Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02970520 2017-06-09
WO 2016/071575 PCT/F12015/050769
1
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR HANDLING OF GRANULAR MATERIAL AND
USE OF THE METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CLASSIFYING FLY ASH
The object of the invention is a method as defined in the
preamble of claim 1 and an apparatus as defined in the
preamble of claim 8 for the handling of a granular
material, such as fly ash, that is the input material, and
also the use, as defined in claim 19, of the method and
apparatus for sorting fly ash.
The method and apparatus according to the invention,
referred to hereinafter more briefly as the solution
according to the invention, is extremely well suited for
handling and processing various materials classified as
waste, such as e.g. the powdery or granular fly ash
produced as a by-product of coal-fired power stations, into
products fit for further refining. The fly ash produced as
a by-product of coal-fired power stations is generally
nowadays taken as waste to landfill sites, but it can be
used when sorted into small grain sizes e.g. as an additive
to cement in the manufacture of concrete, in the
manufacture of asphalt, as an additive to grouting
material, and also as an earthworks material.
Fly ash is already used according to prior art for the
aforementioned applications, but the results have not
necessarily been sufficiently good, because the fly ash has
generally been used as it is, without sorting in any way,
in which case e.g. concrete, in which unsorted fly ash has
been used as an additive, has been improved in terms of
quality only to some extent or not at all. Cements
supplemented with fly ash contain, in solutions according
to prior art, generally approx. 15-35% fly ash. The use of
untreated fly ash is typically seasonal, the amounts used
are limited and, given the strict technical limit values
set, the advantage to be gained has been small.
CA 02970520 2017-06-09
WO 2016/071575 PCT/F12015/050769
2
Efforts have been made to refine fly ash also with
solutions based on scrubbing technology, but these
solutions are expensive and, in addition, a drying process
for the fly ash must be added on.
One problem is also the construction of the handling
apparatus for fly ash e.g. in connection with a power plant
producing fly ash or in connection with some other plant
using fly ash. The surrounds of the future apparatus must
be dimensioned in the construction phase, in which case it
is often necessary to travel to the construction site. In
addition, a strange and - for the builder - new
environment, as well as a local workforce, e.g. abroad,
often causes extra difficulties for the builder. Likewise,
the testing of the apparatus on site only after
construction can be problematic.
The aim of the present invention is to eliminate the
aforementioned drawbacks and to achieve an inexpensive and
reliable method and apparatus for the handling of a
granular material, such as fly ash. In this case the aim is
to increase e.g. the reuse of fly ash in the concrete
industry, in asphalt construction and in earthworks, and
also at the same time to reduce the amount of fly ash and
other industrial waste being taken to landfill sites. One
aim is to achieve a solution whereby the fly-ash handling
apparatus can be prefabricated at the factory and the
operability of the apparatus can be pretested at the
factory, and the tested and reliably operating apparatus
can be delivered as a single assembly, or at least as a
large subassembly, to its production site, where the
apparatus is connected via its input connection e.g. to an
ash silo that is the storage location of the fly ash that
is the input material and via its output connection to a
product silo, in which fly ash sorted by its grain size and
composition is stored for coming on stream. Another aim is
to achieve a remotely-controlled solution, which enables
CA 02970520 2017-06-09
WO 2016/071575 PCT/F12015/050769
3
remote control of the sorting apparatus for fly ash and
enables adjustments to be made to the apparatus by means of
the remote control. The method according to the invention
is characterized by what is disclosed in the
characterization part of claim 1. Correspondingly, the
apparatus according to the invention is characterized by
what is disclosed in the characterization part of claim 8.
In addition, characteristic of the invention is the use as
defined in claim 19 of the method and the apparatus for
sorting fly ash. Other embodiments of the invention are
characterized by what is disclosed in the other claims.
One great advantage of the solution according to the
invention is getting materials that would otherwise be
classified as waste and handled as waste, such as e.g. fly
ash, into reuse economically and extremely advantageously.
