Waste glass recycling plant is a recycling device to produce a pumice-shaped porous lightweight foamed material (supersol) using 99% of waste glass generated by a community as a raw material.
Supersol production device is composed of 8 machines, such as raw material hopper/charging conveyor/glass crushing machine/cullet crusher/powder transfer apparatus/vibration sifter/mixing stirrer/firing furnace, and auto control device of respective machine.
Raw material hopper
Raw material hopper can contain about 4.5 cubic meter (approx. 3.5 t) of a waste glass and stably supply it to the charging conveyor through the vibration cutter in the bottom of the hopper.
Glass crushing machine
Our Glass Crushing Machine utilizes a compression crushing system. This technique applies the principle of rolling mortars, with special steel and detachable couplings fitted inside to improve its abrasion resistance. These unique features have achieved better resistance and durability compared with previous glass crushing machines.”(obtained the patent)
Glass crushing machine
The Glass Crushing Machine produces cullets less than 6mm in size. The next process is to make these cullets into powder. Our Cullet Crushing Machine was developed from tube mills specifically for glass cullet. The shape of the inlet allows any shape of glass granule to be entered into the machine smoothly. Then, the powder is discharged in order from the lightest to the heaviest. The double-deck hopper can classify labels or other paper products inside.
The aluminum balls hit each other inside the Cullet Crushing Machine to effectually turn the glass into powder, and the machine can work without maintenance for two years. Glass powder can be manufactured continuously by using full automatic functions, and operating the Glass Crushing Machine and the Cullet Crushing Machine simultaneously. This operation achieved more than 97% granule size stability and operating effectiveness.
Vibration sifter
The Sifting Unit classifies the size of granule sent from the Cullet Crushing Machine and extracts powder that meets the sizing regulation.
This unit is connected to the Powder Transferring Unit, so the classification process can be completed seamlessly. It is fully closed and won’t cause any dust scattering issues.
Powder transfer apparatus
It is a device for transferring the powder from the cullet crusher, vibrating screen machines and mixing stirrer.
Our Powder Transferring Unit is a spin-flow conveyer and it applies the principle of whirlpools. This unit has achieved the full automatic and stable powder transfer which were said to be difficult to realize. It completely shuts down the air flow inside, and there is less chance of static interruption and the process is absolutely free from dust scattering problems.
Mixing stirrer
Our Mixing Stirrer blends glass powder sorted in the Sifting Unit and two kinds of additives automatically.
It can stir any materials equally even if they are different in quantity, weight, and shape. It is a continuous batch machine, and can create up to 350kg of blended powder per each operation. All the processes such as power feed, measuring and input are automated so that two additives can be mixed without interruption, and the blended powder can be produced stably.
Firing furnace
Porous-lightweight-foamed material (Super Sol) is produced by firing a blended powder produced by mixing stirrer. Firing furnace consists of firing unit and cooling unit that have lightweight insulation and fire resistant structure, and continuous firing can be conducted with the wire mesh belt conveyor. Also, there are different sections inside of the firing furnace, such as preheating, softening, firing, foaming, and retention combustion method is used for the firing furnace with three-position control using a burner.
Processed particle size adjusting machine
production Super Sol will be crushed and classified by size to fit the purpose of the application.
The shape and quality of crushing blades were invented specifically for Super Sol. They make the crushing and sorting process effective.
Automated manufacturing with proprietary technology
Raw material hopper can contain about 4.5m3 of a waste glass, and glass crushing machine crushes the glass into less than 6mm sized cullet shape. After that, with cullet crusher, median particle size about 35μm of glass powder is produced. That powder goes through the vibration sifter, and foreign substances and non-standard powder are eliminated. Next, with the mixing stirrer, glass powder and additives will be mixed and stirred. That mixed powder is consecutively supplied to the firing furnace and going through preheat, softening, firing to foaming under the temperature of 700℃ to 920℃. By doing so, 15mm thickness of glass powder in the beginning will turn out to be a porous lightweight foamed material with the foam height thickness of approx. 60mm.
Versatile and high value-added glass recycling
Referring to the conventional glass recycling machine, almost every machine crushes a glass and makes it cullet-shaped. Produced cullet, if its color is transparent or brown, is recycled as a raw material of glass, and other glasses will be used for mixing them with concrete secondary products, with asphaltic pavement or with a block. However, value added of the product is low, thus there is a limitation in business feasibility. However, when it comes to the supersol produced in the waste glass recycling plant, there are various fields for it to be used, such as lightweight embankment material for civil engineering, artificial medium・inorganic soil improvement material for horticulture・agriculture, water purification material for water treatment, and insulation material for construction, and currently many of supersols are being utilized in each field.
