Abstract: A method and apparatus is disclosed for separating finely sized materials of diverse weights comprising a housing 8 having an opening 20 through which materials may be introduced for separation, an air intake 26 through which air may be introduced, and an air outlet 34 through which an air stream may exit. Means 53 are provided for forcing air into the housing 8 through the air intake 26 and out of said housing through the air outlet 34. A series of steps 10, 12, 14 is mounted within the housing 8 over which the materials may cascade. Means are further provided for channeling air introduced into the housing 8 through the air intake 26 into at least one air stream which passes between adjacent steps of the series of steps whereby the air stream may pass through the cascading materials and entrain the lighter materials.

Abstract: An apparatus for separating fine dust particles from coarse dust particles, such as are present in hot filling powders for pit furnaces for the production of electrodes by aluminium fusion electrolysis, comprises a first separator with an adjustable separation gap, arranged inside a bin on an intermediate bottom, which is preferably slanted, dividing the bin into an upper chamber and a lower chamber. The air flow is sustained by a fan connected with its discharge side to the lower chamber. The suction side of the fan is connected to the upper chamber through a further separator for the fine particles and through respective pipes. Preferably the suction return path through the pipes and the further separator leads through a further collector.

Abstract: Waste materials of varying density are passed through a hammer mill for size reduction after which they are moved along a gravity path within a stream of hot inert gas. The stream of materials is intercepted by a transversely moving mass of heated inert gas that separates the lighter materials from the heavier ones. A manifold receives the lighter materials while the heavier items are picked up at a lower position by a sealed screw conveyor. An adjustably located table and damper plate enable varying the weight-cut.

Abstract: A pneumatic classifier and process in which a stream of fluid and the material to be classified are introduced in a swirling stream into a classification chamber, the coarser material migrates by centrifugal force to the outer portion of the stream, the inner and outer portions of the stream are divided, the outer portion of the stream containing the coarser particles is discharged from the classification chamber through a substantially tangential discharge passage, the inner portion of the stream is swirled in a closed path within the classification chamber, the finer particles are discharged from the classification chamber through a discharge passage which communicates with the region within the swirling stream and the recycled coarser particles rejoin the incoming swirling stream where they migrate outwardly by centrifugal force toward the outer stream.

Abstract: A particle separator which is highly efficient in the removal of suspended particulate matter from a gaseous fluid flow; which depends for its operation on centrifugal forces acting on the particulate matter which are caused and controlled by rotational direction changes induced in the fluid flow by the shape of the inner walls of the chamber which comprises the particle separator; and which derives its efficiency not only from controlability of the turning radius of the fluid flow during an induced rotational direction change, but also from recognition and utilization of the fact that particles suspended in that portion of the fluid flow which is nearest the center of rotation of the fluid flow may be unable to cross the center of fluid flow (which has a higher velocity than the outer edges of the flow) and thus be unable to separate from the flow during induced rotational direction changes necessitating a second induced rotational direction change wherein those particles which were formerly nearest the cent

Abstract: Particles are classified according to their terminal velocities, which in turn are determined by their size, shape and composition, by dropping a mass of such particles into an air stream flowing in a direction making a substantial angle with the vertical, and having a high degree of uniformity and low turbulence, so that the particles assume trajectories determined by their terminal velocities. The distance downstream travelled by a particle is inversely proportional to its terminal velocity. Receptacles are provided at different downstream distances from the location of introduction of the material, below the flowing air stream, into which particles of different terminal velocities are collected.

Abstract: Circulating air classifier having a separator chamber containing an impeller rotatable about a vertical axis, and a funnel-shaped pre-separator disposed underneath and in open communication with the separator chamber. A blower forces air through a conduit. Material to be classified is fed into the air through an inlet in the conduit. The feed material and air enter the upper part of the pre-separator tangentially causing pre-separation, i.e. some coarse matter to separate. The air with the remaining feed material passes upwardly into the separator chamber wherein aided by the impeller further separation of coarse matter takes place. The air with the suspended fine material passes out of the separator chamber into cyclones wherein the fine material is separated from the air. The thus cleansed air is recirculated to the suction side of the blower.

Abstract: An air classifier system which embodies two rotary drum classifiers, each with an individual adjustable plenum, the drums being individually angled at selected inclinations and the plenum capacities being variable, so that two separate masses of commingled materials such as municipal refuse and oversize bulky waste, for example, may be simultaneously classified and will produce a combined single output of refuse derived fuel.

Abstract: A pneumatic material separator having adjacent generally vertical sorting ducts and a generally vertical discharge duct communicating with the tops of the sorting ducts is disclosed. Particulate material introduced into a first sorting duct is separated by an upwardly moving column of gas into an upwardly moving lighter fraction and a downwardly moving heavy fraction. The light fraction is carried to a position over a second sorting duct where the gas velocity is reduced. The heaviest particles of the lighter fraction fall into the second sorting duct while the remainder of the lighter fraction is discharged through the discharge duct.

