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(11) | EP 2 299 010 A1 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Device and process for trash treatment |
| (57) Waste treatment apparatus (10) and process comprising a treatment unit (12) wherein
the waste to be treated is introduced and a collecting unit (13), connected and arranged
downstream of the treatment unit (12), in which the treated waste is collected. The
treatment unit (12) comprises grinding means (17) shaped in such a way as to grind
by abrasion the waste introduced into the treatment unit (12). The collecting unit
(13) comprises at least a tank (29) connected to the grinding means (17) and shaped
so that the waste ground by abrasion by the grinding means (17) is separated into
its material components by a gravimetric criterion.
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FIELD OF APPLICATION
[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus and a process for the treatment of waste products, be they waste of household, municipal, industrial or other kind. In particular, the apparatus according to the present invention is applied to differentiate, in a substantially automated manner, the different types of waste treated, for the purpose of recycling the materials.
STATE OF THE ART
[0002] The selective collection of household, municipal, industrial or other waste is well known, and finds increasing application, in such a way as to reduce the costs of disposing the waste, favour the recycling of materials, reduce the impact of waste on the environment, and so on.
[0003] This type of known selective collection implies the separation of waste into its material components, so that these can be removed and disposed in a specific manner, depending on whether they are made up of solid materials, such as paper, plastic, glass, metals, etc., or liquid materials, such as waste water, oils, greases, etc.
[0004] While this type of waste collection presents considerable environmental benefits, it is complex, particularly in domestic contexts, since the users are expected to separate the waste components individually and to place them, according to type of material, into specific containers provided for the purpose.
[0005] Considering that waste is collected after a different number of days for each type of material, such waste collecting containers have relatively cumbersome dimensions in order to hold a specific amount of waste of the relative type, with accompanying hygiene problems.
[0006] Moreover, the collection, transportation and treatment of the waste are more and more complex and burdensome from a point of view of organization and costs for the public administrations, for example, for the management of collecting schedules for the different types of waste.
[0007] Furthermore, the proceeds from the sale of the recyclable materials obtained from the final treatment of the waste, even assuming that users separate the different types of waste correctly and efficiently, are in all cases lower than the overall costs incurred for their treatment.
[0008] There are also known waste cutting-grinding devices, mainly domestic, installed downstream of the sink drain to grind the waste into fine fragments or shreds.
[0009] Such known devices perform an efficient grinding only on moist waste, such as fruit scraps, food, vegetable waste and similar matter, but, as they are cutting devices, they cannot efficiently process materials such as plastic, glass, metal or other such waste.
[0010] Such known devices have, therefore, a limited or rather narrow application, as they require in any case the use of containers for the selective collection of the waste materials.
[0011] One objective of the present invention, is to realize a waste treatment device and process that makes it possible to effectively sort out the treated waste, simplifying the waste collecting operations, and lowering the costs of both treatment and collection of the recyclable materials obtained from the treatment of the same waste.
[0012] To obviate the drawbacks of the known art and to achieve these and other objectives and advantages, the Applicant has studied, experimented and realized the present invention.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
[0014] The relative dependent claims disclose other characteristics of the present invention, or variants of the idea of the main embodiment.
[0015] In accordance with the above objective, an apparatus according to the present invention is applied for the treatment of waste materials, be they household, municipal, industrial or other waste, and includes a treatment unit wherein can be suitably inserted the waste materials to be treated, and a collecting unit, connected and arranged downstream of the treatment unit, wherein the treated waste can be suitably collected.
[0016] According to a characteristic aspect of the present invention, the treatment unit includes grinding means, for example of disk type, shaped so as to grind by abrasion the waste materials placed into the treatment unit.
[0017] The collecting unit includes at least a tank connected to the grinding means and formed so that the waste materials ground by abrasion by the grinding means are sorted out therein by gravimetric criteria.
[0018] In this manner, all the waste produced is treated in an undifferentiated manner by the grinding means, independently of the constituent materials, or of whether these materials are or are not included in the standardized classification of moist waste, dry waste, or other waste, without altering the chemical/physical characteristics of the same materials.