In this case one advantage, among others, is a reduction in
the CO, emissions produced in the concrete industry by the
manufacture of cement, because less cement is needed for
the manufacture of concrete when some of the cement is
replaced with very well sorted fly ash. Correspondingly,
ground limestone powder has conventionally been used as a
filler in the manufacture of asphalt. Suitably sorted fly
ash from the burning of coal is, however, well suited for
the fine aggregate of asphalt surfacing, because it has
homogeneous granularity, good capacity for filling
porosity, a suitable low water content and it is alkaline.
Since fly ash is in a bound form in asphalt mix, its
environmental impacts are minor. Fly ash, and particularly
fly ash sorted into a suitable grain size, can replace
natural extractable soil resources e.g. in highway
substrates. Fly ash is well suited to different filler
structures, to foundations and to sound barriers in
municipal engineering and special structures e.g. in
harbors and landfill sites. One great advantage of the
solution according to the invention is that the apparatus
can be built to completion outside the final operating
CA 02970520 2017-06-09
WO 2016/071575 PCT/F12015/050769
4
location at the factory of the apparatus manufacturer in
favorable conditions and can also be tested at the factory
before being taken into use. This enables reliability of
operation of the apparatus at the production site and
conformance to requirements of the end product manufactured
with the apparatus. In addition, one advantage is that it
is not necessary to travel in the construction phase of the
apparatus so often to the production site and to foreign
conditions, or even to a foreign country, which reduces
costs and improves the quality of the apparatus. A further
advantage is the remote control of the apparatus and of the
production process, which also improves the quality of the
end product and makes the production process more precise,
enabling remote control of the apparatus and adjustments to
be made by means of the remote control. Yet another
advantage is that the apparatus could be disposed in a
protected space, e.g. in a cargo container, which is easy
to transport and which protects the structures of the
apparatus and which is easy and quick to install in its
production site.
One advantage is also that the solution according to the
invention is extremely energy-efficient compared to
solutions known in the art, because in the grinding device
not all the raw material mass is ground, but instead only
the material containing larger grains after the first
classification. Another important advantage is that
unground fly ash is mixed into ground fly ash. In this case
there is fly ash containing the desired amount of unground,
round fly ash particles in the finished end product, in
which fly ash the fly ash particles are not broken in any
way but instead are only sorted according to their grain
size. This property according to the invention
significantly improves the quality of e.g. cement in which
an end product made with the method and apparatus according
to the invention is used as one constituent.
CA 02970520 2017-06-09
WO 2016/071575 PCT/F12015/050769
Another advantage also is that, owing to the modular
construction, the structural solutions of the apparatus
assembly are easy to change for achieving different end
products. In this case by using only certain modules a
5 product can be made in which e.g. a grinding device is not
needed at all, or in the manufacture of which product it is
also desired to use a different grinding device than
originally anticipated.
According to the invention, a granular material classified
as waste, such as e.g. fly ash, that has been handled and
sorted according to its grain size, can be called a
micronized product, for which competing products are, inter
alia, untreated fly ash according to prior art and silicon
dioxide i.e. silica (Si02). With the solution according to
the invention e.g. the following advantages are obtained:
The manufactured products are of homogeneous quality and
technically reliable, products manufactured in this way
replace more natural materials and replace more cement, the
sorting precision and improved technical quality of the
sorted product are better, the usage amount needed in the
manufacture of concrete is smaller than with conventional
fly ash, in which case raw material costs, transport costs
and energy costs can be reduced, the ecological footprint
is smaller than with conventional fly ash. One significant
advantage is also that with the solution according to the
invention, depending on the process adjustments, the
desired amount of detrimental impurities can be removed
from the input material to be sorted, e.g. 2-6% carbon can
be removed from fly ash, the amount being removed
significantly improving the quality of the fly ash to be
used e.g. in cement and concrete.
