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:
Jun. 16, 1998
Filed:
Jul. 10, 1996
Brian Leigh Simpson, Hamlin, NY (US);
Gerald Douglas Knight, Rochester, NY (US);
Richard Arthur Tietz, Leroy, NY (US);
Mark Louis Quadrini, Rochester, NY (US);
Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, NY (US);
Abstract
An improved system (10) conveys comminuted material from a source (12) to a vessel (14), especially for continuously conveying chopped poly(ethyleneterephthalate), or PET, into a methanolysis recovery reactor without entrainment of air into the reactor and without frequent jamming of the apparatus. A single rotary vane valve (36) is provided in the conveyance path at an inlet (38) to the vessel. The valve has clearances between the vanes (44) and the housing (48) larger than the smallest dimension of the comminuted material to prevent jamming of the rotor by PET flakes. The internal spaces (52, 47) in the valve are continuously purged with nitrogen at sufficient volume and pressure such that gases and fumes in the vessel are substantially prevented from passing upward through the valve. Nitrogen also flows from the valve countercurrently through the supply ducts (26, 30) to strip entrained air from the incoming material. Preferably, additional nitrogen is introduced into the supply duct (30) ahead of the valve to assist in air removal from the material. Internal valve surfaces (64) are heated to prevent condensation of gases and fumes from the vessel, thereby preventing sticking and clogging of the comminuted material within the valve. A slide (28) for entry of material into the valve is provided at a 40.degree. angle to assure uniform flow of material. The comminuted material is conveyed from the source by high-velocity air (17) and can be humidified (66) as needed to prevent sticking or clumping in the conveyance path.