METHOD AND DEVICE FOR PRODUCING A CONSTRUCTION AGGREGATE

Abstract

A method and device for producing a construction aggregate from a combination of natural raw and recycled materials is described. The method involves mixing these materials and washing them in a washer to remove elutriable components, thereby enhancing the quality of the aggregate. The process is designed to be cost-effective, energy-efficient, and environmentally friendly, minimizing the need for virgin materials and reducing landfill waste.

Claims

1. A method for producing a construction aggregate, the method comprising: mixing a first material and a second material, wherein the first material is a natural raw material, and the second material is a recycled material; and washing the first material together with the second material in at least one washer.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising feeding the first material and the second material to a processing plant, wherein the at least one washer is in the processing plant.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the second material comprises grain sizes less than 4 mm.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein: the first material includes at least one of fragments of rock or fragments of stone, and the second material comprises at least one of fragments of artificial stone or concrete.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first material and the second material are mixed before or during the washing of the first material together with the second material.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising sizing the first material and the second material together using at least one sizer during or after the mixing of the first material and the second material.

7. The method of claim 2, further comprising establishing a mass ratio of the mass of the first material to the mass of the second material before or during feeding the first material and the second material to the processing plant.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising adjusting the mass ratio of the first material and the second material such that a mutual mass flow of the first material and the second material includes 1-5% of the second material.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising conveying the first material using a first conveyor and conveying the second material using a second conveyor before feeding the first material and the second material to the processing plant.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising feeding the first material to a first feed of the first conveyor and/or feeding the second material to a second feed of the second conveyor.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising measuring a first mass flow of the first material using a first sensor and/or measuring a second mass flow of the second material using a second sensor.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein adjusting the mass ratio of the first material and the second material includes adjusting a first conveying velocity of the first conveyor and/or a second conveying velocity of the second conveyor.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising forming a mutual mass flow of the first material and the second material by discharging the second material onto the first conveyor or discharging the first material onto the second conveyor.

14. A device for producing a construction aggregate, the device comprising: a conveyor comprising: a first conveyor section configured to convey a natural raw material; and a second conveyor section configured to convey a recycled material; and a processing plant for the natural raw material and the recycled material, the processing plant comprising a processing plant feed and a washer.

15. The device of claim 14, wherein the first conveyor section is connected to a natural raw material source and the second conveyor section is connected to a recycled material source.

16. The method of claim 3, wherein the second material comprises grain sizes less than 2 mm.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the second material comprises grain sizes less than 1 mm.

18. The method of claim 7, wherein a mutual mass flow of the first material and the second material includes 5-10% of the second material.

19. The method of claim 7, wherein a mutual mass flow of the first material and the second material includes 10-15% of the second material.

20. The method of claim 7, wherein a mutual mass flow of the first material and the second material includes 15-20% of the second material.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0053] In the following the invention will be described by way of example, without limitation of the general inventive concept, on examples of embodiment with reference to the drawings.

