Occidental Petroleum

Occidental Research Corporation

Booker W Morey

Brij M Moudgil

Charles K Choi

William R White

Joseph P Tassoney

Robert W Frischmuth, Jr

Richard M Gundzik

David F Messenger

Samuel Rudy

Tribhawan Kumar

Method and apparatus for recovering metal and plastic from plastic insulated wire. Plastic insulated wire is first chopped or otherwise comminuted to reduce the wire size. The bare metal, typically copper or aluminum, is separated from the insulation and insulated wire by aspiration or electrostatic separation. The plastic insulation is then separated from the insulated wire and any remaining bare metal by eddy current separation, typically in a linear induction motor, resulting in three fractions, the bare metal, the pure plastic, and the remaining plastic insulated wire pieces. The latter may be further processed, as by impact milling to separate the plastic from the metal, and then recycled to separate bare metal, plastic insulation, and insulated wire.

Process and apparatus for recovering metal and plastic from insulated

An apparatus and a method for concentrating an ore to recover valuable minerals from the ore is disclosed. The apparatus is based upon flotation separation techniques and comprises a trough into which is fed a slurry of ore particles which have been conditioned with a flotation reagent. The trough has a side extending outwardly forming a downwardly sloping flat table. The slurry of conditioned ore particles flows out of the trough and downwardly along the sloping table. Positioned along the sloping table is a disperser for dispersing larger particles up and into the slurry, which larger particles are generally along the surface of the sloping table. The sloping table is equipped with at least one aerator positioned along the flow path of the slurry, downstream of the disperser which aerates the conditioned ore slurry. The particles coated with the flotation reagent form agglomerates with gas bubbles produced by the aerator. These agglomerates float at a higher level within the slurry than the non-coated, non-agglomerating ore particles. A splitter is positioned near an open end of the sloping table. The splitter height above the surface of the sloping table is adjustable for intersecting the conditioned ore slurry at differing levels. The splitter separates the agglomerative, coated particles floating at a higher level from the non-agglomerative, non-coated particles floating at a lower level in the slurry.

Apparatus for the float concentration of ore

A method of separating a mineral component from particulate ore consisting of many components, such as oxides, silicates, carbonates, sulfides etc. is disclosed. The particulate ore is conditioned with a surface-active agent capable of selectively coating one of the components of the ore to the substantial exclusion of coating the other components. A coloring agent having an affinity towards the coating of surface active agent is combined with the surface active agent, providing the coated ore particles with a distinguishable color from the non-coated ore particles. The distinguishable color-coated ore particles are separated from the non-coated ore particles.

Method of separating a mixture of ore particles

The present invention relates to the purification of glass, obtained by froth flotation from shredded municipal trash; more particularly, the present invention relates to a process for removing aluminum oxide, especially corundum, and silicon carbide particles or stones, of a size greater than 60 mesh, as impurities from the glass. The process comprises subjecting the froth-floated glass to magnetic separation, especially high intensity magnetic separation, such as that produced by employing a high intensity induced roll magnetic separator. Since such impurities function unexpectedly as magnetics in relation to glass, the refractory impurities are removed from the glass during such magnetic separation. The resulting purified glass can then be employed as glass cullet for production of finished glass articles.

Purification of particulate glass by mag separation of impurities

Non-magnetic, conductive metals can be separated from mixtures containing such metals, organic materials and non-metallic inorganic materials by moving a stream of the mixture through a linear motor force field wherein the force field displaces the non-magnetic conductive metals from the stream.

