Process for manufacturing mineral-wool mats

A process for salvaging treated waste products from the manufacture of mineral wool mats in which raw materials are melted in a melting furnace and then continuously spun into fibers in a spinner, a first category of treated mineral waste products, including slag from said melting furnace and slag and loose fibers from said spinner, being produced during said melting and spinning,

• in which the fibers thus spun are thereafter mixed with a binder and while still at temperatures near the melting point are deposited as a continuous wool mat, then cured, and thereafter trimmed at the sides, cut up into desired lengths and finally inspected,
• and in which a second category of treated mineral waste products, including collected loose fibers with binder, pieces of bonded fibrous mats resulting from the trimming and cutting up of the wool mat into lengths, and rejected defective whole mats, is produced during said depositing, trimming, cutting and inspecting,
• and for preparing said treated waste products for re-use in said manufacture, which comprises:
• (a) gathering said first category of treated mineral waste products resulting from said melting and spinning;
• (b) maintaining said first category of mineral waste products at a temperature near the melting point of said products;
• (c) breaking the pieces of mineral waste products in said first category up into smaller pieces while still at a temperature near said melting point;
• (d) gathering said second category of treated mineral waste products that results from said mixing with a binder, trimming, sizing and final inspection;
• (e) pulling apart the pieces in said second category of mineral waste products;
• (f) pre-heating the pieces in said second category of mineral waste products in loosened-up form;
• (g) adding said pulled-apart pieces in said second category of treated mineral waste products to said first category of treated mineral waste products;
• (h) further reheating all said mineral waste products that have been added together to plasticizing temperature to compensate for any cooling;
• (i) transforming all said reheated treated mineral waste products into briquettes while hot;
• and
• (j) subsequently adding said briquettes to additional quantities of said raw materials to be melted in said manufacture of mineral wool mats.