Devices, systems, and methods for separating waste stream with high glass concentrations to recover desired materials are described. The devices, systems, and methods may include a wet separator, a multi-stage screen(s), shredder(s), rising velocity separator(s)/jig(s), magnetic pulley(s), eddy current separator(s), and/or optical sorters.

A system and method for recovering metals from a waste stream includes or uses a feeder, a first screw separator, a slurry tank, and a second screw separator configured to receive carrier fluid and particles from the slurry tank. The method and system can include feature to improve water usage.

An apparatus and method for removing an underflow stream is provided suitable for removing an underflow stream from a separator, such as a mineral particle separator. In one aspect, the separator can include a discharge outlet for discharging the underflow stream, and the apparatus can include a source of pressurised fluid, a first conduit for fluidly connecting the pressurised fluid source to the discharge outlet such that the pressurized fluid is directed to impede the flow of the underflow stream in the first conduit, thereby creating a fluidisation zone, and a second conduit fluidly connected to the first conduit so that material from the fluidisation zone flows into the second conduit for removal from the apparatus.

Hydraulic classifiers are provided for sorting material using injected water. Some embodiments include upper and lower housings having different cross-sectional shapes. In some embodiments, certain improvements are provided for cleanout and/or removal or replacement of teeter bars.

The present invention provides an apparatus for feeding a feed slurry into a particle separator having a fluidisation source. The feed apparatus comprises a chamber having at least one baffle for dividing the chamber into a first zone and a second zone. A feed inlet feeds the slurry into the first zone and the baffle deflects the slurry away from the second zone and direct fluidisation fluid from the fluidisation source through the second zone to combine with the slurry from the first zone. A particle separator incorporating the feed apparatus and a method of particle separation is also provided.

Hydraulic classifiers are provided for sorting material using injected water. Some embodiments include upper and lower housings having different cross-sectional shapes. In some embodiments, certain improvements are provided for cleanout and/or removal or replacement of teeter bars.

Systems and methods for separating materials and recovery of valuable materials such as from end-of-life vehicles and appliances are disclosed. Vehicles are shredded and resulting pieces are dropped into a fluidic separator that separates the shredded vehicle scrap into heavier pieces and lighter pieces. The fluidic separator separates the bulk of the more valuable metals of the non-metals. The fluidic separator, which may be used for separating many kinds of mixtures of pieces of varying specific gravity, comprises a fluid-filled container in which the pieces and the fluid are stirred so that pieces of specific gravity greater than that of the fluid tend to sink and pieces of specific gravity less than that of the fluid tend to float.

Provided is a gravity separation device wherein occurrences of shelving, flashing, and the like inside the device can be suppressed, variations in the flow rate of underflow obtained by gravity separation can be minimized and underflow can be stably extracted. This gravity separation device, which separates overflow and underflow using differences in specific gravity from mixed material, is provided with a separation section that has a supply pipe for supplying a slurry of the mixed material at the top and separates that slurry into overflow and underflow, and a deposition section that is positioned below the separation section and wherein the underflow that has been separated by precipitation is deposited. An extraction pipe for extracting the underflow is connected to the deposition section, and a valve for extracting the underflow and a metering pump for quantitatively extracting the underflow are provided in the extraction pipe.

A cyclonic separation and materials processing method and system is presented in which materials entry at one end and which is arranged so that the materials that enter will be given a tangential velocity component as they enter. Specific embodiments include a three-dimensional sorting system with the use of an outward centrifugal motion and up/down (or vertical) motion flow of water or other media, which can be thought of as a three-dimensional separation.

A method of separating a plurality of particles (14) from a portion of fluid, comprising directing the plurality of particles (14) into a microchannel (12). A first portion (16) of particles (14) is focused into an equilibrium position in the microchannel (12). The focused first portion (16) is directed into a first outlet (18) aligned with the equilibrium position. A portion of the fluid is directed into one or more outlets (20, 22). A microfluidic device (10) for separating a plurality of particles (14) from a portion of fluid, comprising a microchannel (12) having a first aspect ratio and a length L, thereby focusing the particles (14) directed therein into an equilibrium position in the microchannel, wherein at least a first portion (16) of the particles (14) focuses at distance X from a beginning of the microchannel (12). A first outlet (18) disposed after distance X and aligned with the equilibrium position to receive at least the first portion (16) of the particles (14) after the first portion (16) focuses into an equilibrium position in the microchannel (12). At least a second outlet (20) for receiving a second portion of the particles (14) before the second portion focuses into an equilibrium position.