Separation of non-magnetic conductive metals

Process for color sorting of particulate glass employing as the basic concept the differential heating by irradiation and absorption of preselected colored glass particles and contacting such irradiated and differentially heated glass particles with an organic thermoplastic material which melts over a narrow temperature range, the preselected colored glass particles being heated by such irradiation to within the aforementioned temperature range and causing melting of the organic thermoplastic material in contact with such glass particles but without causing melting of the inorganic thermoplastic material in contact with the other glass particles, and thereby enabling separation of the differentially heated colored glass particles in contact with the melted organic material from the remaining glass particles. According to one feature of the invention for carrying out the above concept, a mixture of particulate colored glass such as amber and flint glasses are coated with 1-tetradecanol, and the amber glass is differentially heated by irradiaton to a temperature in excess of 38.degree. C., causing melting of the tetradecanol, the temperature of this coating on the flint glass being insufficient to melt the coating. The mixture is placed in a froth flotation apparatus in which the amber glass containing the previously melted alcohol coating floats, while the flint glass on which the alcohol coating was not melted, does not, permitting removal of the amber glass, the flint glass remaining in the pulp in the machine. According to another embodiment for carrying out the invention concept, a surface in the form of a glass sheet is coated with 1-tetradecanol, and a mixture of amber and flint glasses are irradiated causing heating of the amber glass absorbing the irradiation to above 38.degree. C while the flint glass which does not absorb such irradiation is not heated to above 38.degree. C. The resulting glass particles are poured upon the tetradecanol coated glass sheet, and following cooling to room temperature the differentially heated amber glass adheres to the alcohol coating while the flint glass does not so adhere and falls off the sheet.

Separation of colored particulate glass

There is provided a system for segregating through comminution and classification solid waste into ferrous metal, inorganic, and organic fractions. The inorganic fraction is further classified into aluminum and glass fractions. The organic fraction is further comminuted, dried and fed to a pyrolysis system where it is converted to gas for use in drying the organic material for feed to the pyrolysis system, pyrolytic oils and char. The principal saleable products recovered are char, pyrolytic oils, glass, aluminum, and ferrous metal.

Solid waste disposal system

A comminuted trash mixture containing aluminum and other non-ferrous conductive metals is transferred to a conveyor system having a series of conveyor belts, each successive belt having a higher linear velocity than the preceding belt. A linear motor type separator adjacent the highest speed belt diverts the non-ferrous conductive metals off to one side of the conveyor where it is received by a second conveyor system including a plurality of conveyor belts of successively higher linear speed. A second linear motor type separator is used to divert non-ferrous conductive metals off to one side of the second conveyor group, with the remaining materials on the conveyor being transferred back to the beginning of the first conveyor group for recirculation through the first separator.

Method and apparatus for recovery of aluminum from solid waste

A process is disclosed for recovering purified glass from solid waste which includes a predominantly organic fraction and a predominantly inorganic fraction both of which contain glass particles. The predominantly inorganic fraction is further subdivided into a glass-rich fraction containing glass, inorganic, and organic constituents. The organic constituents are initially separated from the glass-rich fraction. The organics-free fraction is comminuted and screened to remove coarse particles greater than a first predetermined mesh size. The residue is classified to remove fine particles less than a second mesh size. The resultant mixture, after removal of coarse and fine particles, is subjected to froth flotation to form a float containing predominantly glass which is recovered for further use.

Glass recovery

Particulate glass values contained in a comminuted inorganic fraction and having the particle of a size up to about 10 mesh are recovered by froth flotation using an amine as the beneficiation reagent.

Flotation separation of glass from a mixture of comminuted inorganic

Process for recovery of glass from municipal waste, comprising shredding the waste, subjecting the shredded waste containing the glass to treatment in an air classifier, recovering the overhead including glass from the air classifier, the latter being operated under conditions such that the major portion of the glass particles contained in such overhead are of a fineness smaller than about 6 mesh, and usually of a size such that a substantial portion of such glass particles are less than about 20 mesh, screening such overhead fraction and recovering an enriched glass fraction of the aforementioned fineness, subjecting the screened glass-enriched material to treatment on an air table, and recovering a fine glass product of substantially reduced organic content, and having a particle size less than about 6 mesh, with a substantial portion less than about 20 mesh. Such fine glass product containing a substantial portion of glass particles of a size less than 20 mesh, can be employed in construction applications, e.g. in admixture with asphalt to form slurry seal, for production of glass and resin binder sheets, and the like, and may be further beneficiated to sufficient purity for recycle to glass manufacture.

Growing community of inventors

Pasadena, CA, United States of America

Booker W Morey