Abstract: The disclosure relates to a process and a cleaning machine for seed, grain and similar goods, in which the cleaning is realized by means of air circulated in an enclosed path by at least one fan, the air passing the grain adjacent the discharge opening of the machine for the air-cleaned grain. In the machine the resistance to the air circulating in the enclosed path is adjusted such that the static O-point will be located in the vicinity of the discharge opening for the air-cleaned grain. Furthermore, for the purposes of the above-disclosed process, the fan cooperates with a duct for the cleaning air moving to the fan, and with a duct for the air recycled to the cleaning station at the discharge opening, the ducts being of roughly the same length.

Abstract: The method and apparatus for separating lighter and heavier portions of threshed tobacco by creating two adjacent vortices circulating in opposite directions the turbulence of which separates the threshed tobacco; the vortices coacting to form rising column of high velocity air for carrying off lighter portions of tobacco while heavier portions of tobacco drop to a pneumatic take-off.

Abstract: An apparatus and operation is disclosed in which light solid material such as shredded paper passes from an upper end of a column and heavier material such as glass and metal particles drop from a lower end of the column. The column includes an air locked feed chute having a downwardly inclined material feeding surface, that opens intermediate the column ends into a stream of air moving upwardly in the column, for admitting mixed light and heavy solid particles of refuse material to the air stream. The column beneath the discharge end of the chute has vertical walls defining a rectangular air intake zone. The vertical wall opposite to and facing the chute is pivotally hung from an inclined member which is in turn pivotally supported by the column so this pivotally hung wall can move toward and away from the chute while remaining vertical.

Abstract: An apparatus and operation is disclosed in which light solids material such as shredded paper passes from an upper end of a column and heavier material such as glass and metal particles drop from a lower end of the column. The column includes an air locked feed chute having a downwardly inclined material feeding surface, that opens intermediate the column ends into a stream of air moving upwardly in the column, for admitting mixed light and heavy particles of refuse material to the air stream. A zone of expanded volume is provided at the level where the column and the chute come together and this zone extends upwardly from the material feeding surface and terminates at a level below the upper end of the column where column cross section area is less than beneath the expanded zone.

Abstract: Apparatus for the aerodynamic separation of a heterogeneous mixture of materials of different weights into component parts thereof is provided which comprises a vertical separation column, means for feeding the waste material to be separated in an air suspended state into the separation column, additional air means for blowing air upwardly into the treating column from its lower end thereof to aid in the passage of waste material upwardly through the treating column, and a plurality of air jet means provided in spaced arrangement in the upper portion of the treating column for imparting jet streams of air into the column for creating and maintaining a plurality of zones of turbulence in the upper portion of the column thereby facilitating the separation of the waste material into its component parts. The present invention includes the method of separating the heterogeneous mixture of material utilizing the jets of air in a controlled manner.

Abstract: In a fluidized bed process for the gasification of coal or similar carbonaceous solids wherein char particles are withdrawn from a fluidized bed reaction vessel, transported to a second vessel, and later returned to the initial vessel, char particles of high ash content are separated from particles to be returned to the fluidized bed reaction vessel by injecting a dense phase stream of char particles including particles of both high and low ash content into a vertically moving gas stream having a velocity sufficient to transport relatively light particles of low ash content upwardly into the fluidized bed reaction vessel but insufficient to suspend relatively dense particles of high ash content, collecting the high ash content particles which are not entrained by the gas stream, and periodically withdrawing the collected particles from the system.

Abstract: An apparatus is provided for removal of grit from a finely dispersed solid containing gas stream serving for the pneumatic conveyance of this material, the apparatus comprising a closed separator housing having a funnel shaped lower portion, a supply tube for the conveying gas stream opening laterally in the upper part of the housing, an outlet tube (in a given case connected to a vacuum source) for purified finely dispersed solid disposed opposite the supply tube in the upper part of the housing, a vertically disposed connecting piece between the lower end of the funnel shaped lower portion and a discharge valve, an axially disposed cap shaped displacement member open at its lower end in said connecting piece and of lesser diameter whereby an annular gap is formed between the displacement member and the connecting piece and a supply tube for furnishing a secondary gas stream to the interior of said displacement member.

Abstract: A solids separation system is provided, designed for pneumatic separation of pieces of scrap particularly metallic scrap, into light and heavy fractions. The mixture of pieces of scrap is fed into an enclosed separation vessel wherein they fall by gravity into a horizontally directed stream of air blown into and across the separator vessel, whereby the heaviest pieces fall through the air stream into a heavy solids hopper and the lighter materials are carried downstream by the force of the horizontal air stream into a second hopper. A gas outlet port is provided at the top of the vessel thereby imparting an upward velocity vector to the gas. The horizontal velocity of the gas being reduced by expansion, light metal pieces fall out of the influence of the gas stream into the light solids hopper.