阅读说明：本技术 从湿式焚烧炉底灰中回收材料 (Recovery of material from wet incinerator bottom ash ) 是由 乔纳斯·博恩克 安德鲁·吉利斯 于 2019-12-09 设计创作，主要内容包括：公开了促进从输入的湿式焚烧炉底灰湿法回收高密度材料的方法。该方法包括在第一密度分离器处接收所述输入的湿式焚烧炉底灰；通过第一密度分离器从所述输入的湿式焚烧炉底灰中按密度分离第一高密度湿式焚烧炉底灰和第一低密度湿式焚烧炉底灰；使所述第一低密度湿式焚烧炉底灰流至第二密度分离器；以及通过第二密度分离器从所述第一低密度湿式焚烧炉底灰中按密度分离第二高密度湿式焚烧炉底灰和第二低密度焚烧炉底灰。还公开了系统和装置。(A method of facilitating wet recovery of high density material from imported wet incinerator bottom ash is disclosed. The method comprises receiving the input wet incinerator bottom ash at a first density separator; separating first high-density wet incinerator bottom ash and first low-density wet incinerator bottom ash by density from the input wet incinerator bottom ash through a first density separator; passing the first low density wet incinerator bottom ash to a second density separator; and separating second high-density wet type incinerator bottom ash and second low-density incinerator bottom ash by density from the first low-density wet type incinerator bottom ash through a second density separator. Systems and apparatus are also disclosed.)

1. A method of facilitating wet recovery of high density material from imported wet incinerator bottom ash, the method comprising:

receiving the input wet incinerator bottom ash at a first density separator;

density-separating first high-density wet incinerator bottom ash and first low-density wet incinerator bottom ash from the input wet incinerator bottom ash through the first density separator;

passing the first low density wet incinerator bottom ash to a second density separator; and

and separating second high-density wet type incinerator bottom ash and second low-density incinerator bottom ash from the first low-density wet type incinerator bottom ash by density through the second density separator.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

passing the first high density wet incinerator bottom ash to a third density separator; and

separating, by density, third high-density wet type incinerator bottom ash and third low-density wet type incinerator bottom ash from the first high-density wet type incinerator bottom ash through the third density separator.

3. A method according to claim 2, further comprising flowing the second high density wet incinerator bottom ash to a second high density wet incinerator bottom ash density separator for causing the second high density wet incinerator bottom ash density separator to density separate the contents of the second high density wet incinerator bottom ash.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein the third density separator is used as the second high density wet incinerator bottom ash density separator, and wherein flowing the second high density wet incinerator bottom ash to the second high density wet incinerator bottom ash density separator comprises flowing the second high density wet incinerator bottom ash to the third density separator for the third density separator to density separate the contents of the second high density wet incinerator bottom ash.

5. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4, further comprising flowing the third low density wet incinerator bottom ash to a third low density wet incinerator bottom ash density separator for causing the third low density wet incinerator bottom ash density separator to density separate the contents of the third low density wet incinerator bottom ash.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the second density separator serves as the third low density wet incinerator bottom ash density separator, and wherein flowing the third low density wet incinerator bottom ash to the third low density wet incinerator bottom ash density separator comprises flowing the third low density wet incinerator bottom ash to the second density separator for the second density separator to density separate contents of the third low density wet incinerator bottom ash.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the first density separator is used as the third low density wet incinerator bottom ash density separator, and wherein flowing the third low density wet incinerator bottom ash to the third low density wet incinerator bottom ash density separator comprises flowing the third low density wet incinerator bottom ash to the first density separator for the first density separator to density separate contents of the third low density wet incinerator bottom ash.

8. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 7, further comprising flowing the third high density wet incinerator bottom ash to a dehydrator for causing the dehydrator to remove water from the third high density wet incinerator bottom ash and recover metals.

9. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 8, wherein the first density separator separates less efficiently than the third density separator, such that a first low efficiency ratio of a flow rate of low-density solids in the first high-density wet incinerator bottom ash divided by a total flow rate of solids in the first high-density wet incinerator bottom ash is greater than a third low efficiency ratio of a flow rate of low-density solids in the third high-density wet incinerator bottom ash divided by a total flow rate of solids in the third low-density wet incinerator bottom ash.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the first low efficiency ratio is at least 5 times the third low efficiency ratio.

11. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 10, wherein the third density separator comprises a vibrating table, and wherein separating the third high density wet incinerator bottom ash and the third low density wet incinerator bottom ash from the first high density wet incinerator bottom ash comprises separating using the vibrating table.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the first density separator comprises a clamped gate density separator, and wherein separating the first high density wet incinerator bottom ash and the first low density wet incinerator bottom ash from the incoming wet incinerator bottom ash comprises separating using the clamped gate density separator.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the second density separator comprises a centrifugal concentrator, and wherein separating the second high density wet incinerator bottom ash and the second low density wet incinerator bottom ash from the first low density wet incinerator bottom ash comprises separating using the centrifugal concentrator.

14. The method of any one of claims 1-13, wherein receiving the input wet incinerator bottom ash comprises receiving the input wet incinerator bottom ash consisting of a suspension of fine incinerator bottom ash in a liquid, the fine incinerator bottom ash consisting of particles having a maximum diameter less than about 4mm threshold diameter.

15. The method of any one of claims 1 to 14, further comprising producing the input wet incinerator bottom ash from source incinerator bottom ash.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising incinerating an input material to produce the source incinerator bottom ash.

17. A system for facilitating wet recovery of high density material from incoming wet incinerator bottom ash, said system comprising:

a first density separator configured to receive the input wet incinerator bottom ash and to separate first high-density wet incinerator bottom ash and first low-density wet incinerator bottom ash by density from the input wet incinerator bottom ash;

a second density separator configured to receive the first low-density wet type incinerator bottom ash and to separate second high-density wet type incinerator bottom ash and second low-density wet type incinerator bottom ash by density from the first low-density wet type incinerator bottom ash.

18. The system of claim 17, further comprising:

a third density separator configured to receive the first high-density wet type incinerator bottom ash and to separate third high-density wet type incinerator bottom ash and third low-density wet type incinerator bottom ash by density from the first high-density wet type incinerator bottom ash.

19. The system of claim 18, further comprising a second high density wet incinerator bottom ash density separator configured to receive the second high density wet incinerator bottom ash and separate the contents of the second high density wet incinerator bottom ash by density.

20. The system according to claim 19, wherein said third density separator serves as said second high density wet incinerator bottom ash density separator, and wherein said third density separator is configured to receive said second high density wet incinerator bottom ash and to separate the contents of said second high density wet incinerator bottom ash by density.

21. The system of any one of claims 18 to 20, further comprising a third low density wet incinerator bottom ash density separator configured to receive said third low density wet incinerator bottom ash and to separate the contents of said third low density wet incinerator bottom ash by density.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the second density separator serves as the third low density wet incinerator bottom ash density separator, and wherein the second density separator is configured to receive the third low density wet incinerator bottom ash and to separate the contents of the third low density wet incinerator bottom ash by density.

23. The system of claim 21, wherein the first density separator serves as the third low density wet incinerator bottom ash density separator, and wherein the first density separator is configured to receive the third low density wet incinerator bottom ash and to separate the contents of the third low density wet incinerator bottom ash by density.

24. The system of any one of claims 18 to 23, further comprising a dehydrator configured to remove water and recover metals from the third high density wet incinerator bottom ash.

25. The system of any one of claims 18 to 24, wherein the first density separator is configured to separate less efficiently than the third density separator, such that a first low efficiency ratio of a flow rate of low density solids in the first high density wet incinerator bottom ash divided by a total flow rate of solids in the first high density wet incinerator bottom ash is greater than a third low efficiency ratio of a flow rate of low density solids in the third high density wet incinerator bottom ash divided by a total flow rate of solids in the third low density wet incinerator bottom ash.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein the first low efficiency ratio is at least 5 times the third low efficiency ratio.

