Device for separating materials and a method for accomplishing the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10646882-B2
Application number	US-201414525238-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 28, 2014
Priority date	Oct 30, 2013
Publication date	May 12, 2020
Grant date	May 12, 2020

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a method comprising discharging a slurry from a vessel to a conduit; where the slurry comprises a liquid and a composition comprising at least two materials having different densities-a first material having a higher density and a second material having a lower density than that of the first material; creating a surge in velocity in slurry flow as it is transported through the conduit; separating the first material from the second material; where the first material is disposed on an inner surface of the conduit and where the second material flows through the conduit to a container; and removing the first material from the inner surface of the conduit.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
imparting rotary motion to a slurry in a vessel via an agitator;
charging the slurry to a conduit from the vessel; where the conduit is attached to an outlet of a pump and lies downstream of the pump; where the pump lies downstream of the vessel; where the slurry comprises a liquid and a composition comprising at least two materials having different densities, a first material having a higher density and a second material having a lower density than that of the first material; where the first material is a metal and where the metal is iridium, platinum, rhodium, palladium, gold, silver, titanium, cobalt, or a combination thereof;
creating a surge in velocity in slurry flow as it is transported through the conduit;
where the surge in velocity is created by increasing a rotational speed of the pump;
separating the first material from the second material; where the first material is disposed on an inner surface of the conduit and where the second material flows through and exits the conduit; and
removing the first material from the inner surface of the conduit.

2. The method of claim 1 , where the slurry is in a state of rotary motion as it is transported through the conduit and where the surge in velocity is periodic.

3. The method of claim 1 , where the surge increases the velocity in slurry flow by at least 10% over the slurry velocity in the absence of the surge.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising grinding the composition into particles to debond the first material from the second material.

5. The method of claim 4 , where the particles have a particle size of 100 to 250 micrometers; where the particle size is represented by a particle diameter.

6. The method of claim 4 , further comprising fractionating the particles into groups of different average particle sizes.

7. The method of claim 6 , where each group of particles comprises particles having a polydispersity index of 1.0 to 1.2.

8. The method of claim 4 , further comprising thermally treating the composition by heating it and/or subsequently cooling it.

9. The method of claim 1 , where the second material is a metal, a non-metallic derivative, or a polymer.

10. The method of claim 1 , where the second material is a non-metallic derivative.

11. The method of claim 10 , where the non-metallic derivative is a metal oxide, a metal carbide, a metal oxycarbide, a metal nitride, a metal oxynitride, a metal boride, a metal borocarbide, a metal boronitride, a metal silicide, a metal iodide, a metal bromide, a metal sulfide, a metal selenide, a metal telluride, a metal fluoride, a metal borosilicide, or a combination thereof.

12. The method of claim 11 , where the metal oxide is a silicon dioxide, aluminum oxide, titanium dioxide, zirconium dioxide, cerium oxide, or a combination thereof.

13. The method of claim 1 , where the second material is zirconium oxide.

14. The method of claim 1 , where the surge in flow produces an increase in slurry velocity of at least 100% compared with a slurry velocity prior to the surge.

Assignees

• Siemens Medical Solutions Usa Inc

Inventors

• Andreaco Mark S
• Schweitzer George K
• Stewart Jake A
• Quinton Brant
• Marlar Troy

Classifications

• B03B5/62 Primary

  by hydraulic classifiers, e.g. of launder, tank, spiral or helical chute concentrator type · CPC title

• B03B5/00

  Washing granular, powdered or lumpy materials; Wet separating (separating by pneumatic tables or by pneumatic jigs B03B4/00) · CPC title

• B02C23/18

  Adding fluid, other than for crushing or disintegrating by fluid energy ({for tumbling mills B02C17/186;} feeding devices B02C23/02) · CPC title

• B03B5/60

  by non-mechanical classifiers, e.g. slime tanks  (hydraulic classifiers B03B5/62; water impulse classifiers B03B5/68) · CPC title

• C10J2300/0946

  Waste, e.g. MSW, tires, glass, tar sand, peat, paper, lignite, oil shale · CPC title