[0019] In fact, as the grinding means according to the present invention work by abrasion, they substantially reduce all waste types to dust, thus forming a semiliquid mass, or compound, of waste that is then poured into the collecting unit.
[0020] The materials that make up the semiliquid mass placed into the tank tend to separate according to a gravimetric criterion, which may be natural, as for example by settling, or through mechanically or chemically induced separation, such as for example by means of sieves, chemical agents of other means.
[0021] With the present invention there is therefore an effective and automatic differentiation of the materials making up the mass of treated waste, substantially eliminating the tasks of sorting out the waste by the user.
[0022] In addition, with the present invention, waste collection is also carried out in a simplified and more economical manner compared to the current collecting methods. This is due to the fact that, with the present invention, all the materials settle down with a gravimetric criterion in the tank of the collecting unit and can be collected by means of the typical suction techniques used for emptying wells, tanks or similar reservoirs, even in distinct phases of the same collecting operation.
[0023] According to a variant, the treatment unit includes, in addition, washing means operatively associated with the grinding means and suitable to be operated in a coordinated manner with said grinding means, both to carry out a cleanup of these means and to better guarantee that a semiliquid compound is obtained.
[0024] Advantageously, the washing means deliver, in addition to water, a given quantity of steam on said grinding means to carry out their sterilization.
[0025] According to another variant, the treatment unit includes a container, inside of which are arranged the grinding means, and in which the waste to be treated is placed.
[0026] According to another variant, the treatment unit includes a guide device, for example of chute type, associated with the grinding means, which guide device is shaped both to convey the waste toward the grinding means and to keep the waste to be treated in a correct position with respect to the grinding means, so that the latter are able to carry out an efficient grinding of the same waste by abrasion.
[0027] According to another variant, the treatment unit includes at least one pumping device suitable to convey the mass of semiliquid treated waste toward the collecting unit at a predetermined pressure.
[0028] According to one variant of the present invention, the collecting unit can be connected to a drain for grey water to determine the outflow from the tank containing the water separated by gravimetric criterion.
[0029] According to another variant, associated with the tank are sensing means suitable to monitor the state of filling of the tank, and if necessary to indicate when it is to be emptied.
[0030] According to another variant, the semiliquid mass of the treated waste is emptied into a dedicated conduit, of suitable and adequate characteristics, to convey the waste to the treatment centre, located in the territory, for separating and recovering the recyclable materials.
ILLUSTRATION OF DRAWINGS
[0031] These and other characteristics of the present invention will become evident from the following description of a preferred embodiment, provided by way of nonlimiting example, with reference to the enclosed drawings, wherein:
- fig. 1 schematically illustrates an apparatus for the treatment of waste according to the present invention in a possible household application;
- fig. 2 schematically illustrates in cross section a detail of the apparatus of fig. 1;
- fig. 3 schematically illustrates in cross section a view from above of fig. 2;
- fig. 4 illustrates a cross section along line IV-IV of fig. 3;
- fig. 5 illustrates an enlarged detail of fig. 4.
[0032] To facilitate comprehension, identical reference numbers have been used, where possible, to identify identical common elements in the figures. It is understood that elements and characteristics of one embodiment can be conveniently incorporated in other embodiments without further explanations.
DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0033] With reference to the enclosed drawings, an apparatus 10 according to the present invention can be advantageously, but not exclusively, applied in a household context, to treat the waste from a relative living unit 11 in which it is installed.
[0034] Although in the case illustrated in fig. 1 the apparatus 10 according to the present invention is installed in a single living unit 11, the apparatus 10 may also be installed in a complex of household units, for example a condominium, as well as a commercial, industrial, office unit, in an urban context or elsewhere, where in any case it is necessary to provide waste disposal, or for the destruction of documents, including solid computer supports such as hard disks, USB keys, mass storage or other devices.
[0035] In particular, the apparatus 10 according to the present invention includes a waste treatment unit 12, advantageously installed in the living unit 11, and a collecting unit 13, advantageously installed outside the living unit 11.
[0036] The treatment unit 12 includes an internally hollow container 15. Mixed waste is introduced into the container 15 through an opening 14 that may be selectively closed again with a lid 16.
[0037] The treatment unit 12 also includes a grinding disk 17, a guide chute 19, a pumping unit 21 and a washing unit 20.
