Concrete recycling system and method of use
OwnerPhillip James Hickernellinventor
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Abstract
A concrete recycling system and a method of use thereof is disclosed. The concrete recycling system may recycle aggregates and sand from fluid-concrete based on their grain size. Particularly, the concrete recycling system may have a slurry refiner that allows for the finer aggregates in the fluid-concrete to be recycled. The fluid-concrete may be diluted by water and fed to the slurry refiner via a fluid outlet having a turbulent discharge. The slurry refiner may allow the finer aggregates to settle to the bottom of said device for an auger system to uniformly mix the aggregates and transfer them along the length of the slurry refiner. The uniformly mixed slurry may then be pumped to a hydrocyclone to separate the finer aggregates from the cement and water in the slurry.
Claims20
A method of recycling differently sized aggregates from fluid-concrete, comprising:
- discharging the fluid-concrete in a receiving hopper at a first volumetric flow rate;
- diluting the fluid concrete with water having a second volumetric flow rate flowing inside the receiving hopper to create a diluted concrete slurry, the second volumetric flowrate being larger than the first volumetric flow rate;
- filtering larger aggregates from the diluted concrete slurry using a mesh filtering system;
- flowing the diluted concrete slurry in a pipe having a turbulent discharge that opens up to a slurry refiner, the turbulent discharge separating remaining smaller aggregates from cement binders in the diluted concrete slurry;
- mixing the remaining smaller aggregates in the diluted concrete slurry using one or more rotating augers of the slurry refiner;
- and
- pumping the diluted concrete slurry from the slurry refiner to a hydrocyclone for separating the remaining smaller aggregates from water and cement binders in the diluted concrete slurry.
A method of using a slurry refiner to create a uniform mixture of diluted concrete slurry to be fed to a filtering device, comprising:
- turbulently discharging the diluted concrete slurry inside the slurry refiner, the turbulent discharge separating fine aggregates and extra fine aggregates of the diluted concrete slurry from cement binders;
- settling the fine aggregates and extra fine aggregates near a bottom surface of the slurry refiner;
- mixing the fine aggregates and extra fine aggregates near the bottom surface of the slurry refiner by rotating one or more augers extending along a length of a storage cavity of the slurry refiner;
- transferring the fine aggregates and extra fine aggregates being mixed along the length of the storage cavity to an outlet having a slurry pump coupled therewith, the transferring happening by rotating the one or more augers having auger blades that create translational fluid motion when the auger blades are rotated;
- and
- pumping the mixed fine aggregates and extra fine aggregates to the filtering device for separation.
A slurry refiner used for recycling fine and extra fine aggregates of fluid-concrete, comprising:
- a container structure having a storage cavity with an open top and a bottom surface, the storage cavity having a length, a depth, and a narrowing width creating a V-shape from the open top to the bottom surface;
- a support structure attached and surrounding the container structure;
- one or more augers extending along the length of the storage cavity and rotatably coupled near the bottom surface and in a middle of the V-shape of the storage cavity of the container structure;
- an electric drive motor attached to the container structure for rotating and driving the one or more augers;
- and
- a belt system rotatably coupling the electric drive motor to the one or more augers.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.