Abstract: An ASR separation and recycling system which permits the separation of ASR into many constituent components for recycling or reuse. Among the products recovered are steel, stainless steel, copper, aluminum, other non-ferrous metals, fine magnetic fraction (iron oxide product), clean grit, polyurethane foam, various plastics, fibers and rubber. The ASR separation and recycling system comprises four major components. The first is initial size and separation of ASR into three separate fractions. The second component comprises a grit processing subsystem. The third component is a rubber and plastics recovery subsystem and the fourth component is a polyurethane foam separation and cleaning subsystem.

Abstract: A targeted particulate, synthetic organic plastic material having normally hydrophobic surface characteristics is separated from a mixture of two or more of such plastic materials by conditioning the mixture of plastic materials in a flotation cell with a heteropolar surfactant which has a hydrophile-lipophile balance (HLB) value greater than 5 and which selectively depresses the targeted plastic material by making the surfaces thereof more hydrophilic without substantially affecting the surfaces of the other plastic material(s) and introducing gas bubbles into the resulting conditioned pulp such that the gas bubbles selectively adhere to the surfaces of the other plastic materials(s) and cause them to float. The targeted plastic material is recovered in the cell product and the other plastic material(s) is recovered in the float concentrate.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an improvement in the process of and a device for shredding scrap automobiles, trucks, appliances, white goods and the like, which improvement substantially reduces and in most cases eliminates the damage from explosions during the process of and within the equipment for shredding scrap automobiles, trucks, white goods and the like by adequately venting the equipment during the process so as to prevent pressure build-up within the system after initiation of an explosion.