[0038] The grinding disk 17 is turnably arranged inside the container 15, and is oriented according to a plane substantially transversal to a longitudinal axis of the same container 15.
[0039] Advantageously, the grinding disk 17 has a diameter that is slightly smaller than the internal diameter of the container 15, so as to favour the percolation of the treated waste toward a zone that is lower than the same grinding disk 17.
[0040] The grinding disk 17 includes an abrasive surface 18 turned toward the opening 14 of the container 15 to carry out an abrasive action on the waste poured into the container 15, and to determine its substantial pulverization or micronization, so as to obtain a semiliquid mass.
[0042] According to one variant, the abrasive surface 18 is provided with uniform and randomly distributed projections. These projections may be, for example, made up of fragments, or dust particles, of glass, silica, metal or other materials suitable to perform an abrasion.
[0043] The guide chute 19 is arranged inside the container 15, in an intermediate position between the opening 14 and the grinding disk 17.
[0044] The guide chute 19 has, in the case under consideration, a substantially helical shape such as to slidably accompany the waste along the abrasive surface 18 of the grinding disk 17.
[0045] The same helical shape of the guide chute 19 makes it possible, with its lower surface, to progressively reduce the height of the space available for the waste between the grinding disk 17 and the guide chute 19 itself.
[0046] In this manner, the waste, which is made to rotate by effect of the rotation of the grinding disk 17, is progressively compacted on the abrasive surface 18, thus increasing the effectiveness and precision of the abrasion carried out.
[0047] The guide chute 19 is however separated by some decimillimetres from the abrasive surface 18 of the grinding disk 17.
[0048] The washing unit 20 includes a perforated tubular element 22 removably mounted on the end of the guide chute 19 nearest the grinding disk 17, and a steam generator 23 arranged on the part opposite the guide chute 19 with respect to the grinding disk 17. The perforated tubular element 22 extends in length substantially over the whole radius of the grinding disk 17.
[0049] The steam generator 23 is hydraulically connected to the perforated tubular element 22, so as to feed the generated steam into said tubular element 22, so that the latter, being perforated, can release the steam onto the abrasive surface 18 of the grinding disk 17.
[0050] In the case in point, there is also provided an intermittent pump 24 suitable for feeding a certain quantity of washing water into the perforated tubular element 22.
[0051] In this manner, the abrasive surface 18 is kept clean and sterilized, so as to guarantee both the effectiveness of the abrasive action and a longer life of the grinding disk 17, as well as optimum conditions of hygiene by preventing the proliferation of bacteria.
[0052] The delivery of the steam facilitates to a greater degree the formation of the semiliquid mass of waste after the abrasion with the grinding disk 17.
[0053] The pumping unit 21 includes a filtering mesh 25 and a pump 26 arranged downstream of the filtering mesh 25.
[0054] The semiliquid mass of waste is made to pass through the filtering mesh 25, so as to hold back any components having sizes or shapes that are not suitable to be allowed into the pump 26.
[0055] Advantageously, the filtering mesh 25 can be inspected from outside the container 15, so as to be able to monitor its condition of cleanliness and/or operation, and to carry out any maintenance that may be necessary.
[0056] The pump 26 is connected on its outflow side to the collecting unit 13 through a pipe 27 that is substantially of known type and is not described in detail herein.
[0057] The collecting unit 13 comprises a tank 29, which is buried, for example, outside the living unit 11 and wherein the pipe 27 is led to empty the semiliquid mass of treated waste.
[0058] In the case under consideration, the tank 29 is shaped so as to favour the settling of the liquid mass, thereby separating the constituent materials by gravimetric criterion.
[0059] In fact, also as a function of the specific weight of each material, after a certain time there is the formation of different layers (for example, as shown in fig. 1 and indicated with letters A, B and C).
[0060] By way of example, one possible condition of stratification of the materials may produce a layer A, nearest the bottom, made up essentially of solid materials such as, in the order, metals, glass, plastic and other materials; an intermediate layer B, consisting substantially of clarified water; and a surface layer C, consisting of oils, greases, low-density solids, or other materials.
[0061] The tank 29 can be selectively opened from above to carry out the periodic collection of the materials to be recycled.
