Thermomechanical Cell Lysis for Organic Matter Separation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for processing municipal and commercial waste struggle with separating fossil and native organic substances, particularly due to plastics sticking together and forming agglomerates, which complicates material separation and requires pre-treatment to remove inert materials, leading to high wear and tear on systems.
Innovation Solution
A thermomechanical cell lysis process is applied, combining mechanical and thermal cell disruption at controlled temperatures (65°C to 120°C) and pressures (up to 5 x 10^6 Pa) to comminute native organic matter, followed by dewatering, sieving, and repeated treatment to separate plastics and achieve high purity, with a screw press and lysing device facilitating the process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If extrusion is used to process organic substances, then cell structure is destroyed and homogenization is achieved, but plastics stick together and form agglomerates, making subsequent separation difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary thermal treatment (heating to 60-120°C) before extrusion to prevent plastic agglomeration. This preliminary action modifies the physical state of plastics, reducing their tendency to stick together during the subsequent extrusion process, thereby maintaining separation efficiency while achieving homogenization.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes temperature parameters (heating to 60-120°C) and pressure parameters during extrusion to control the behavior of organic matter and plastics. By optimizing these parameters, the process achieves cell structure destruction and homogenization while preventing plastic agglomeration that would otherwise occur at higher pressures and temperatures.
2Reliability
If pre-treatment to remove inert materials is performed, then wear and tear on the system is reduced, but process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple functions into a single extrusion process: inert material separation, organic matter homogenization, cell structure destruction, and plastic prevention of agglomeration all occur simultaneously in one device. This merging eliminates the need for separate pre-treatment steps, reducing overall process complexity while maintaining system durability.
Solution Approach 2:
The extrusion device is designed to perform multiple functions: separating inert materials, processing organic matter, controlling plastic behavior, and achieving homogenization. This multi-functional approach eliminates the need for separate pre-treatment systems, reducing process complexity while enhancing system reliability through integrated design.
3Strength
If high pressure and temperature are applied during extrusion, then cell structure is explosively destroyed, but plastics stick together and form agglomerates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes pressure and temperature parameters within a specific range (60-120°C) during extrusion. This controlled parameter change achieves sufficient cell structure destruction for homogenization while staying below the threshold where plastics begin to soften and agglomerate, thus resolving the contradiction between effective processing and preventing harmful effects.
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 prevents plastics from sticking together, allows for efficient separation of organic fractions, reduces wear on equipment, and enables high-purity end products suitable for various uses, including energy production and agriculture, while ensuring hygienization and biological stabilization.
Implementation Method 1
a thermomechanical cell lysis, in which the native organic matter is comminuted
Implementation Method 2
combining mechanical and thermal cell disruption at controlled temperatures (65°C to 120°C)
Implementation Method 3
pressures (up to 5 x 10^6 Pa) to comminute native organic matter
Implementation Method 4
dewatering, sieving, and repeated treatment to separate plastics
Implementation Method 5
a first sieving, in which the comminuted native organic matter is separated from the fossil organic matter
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
AI summary
The invention relates to a method and a device for separating fossil and native organic matter from mixtures of organic substances. The invention is characterized by subjecting the mixture of organic substances to a dewatering step (30, 31), to thermomechanical cell lysis (32), to a subsequent dewatering step (33) and to a final sieving step.