Metal recovery from contaminated metal scrap
AssigneeChinook Sciences, Limited
InventorsRifat Al Chalabi, Ophneil Henry Perry
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Abstract
A metal reclaiming system and method for reclaiming metal from scrap material is provided. The system has a furnace (12) and a controller (106) for controlling operation of the system. The controller (106) operates the metal reclaiming system in a first operating mode in which the furnace (12) is operated at a first temperature in the range of 350° C. to 550° C. to incinerate pollutants and drive off volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the scrap material without melting the metal. The controller (106) is operates the metal reclaiming system in a subsequent operating mode in which the furnace (12) is operated at a further, higher temperature to melt metal in the said scrap for reclaiming.
Claims43
A metal reclaiming system for reclaiming metal from scrap material and the like, the system comprising:
- a furnace (12);
- and a controller (106) for controlling operation of the system;
- wherein the controller is configured to operate the metal reclaiming system in:
- a first operating mode in which the furnace is operated at a first temperature in the range of 350° C. to 550° C. to incinerate pollutants and drive off volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the scrap material without melting the metal;
- and a subsequent operating mode in which the furnace is operated at a further, higher temperature to melt metal in the said scrap for reclaiming.
A metal reclaiming system as claimed in any preceding claim further comprising a thermal oxidiser (28) coupled to said furnace (12) to process raw VOC's and a return path (32) from said thermal oxidiser to return heat from processing said VOC's in said thermal oxidiser to said furnace.
A metal reclaiming system as claimed in any of the preceding claims further comprising agitation means for moving said furnace (12) in a controlled manner thereby to agitate the material in said furnace.
A metal reclaiming system as claimed in any of the preceding claims wherein said controller (106) is operable to monitor at least one operating parameter of the system and control one or more of the following in dependence on said operating parameter:
- furnace temperature, gas recirculation rate, agitation of said material and furnace oxygen level.
A metal reclaiming system as claimed in any preceding claim wherein said furnace (12) is tiltable for one or more of loading, discharge and agitation of the furnace.
A metal reclaiming system as claimed in any preceding claim wherein said scrap includes a first type of metal melting at said second temperature and a second type of metal unmelted at said second temperature, wherein said system has a third operating mode in which said furnace (12) is operated at a third temperature, higher than said second temperature, after melting and reclaiming said first metal, to thermally condition the second metal to facilitate crushing of said second metal.
A metal reclaiming system as claimed in any preceding claim wherein said reclaimed metal comprises aluminium
A method of reclaiming aluminium from scrap material or the like, the method comprising:
- loading said scrap into a tiltable furnace (12);
- operating said furnace (12) in a first mode by heating said scrap in said furnace at a first temperature in the range of 350° C. to 550° C. to drive off VOC's without melting the aluminium;
- operating said furnace in a subsequent mode by raising the temperature of the furnace (12) to melt said aluminium;
- and
- tilting said furnace (12) to allow molten aluminium to escape through a discharge port (24).
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.