Apparatus for separating the components of a mixture of fibres and granules by beating the mixture by means of an alternating electric field

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12478981-B2
Application number	US-202318833239-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 2, 2023
Priority date	Feb 9, 2022
Publication date	Nov 25, 2025
Grant date	Nov 25, 2025

Abstract

An installation is provided that is intended to separate two families of components of a mixture placed in a receptacle. The installation is provided with a screen and comprises a first electrode, a second electrode, and a generator that generates, between the first and second electrodes, an agitating alternating electrical field. The alternating electrical field is capable of alternately projecting all or some of the components of the mixture that is present in the receptacle towards or against the first electrode and then towards or against the second electrode in order to generate mechanical impacts on the components that contribute to breaking down the mixture within the receptacle and in order to facilitate the passage of components belonging to the second family through the screen. The screen ensures components belonging to the first family are retained in the receptacle.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . A separation installation intended to receive a mixture containing at least a first family of components and a second family of components in order to separate the components belonging to the first family from the components belonging to the second family, said installation having an electrical thrashing chamber which comprises:
a receptacle, which is designed to receive the mixture and is provided with a screen, a first electrode, a second electrode placed facing the first electrode at a distance therefrom, and a generator for applying an alternating voltage between the first electrode and the second electrode so as to generate, between said first and second electrodes, an agitating electrical field that is capable of alternately projecting all or some of the components of the mixture that is present in the receptacle towards or against the first electrode and then towards or against the second electrode, in order to generate mechanical impacts on said components that contribute to breaking down the mixture within the receptacle and in order to facilitate the passage of components belonging to the second family through the screen, while said screen ensures components belonging to the first family are retained in the receptacle.

2 . The separation installation according to claim 1 , wherein the screen forms the first electrode.

3 . The separation installation according to claim 1 , wherein the first electrode is connected to the same mass as the generator.

4 . The separation installation according to claim 1 , wherein the first electrode is covered by a layer of electrically insulating material.

5 . The separation installation according to claim 1 , wherein the receptacle is formed by a cylindrical screen drum, preferably having a circular base cross section, said screen drum being delimited by a tubular lateral wall which extends along and around a central axis, wherein the installation comprises a drive system designed to drive the screen drum in rotation on itself about its central axis, wherein at least one portion of the lateral wall of the screen drum forms the screen, wherein the first electrode is integrated in said lateral wall, and wherein the second electrode is accommodated inside the screen drum, at a radial distance from the lateral wall surrounding said second electrode.

6 . The separation installation according to claim 5 , wherein the central axis of the screen drum is inclined relative to the horizontal along a slope with a non-zero angle less than 30 degrees, such that the screen drum can progressively convey the mixture along the central axis in an upstream-downstream direction which corresponds to the direction of the descending slope, wherein the screen is situated in an upstream section of the screen drum, while the screen drum has an outlet in a downstream section, and wherein the installation comprises, for the one part, a first collector facing the outlet of the screen drum for receiving a first product which originates from the mixture and which has a higher proportion of components of the first family than the mixture does, and, for the other part, a second collector facing the screen, below said screen, in order to receive a second product which originates from the mixture and which has a higher proportion of components of the second family than the mixture does.

7 . The separation installation according to claim 1 , wherein the second electrode has, facing the first electrode, a non-flat shape comprising at least one concave portion formed by a notch framed by two lobes.

8 . The separation installation according to claim 7 , further including an orientation adjusting mechanism which makes it possible to modify the azimuthal orientation of the second electrode in roll about an axis parallel to the central axis of the screen drum in order to orient the one or more notches of the second electrode in a direction which is oblique in relation to the vertical, in the direction which corresponds to the direction of rotation of the screen drum.

9 . The separation installation according to claim 1 , wherein the frequency of the alternating voltage applied by the generator and the frequency of the agitating electrical field are selected to be equal to or greater than 5 Hz.

10 . The separation installation according to claim 1 , wherein the peak intensity of the alternations of the agitating electrical field, considered at a point situated on a virtual straight-line segment corresponding to the shortest distance between the first electrode and the second electrode, is between 200 kV/m and 1000 kV/m.

11 . The separation installation according to claim 1 , wherein the mesh of the screen is between 1 mm and 10 mm.

12 . A separating method for, on the basis of a mixture containing at least a first family of components and a second family of components separating the components belonging to the first family from the components belonging to the second family, said method for this purpose comprising a supplying step (S 1 ), during which the mixture is introduced into a receptacle provided with a screen, an electrical thrashing step (S 2 ), during which the components of the mixture that is present in the receptacle are agitated by means of an agitating electrical field so as to subject said components to mechanical impacts to break them up, and a screening step (S 3 ), during which the mixture subjected to the electrical thrashing step (S 2 ) is made to pass over the screen in order to retain a first product, which originates from the mixture, in the receptacle, which first product having a higher proportion of components of the first family than the mixture does, while a second product, which originates from the mixture, is discharged through the screen, which second product has a higher proportion of components of the second family than the mixture does.

13 . A separating method according to claim 12 , wherein the agitating electrical field is generated by applying an alternating voltage between the screen, forming a first electrode, and a second electrode placed inside the receptacle, at a distance from the screen.

14 . The separating method according to claim 12 , wherein the method is applied to a mixture comprising fibres as first family of components and granules as second family of components, wherein at least some of the fibres have a length equal to or greater than a first predetermined reference value, wherein at least some of the granules have an equivalent diameter which is equal to or less than a second predetermined reference value strictly less than the first reference value, and wherein use is made of a screen of which the mesh is between the first reference value and the second reference value.

15 . A method for recycling a pneumatic tire comprising a shredding step, during which at least a portion of said pneumatic tire is reduced to a mixture containing textile fibres and granules made of a rubber-based material and then a sorting step, during which a separating method according to claim 12 is applied to said mixture.

16 . The separation installation as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the first family of components are fibres.

17 . The separation installation as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the second family of components are granules.

18 . The separation installation as set forth in claim 8 , wherein the at least one concave portion includes two concave portions formed by two adjacent notches delimited by a succession of three lobes.

19 . The separation ins

Assignees

• Michelin & Cie
• Centre Nat Rech Scient
• Ecole Nat Superieure De Mecanique Et Daerotechnique
• Univ Poitiers
• Centre National De La Recharche Scient

Inventors

• Zeghloul Thami
• Dascalescu Lucien
• Medles Karim
• Simonelli Thomas
• Le Clerc Christophe

Classifications

• B03C7/06

  with cylindrical material carriers · CPC title

• B03C7/006

  Charging without electricity supply, e.g. by tribo-electricity or pyroelectricity · CPC title

• B03C7/026 Primary

  using travelling or oscillating electric fields · CPC title