27. The system of any one of claims 18 to 26, wherein the third density separator comprises a vibrating table.

28. The system of any one of claims 17 to 27, wherein the first density separator comprises a clamped gate density separator.

29. The system of any one of claims 17-28, wherein the second density separator comprises a centrifugal concentrator.

30. The system of any one of claims 17 to 29, wherein the input wet incinerator bottom ash consists of a suspension of fine incinerator bottom ash in a liquid, the fine incinerator bottom ash consisting of particles having a maximum diameter less than about 4mm threshold diameter.

31. The system of any one of claims 17 to 30, further comprising a wet incinerator bottom ash source configured to produce the input wet incinerator bottom ash from source incinerator bottom ash.

32. A system according to claim 31, further comprising an incinerator configured to incinerate an input material to produce the source incinerator bottom ash.

1. Field of the invention

Embodiments of the present invention relate to the recovery of materials or metals from wet incinerator bottom ash, and more particularly to the wet recovery of high density materials or metals from imported wet incinerator bottom ash.

2. Description of the related Art

Incinerator bottom ash is the residue of municipal and/or industrial waste incineration, whereby energy is generated in the form of heat or electricity, and valuable materials such as metals can be recovered and/or recycled therefrom. Some incinerator bottom ash treatment plants use treatment and filtration with the goal of recovering high density materials or metals. However, such an incinerator bottom ash treatment apparatus may not be able to recover various valuable high-density materials or metals from the incinerator bottom ash.

Background

Summary of The Invention

According to various embodiments, a method of facilitating wet recovery of high density material from imported wet incinerator bottom ash is provided. The method includes receiving input wet incinerator bottom ash at a first density separator; separating first high-density wet type incinerator bottom ash and first low-density wet type incinerator bottom ash from input wet type incinerator bottom ash according to density through a first density separator; flowing the first low-density wet incinerator bottom ash to a second density separator; and density-separating the second high-density wet type incinerator bottom ash and the second low-density incinerator bottom ash from the first low-density wet type incinerator bottom ash by a second density separator.

The method may include flowing the first high-density wet type incinerator bottom ash to a third density separator, and density-separating the third high-density wet type incinerator bottom ash and the third low-density wet type incinerator bottom ash from the first high-density wet type incinerator bottom ash through the third density separator.

The method may comprise flowing the second high-density wet incinerator bottom ash to a second high-density wet incinerator bottom ash density separator for causing the second high-density wet incinerator bottom ash density separator to density separate contents of the second high-density wet incinerator bottom ash.

The third density separator may serve as a second high-density wet type incinerator bottom ash density separator, and flowing the second high-density wet type incinerator bottom ash to the second high-density wet type incinerator bottom ash density separator may include flowing the second high-density wet type incinerator bottom ash to the third density separator for causing the third density separator to density-separate the contents of the second high-density wet type incinerator bottom ash.

The method may comprise flowing the third low-density wet incineration furnace bottom ash to a third low-density wet incineration furnace bottom ash density separator for causing the third low-density wet incineration furnace bottom ash density separator to separate the content of the third low-density wet incineration furnace bottom ash by density.

The second density separator may serve as a third low-density wet type incinerator bottom ash density separator, and flowing the third low-density wet type incinerator bottom ash to the third low-density wet type incinerator bottom ash density separator may include flowing the third low-density wet type incinerator bottom ash to the second density separator for causing the second density separator to density-separate contents of the third low-density wet type incinerator bottom ash.

The first density separator may serve as a third low-density wet type incinerator bottom ash density separator, and flowing the third low-density wet type incinerator bottom ash to the third low-density wet type incinerator bottom ash density separator may include flowing the third low-density wet type incinerator bottom ash to the first density separator for causing the first density separator to density-separate contents of the third low-density wet type incinerator bottom ash.