In the following, the invention will be described in detail
by the aid of one example of its embodiment with reference
to the attached simplified drawings, wherein
CA 02970520 2017-06-09
WO 2016/071575 PCT/F12015/050769
6
Fig. 1 presents the method according to the invention as
a simplified diagram,
Fig. 2 presents the solution according to the invention
as viewed from the side and as a simplified
diagram,
Fig. 3 presents a sectioned, diagrammatic and simplified
side view of one sorting line, according to the
invention, for fly ash in a protected space, such
as in a cargo container, located at the production
site,
Fig. 4 presents a sectioned, diagrammatic and simplified
side view of a second sorting line, according to
the invention, for fly ash in a protected space,
such as in a cargo container, located at the
production site,
Fig. 5 presents a diagrammatic and simplified side view
of a product silo to be used in conjunction with
the solution according to Fig. 4,
Fig. 6 presents an oblique view from above of one
solution according to the invention, wherein the
apparatus assembly is composed of different
prefabricated modules that are connected to each
other at the production site for producing the
desired end product,
Fig. 7 presents a simplified view of the apparatus
assembly according to Fig. 6, as viewed from the
one side and with the nearest walls removed, and
Fig. 8 presents a simplified view of the apparatus
assembly according to Fig. 6, as viewed from the
other side and with the nearest walls removed.
In the solution according to the invention the granular
material that is the input material, such as fly ash or
similar material, is processed in such a way that it is no
longer classified as waste. For the sake of simplicity,
only a fly-ash handling process and apparatus is presented
hereinafter although also meant at the same time are other
CA 02970520 2017-06-09
WO 2016/071575 PCT/F12015/050769
7
similar granular materials that can, when sorted, be used
for different purposes. In the method according to the
invention fly ash is sorted and classified when dry for
achieving the desired essentially precise grain size
distribution. If necessary, the material that is already
sorted, or a part thereof, is ground smaller and delivered
again to the grain size sorting. In addition, for each
grain size and material their correct applications are
determined. The products sorted in this way, being
different in their grain size, are kept each in their own
reservoirs for future use. The grain size and composition
of the end product being manufactured is preferably
adjusted by remote control by means of the control system
belonging to the solution by monitoring and adjusting the
different functions of the apparatus.
Fig. 1 presents a simplified diagram of the method
according to the invention. In it, the granular material
that is the raw material, such as fly ash or other material
suited for the purpose, e.g. material classified as waste,
i.e. input material 7, is delivered from the storage
location 2 for input material to a sorting process to be
performed with the handling apparatus that is in the
apparatus space 1 according to the invention, in which
process the material is classified and sorted while dry
according to the grain size of the material into different-
sized fractions.
The apparatus space 1 is preferably a modular structure
manufactured outside the production site, which can be
composed of e.g. one module, such as a ship container,
inside which the apparatus is built, or from a number of
ship containers fitted to each other, in each of which is a
certain suited-to-purpose part of the apparatus assembly.
There can be 1, 2, 3, 4 or even more modules, and each of
these can comprise different structures that are connected
into one apparatus assembly at the production site by
CA 02970520 2017-06-09
WO 2016/071575 PCT/F12015/050769
8
connecting the modules one beside another and/or one on top
of another. The modules have connection parts that enable
inter alia the passage of the material being handled from
one module into another.
Preferably in one apparatus space 1 only one end product 9,
i.e. a product type that is homogeneous in grain size and
composition, is made with one handling apparatus. By using
e.g. apparatus spaces 1 that are one beside another and in
each of them an apparatus separately tailored and/or
adjusted, end products that are different in their grain
size and composition can be made for different purposes at
the same production site from the same input material.
Likewise, different end products 9 can, if necessary, also
be made by changing the adjustment settings of an apparatus
of one apparatus space 1, e.g. by means of remote control.
The end products 9 sorted according to the invention are
stored according to the respective material size and grain
size in their storage locations 3, e.g. in silos
functioning as storage reservoirs, from where the end
products 9, e.g. fly ash screened and sorted into a certain
different grain size, is delivered in the desired grain
size and in the desired composition to end users, e.g. for
the manufacture of e.g. cement, concrete and/or asphalt
and/or for earthworks.