[0054] FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a device for producing a construction aggregate.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0055] In FIG. 1 a first embodiment is shown. FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a device for producing a construction aggregate. The device 100 may include a conveyor 200, 300 and a processing plant 500. The conveyor 200, 300 may include a first conveyor section 200 and a second conveyor section 300. The first conveyor section 200 may include a first conveying means 210, having a first conveying direction 230, a first conveying velocity, and which may further include a first measuring means 220, a first conveyor feed 240, and a first conveyor discharge 250. The second conveyor section 300 may include a second conveying means 310, having a second conveying direction 330, a second conveying velocity, and which may further include a second measuring means 320, a second conveyor feed 340 and a second conveyor discharge 350. The first conveying means 210 and the second conveying means 310 may form an angle 400. The angle 400 may be between 0 and 90 in an embodiment, the angle 400 may be 0 to 5 or 85 to 90. The first conveying direction 230 may extend from the first conveyor feed 240 to the first conveyor discharge 250. The second conveying direction 330 may extend from the second conveyor feed 340 to the second conveyor discharge 350. The first measurement means 220 may be connected to the first conveying means 210 and the second measurement means 320 may be connected to the second conveying means 310. The first measurement means 220 may measure the mass flow of the first material and the second measurement means 320 may measure the mass flow of the second material. A first material may be fed to the first conveyor feed 240 and a second material may be fed to the second conveyor feed 340. The first material may be a virgin material and the second material may be a recycled material. The first material may be conveyed in a conveying direction 230 from the first conveyor feed 240 to the first conveyor discharge 250 by the first conveying means 210. The second material may be conveyed from in a second conveying direction 330 from the second conveyor feed 340 to the second conveyor discharge 350 by the second conveying means 310. The second material may be conveyed from the second conveyor feed 340 to the second conveyor discharge 350 in the first conveying direction 330 by the second conveying means 310 and from the second conveyor discharge 350 to the first conveyor discharge 250 by the first conveying means 210 in the first conveying direction 230. The second material may be discharged onto the first conveying means 210 and/or onto the first material. The first material and second material may form a mutual mass flow and/or a mix of the first material and the second material. A predefined mass ratio of the mass of the first material and the second material may be established before or during feeding the first material and second material into the processing plant. The mass ratio may be adjusted and/or controlled. The mass ratio may be adjusted and/or controlled depending on the measurements of the mass measuring means 220, 320. If the percentage of the second material is too low in the mutual mass flow and/or the mix of the first material and the second material (e.g., <20%, <15% or <10%), the conveying velocity of the second conveying means 310 (second conveying velocity) may be increased and/or the conveying velocity of the first conveying means 210 (first conveying velocity) may be decreased. If the, mutual mass flow and/or the mix of the first material and the second material contains a too high percentage of the second material (e.g., >20%, >15% or >10%), the conveying velocity of the second conveying means 310 (second conveying velocity) may be decreased and/or the conveying velocity of the first conveying means 210 (first conveying velocity) may be increased. In an embodiment, the conveying velocity of the first conveying means 210 may be increased or decreased accordingly.

[0056] The first material and the second material may be discharged into the processing plant by the first conveyor discharge 250. The first conveyor discharge 250 may discharge and/or feed the mutual mass flow of the first and second material and/or the mix of the first material and the second material into the processing plant 500. The mutual mass flow of the first and second material and/or the mix of the first material and the second material may be fed to processing plant 500. The processing plant 500 may include at least one washer 520. The processing plant 500 may further include at least one sizer 510 and optionally at least one crusher 512. The first material and second material may be fed to the processing plant 500 by the conveyor 200, 300. The processing plant 500 may be a gravel, a crushed stone and/or sand processing plant. The first material and the second material may be fed to the processing plant as a mutual mass flow and/or the mix of the first material and the second material. The first material and the second material may be fed to the processing plant 500 by the conveyor 200, 300. The first material and the second material may be fed to a processing plant feed of the processing plant 500. The processing plant feed may be a feed hopper, a chute or the processing plant itself.

[0057] The first material may be washed together with the second material in the at least one washer 520 of the processing plant 500. The first material and the second material may be washed in the at least one washer 520 as a mutual mass flow and/or the mix of the first material and the second material. The at least one washer 520 may remove elutriable components. Removing the elutriable components is important for the quality of the construction aggregate.

[0058] The totality of grain size fractions of the first material and the second material may be washed in the at least washer 520 as a or just the grain size fraction 0/2 mm, 0/3 mm or 0/4 mm may be washed in the at least one washer 520. A predefined mass ratio of the mass of the first material and the second material may be established by feeding the first material and second material to the processing plant 500. The mass ratio of the first material and/or the second material may be adjusted and/or controlled. The mass ratio of the first material and/or the second material may be adjusted and/or by feeding the first material and second material in different ratios. The mass ratio of the first material and/or the second material may be adjusted such that a mutual mass flow of both materials includes 1-5%, 5-10%, 10-15%, 15-20% or any percentage of 20-99% of the second material.

