Apparatus and methods for pulverizing materials into small particles

An apparatus for pulverizing material comprised of wet or dry discrete objects into relatively smaller particles, the apparatus comprising:

• a housing having a longitudinal central axis, the housing including a first end comprising input structure adapted to introduce the material into the housing, a second end comprising output structure adapted to remove the smaller particles, and a longitudinally extending internal surface surrounding the central axis, the internal surface having sides meeting in longitudinally extending corners;
• a rotatable shaft extending substantially coextensively with the central axis;
• a plurality of rotors being longitudinally spaced apart within the housing, each rotor comprising a rotor plate coupled to the shaft for rotation therewith in a plane transverse to the central axis, and a plurality of vanes on a side of the rotor plate, each of the vanes extending about radially;
• and
• a plurality of orifice plates arranged alternately with the rotors, each orifice plate extending inwardly from the internal side surfaces of the housing to a central aperture which provides an orifice around the shaft, wherein the orifices are of more than one size.

An apparatus for pulverizing material comprised of wet or dry discrete objects into relatively smaller particles, the apparatus comprising:

• a housing having a longitudinal central axis, the housing including a first end comprising an input adapted to introduce the material into the housing, a second end comprising an output adapted to remove the smaller particles, and longitudinally extending internal side surfaces surrounding the central axis, the internal side surfaces meeting in longitudinally extending corners;
• a rotatable shaft extending substantially coextensively with the central axis;
• a plurality of rotors longitudinally spaced apart within the housing, each rotor comprising a rotor plate coupled to the shaft for rotation therewith in a plane transverse to the central axis, and a plurality of vanes on a side of the rotor plate, wherein each rotor plate comprises a substantially polygon-shaped peripheral edge having apices, and wherein each of the vanes extends approximately radially inward from one of the apices;
• and
• an orifice plate arranged between each pair of adjacently located rotors, each orifice plate extending inwardly from the internal side surfaces of the housing to a central aperture which provides an orifice around the shaft, wherein the distance between each orifice plate and the rotor positioned next nearest the first end of the housing defines a first spacing, wherein the distance between each orifice plate and the rotor positioned next nearest the second end of the housing defines a second spacing, wherein the distance between each pair of adjacently located orifice plates defines a third spacing, wherein the distance between each pair of adjacently located rotors defines a fourth spacing, and wherein at least one of the first spacing, the second spacing, the third spacing and the fourth spacing is non-uniform.

An apparatus adapted to pulverize material comprised of wet or dry discrete objects into relatively smaller-sized particles, comprising:

• a housing defining a longitudinal central axis, the housing including:
• a first plate at a first end,
• a second plate at a second end, the second plate including an opening through which the smaller sized particles exit the housing, and
• longitudinally extending internal sides having a substantially polygonal-shaped lateral cross-section, the sides meeting in longitudinally extending corners;
• a rotatable shaft extending substantially coextensively with the central axis;
• a feed chute extending through an opening in the first plate, wherein the feed chute is adapted for introducing the material into the housing;
• a plurality of rotors longitudinally spaced apart within the housing, each rotor comprising:
• a rotor plate centrally coupled to the shaft for rotation therewith, the rotor plate having an approximately polygonal-shaped peripheral edge having apices;
• and
• a plurality of vanes on a side of the rotor plate closest to the first end of the housing, each of the vanes extending approximately radially inward from one of the apices, a first rotor being a distributor rotor positioned closest to the first plate such that material introduced into the housing through the feed chute is directed toward the distributor rotor;
• an orifice plate positioned between each pair of adjacently located rotors, each orifice plate extending inwardly from the internal sides of the housing to a central aperture which provides an orifice around the shaft;
• and
• a plurality of members positioned in the longitudinally extending corners and projecting radially inward therefrom, wherein each member is located near a rotor.

An apparatus for pulverizing material comprised of wet or dry discrete objects into relatively smaller objects, comprising:

• a housing including first and second ends, the first end including an input adapted to introduce the material into the housing, the second end including an output adapted to remove the smaller objects, wherein the housing includes longitudinally extending internal sides that form longitudinally extending interior corners where they meet;
• a rotor assembly, including a rotatable shaft extending longitudinally through the housing between the first and second ends, and a plurality of rotors coupled to the shaft for rotation therewith, rotors of the plurality of rotors each comprising a rotor plate having a polygonal-shaped peripheral edge forming a plurality of apices, and vanes on a side of the rotor plate each extending approximately radially from an apex;
• and
• an orifice plate positioned between adjacently located pairs of the plurality of rotors, each orifice plate extending inwardly from the internal sides of the housing to a central aperture which provides an orifice around the shaft.