Fig. 2 presents a diagrammatic and simplified side view of
one sorting line, according to the invention, for granular
material, such as fly ash or corresponding waste material.
At the production site, e.g. in connection with a coal-
fired power station, cement factory or concrete factory,
are e.g. one or more silos functioning as a storage
location 2, in which is e.g. the fly ash, unsorted by grain
size, that is the input material 7. In addition, at the
production site are one or more silos functioning as a
storage location 3 for the sorted end product 9, in which
silo(s) is e.g. fly ash sorted by grain size, which is
CA 02970520 2017-06-09
WO 2016/071575 PCT/F12015/050769
9
loaded for different intended uses e.g. into a transport
vehicle 5 or into a cargo container by means of a loading
bellows 4.
The input material 7 is taken from its storage location 2
and transferred, e.g. by means of a conveyor 2a, to the
handling apparatus according to the invention that is in
the apparatus space 1, in which handling apparatus the
input material 7 is dry sorted and conducted after sorting
as fully sorted end product 9 to its storage location 3,
e.g. by means of the suction brought about by a suction
apparatus 6. Instead of a suction device 6, one or more
blower apparatuses can also be used, which is/are disposed
in the apparatus space 1.
One essential part of one embodiment of the invention is
the apparatus space 1 that is presented in more detail in
Fig. 3, for example, a large standard cargo container, a
plurality of modular structures, such as cargo containers
furnished at the manufacturer's factory with the device
structures needed, the modular structures being placed one
on top of another and/or one beside another and connected
to each other, from which an apparatus assembly is
composed, or some other corresponding protected space,
inside which the sorting apparatus, i.e.
handling
apparatus, of the input material 7 is pre-installed at the
factory of the apparatus manufacturer and in which also the
operating values of the sorting apparatus are pre-adjusted
and tested at the factory in such a way that the apparatus
functions in the desired manner and produces the sorted end
product 9 desired, which is stored in its own storage
location 3 at the production site before transportation to
the end user.
In the apparatus space 1 is, inter alia, an input 7a for
unsorted input material 7, a prescreen 10, a batcher 11, a
first classifier 15, a grinding device 19, a second
CA 02970520 2017-06-09
WO 2016/071575 PCT/F12015/050769
classifier 21, a product reservoir 26, a mixer 27 and a
classifying fan 28, with which suction in at least a part
of the conveying path of the input material 7 being sorted
is brought about, with which suction the input material 7
5 being sorted is transported in the apparatus.
The input material 7, e.g. fly ash, to be sorted is guided
along a feeder channel that is a part of the conveying path
first via the input 7a for the input material 7 to a
10 screening device functioning as a prescreen 10, in which
the overlarge and indeterminate particles are separated
from the fly ash and is conducted as the first fraction 1F
via the output 8 for material for removal as a material to
be separately classified, e.g. as a material for use in
earthworks. The apparatus comprises means for adjusting the
prescreen 10 according to e.g. grain size, angle of slope
and other desired criteria.
The granular material that has gone through the prescreen
10 drops as the second fraction 2F into a batcher 11, in
the bottom part of which is an injector 12 connected to the
suction duct 14, which injector is arranged to transfer the
fly ash to be sorted along the suction duct 14 to a first
classifier 15 via the input 16 of the classifier, which
input 16 is in the bottom part of the classifier 15, in
which case the incoming material flow travels upwards in
the classifier 15. A sound diffuser 13, for damping the
sounds produced by suction, is also connected to the
injector 12.
