device assigned a macerator over separate pipelines. A delivery screw (10) is used as delivery device. An independent claim is included for a device for homogenizing shredded plastic waste for the separation in three-phase centrifuges.