Method and apparatus for processing recyclable material

A system for processing used filters, said filters having a metal housing and a gas, liquid or particulate saturated filter paper core, to produce a separable waste stream of flocculated saturated filter paper and metal housing chard, comprising:

• a cylindrical chamber elongate about a generally vertical axis having a top and bottom cap and an uninterrupted interior cylindrical surface devoid of any protuberances;
• an intake opening providing for the introduction of filters into said chamber;
• an outlet opening providing for the removal of the separable waste stream from said chamber;
• means for adjusting the ratio of the size of the intake and outlet openings;
• a driven shaft rotatably positioned along said vertical axis of said cylindrical chamber;
• a set of axially spaced fan blade units attached to said driven shaft about said vertical axis of said chamber and arranged so as to entrain the filters in a turbulent airstream from said intake to said outlet, to break apart by impact the filter paper from the metal filter housing, to flocculate by turbulence the filter paper, to shard the metal housing and to forcibly deliver the entrained separable waste stream to said outlet opening;
• means for presenting filters having substantially uniform size parameters to said cylindrical chamber;
• means at said cylindrical chamber outlet opening for separating said separable waste stream into flocculate and scrap metal;
• a collection pan for accumulating residue from each of the above portions of the system.

A method for processing used filters, said filters having a metal housing and a filter paper core, to produce a separable waste stream consisting of flocculated filter paper and metal housing shard, comprising:

• separating used filters into a standard and nonstandard size;
• shreddably reducing said nonstandard filters to a standard size;
• entraining said shreddably reduced and standard size used filters in a turbulent helical airstream constrained to a generally constant radius;
• forcibly impacting said filters in said turbulent helical airstream to separate the filter paper from the metal filter housing;
• turbulently flocculating the filter paper and sharding the metal housings;
• funneling said turbulent airstream containing said flocculate filter paper and shard metal to a settling tank;
• and
• magnetically separating said shard metal from said flocculate.

A method for processing used filters, said filters having a metal housing and a filter paper core, to produce a separable waste stream consisting of flocculated filter paper and metal housing shard, comprising:

• entraining the used filters in a turbulent helical airstream constrained to a generally constant radius;
• forcibly impacting said filters in said turbulent helical airstream to separate the filter paper from the metal filter housing;
• turbulently flocculating the filter paper;
• sharding the metal housing;
• and
• funneling said turbulent airstream containing said flocculated filter paper and shard metal to a settling tank.

A centrifugal mill for processing material comprising:

• a cylindrical chamber elongate about a generally vertical axis having a top and bottom cap and an uninterrupted interior cylindrical surface devoid of any protuberances.
• an intake opening providing for the introduction of material into said chamber;
• an outlet opening providing for the removal of waste from said chamber;
• means for adjusting the ratio of the sizes of the intake and outlet openings;
• a driven shaft rotatably positioned substantially along said vertical axis of said cylindrical chamber;
• a set of axially spaced fan blade units attached to said driven shaft about said vertical axis of said chamber and arranged so as to entrain the material in a turbulent airstream from said intake to said outlet, to break apart by impact and by turbulence the material, to shard the material and to forcibly deliver the entrained material to said outlet opening.

A centrifugal mill for processing used filters, said filters having a metal housing, and a gas, liquid or particulate saturated filter paper core, to produce a separable waste stream of flocculated saturated filter paper and metal housing shard, comprising:

• a cylindrical chamber elongate about a generally vertical axis and having a top and bottom cap;
• an intake opening providing for the introduction of filters into said chamber;
• an outlet opening providing for the removal of the separable waste stream from said chamber;
• means for adjusting the ratio of the sizes of the intake and outlet openings;
• a driven shaft rotatably positioned along said vertical axis of said cylindrical chamber;
• a set of axially spaced fan blade units attached to said driven shaft about said vertical axis of said chamber and arranged so as to entrain the filters in a turbulent helical flow path from said intake to said outlet, to break apart by impact the filter paper from the metal filter housing, to flocculate by turbulence the filter paper, to shard the metal housing and to forcibly deliver the helically entrained separable waste stream to said opening.