SYSTEM FOR PHYSICAL-MECHANICAL RECOVERY AND REFINING OF NON-FERROUS METALS FROM ELECTRONIC SCRAP

Abstract

A system for the physical-mechanical recovery and refining of non-ferrous metals from electronic scrap, with means for the separation of the interest metals from the polymeric and resin support frames, which does not require the addition of solvents or temperature rise, for the disintegration and separation of materials, so that no toxic waste is produced for the environment.

Claims

1. A system for the physical-mechanical recovery and refining of non-ferrous metals from electronic scrap characterized in that it comprises: A hammer mill (1), which crushes the electronic scrap waste to a homogeneous particle size, connected to an air chamber (3), located at its outlet, in which the material is incorporated into a wind current caused by the movement of said mill for its dispersion in a separation chamber (4), where the particulate material is dispersed until it hits a rebound screen located at the bottom, in such a way that the heaviest materials are deposited on it, while the lighter materials are driven back towards the separation chamber (4) by the turbulence generated by the wind current coming from the hammer mill (1), to meet a transverse air stream from a blower, with a preferential flow between 150 to 250 m.sup.3/h, which redirects the lighter waste towards an outlet duct with an extractor with a suction flow between 1700 to 2100 m.sup.3/h, which drags said waste towards a bag filter (7); A dosing box (8), which receives the material that passes through the holes of the rebound screen and redirects them towards a second conveyor belt (9) that deposits them in a transverse barrel feed hopper (10), with a transversal air current between 130 to 170 m.sup.3/h, which intercepts the lightest materials sending them towards an outlet with an extractor (11) that generates a suction force between 1700 to 2300 m.sup.3/h, which drags the materials trapped by the suction current redirecting them towards the bag filter (7); A screen or retention mesh, placed in the bottom of the transverse barrel feed hopper (10), which allows the passage of the heaviest material through it, to be deposited on an oscillating screen (12) in which the material free of light contaminants is classified into three sizes: a large size that is greater than 3 mm, which is rejected and returned by means of a blower (13) to a cyclone (14) that deposits it in a second mill (15) to decrease its size to re-enter it into the transverse barrel feed hopper (10); a medium size ranging between 1 to 3 mm and; a fine size that is less than 1 mm, the medium and fine size material being deposited on a third conveyor belt (16); A magnetic drum (17), which receives the materials of medium and fine sizes from the third conveyor belt (16), which extracts the ferrous materials to be sent to a parallel production line, depositing the non-ferrous metals on a combined rotary screen (18) to remove materials smaller than 1 mm, sending them to a wet densimetric table or wiffley table for the separation and treatment of fine powders, transferring the separated non-ferrous metals to a first serpentine type dryer air operated, while medium materials (between 1 to 3 mm) are sent to a second stage of the combined rotary screen (18) in which they are added to a rotating drum together with water, forming a homogeneous mixture, which is transferred to a second densimetric table (19) for the separation of non-ferrous metals from any contaminant; A rotary screen (20), arranged to receive non-ferrous metals with a size between 1 to 3 mm from the second densimetric table (19) to extract the excess water, then depositing them in a second coil dryer (21) air operated, which transfers and deposits the dry material in a cyclone (22) positioned on a dosing silo (23) that feeds a centrifugal granulator mill (24) by means of a variable speed worm, to reduce the metals in a controlled way to a homogeneous size and weight, A cyclone (25) that receives the materials from the centrifugal granulator mill (24), in which the fine materials are eliminated towards the bag filter (26), while the metals are dispensed through an electrovalve towards a fourth conveyor belt (27) with a magnetic head at its end for the elimination of magnetic residues and; A third oscillating screen (28) that receives the material free of ferrous metals from the magnetic head, which separates the non-ferrous metals into two sizes: a small size that is between 0.5 to 1 mm and a medium size that ranges between 1 to 2 mm, removing metals greater than 3 mm for reprocessing in the second mill (15) and fine powders less than 0.5 mm; A first two-way densimetric separator (29), which receives medium-sized metals from the third screen (28) and delivers clean copper through its upper outlet, and contaminated aluminum through its lower outlet, said contaminated aluminum being transferred through a pedestal or donkey to a second densimetric separator (30) that is calibrated differently from that of the first densimetric separator (29) and delivers clean aluminum through its upper outlet and garbage through its lower outlet and; A third two-way densimetric separator (31), which receives the small size metals from the third screen (28) and delivers clean copper through its upper outlet in a smaller size than that of the first densimetric separator (29), and aluminum contaminated by its lower outlet, said contaminated aluminum being transferred by means of a pedestal or donkey to a fourth densimetric separator (32), which is calibrated differently from that of the third densimetric separator (31) and delivers clean aluminum in a size smaller than the of the second densimetric separator (30) through its upper outlet and garbage through its lower outlet.

2. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that the first (29), second (30), third (31) and fourth (32) separators have extractors and filters to retain any light contaminant.

3. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that it also comprises a first controlled feeding conveyor belt (2) that feeds the hammer mill (1).

4. The system according to claim 1 characterized in that the air chamber (3) has a substantially rectangular shape.

5. The system according to claim 1 characterized in that the separation chamber (4) is connected through a bell (5) to the air chamber (3), in such a way that the particulate material is dispersed in the separation chamber (4) in an area preferably between 0.7 to 1.3 m.sup.3.

6. The system according to claim 1 characterized in that the bounce screen has holes between 12 to 17 mm.

7. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that the retention screen or mesh has a motovibrator that avoids material jamming.

8. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that it also comprises a cyclone separator located at the inlet of the bag filter (7), with a rotary valve that precipitates the heaviest minerals and metals to redirect them to a screen that classifies the materials to re-enter them towards the hammer mill (1) and; a second bag filter connected to the outlet of the bag filter (7), to retain the fine particles that escape from the bag filter (7).

9. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that the transverse barrel feed hopper (10) comprises a vertical secondary barrel coupled to its outlet, which is connected to the extractor (11) by means of a short pipe, to improve the suction force and avoid the recoil of separated materials.

10. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that the magnetic drum (17) is connected to a centrifugal pulverizer mill (33), which reduces and homogenizes the size of the ferrous waste to subsequently deposit them on a screen (34) that separates metals from minerals.

11. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that the first and second (21) serpentine-type dryers are driven by a fan that produces an air flow between 2300 to 2900 m.sup.3/h.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES OF THE INVENTION

[0013] FIG. 1 shows a side view of the system for the recovery of non-ferrous metals from electronic scrap of the present invention.

[0014] FIG. 2 shows an enlargement of section a) of FIG. 1.

[0015] FIG. 3 shows an enlargement of section b) of FIG. 1.

[0016] FIG. 4 shows an enlargement of section c) of FIG. 1.

[0017] FIG. 5 shows an enlargement of section d) of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] The system for the recovery and refining of non-ferrous metals from electronic scrap of the present invention, is made up of a series of equipment that together allows to efficiently separate the metallic components from the waste of the support and encapsulation matrices of electronic components such as cards, memories and processors, without requiring the use of chemical solvents, so the system of the present invention does not generate waste chemical substances or produce toxic gases that could escape to the ground or water tables, so that the system of the present invention allows a completely environmentally friendly recycling process. The system of the present invention also makes it possible to obtain metallic waste such as copper and aluminum from electronic waste, with a small particle size that facilitates its handling and subsequent use in conventional metallurgical recycling processes.

[0019] To achieve the above, the system of the present invention is made up of various equipment that separates the waste sequentially, until obtaining a final residue highly enriched in non-ferrous metals such as copper and aluminum, which can be separated to obtain separate wastes containing a single non-ferrous metal.

