A glass crusher provides for pulverization of
glass
Glass is a non-crystalline, often transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling ( quenching ...
to a yield size of or less.
Recycling
Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the p ...
operations may range from simple, manually-fed, self-contained machines to extravagant crushing systems complete with
screens
Screen or Screens may refer to:
Arts
* Screen printing (also called ''silkscreening''), a method of printing
* Big screen, a nickname associated with the motion picture industry
* Split screen (filmmaking), a film composition paradigm in which m ...
,
conveyors,
crushers and separators. All non-glass contaminants must generally be removed from the glass prior to recycling. The processes used in glass crushing for
recycling
Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the p ...
involves the same methods used by the
aggregate industry for crushing rock into sand (
rock crusher).
Vertical shaft impactor (VSI) glass crushing
The use of VSI crushers in large scale operations allow the production of up to 125 tons per hour
[()] of crushed glass
cullet
Glass recycling is the processing of waste glass into usable products. Glass that is crushed or imploded and ready to be remelted is called cullet. There are two types of cullet: internal and external. Internal cullet is composed of defective p ...
.
VSI
crushers use a high speed
rotor
Rotor may refer to:
Science and technology
Engineering
* Rotor (electric), the non-stationary part of an alternator or electric motor, operating with a stationary element so called the stator
*Helicopter rotor, the rotary wing(s) of a rotorcraft ...
with wear-resistant tips and a crushing chamber designed to 'throw' the glass against. The VSI crushers utilize
velocity
Velocity is the directional speed of an object in motion as an indication of its rate of change in position as observed from a particular frame of reference and as measured by a particular standard of time (e.g. northbound). Velocity i ...
rather than surface force as the predominant force to break glass as this allows the breaking force to be applied evenly both across the surface of the material as well as through the mass of the material. In its shattered state, glass has a jagged and uneven surface. Applying surface force (
pressure
Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country and e ...
) results in unpredictable and typically non-cubicle
particles
In the physical sciences, a particle (or corpuscule in older texts) is a small localized object which can be described by several physical or chemical properties, such as volume, density, or mass.
They vary greatly in size or quantity, from s ...
. As glass is 'thrown' by a VSI rotor against a solid
anvil, it fractures and breaks along
fissure
A fissure is a long, narrow crack opening along the surface of Earth. The term is derived from the Latin word , which means 'cleft' or 'crack'. Fissures emerge in Earth's crust, on ice sheets and glaciers, and on volcanoes.
Ground fissure
...
s. Final particle size can be controlled by 1) the velocity at which the glass is thrown against the anvil and 2) the distance between the end of the rotor and the impact point on the anvil. The product resulting from VSI crushing is generally of a consistent cubicle shape which may optimize yield in consumptive applications such as the fabrication of
fiberglass
Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass ( Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...
, ceramic ware, flux agents and
abrasives
An abrasive is a material, often a mineral, that is used to shape or finish a workpiece through rubbing which leads to part of the workpiece being worn away by friction. While finishing a material often means polishing it to gain a smooth, reflec ...
. Due to the highly abrasive nature of the glass material, a VSI crushing process is generally preferred over Horizontal Shaft Impact and most other crushing methods with higher maintenance and lower wear part lives.
VSI crushers generally utilize a high speed spinning rotor at the center of the crushing chamber and an outer impact surface of either abrasive resistant metal anvils or crushed glass (or rock in an aggregate applications). Utilizing cast metal surfaces '
anvils' are traditionally referred to as a "Shoe and Anvil VSI". Utilizing crushed material on the outer walls of the crusher for new material to be crushed against is traditionally referred to as "rock on rock VSI".
VSI Principle of Operation
Image:vsiwikif.gif, VSI Principal of Operation
References
{{reflist
External links
Glass crusher for glass bottles recycling- Info and Video in Cogelme site
Industrial equipment
Recycling