The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 07, 1978
Filed:
Apr. 14, 1975
Tribhawan Kumar, Madison, WI (US);
Booker W Morey, Pasadena, CA (US);
Occidental Petroleum Corporation, Los Angeles, CA (US);
Abstract
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.