The first classifier 15 is e.g. a device functioning by
means of suction air, in which device the fly ash is
divided into two different fractions according to its grain
size, the smallest by grain size of which fractions, i.e.
the third fraction 3F, which is unground and contains
intact, essentially round fly ash grains, is conducted e.g.
along the suction duct 17, into a product reservoir 26 that
CA 02970520 2017-06-09
WO 2016/071575 PCT/F12015/050769
11
is inside the cargo container. Round grains, which are not
broken in the grinder device 19, are essentially important
in the end product because e.g. in cement they strengthen
the strength of the cement. In addition, the separation of
round grains from the material before
grinding
substantially reduces the energy needed for grinding.
Correspondingly, the fraction larger in grain size, i.e.
the fourth fraction 4F, is conducted with a suitable
conveyor arrangement 18 for size reduction to a grinding
device 19, e.g. a jet mill, from which the ground material
flow is conducted to a second classifier 21 by means of a
conveyor arrangement 20, to inside from the bottom part of
the classifier 21 and to flow upwards in the classifier 21.
If necessary, additional air 15a is used as an aid to the
functioning of the first classifier 15, by feeding said
additional air in from the side of the classifier 15.
With the second classifier 21 the material is again divided
into two fractions that are different in grain size, of
which the fraction of smaller grain size, i.e. the fifth
fraction 5F, is conducted onwards with the conveyor
arrangement 23 to a conveying means 24 and via it to a
mixer 27. Correspondingly, the fraction of larger grain
size, i.e. the sixth fraction 6F, is conducted from the
second classifier 21 with the conveyor arrangement 22 back
to the batcher 11 and via it again into the sorting
circulation of the apparatus. Alternatively, the fraction
6F that is larger in grain size can be conducted from the
second classifier 21 with a suitable conveyor arrangement
also directly back to the grinding device 19.
The input material 7 is e.g. >40 pm in grain size, and in
the prescreen 10 all indeterminate particles and particles
having a grain size larger than 40 um, including most of
the carbon particles to be removed, are taken out of it. In
this case preferably e.g. 2-6% carbon is removed from the
CA 02970520 2017-06-09
WO 2016/071575 PCT/F12015/050769
12
input material. The grain sizes referred to here are
maximum grain sizes. After the prescreen 10 the grain size,
i.e., particle size, of the material flow going to the
batcher 11 and to the first classifier 15, i.e. the second
fraction 2F, is smaller than 40 pm. If a prescreen 10 is
not used, the grain size can also be larger than 40 pm. The
smaller fraction leaving from the first classifier 15 along
the suction duct 17 into the product reservoir 26, i.e. the
third fraction 3F, is in this case e.g. <20 pm in grain
size and the material going on the conveyor arrangement 18
to the grinding device 19, i.e. the fourth fraction 4F, is
e.g. <40 pm.
The smaller fraction leaving from the second classifier 21
on the conveyor arrangement 23 to the conveying means 24,
i.e. the fifth fraction 5F, is e.g. <20 pm in grain size
and the larger fraction leaving back to the batcher 11 or
alternatively to the grinding device 19, i.e. the sixth
fraction 6F, is e.g. >20 pm in grain size. Finally, the
material coming via the conveyors 24 and 25 to the mixer 27
is here e.g. smaller in grain size than 20 pm, but there
are some differences in the composition of both different
fractions 3F and 5F. For example, the third fraction 3F is
unground and contains a large amount of round, unbroken fly
ash grains. For this reason the materials are further mixed
in the mixer 27 to become an end product 9 that is as
homogeneous as possible, which is transferred via the
injector 12 into the storage location 3 for the end product
9. Presented above is only an example of one adjustment in
size class according to the grain size of the material
being sorted. The maximum grain sizes of the material to be
sorted in the different phases of the sorting process can
also just as well be selected to be other than this.
Thus the final end product 9 sorted by grain size and by
composition is made in the mixer 27, to which is taken the
CA 02970520 2017-06-09
WO 2016/071575 PCT/F12015/050769
13
material sorted by grain size in the first classifier 15
from the product reservoir 26, e.g. via the aforementioned
conveyor 25, and also at the same time the material sorted
by grain size in the second classifier 21, e.g. via the
aforementioned conveyor 24, and which sorted materials are
mixed together by means of the mixer 27 and are also
transferred via the injector 12 that is in connection with
the mixer 27 by means of the suction apparatus 6 via the
output 9a for the sorted end product 9 out of the apparatus
space 1 and onwards to the storage location 3 of the sorted
product 9.
