FEED DEVICE AND FEED METHOD FOR A PYROLYSIS APPARATUS

Abstract

A feed device of a pyrolysis apparatus and a feed method through which material processed in the pyrolysis apparatus, such as plastic and/or rubber waste, can be fed into the pyrolysis apparatus. In the feed device there is a feed opening for the material to be processed, a feed chamber, closing members in conjunction with the feed chamber and a discharge opening, through which the material to be processed can be conveyed to the pyrolysis apparatus's pyrolysis chamber. A vacuum pump has been adjoined in conjunction with the feed device's feed chamber to achieve a vacuum or sufficient underpressure in the feed chamber after the material to be processed has been fed into the feed chamber and the feed chamber's closing members have been closed. After the closing member of the feed chamber's discharge opening has been opened, the material to be processed, from which the oxygen harmful to the pyrolysis process has been removed, is conveyed into the pyrolysis chamber.

Claims

1. A feed device of a pyrolysis apparatus, through which material to be processed in the pyrolysis apparatus, such as plastic and/or rubber waste, can be fed into the pyrolysis apparatus, in which feed device there is a feed opening for the material to be processed, a feed chamber, closing members in conjunction with the feed chamber and a discharge opening, through which the material to be processed can be conveyed to a pyrolysis chamber of the pyrolysis apparatus wherein a vacuum pump has been attached in conjunction with the feed device's feed chamber in order to achieve a vacuum or sufficient underpressure in the feed chamber after the material to be processed has been fed into the feed chamber and the feed chamber's closing members have been closed.

2. The feed device according to claim 1, wherein the vacuum pump is attached to the feed chamber with a pipe which has a valve and a vacuum or sufficient underpressure is achieved in the feed chamber by starting up the vacuum pump and opening the valve.

3. The feed device according to claim 1, wherein a sensor or meter has been attached in conjunction with the feed chamber in order to measure the value of the vacuum or underpressure that the vacuum pump has created in the feed chamber.

4. The feed device according to claim 1, wherein one closing member of the feed chamber's in conjunction with the feed device's feed opening comprises a gate valve equipped with a seal and the second closing member of the feed chamber contains a closing plate that can be pressed tightly against the end of the feed chamber and when the material to be processed has been fed into the feed chamber and both the gate valve and the closing plate are closed, a vacuum or sufficient underpressure can be achieved in the feed chamber using the vacuum pump.

5. The feed device according to claim 4, wherein the feed chamber containing the material to be processed which has a vacuum or sufficient underpressure can be opened by opening the closing plate of the feed device's closing member, in which case the feed chamber is connected with the feed device's discharge chamber and further with the pyrolysis chamber of the pyrolysis apparatus.

6. The feed device according to claim 1, wherein there is a discharge member in conjunction with the feed device's feed chamber for transfer of material from the feed chamber to the discharge chamber of the feed device, from where the material is conveyed through the discharge chamber's discharge opening into the pyrolysis chamber of the pyrolysis apparatus.

7. The feed device according to claim 6, wherein the feed device of the pyrolysis apparatus is located above the pyrolysis apparatus's pyrolysis chamber in which case the material to be processed can be dropped through the discharge opening into the pyrolysis chamber.

8. The feed device according to claim 1, wherein the feed device of the pyrolysis apparatus is located under the pyrolysis chamber of the pyrolysis apparatus or at side of the pyrolysis chamber, in which case a gas-tight conveyor has also been attached to the feed device for transporting the feed material from the feed device to the pyrolysis chamber.

9. A feed method for feeding material to be processed in a pyrolysis apparatus, such as plastic and/or rubber waste, into a feed device of the pyrolysis apparatus and onward into the pyrolysis chamber, the method comprising the steps of: feeding the material to be processed into the feed device's feed chamber, through a feed opening closing a closing member of the feed opening whereby both closing members of the feed chamber are closed; opening the closing member of the feed chamber's discharge opening and conveying the material (12) to be processed into the pyrolysis chamber (61); wherein a vacuum or sufficient underpressure is achieved using the vacuum pump in the feed chamber into which the material to be processed has been fed and both of whose closing members are closed, such that air and the oxygen it contains, which is harmful to the pyrolysis process, are removed from the feed chamber and from the material to be processed; after which, when the closing member of the feed chamber's discharge opening has been opened, the material to be processed, from which the oxygen harmful to the pyrolysis process has been removed, is conveyed into the pyrolysis chamber.

Description

[0026] In the following, the invention is described using examples with reference to the appended drawings, in which

[0027] FIG. 1 shows a pyrolysis apparatus feed device according to the invention in a material feed situation.

[0028] FIG. 2 shows the feed device with the feed chamber closed.

[0029] FIG. 3 shows the feed device with the emptying member opened.

[0030] FIG. 4 shows the feed device in a material discharge situation.

[0031] FIG. 5 shows the feed device according to the invention installed in a pyrolysis apparatus above the pyrolysis chamber.

[0032] FIG. 6 shows the feed device installed in a pyrolysis apparatus under the pyrolysis chamber.

[0033] FIG. 1 shows a pyrolysis apparatus's feed device 10 according to the invention, which comprises a feed opening 11, closing member 14, feed chamber 20, discharge member 30, discharge chamber 40, emptying member 50 and discharge opening 41. In FIG. 1, the piston 18 of the closing member's 14 cylinder 17 has pulled the gate valve 15 to the right in FIG. 1, away from the feed opening 11, in which case the feed opening 11 is open. In this case, the feed material 12 can be fed through the feed opening 11 into the feed device 10 in which the feed material 12 falls to the bottom of the feed chamber 20. After this, the piston 18 of the closing member's 14 cylinder 17 pushes the gate valve 15 to the left in FIG. 1, whereby the gate valve 15 closes the feed opening 11 as presented in FIG. 2.

