Air separation of recyclable material

A method for separating recyclable materials from Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), comprising:

• receiving the MSW that includes a first group of MSW and a second group of MSW, wherein the first group of MSW includes different combinations of non-shredded paper, non-shredded cardboard, non-shredded plastic containers, or non-shredded metal containers that are generally recycled into other products that are made from similar types of materials as materials used for making the first group of MSW, wherein the second group of MSW generally includes different combination of other non-shredded MSW waste that generally has a heavier weight and/or a different surface area than the first group of MSW;
• blowing air into the MSW in an upward and forward direction as the MSW is being dropped into a first opening so that the first group of MSW is blown in the upward and forward direction over a chute and into an air chamber, wherein a majority of the first group of MSW is either blown through the chamber out through a second opening in the air chamber or dropped down onto a first conveyor that carries the first group of MSW out through the second opening;
• blowing the air diagonally up into the MSW as the MSW is being dropped into the air chamber so that the first group of MSW is blown onto the first conveyor or blown out through the second opening, wherein at least some of the second group of MSW that is heavier or has a different surface area than the first group of MSW is allowed to drop vertically downward from the first opening through the blowing air and into the chute separating the at least some of the second group of MSW from the first group of MSW;
• moving the first group of MSW that have been separated from the second group of MSW along the first conveyor and dropping the first group of MSW out of the second opening onto a separation screen;
• and sorting the non-shredded plastic containers or non-shredded metal containers from relatively flat non-shredded paper or non-shredded cardboard in the first group of MSW that has been separated from the second group of MSW.

A separation system, comprising:

• a bag opener including:
• a first cylinder having a first set of fins that protrude from an outside surface and hook a first location on a bag;
• a second cylinder having a second set of fins that protrude from the outside surface and hook a second location on the bag;
• and
• one or more motors that rotate the first and second set of fins in opposite directions and rotate the first cylinder at a slower speed than the second cylinder so that the second set of fins pull the second location of the bag apart from the first location thereby tearing the bag open and allowing Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) inside the bag to fall out;
• an elongated air chamber including a first opening at a first end configured to receive the MSW, the MSW including:
• a first group of substantially non-shredded MSW having different combinations of substantially non-shredded paper, non-shredded cardboard, non-shredded plastic containers, or non-shredded metal containers;
• and
• a second group of MSW having heavier weight or different surface areas than the first group of substantially non-shredded MSW;
• a first conveyor located at least partially within the air chamber and having a conveying direction oriented along the air chamber;
• and
• a fan configured to:
• blow air in an upward direction into the first and second group of MSW dropped into the first opening;
• blow the first group of substantially non-shredded MSW over a chute onto different locations on the first conveyer or blow the first group of substantially non-shredded MSW out a second opening at an opposite second end of the air chamber;
• and
• enable the second group of the MSW having the heavier weight or different surface areas than the first group of substantially non-shredded MSW to drop downward from the first end of the air chamber, through the air blown by the fan, and into the chute.

A system for separating materials, comprising:

• an air chamber including an inlet, a first outlet, and a second outlet, wherein the air chamber is configured to receive a mixture of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) and recyclable materials via the inlet;
• an air blower configured to generate an air flow towards the mixture of MSW and recyclable materials in a generally upward diagonal direction as the mixture of MSW and recyclable materials is being dropped into the air chamber from the inlet;
• a conveyor having a conveying direction oriented along the air chamber in a general direction of the air flow;
• and a rotating drum including an axis of rotation oriented substantially perpendicular to the generally upward direction of the air flow, wherein the recyclable materials, being relatively lighter than the MSW, is blown up and over the rotating drum onto the conveyor and out the air chamber via the first outlet, and wherein the MSW falls in a substantially vertical downward direction and out of the air chamber via the second outlet without passing over the rotating drum thereby separating the recyclable materials from the MSW.