With the classifier fan 28 suction is brought about for the
conveying path of the input material 7 to be sorted, with
which suction the input material 7 to be sorted is
transported in the apparatus. The suction effect covers at
least the batcher 11 and the first classifier 15 as well as
the suction duct 14 between them and the suction duct 17
between the first classifier 15 and the product reservoir
26. The classifying fan 28 is in connection with the
aforementioned devices and the aforementioned suction ducts
via the suction duct 30 and product filter 30a. The blown
air of the classifying fan 28 is conducted out of the
apparatus space 1 via the air output 31.
In the apparatus space 1, in addition to the aforementioned
parts, devices and functions, is also at least one suction
connection/compressed air connection 32 as well as at least
one electricity network connection 33, via which the
apparatus space 1 and the devices therein can easily be
connected to local compressed air and/or suction air and to
a local electricity network. In addition, in the apparatus
space 1 is a control system la, which also comprises a
remote control arrangement. The remote control arrangement
of the control system la is adapted to enable remotely
controlled and remotely monitored apparatus functions, by
means of which the devices and functions of the apparatus
CA 02970520 2017-06-09
WO 2016/071575 PCT/F12015/050769
14
space 1 are made to function unmanned and in continuous
operation.
In addition, the control system la and apparatus space 1
have adjustment means for adjusting the operating values of
the apparatus in such a way that it is possible to adjust
by remote control which product is made when. In this case
e.g. one or more of the following is adjusted by remote
control: the air volume, the travel speed of the material,
the grinding power of the grinding device 19, the
throughput speed of the grinding device 19, the amount of
material going to the grinding device 19. The control
system is adapted to be used also locally, in which case
monitoring and all the necessary adjustments can be
performed also in the apparatus space 1 or in the vicinity
of it.
What is advantageous to the solution according to the
invention is that the products made by sorting from
granular waste material are stored in their reservoirs
sorted into products according to the essentially precisely
defined grain size desired, in which case the products are
easy to use in the application for which they are exactly
best suited, such as e.g. as an additive to cement for the
manufacture of concrete.
Fig. 4 presents a second sorting line, according to the
invention, for fly ash in a protected space 1, such as in
one or more containers of modular structure, located at the
production site. Many of the same device solutions as in
the solution presented by Fig. 3 have been used in the
solution according to Fig. 4. A difference now, however,
that the unground third fraction 3F containing an abundance
of unground, round fly ash particles and the ground fifth
fraction 5F are not mixed into each other in the apparatus
space 1, but instead only later, i.e. for example in
conjunction with placement into the storage location 3. In
CA 02970520 2017-06-09
WO 2016/071575 PCT/F12015/050769
this case from the apparatus space 1 two lines 9b and 9c
are led out, of which line 9b contains the third fraction
3F, comprising an abundance of unground and round fly ash
particles, and line 9c contains the fifth fraction 5F,
5 comprising ground fly ash particles that are coarser in
their granularity than the particles of fraction 3F. When
the grain size of the third fraction 3F is <20 pm, then the
grain size of the fifth fraction 5F is e.g. <35 pm.
10 The solution according to Fig. 4 differs from the solution
according to Fig. 3 in the progress of the process
essentially only after the classifiers 15, 21. In this case
a separate product reservoir 26 is not needed in the
apparatus space 1 but instead the third fraction 3F is
15 conducted through the filter 30a directly along the line 9b
into the product storage 3. Correspondingly, the fifth
fraction 5F is conducted through the filter 30b directly
along its own line 9c into the product storage 3. The third
fraction 3F and the fifth fraction 5F are mixed into each
other outside the apparatus space 1 with air in a mixer 6a,
which is disposed e.g. in connection with the product
storage 3.
