An apparatus and method to efficiently recover noble metals such as gold, silver and copper and aluminum from incineration ash, and effectively use ash after recovering the noble metals and others. An incineration ash treatment apparatus 1 including: a crusher for crushing an incineration ash A1 to be less or equal to 5 mm in maximum particle diameter, or/and a classifier for classifying an incineration ash to obtain an incineration ash whose maximum particle diameter is less or equal to 5 mm; an eddy current separator 8 for separating an incineration ash whose maximum particle diameter is less or equal to 5 mm discharged from the crusher or/and the classifier into a conductor E and a nonconductor I; a specific gravity separator for separating a conductor discharged from the eddy current separator 8 into a high gravity material H2 and a low gravity material L2. The specific gravity separator can be an air table 10. A classifier for classifying a crushed material C, classifying point of which is 5 mm or less, can be mounted, and fine particles P whose particle diameters are 5 mm or less discharged from the classifier can be fed to the eddy current separator 8. Rotation speed of a drum of the eddy current separator 8 can be 4000 rpm or more.

Methods, systems, and apparatus for winnowing. In one aspect, a method includes loading an initial material into a winnowing system via a feed member; feeding the material into a fluidically accelerated winnowing cavity, where the initial material impacts at least one plate member to yield chaff material and processed material, and where the processed material and the chaff material circulate in the winnowing cavity; and separating the chaff material and the processed from the winnowing cavity based on density. Other aspects include yielding intermediate material, where the intermediate material reimpacts the at least one plate member until yielding chaff material and processed material, preprocessing the initial material, controlling the flow of initial material into the winnowing cavity with a feed gate, where the chaff material egresses the winnowing cavity via a chaff chute, where the chaff material collects in a collection cavity, and/or more.

Methods, systems, and apparatus for winnowing. In one aspect, a method includes loading an initial material into a winnowing system via a feed member; feeding the material into a fluidically accelerated winnowing cavity, where the initial material impacts at least one plate member to yield chaff material and processed material, and where the processed material and the chaff material circulate in the winnowing cavity; and separating the chaff material and the processed from the winnowing cavity based on density. Other aspects include yielding intermediate material, where the intermediate material reimpacts the at least one plate member until yielding chaff material and processed material, preprocessing the initial material, controlling the flow of initial material into the winnowing cavity with a feed gate, where the chaff material egresses the winnowing cavity via a chaff chute, where the chaff material collects in a collection cavity, and/or more.

Processes and systems for pyrolysing a hydrocarbon. In some examples, the process can include mixing a cooled hydrocarbon effluent and a cooled de-coking effluent to produce a combined effluent. The combined effluent can be introduced into an inlet conduit of a separator under conditions that provide >80 wt. % of the plurality of coke particles with a Stokes number of >10. From a first exit conduit of the separator >55 wt. % of the plurality of coke particles in the combined effluent can be removed, and from a second exit conduit of the separator a coke-lean hydrocarbon effluent that includes <45 wt. % of the plurality of coke particles in the combined effluent can be removed. The first exit conduit and the second exit conduit can be coupled to the inlet conduit.

The invention relates to a pneumatic grain sorter comprising a conduit which has a grain inlet, a first air inlet, a second air inlet, a deflector between the first air inlet and the second air inlet coinciding with the grain inlet, such that the deflector divides the conduit into a first section and a second section, an upper outlet, and a lower outlet, wherein the grain inlet introduces grains into the conduit which are reached by an airflow introduced by the first air inlet into the second section of the conduit, and raises smaller grains to the position of the second air inlet, while larger grains are not raised and they are guided to the first section.

Separation and classification equipment for separating a mixed waste stream into first, second and third fractions. The equipment comprises a feeding member for feeding the waste stream toward a gap and a blower for discharging a stream of air for mixing with the waste stream, as the waste stream falls through the gap. The first fraction falls through the stream of air and collects in a first collection area while the stream of air carries away the second and the third fractions. A rotatable permeable member is arranged to permit the stream of air to pass therethrough and thereby force and retain the third fraction against a surface of the rotatable permeable member and be conveyed, by the rotatable permeable member, toward a third collection area while the second fraction tends to separate, from the rotatable permeable member and the third fraction, and collect in a separate second collection area.

A aerodynamic particle separator for an Additive Manufacturing System (AMS) has an air supply device to entrain a mixed powder in an airstream flowing through a housing. Each particle in the mixed powder is imparted with a momentum dependent upon the particle weight and size. Utilizing this momentum characteristic, the heavier particles are capable of crossing streamlines of the airstream at a bend portion of the housing and the lighter particles generally stay within the streamlines. Utilizing this dynamic characteristic, the particles of specific weight ranges are collected through respective offtake holes in the housing and controllably fed to a spreader of the AMS.

A method for fractionating a milled grain product into coarse and fine fractions includes providing a sieving apparatus with a bottom chamber divided from a top chamber by a sieve, an inlet port in the top chamber, a top chamber cover defined by a plurality of openings, and a first exit port in the bottom chamber, and applying vacuum suction to the sieving apparatus. The vacuum suction is configured to draw grain particles through the inlet port into the top chamber, generate substantially horizontal airflow in the top chamber via the inlet port; and generate substantially vertical airflow in the top chamber via the plurality of openings, wherein the substantially horizontal airflow and the substantially vertical airflow combine to generate turbulence which fluidizes the grain particles in the upper chamber and prevents blockage of the sieve; and drawing fine grain particles through the sieve and out of the bottom chamber via the first exit port under the vacuum suction and collecting a fine grain particle fraction.

A method for fractionating a milled grain product into coarse and fine fractions includes providing a sieving apparatus with a bottom chamber divided from a top chamber by a sieve, an inlet port in the top chamber, a top chamber cover defined by a plurality of openings, and a first exit port in the bottom chamber, and applying vacuum suction to the sieving apparatus. The vacuum suction is configured to draw grain particles through the inlet port into the top chamber, generate substantially horizontal airflow in the top chamber via the inlet port; and generate substantially vertical airflow in the top chamber via the plurality of openings, wherein the substantially horizontal airflow and the substantially vertical airflow combine to generate turbulence which fluidizes the grain particles in the upper chamber and prevents blockage of the sieve; and drawing fine grain particles through the sieve and out of the bottom chamber via the first exit port under the vacuum suction and collecting a fine grain particle fraction.

An apparatus for separating a granular material from a conveying air stream (5) comprising a deflecting surface (2) for the laden conveying air stream (5) against which flow may take place substantially tangentially is described. In order to allow advantageous separation conditions, it is proposed that the deflecting surface (2) adjoins a guiding surface (3) curved in the opposite direction in the flow direction for a largely laminar flow separation.