The method may include flowing the third high-density wet incinerator bottom ash to a dehydrator for the dehydrator to remove water from the third high-density wet incinerator bottom ash and recover the metal.

The first density separator may separate with lower efficiency than the third density separator, such that a first low efficiency ratio of a flow rate of the low-density solids in the first high-density wet incinerator bottom ash divided by a total flow rate of the solids in the first high-density wet incinerator bottom ash is greater than a third low efficiency ratio of a flow rate of the low-density solids in the third high-density wet incinerator bottom ash divided by a total flow rate of the solids in the third low-density wet incinerator bottom ash.

The first low efficiency ratio may be at least 5 times greater than the third low efficiency ratio.

The third density separator may include a vibration table, and separating the third high-density wet incineration bottom ash and the third low-density wet incineration bottom ash from the first high-density wet incineration bottom ash may include separating using the vibration table.

The first density separator may include a clamped sluice density separator, and separating the first high-density wet incinerator bottom ash and the first low-density wet incinerator bottom ash from the input wet incinerator bottom ash may include separating using the clamped sluice density separator.

The second density separator may include a centrifugal concentrator, and the separating the second high-density wet incineration bottom ash and the second low-density wet incineration bottom ash from the first low-density wet incineration bottom ash may include separating using the centrifugal concentrator.

Receiving input wet incinerator bottom ash may include receiving input wet incinerator bottom ash consisting of a suspension of fine incinerator bottom ash in a liquid, the fine incinerator bottom ash consisting of particles having a maximum diameter less than about 4mm threshold diameter.

The method may include generating input wet incinerator bottom ash from source incinerator bottom ash.

The method may include incinerating an input material to produce source incinerator bottom ash.

According to various embodiments, there is provided a system for facilitating wet recovery of high density material from incoming wet incinerator bottom ash, the system comprising a first density separator configured to receive incoming wet incinerator bottom ash and to density separate first high density wet incinerator bottom ash and first low density wet incinerator bottom ash from the incoming wet incinerator bottom ash; a second density separator configured to receive the first low-density wet type incinerator bottom ash and to separate second high-density wet type incinerator bottom ash and second low-density wet type incinerator bottom ash by density from the first low-density wet type incinerator bottom ash.

The system may include a third density separator configured to receive the first high-density wet incinerator bottom ash and to density-separate third high-density wet incinerator bottom ash and third low-density wet incinerator bottom ash from the first high-density wet incinerator bottom ash.

The system may include a second high-density wet incinerator bottom ash density separator configured to receive the second high-density wet incinerator bottom ash and separate the contents of the second high-density wet incinerator bottom ash by density.

The third density separator may serve as a second high-density wet type incinerator bottom ash density separator, and the third density separator may be configured to receive the second high-density wet type incinerator bottom ash and separate the contents of the second high-density wet type incinerator bottom ash by density.

The system may include a third low-density wet incinerator bottom ash density separator configured to receive the third low-density wet incinerator bottom ash and separate the contents of the third low-density wet incinerator bottom ash by density.

The second density separator may serve as a third low-density wet type incinerator bottom ash density separator, and the second density separator may be configured to receive the third low-density wet type incinerator bottom ash and to density-separate the contents of the third low-density wet type incinerator bottom ash.

The first density separator may serve as a third low-density wet type incinerator bottom ash density separator, and the first density separator may be configured to receive the third low-density wet type incinerator bottom ash and to density-separate the contents of the third low-density wet type incinerator bottom ash.

The system may include a dehydrator configured to remove water and recover metals from the third high density wet incinerator bottom ash.

The first density separator may be configured to separate less efficiently than the third density separator, such that a first low efficiency ratio of a flow rate of the low-density solids in the first high-density wet incinerator bottom ash divided by a total flow rate of the solids in the first high-density wet incinerator bottom ash is greater than a third low efficiency ratio of a flow rate of the low-density solids in the third high-density wet incinerator bottom ash divided by a total flow rate of the solids in the third low-density wet incinerator bottom ash.