Figs. 6-8 present a type of solution according to the
invention wherein the modular apparatus space 1 has been
assembled e.g. from apparatus assemblies built into
standard cargo containers. In this case the apparatus space
1 according to the embodiment is composed of four modules
C1-C4, preferably of cargo containers according to
standard, inside which containers the necessary apparatus
assemblies have been prefabricated at the manufacturer's
factory. In the first module Cl is e.g. an input 7a for the
unsorted input material 7, a suction duct 14, which is
arranged to convey the fly ash to be sorted, to the first
classifier 15 situated in the second module C2 via the
first throughput connection 14a, and the start end of the
output line 9b of the unground third fraction 3F, the
CA 02970520 2017-06-09
WO 2016/071575 PCT/F12015/050769
16
branch connector of which start end can be inside the
module Cl, as in Fig. 7, or outside module Cl, as in Fig.
6.
Correspondingly, in the second module C2, which is
preferably disposed on top of the module Cl, is a first
classifier 15, by means of which the second fraction 2F is
divided into the third fraction 3F and the fourth fraction
4F. In addition, in the second module are a suction duct
17a and the devices forming the suction or blowing pressure
needed in the arrangement, such as a classifying fan 28 or
corresponding devices, and a filter 30a through which the
third fraction 3F is conducted via a second throughput
connection 34 that is below the filter 30a to the start end
of the output line 9b that is in the first module Cl.
The throughput connections 14a and 34 are apertures, plus
associated fastening means and sealings, that are
prefabricated at the manufacturer's factory at suitable
points in the roof of the first module Cl and in the floor
of the second module C2. There can also be other
corresponding throughput connections between the modules Cl
and C2. For conducting the input material 7 onwards, for
example, if the input 7a for the input material 7 is
arranged e.g. in the roof of the second module C2.
The third module C3 is disposed beside the first module Cl
and in the third module C3 is disposed e.g. an input for
the coarser fraction separated in the first classifier 15,
i.e. for the fourth fraction 4F, a grinding device 19, such
as a ball mill, a conveyor arrangement 20 for transferring
the ground fourth fraction 4F to the second classifier 21
via the throughput connection 21a, and the start end of the
output line 9c of the ground and sorted fifth fraction 5F,
the branch connector of which start end can be inside the
module C3, as in Fig. 8, or outside module C3, as in Fig.
6. For the sake of clarity, neither the conveyor
CA 02970520 2017-06-09
WO 2016/071575 PCT/F12015/050769
17
arrangement 18 with which the fourth fraction 4F is
conducted to the grinding device 19 nor the conveyor
arrangement 20 are presented in more detail in Fig. 8, but
the conveyor arrangement 18 is e.g. brought from the module
Cl via the throughput connection 18a in the walls of the
modules Cl and C3 into the module C3.
Correspondingly, in the fourth module C4, which is
preferably disposed on top of the third module C3, is a
second classifier 21, by means of which the material is
again divided into two fractions that are different in
grain size, of which the fraction of smaller grain size,
i.e. the fifth fraction 5F, the grain size of which is
however larger than the grain size of the third fraction
3F, is conducted onwards with a conveyor arrangement 23a
based on suction or blowing to a filter 30b, through which
the fifth fraction 5F is conducted via a second throughput
connection 34 that is below the filter 30b to the start end
of the output line 9c that is in the third module C3. In
addition, in the fourth module C4 are the devices forming
the suction or blowing pressure needed in the arrangement,
such as a classifying fan 28 or corresponding devices as
well as an output line for conducting the sixth fraction 6F
back to the grinding device 19.
The throughput connections 14a and 34 are apertures, plus
associated fastening means and sealings, that are
prefabricated at the manufacturer's factory at suitable
points in the roof of the first module Cl and in the floor
of the second module C2. There can also be other
corresponding throughput connections between the modules Cl
and C2. For conducting the input material 7 onwards, for
example, if the input 7a for the input material 7 is
arranged e.g. in the roof of the second module C2.