[0062] In the case under consideration, inside the tank 29 is inserted a pipe 30, suitable to empty the clarified water of the B layer and to lead it directly into the sewer line.
[0063] It is evident that the apparatus 10 described above is susceptible to changes and/or additions of parts, without thereby departing from the scope of the present invention.
[0064] For example, the scope of the present invention includes the possibility of arranging inside the tank 29 a mechanism to induce the separation by a gravimetric criterion, such as for example a sieve or similar device, that makes it possible to shorten the times for separating the materials.
[0065] According to one variant, sensing means, of known type and not shown in the drawings, are associated with the tank 29, which sensing means are suitable to detect and monitor the level of the contents in the same tank 29, and to signal the necessity to empty it as the case may be.
[0066] With this variant it is possible to optimize the phases of waste collection from the tank 29, with a consequent reduction of collecting costs.
[0067] The scope of the present invention also contemplates the possibility that within the tank 29 there could be used chemical agents or other agents, for example specific flocculants or other materials, suitable to favour the settling and aggregation of fragments of the same material.
[0068] It is also clear that, although the present invention has been described with reference to some specific examples, a person skilled in the art may certainly attain many other equivalent forms of waste treatment devices and processes, having the characteristics expressed in the claims and therefore all falling within the scope of protection defined therein.
1. Apparatus for processing refuse comprising a processing unit (12) into which the refuse
to be processed is able to be introduced and a collection unit (13), connected and
disposed downstream of said processing unit (12), in which the processed refuse is
able to be collected, characterized in that said processing unit (12), comprises grinding means (17) conformed so as to grind
through abrasion the refuse introduced into said processing unit (12), and in that said collection unit (13) comprises at least a tank (29) connected to said grinding
means (17) and conformed so that the refuse ground through abrasion by said grinding
means (17) is separated according to materials with a gravimetric criterion.
2. Apparatus as in claim 1, characterized in that said grinding means comprise a grinding disk (17) provided with at least an abrasive
surface (18).
3. Apparatus as in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said tank (29) is conformed to promote the separation through decantation of the
materials that make up the refuse processed.
4. Apparatus as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that said tank (29) comprises inside it mechanical sifting means for the gravimetric separation
of the materials that make up the refuse processed.
5. Apparatus as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that chemical agents are provided in said tank (29), able to induce separation with a
gravimetric criterion of the materials that make up the refuse processed.
6. Apparatus as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that the processing unit (12) also comprises washing means, operatively associated with
the grinding means (17) and able to be driven in a coordinated manner with said grinding
means (17) so as to effect both a cleaning of the latter and also to give a better
guarantee that a semiliquid compound is obtained.
7. Apparatus as in claim 6, characterized in that the washing means (20) deliver a determinate quantity of steam on said grinding means
(17), in order to sterilize them.
8. Apparatus as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that the processing unit (12) comprises a container (15), inside which the grinding means
(17) are disposed, and into which the refuse to be processed is introduced.
9. Apparatus as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that the processing unit (12) comprises a guide member (19) associated with the grinding
means (17) and conformed both to convey the refuse toward said grinding means (17),
and also to keep the refuse to be processed in a correct position with respect to
said grinding means (17), to obtain a better grinding through abrasion of the refuse.
10. Apparatus as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that the processing unit (12) comprises at least a pumping member (21) able to introduce
at a determinate pressure the semiliquid mass of processed refuse toward the collection
unit (13).
11. Apparatus as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that the collection unit (13) can be connected with a discharge pipe (30) for the greywater
so as to determine the outflow from the tank (29) of the water separated by a gravimetric
criterion.
12. Method for processing refuse by a processing unit (12) into which the refuse to be
processed is able to be introduced and a collection unit (13), connected and disposed
downstream of said processing unit (12), in which the processed refuse is able to
be collected, characterized in that it comprises at least a grinding step in which, by means of grinding means (17) of
said processing unit (12), the refuse introduced is ground through abrasion, and a
separation step in which, by means of at least a tank (29) of said collection unit
(13), connected to said grinding means (17), the refuse ground through abrasion by
said grinding means (17) is separated according to materials with a gravimetric criterion.