Uncured Rubber Recovery by Water Jet Separation From Reinforcement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing processes are inadequate for efficiently recovering uncured rubber, metal, and fabric from composite products like rejected tire components, as uncured rubber sticks to surfaces and contaminants, leading to safety risks and material damage, making re-use difficult.
Innovation Solution
A process involving standardizing composite products into sheets with a maximum thickness of 125mm or less and using pressurized water jets at up to 500 bar to strip uncured rubber from reinforcement materials, followed by separation using magnets and filters.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional mechanical size reduction equipment (shredders, granulators) is used to process uncured rubber substrates, then material recovery is attempted, but the uncured rubber sticks to surfaces and equipment, building up agglomerated balls and causing fire risks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical size reduction equipment with a water jet system that uses high-pressure fluid dynamics to separate and process uncured rubber substrates. The water jet cuts through the rubber and separates components without mechanical contact, eliminating the sticking and agglomeration problems inherent in mechanical shredding and granulation processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention employs a water jet system operating at high pressure (typically 100-400 MPa) to process uncured rubber substrates. The hydraulic energy of the water jet enables cutting, separation, and size reduction of the rubber without mechanical contact, preventing the tackiness-related problems of equipment contamination and fire risk that occur with conventional mechanical equipment.
2Ease of operation
If anti-tack additives (talc, chalk, metal soaps) are added to uncured rubber substrates to prevent sticking, then processability improves, but the suitability of the uncured rubber for reprocessing as a virgin material is significantly impacted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the need for anti-tack additives by using a water jet system that processes uncured rubber without mechanical contact. Since the water jet cuts and separates the rubber through fluid dynamics rather than mechanical friction, the anti-tack additives become unnecessary, allowing the uncured rubber to be reprocessed as a virgin material without contamination from additives like talc, chalk, or metal soaps.
3Productivity
If uncured rubber substrates containing metal and fabric reinforcements are processed mechanically, then separation is attempted, but the extremely tacky nature of uncured rubber prevents easy removal from metal and fabric surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical separation methods with a water jet system that uses high-pressure fluid to cut through and separate the uncured rubber from metal and fabric reinforcements. The water jet penetrates the rubber matrix and detaches the reinforcement materials through hydraulic pressure and cavitation effects, overcoming the extreme adhesion forces that prevent mechanical separation.
Solution Approach 2:
The water jet system utilizes phase transition effects, including cavitation (formation and collapse of vapor bubbles) and rapid pressure changes, to separate uncured rubber from reinforcement materials. These phase transition phenomena create intense local forces that break the adhesive bonds between the tacky rubber and metal/fabric surfaces, enabling effective separation without mechanical contact.
4Ease of manufacture
If waste substrates with uncured rubber are sent for burning, then disposal is achieved, but environmental harm and loss of valuable materials occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a water jet processing system that recovers uncured rubber substrates and their reinforcement materials (metal and fabric) from what would otherwise be waste. By cutting and separating the components, the system enables reuse of the uncured rubber in new applications and recovery of valuable reinforcement materials, eliminating the need for burning disposal and preventing environmental harm and material loss.
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 process effectively separates uncured rubber, metal, and fabric into reusable forms, avoiding contamination and damage, enabling their re-use in virgin material applications.
Implementation Method 1
jetting pressurised water onto one or more surface of the standardised sheets, whereby the water is at a pressure of up to 500 bar, thereby stripping the uncured rubber from the reinforcement material
Implementation Method 2
separation using magnets and filters
Implementation Method 3
separation using magnets and filters
Data Source
AI summary
The invention provides a process for the recovery of component materials from composite products, the process comprising: a) providing a composite product that comprises a plurality of component materials, said component materials including uncured rubber and reinforcement material selected from fabric and/or metal; b) preparing one or more standardised sheets of composite product, wherein each standardised sheet has a maximum thickness of 125mm or less; and c) jetting pressurised water onto one or more surface of the standardised sheets, whereby the water is at a pressure of up to 500 bar, thereby stripping the uncured rubber from the reinforcement material and resulting in a mixture of uncured rubber fabric and reinforcement material.