The first low efficiency ratio may be at least 5 times greater than the third low efficiency ratio.

The third density separator may comprise a vibrating table.

The first density separator may comprise a clamped gate density separator.

The second density separator may comprise a centrifugal concentrator.

The fed wet incinerator bottom ash may consist of a suspension of fine incinerator bottom ash in a liquid, the fine incinerator bottom ash consisting of particles having a maximum diameter of less than about 4mm threshold diameter.

The system can include a wet incinerator bottom ash source configured to generate input wet incinerator bottom ash from source incinerator bottom ash.

The system may include an incinerator configured to incinerate an input material to produce source incinerator bottom ash.

Other aspects and features of embodiments of the present invention will become apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the following description of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying figures.

Brief Description of Drawings

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system for facilitating wet recovery of high density materials from incoming wet incinerator bottom ash, according to various embodiments;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a system for facilitating wet recovery of high density materials from incoming wet incinerator bottom ash, according to various embodiments;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a system for facilitating wet recovery of high density materials from incoming wet incinerator bottom ash, according to various embodiments; and

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a system for facilitating wet recovery of high density materials from incoming wet incinerator bottom ash, according to various embodiments;

Detailed Description

The incineration of municipal and/or industrial waste can result in the generation of energy in the form of heat or electricity and the production of incinerator bottom ash from which valuable metals can be recovered and/or recycled. In various embodiments, incineration may be performed, for example, in a grate, rotary kiln, and/or fluidized bed incinerator, and the incinerator bottom ash resulting from the incineration may be discharged by wet cooling quenching to produce a waste stream or wet incinerator bottom ash. The incinerator bottom ash may include, for example, inorganic (mineral or vitreous) substances, organic (unburned) substances, and metals. The quality of the waste stream may be significantly reduced (e.g., by more than 60%) compared to imported municipal and/or industrial waste, which may result in a high metal concentration (e.g., more than about 10 mass%) in the incinerator bottom ash.

In various embodiments, it may be desirable to recover high density materials or solids, such as metals, from the incinerator bottom ash so that the recovered materials may be sold and/or recycled. For example, municipal and industrial waste from modern society may contain significant levels of valuable materials such as iron-containing materials, aluminum, copper, stainless steel, zinc, brass, gold, silver, platinum and other valuable precious and base metals. In various embodiments, provided herein are embodiments for facilitating the recovery of valuable metals of fine particle size (e.g., 0-4mm, 0-2mm, and/or 0-1mm), which previously would have been considered non-recoverable. This may be particularly desirable in today's first world disuse society, where more and more precious metals may be found in fine incinerator bottom ash, primarily traced back to electronics and jewelry.

Referring to fig. 1, a schematic diagram of a system 10 for facilitating wet recovery of high density material from incoming wet incinerator bottom ash is shown, according to various embodiments. In various embodiments, the system 10 can be used, for example, to recover valuable high-density materials, such as metals, from incoming wet incinerator bottom ash. In some embodiments, the system 10 shown in fig. 1 and the following description may illustrate the operation of a general embodiment of the present invention, which may be applied to other systems disclosed herein.

Referring to fig. 1, the system 10 may include a first density separator 12 and a second density separator 14. The first density separator 12 may be configured to receive the input wet incinerator bottom ash and to separate the first high-density wet incinerator bottom ash and the first low-density wet incinerator bottom ash by density from the input wet incinerator bottom ash. In some embodiments, wet incinerator bottom ash can be separated into streams. Referring to fig. 1, the first density separation 12 may include an input 120 in fluid communication with a source of wet incinerator bottom ash for receiving wet incinerator bottom ash. In some embodiments, the first density separator 12 may serve as an initial density separator and may be configured to separate and/or treat a large volume of wet incinerator bottom ash to allow one or more subsequent density separators to operate more efficiently and/or cost-effectively on outgoing wet incinerator bottom ash.