[0020] The system for the recovery of non-ferrous metals of the present invention comprises: [0021] A hammer mill (1), fed by a first controlled feeding conveyor belt (2), which crushes the electronic scrap waste to a homogeneous particle size, connected to an air chamber (3) of substantially rectangular shape, located at its outlet, in which the material from the hammer mill is incorporated into a wind current caused by the movement of said mill (1) for its dispersion in a separation chamber (4) that is connected through a bell (5) to said air chamber (3), where the particulate material is dispersed in an area preferably between 0.7 to 1.3 m.sup.3, until it hits a rebound screen located at the bottom, which has holes between 12 to 17 mm, in such a way that the heaviest materials are deposited on it, while the lighter materials are driven back towards the separation chamber (4) by the turbulence generated by the wind current coming from the hammer mill (1), to meet a transverse air stream from a blower, with a preferential flow between 150 to 250 m.sup.3/h, which redirects the lighter waste towards an outlet duct with an extractor (6) with a suction flow between 1700 to 2100 m.sup.3/h, which drags said waste towards a bag filter (7); [0022] A dosing box (8), which receives the material that passes through the holes of the rebound screen and redirects them towards a second conveyor belt (9) that deposits them in a transverse barrel feed hopper (10), with a transversal air current between 130 to 170 m.sup.3/h, which intercepts the lightest materials sending them towards an outlet with an extractor (11) that generates a suction force between 1700 to 2300 m.sup.3/h, which drags the materials trapped by the suction current redirecting them towards the bag filter (7); [0023] A retention screen or mesh, placed in the bottom of the transverse barrel feed hopper (10), with a motovibrator that avoids the clogging of the heavier material that passes through it to be deposited on an oscillating screen (12) such as, for example, a Rotex screen, in which the material free of light contaminants is classified into three sizes: large greater than 3 mm that is rejected and sent back by means of a blower (13) to a cyclone (14) that deposits it in a second mill (15) to decrease its size to re-enter it into the transverse barrel feed hopper (10); medium between 1 to 3 mm and; fine less than 1 mm, the medium and fine material being deposited on a third conveyor belt (16); [0024] A magnetic drum (17), which receives the medium and fine-sized materials from the third conveyor belt (16), which extracts the ferrous materials to be sent to a parallel production line, depositing the non-ferrous metals on a combined rotary screen (17) to remove materials smaller than 1 mm, sending them to a wet densimetric table or wiffley table for fine powders separation and treatment, transferring the separated non-ferrous metals to a first air-operated coil type dryer, while medium materials (between 1 to 3 mm) are sent to a second stage of the combined rotary screen (18) in which they are added to a rotating drum together with water, forming a homogeneous mixture, which is transferred to a second densimetric table (19) for non-ferrous metals separation from any contaminant; [0025] A rotary screen (20), arranged to receive non-ferrous metals with a size between 1 to 3 mm from the second densimetric table (19) to extract the excess water, then depositing them in a second coil dryer (21) air operated, which transfers and deposits the dry material in a cyclone (22) positioned on a dosing silo (23) that feeds a centrifugal granulator mill (24) by means of a variable speed worm, to reduce the metals in a controlled way to a homogeneous size and weight; [0026] A cyclone (25) that receives the materials from the centrifugal granulator mill (24), in which the fine materials are eliminated towards a bag filter (26), while the metals are dispensed through an electrovalve towards a fourth conveyor belt (27) with a magnetic head at its end for the elimination of magnetic residues; [0027] A third oscillating screen (28) that receives the material free of ferrous metals from the magnetic head, which separates the non-ferrous metals into two sizes: a small size between 0.5 to 1 mm and a medium size between 1 to 2 mm, withdrawing metals greater than 3 mm for reprocessing in the second mill (15) and fine powders of less than 0.5 mm; [0028] A first two-way densimetric separator (29), which receives medium-sized metals and delivers clean copper through its upper outlet, and contaminated aluminum through its lower outlet, said contaminated aluminum being transferred by means of a pedestal or donkey to a second densimetric separator (30), which is calibrated differently from that of the first densimetric separator (29) that delivers clean aluminum through its upper outlet and garbage through its lower outlet, having said first (29) and second (30) separators, extractors and filters to retain any light contaminants and; [0029] A third two-way densimetric separator (31), which receives small-size metals, which delivers clean copper through its upper outlet in a smaller size than that of the first densimetric separator (29) and contaminated aluminum through its lower outlet, being said contaminated aluminum transferred by means of a pedestal or donkey to a fourth densimetric separator (32), which is calibrated differently from that of the third densimetric separator (31) that delivers clean aluminum in a smaller size than that of the second densimetric separator (39) through its upper outlet and garbage through its lower outlet, having said third (31) and fourth (32) extractor separators and filters to retain any light contaminant.

[0030] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the system also comprises a cyclone separator, located at the inlet of the bag filter (7), with a rotary valve that precipitates the heaviest minerals and metals to redirect them to a screen that classifies the materials to re-enter them towards the hammer mill (1) and; a second bag filter connected to the outlet of the bag filter (7), with a more closed fabric to retain the fine particles that escape from the bag filter (7).

[0031] In a further embodiment of the present invention, the transverse barrel feed hopper (10) comprises a vertical secondary barrel coupled to its outlet, which is connected to the extractor by means of a short pipe, which improves the suction force and avoids the recoil of separated materials.

[0032] In another embodiment of the present invention, the magnetic drum (17) is connected to a centrifugal pulverizer mill (33), which reduces and homogenizes the size of the ferrous residues, to subsequently deposit them on a screen (34) that separates the metals from the minerals.

[0033] In a further embodiment of the present invention, the first and second coil-type dryers are driven by a fan that produces an air flow between 2300 to 2900 m.sup.3/h.

[0034] The present invention has been described in accordance with a preferred embodiment; however, it will be apparent to a technician of average skill in the art that modifications can be made to the invention without departing from its spirit and scope.