Method of selectively recovering vinyl halide insulation from insulated wire scrap
AssigneeSouthwire Company
InventorsStanley L. Tate, Bobby A. Rowland, Michael M. Blackstone
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A process for selectively recovering vinyl halide insulation from mixed insulated wire scrap by selectively dissolving the vinyl halide insulation with a solvent at a temperature at which the solvent is a specific solvent for the vinyl halide and has no solvent effect upon other organic insulation material present in the mixed insulated wire scrap. The dissolved polyvinyl halide is recovered from solution in a dry granular state suitable for extrusion upon wire as insulation. The polyvinyl halide insulation is polyvinyl chloride, copolymers of polyvinyl chloride or mixtures thereof.
Claims19
A process for the continuous selective recovery of polyvinyl halide insulation selected from the group consisting of polyvinyl chloride, copolymers of polyvinyl chloride and mixtures thereof, from mixed insulated wire scrap, said mixed insulated wire scrap comprising wire scrap with mixtures of said polyvinyl halide and at least one insulation selected from the group consisting of polyethylene, crosslinked polyethylene, ethylene propylene rubber, polypropylene, teflon and nylon, comprising the steps of:
- a. selectively dissolving polyvinyl halide insulation from the mixed insulated wire scrap with a solvent at a temperature at which the solvent is a specific solvent for the polyvinyl halide insulation and at which temperature the solvent has substantially no solvent effect upon other insulations present in the mixed insulated wire scrap;
- b. separating the undissolved portion of the insulated wire scrap from the dissolved polyvinyl halide insulation;
- and
- c. maintaining a homogeneous solution of polyvinyl halide while recovering the dissolved polyvinyl halide from solution in a dry granular state suitable for extrusion upon wire.
A process for the continuous selective recovery of polyvinyl chloride insulation from mixed insulated wire scrap comprising the steps of:
- a. providing a countercurrent extractor;
- b. supplying mixed insulated wire scrap, a solvent at a temperature at which the solvent is a specific solvent for polyvinyl chloride insulation and at which temperature the solvent has substantially no solvent effect upon other insulations present in the mixed insulated wire scrap, and water to the countercurrent extractor;
- c. moving the mixed insulated wire scrap through said countercurrent extractor while contacting said mixed insulated wire scrap with a countercurrent flow of the solvent at the temperature at which the solvent is a specific solvent for the polyvinyl chloride insulation to dissolve the polyvinyl chloride insulation;
- d. discharging said dissolved polyvinyl chloride insulation from said countercurrent extractor leaving therein an undissolved portion of said mixed insulated wire scrap;
- e. maintaining a homogenous solution of polyvinyl halide while reclaiming said dissolved polyvinyl chloride insulation from solution in a form suitable for extrusion upon a wire;
- f. washing said undissolved portion with water to remove residual solvent from said undissolved portion;
- and
- g. recovering the solvent from steps (e) and (f) for subsequent reuse in step (b).
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.