In the method according to the invention the handling &
sorting apparatus, i.e. the apparatus space 1, for granular
CA 02970520 2017-06-09
WO 2016/071575 PCT/F12015/050769
18
material, such as fly ash, is assembled at the handling &
sorting site, i.e. the production site of the desired end
product, e.g. from the different modules C1-C4, which are
furnished to be ready for production in the factory that
manufactured the apparatus space 1, and which modules C1-C4
comprise different apparatus assemblies, and which are
arranged to be connected at the production site of the end
product by disposing the modules C1-C4 to be fitted
together with each other either one beside another and/or
one on top of another and by connecting the apparatus
assemblies via the throughput connections that are on the
roof, floor and walls of the modules, of which only the
throughput connections 14a, 18, 21a, 34 are presented in
Figs. 7 and 8.
Table 1 presents an extract from one test result, in which
fly ash was sorted with a test device of the type of the
method and of the apparatus according to the invention. In
it, Product 1 is essentially unsorted coarse input material
and Product 5 is the most fine-grained material of all.
Four different percentage by volume values are presented in
the vertical columns: D10, which corresponds to 10%; D50,
which corresponds to 50%; D97, which corresponds to 97%;
and D100, which corresponds to 100%. The decimal figures
presented in the columns are the grain sizes of the
material in micrometers (pm).
Volume % Volume % Volume % Volume %
Product 10 (D10) 50 (D50) 97 (D97) 100 (D100)
Product 1 1.82 pm 16.44 pm 99.16 pm 225.00 pm
Product 2 1.33 pm 7.54 pm 36.39 pm 71.00 pm
Product 3 0.90 pm 2.86 pm 13.94 pm 60.00 pm
Product 4 0.86 pm 1.98 pm 7.20 pm 50.00 pm
Product 5 0.84 pm 1.46 pm 2.85 pm 4.00 pm
CA 02970520 2017-06-09
WO 2016/071575 PCT/F12015/050769
19
Table 1
For example, if looking at the lowermost Product 5, it is
seen that in the sorting 100% of all the material has gone
through the screen, the aperture size of which is 4 pm,
i.e. in the sorted product the largest grain size is 4 pm.
Generally, however, a more important criterion is
considered to be a grain size with the value D97, which in
most cases is sufficient instead of D100, and the product
is usually evaluated with the value D50, with which the
average fineness of the grain size of the product is
determined. From Table 1 it is seen that the average
fineness D50 of Product 5 is thus 1.46 pm and more than 10%
of the product is of material having a grain size of below
1 pm, i.e. some of the product already belongs to the
nanometer scale in terms of its grain size.
The handling and sorting of fly ash and other usable waste
material into products of exactly a certain size in terms
of their grain size enables the inexpensive and appropriate
productive re-use of these products in different
applications, in which the use of materials not sorted in
this way could not earlier have been implemented. For
example, fly ash selected according to exactly the correct
grain size as an additive to cement used in concrete, among
other things, improves the quality of the concrete and
lowers the price of concrete and also reduces the
consumption of cement.
It is obvious to the person skilled in the art that
different embodiments of the invention are not limited to
the example described above, but that they may be varied
within the scope of the claims presented below. What is
essential is that a granular additive product, such as fly
ash or other material classified as waste, sorted by grain
size according to the intended use, is used, in which case
CA 02970520 2017-06-09
WO 2016/071575 PCT/F12015/050769
it is possible to know sufficiently precisely the grain
size of the aforementioned additive product.
It is further obvious to the person skilled in the art that
5 the process presented by the method according to the
invention can also be implemented with other apparatuses
than those presented above. Thus, for example, the
screening device in the apparatus space is not necessarily
needed in the apparatus and in the method, nor is a
10 grinding device. In this case the grain size sorting is
performed with only one classifier or with two or more
classifiers, which are e.g. consecutive to each other.
