Apparatus and method for absorbing and recycling material in a blender

A method for blending a hazardous solute and a volatile solvent at atmospheric pressure to form a solution product which substantially reduces starting material and product operational loss while improving environment safety, said method comprises the steps of:

• a) introducing a predetermined amount of a solvent by gravity feed into the top of a closed mixing vessel, said mixing vessel having at least one inlet means at its top for introducing solvent into said vessel, a mixing means, at least one outlet means for discharging solution product, at least one vent means at its top in fluid communication with at least one demister device, and a means for measuring the weight in said vessel at its bottom;
• b) agitating said solvent with said mixing means;
• c) charging a predetermined amount of a solute by gravity feed into the top of said vessel with a closed conveyor, said closed conveyor including a hopper means in combination with a helix conveyor, said hopper means having a chamber, said chamber including a humidity control means and a blower assembly mounted within the chamber, said blower assembly having an inlet means with at least one particulate air filter for controlling air flow throughout said hopper means connected with a hopper vent in fluid communication with a first vent means for exhaust to the atmosphere, and a pneumatic accumulator operatively connected to the blower assembly for pulsing air through said filter to clean said filter and move product through said apparatus;
• d) weighing said mixing vessel with said means for measuring the weight in said vessel and signaling when the weight limit parameters have been exceeded;
• e) pulsing air into said chamber with said pneumatic accumulator;
• f) dissolving said solute into said solvent to form a solution product and an overhead vapor including entrained solvent and solution product substances;
• g) controlling the humidity and air pressure within said mixing vessel with said humidity control means and said blower assembly;
• h) exhausting said overhead vapor through said at least one vent means at the top of the mixing vessel to said at least one demister device;
• i) passing said overhead vapor through said at least one demister device to form a treated vapor, said at least one demister device removing the entrained solvent and solution product substances from the overhead vapor, forming droplets and returning said droplets back to said mixing vessel;
• j) discharging the treated vapor to the atmosphere;
• and
• k) transferring the solution product from the bottom of the mixing vessel through said at least one outlet means.