Ahlstrom Machinery, Inc.

Ahlstrom Machinery Oy

Todd A Salvato

Joseph R Phillips

Scott M Clum

Keith A Carlton

Erwin D Funk

Mahendra R Doshi

A deinking system for use with recycled paper pulp includes a number of gas sparged hydrocyclones mounted around the outer periphery of a foam separation vessel, with the slurry outlet from each hydrocyclone introducing slurry into the vessel below the level of liquid in the vessel, and above the accepts outlet from the bottom of the vessel. An annular trough is provided adjacent the top and outer periphery of the vessel, and has a bottom sloping to one or more drain outlets. The hydrocyclone discharge conduits into the vessel are tangential to cause bubble-releasing swirling of the slurry in the vessel. The cyclone preferably is pedestal-less, and has a single gas inlet, and a deflector within the annular air jacket of the hydrocyclone. At least one substantially conical substantially uniform back pressure generator may be disposed in the hydrocyclone slurry outlet, a foam conveyance and breaking device may be associated with the drain outlet from the trough, and a foam and rejects handling tank connected to the foam conveyance and breaking device and including a substantially spiral downwardly extending feed ramp may also be provided.

Air contactor with foam separation vessel system

A slurry of recycled cellulose fibers is deinked by introducing the slurry into the first end of a vortex, sparging gas radially inwardly into the slurry to cause gas bubbles to attach to contaminants and ink particles to form an aerated slurry, discharging the aerated slurry from near the second end of the vortex into a separation vessel, effecting separation of a foam of ink laden gas bubbles from the cellulose fiber slurry in the separation vessel, and removing from the separation vessel the foam with associated ink and contaminants in a first stream, and de-inked cellulose fiber slurry in a second stream. The separation vessel is typically a foam separating vessel with separation effected by flotation, and by discharging the foam. The slurry is introduced into the flotation vessel below the liquid level in it. The slurry typically has a consistency of about 0.5-2%, and the gas to slurry volume ratio during sparging may be 0.1-1 to 1.0 (e.g. 0.2-0.7 to 1, or 0.3-0.4 to 1). The foam separating vessel may be cylindrical with a shower head at the top, and rejects therefrom directed to a rejects tank. Sparging takes place in a hydrocyclone with an outlet that may or may not be restricted; a rejects outlet may extend from a first end of the hydrocyclone to a rejects tank.

Gas sparged hydrocyclone with foam separating vessel

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Columbus, IN, United States of America

Todd A Salvato