[0034] As presented in FIG. 2, the seal 16 of the gate valve in the feed opening 11 seals the gate valve 15 to the walls of the feed opening 11 so that the feed opening 11 leading to the feed chamber 20 is closed tightly. In FIG. 2, the feed chamber 20 is in that case fully closed because, in addition to the feed opening 11, also the left end of the feed chamber 20 is closed tightly with the emptying member's 50 closing plate 51, which is pressed against the end of the feed chamber 20. To ensure tightness, the closing plate 51 can be equipped with a seal.

[0035] According to the method according to the invention, when the feed chamber 20 is closed, the valve 23 of the pipe 22 leading to the vacuum pump 21 is opened in which case the vacuum pump 21 begins to suck. The creation of a vacuum in the feed chamber 20 is monitored using a sensor 24 or meter attached to the feed chamber 20. The creation of a vacuum can also be monitored using an automatic device.

[0036] When in the situation presented in FIG. 2, the vacuum or underpressure in the feed chamber 20 has reached the required value, the feed chamber 20 is opened so that the piston 53 of the emptying member's 50 cylinder 52 pulls the closing plate 51 away from the end of the feed chamber 20.

[0037] As before the opening of the closing plate 51 there is a vacuum or underpressure in the feed chamber 20 and there can be a different type of pressure in the discharge chamber 41 in conjunction with the pyrolysis chamber, this pressure differential can impede the opening of the closing plate 51. If a pressure differential such as this exists, the pressure differential can also be equalised such that, at the same time as the closing plate 51 is opened, the piston 33 of the discharge member's 30 cylinder 32 pushes the push plate 31 to the left in FIG. 2.

[0038] After this, the feed chamber 20 can be opened entirely so that the closing plate 51 is moved to the position shown in FIG. 3 to the left edge of the discharge chamber 40. In this case, the route from the feed chamber 20 to the discharge chamber 40 is open and the feed chamber 20 and discharge chamber 40 are connected to each other. The discharge chamber 40 is thus also connected to the pyrolysis apparatus's pyrolysis chamber.

[0039] After this, the piston 33 of the discharge member's 30 cylinder 32 pushes the push plate 31 in the manner shown in FIG. 4 to the left, in which case the material 12 fed into the feed chamber 20 falls into the discharge opening 41 located in the discharge chamber 40. From the discharge opening 41, the material is dropped into the pyrolysis apparatus's pyrolysis chamber if it is located under the discharge opening 41. If it is not possible to drop the material into the pyrolysis chamber, at least one conveyor can be located between the feed device and pyrolysis chamber.

[0040] When the material 12 fed into the pyrolysis apparatus's feed device 10 has been transferred as presented above into the pyrolysis apparatus's pyrolysis chamber, the piston 33 of the discharge member's 30 cylinder 32 pulls the push plate 31 back to the right in FIG. 4. Similarly, also the piston 53 of the emptying member's 50 cylinder 52 pushes the closing plate 51 against the end of the feed chamber 20, thus sealing the feed chamber 20. After this, the piston 18 of the closing member's 14 cylinder 17 pulls the gate valve 15 away from the feed opening 11, in which case the feed opening 11 is open again as presented in FIG. 1. Thus, the feed material 12 can once again be fed through the feed opening 11 to the feed chamber 20 and the process described above begins again.

[0041] FIG. 5 shows the feed device 10 according to the invention installed into the pyrolysis apparatus 60. In this case, the feed device 10 is above the pyrolysis apparatus 60 such that the feed material falls through the feed device's 10 discharge opening 41 into the pyrolysis chamber 61 of the pyrolysis apparatus 60. In FIG. 5, the pyrolysis apparatus 60 is not described in more detail because the feed device 10 according to the invention can be attached to all types of pyrolysis apparatuses 60.

[0042] FIG. 6 shows the feed device 10 according to the invention installed in the pyrolysis apparatus 60 so that it is below the pyrolysis chamber 61. As the material to be fed into the pyrolysis apparatus 60 cannot be directly dropped into the pyrolysis chamber 61 in this solution, a gas-tight conveyor 62 has been placed between the feed device 10 and pyrolysis chamber 61. The conveyor 62 lifts the material dropped onto the conveyor through the feed device's 10 discharge opening 41 above the pyrolysis chamber 61, from where the material falls into the pyrolysis chamber 61 through the pipe 63.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

[0043] 10 Feed device [0044] 11 Feed opening [0045] 12 Feed material [0046] 14 Closing member [0047] 15 Gate valve [0048] 16 Gate valve seal [0049] 17 Cylinder [0050] 18 Piston [0051] 20 Feed chamber [0052] 21 Vacuum pump [0053] 22 Pipe [0054] 23 Valve [0055] 24 Sensor [0056] 30 Discharge member [0057] 31 Push plate [0058] 32 Cylinder [0059] 33 Piston [0060] 40 Discharge chamber [0061] 41 Discharge opening [0062] 50 Emptying member [0063] 51 Closing plate [0064] 52 Cylinder [0065] 53 Piston [0066] 60 Pyrolysis apparatus [0067] 61 Pyrolysis chamber [0068] 62 Conveyor [0069] 63 Pipe