[0059] The first material and the second material may be sized together by at least one sizer 510, 530. The first material and the second material may be mixed before or during the sizing. The first material and the second material may be mixed by the at least one sizer 510, 530. The at least one sizer 510, 530 may be a screening system. The at least one sizer may be a dry screening system or a wet screening system. The first material and the second material may be sized before, during and/or after the washer 520. In an embodiment, the wet screening system may include a washer. The first material and the second material may be washed during the sizing by the wet screening system. Hence, the at least one sizer 510, 530 may include a washer. The wet screening system may include a first washer. In an embodiment, the first material and second material may be sized prior to the washer. The at least one sizer 510, 530 may have at least two screens. The material to be sized may be placed on a screen that is rotated or shaken. The sizer may be a mill with a plansifter, a tumbler screening machine or a vibrating screening machine. The first material and the second material may be sized by the at least one sizer 510, 530 as a mutual mass flow.

[0060] The first material and second material may be sized by the at least one sizer 510, 530 prior to the washing in the washer 520. A first sizer 510 may remove the oversize grain from the first material and second. The oversize grain may be fed into a crusher 512 for crushing the grain into a defined grain size range. The first sizer may alternatively or additionally separate the sand and or sand-fine gravel mix (0/2 mm, 0/3 mm or 0/4 mm) from the gravel (2/32 mm, 3/32 mm or 4/32 mm).

[0061] In an embodiment the smallest grain size (e.g., 0-2 mm, 0-3 mm or 0-4 mm) may be washed in a second washer and the elutriable components may be removed. If the sizer is a dry screening system, the sizer may not include a washer and the smallest grain size (e.g., 0-2 mm, 0-3 mm or 0-4 mm) may be washed in the second washer and the elutriable components may be removed. In this embodiment, the second washer may be the first washer. In an embodiment, the first and second material may be sized by a second sizer 530. In this step, sizers or screening machines produce the concrete-specific grain sizes (e.g., 0/2 mm, 0/3 mm, 0/4 mm, 2/4 mm, 4/8 mm, 8/16 mm and/or 16/32 mm). The grain size fraction 0/2 mm, 0/3 mm or 0/4 mm may not contain any fractions <0.0063 mm. The products may be dosed by a speed-controlled dosing belts in conjunction with belt weighers and a computer-assisted dosing program.

[0062] In an embodiment, the grain size fractions 0/2 mm, 0/3 mm or 0.4 mm may be sized by a third sizer. The third sizer may use a stream of gas or liquid flowing in a direction opposite to the direction of sedimentation. The third sizer may be a hydrocyclone. The hydrocyclone may separate the grain size fractions <0,063 or <0.02 mm from the material.

[0063] The at least one sizer 510, 530 may be a wet screening system or a wet sizer, or a dry screening system or a dry sizer.

[0064] The first material and the second material may be discharged from the processing plant 500.

[0065] The construction aggregates and/or the grain fractions 610, 620, 630 of the construction aggregate may be discharged from the processing plant by at least one processing plant discharge. The processing plant may have a plurality of discharges. The number of discharges may correspond to the grain-size fractions sized by the at least one sizer 510, 530.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0066] 100 Device for producing a construction aggregate [0067] 200 first conveyor section [0068] 210 first conveying means [0069] 220 first mass measurement means [0070] 230 first conveying direction [0071] 240 first conveyor feed [0072] 250 first conveyor discharge [0073] 300 second conveyor section [0074] 310 second conveying means [0075] 320 second mass measurement means [0076] 330 second conveying direction [0077] 340 second conveyor feed [0078] 350 second conveyor discharge [0079] 400 angle [0080] 500 processing plant [0081] 510 first sizer [0082] 512 crusher [0083] 520 washer [0084] 530 second sizer