Referring to fig. 1, the first density separator 12 may include a high-density wet-type flow output terminal 122 and a low-density wet-type flow output terminal 124 for outputting first high-density wet-type incinerator bottom ash and first low-density wet-type incinerator bottom ash, respectively, separated from input wet-type incinerator bottom ash.

Referring to fig. 1, the output 124 of the first density separator 12 may be in fluid communication with the input 140 of the second density separator 14 such that the second density separator 14 is configured to receive the first low density wet incinerator bottom ash via the input 140.

The second density separator 14 may be configured to density-separate the second high-density wet incinerator bottom ash and the second low-density wet incinerator bottom ash from the first low-density wet incinerator bottom ash. Referring to fig. 1, in various embodiments, the second density separation 14 may include a high density wet stream output 142 and a low density wet stream output 144 for outputting second high density wet incinerator bottom ash and second low density wet incinerator bottom ash, respectively.

In operation, the input wet incinerator bottom ash may be received at the first density separator 12, and the first density separator 12 may density-separate the first high-density wet incinerator bottom ash and the first low-density wet incinerator bottom ash from the input wet incinerator bottom ash. The first low-density wet incinerator bottom ash may be caused to flow to the second density separator 14 via the output end 124 of the first density separator 12, and the second density separator 14 may density-separate the second high-density wet incinerator bottom ash and the second low-density wet incinerator bottom ash from the first low-density wet incinerator bottom ash. In various embodiments, the material contained in the second high-density wet incinerator bottom ash may be recovered and/or recycled. In some embodiments, the output 142 of the second density separator 14 may be in fluid communication with a water separator, for example, to remove water from wet incinerator bottom ash and leave a high density recovery material, which may comprise the desired metal in various embodiments.

In various embodiments, the first density separator 12 may be configured to remove a majority of the high density material from the incoming wet incinerator bottom ash such that the second density separator 14 does not need to process the high density material. In some embodiments, this combination of first density separator 12 and second density separator 14 may result in high flux rates and high accuracy in separating high density materials from the input wet incinerator bottom ash. In some embodiments, the use of two-stage density separation by using the first density separator 12 and the second density separator 14 may allow for greater throughput speed and greater accuracy in separating high density materials or metals from the incoming wet incinerator bottom ash than, for example, may be possible using size separation and single stage density separation.

In some embodiments, the first high density wet incinerator bottom ash flowing from the output 122 of the first density separator 12 shown in fig. 1 may be dewatered and the high density materials and/or metals therein may be recovered, and in these embodiments, the third density separator shown in fig. 1 may be omitted from the system.

In other embodiments, the first high-density wet incinerator bottom ash may be further treated/separated. For example, referring to fig. 1, in some embodiments, the system 10 may include a third density separator 16, the third density separator 16 configured to receive the first high density wet incinerator bottom ash and to density separate the third high density wet incinerator bottom ash and the third low density wet incinerator bottom ash from the first high density wet incinerator bottom ash. The third density separator 16 may include an input 160 in fluid communication with the output 122 of the first density separator. The third density separator 16 may include a high-density wet-flow output terminal 162 and a low-density wet-flow output terminal 164 for outputting third high-density wet incinerator bottom ash and third low-density wet incinerator bottom ash, respectively.

In operation, the first high-density wet incinerator bottom ash may be caused to flow to the third density separator 16 via the output 122 of the first density separator 12, and the third density separator 16 may density-separate the third high-density wet incinerator bottom ash and the third low-density wet incinerator bottom ash from the first high-density wet incinerator bottom ash.

In various embodiments, the material contained in the third high-density wet incinerator bottom ash may be recovered and/or recycled. In some embodiments, the output 162 of the third density separator 16 may be in fluid communication with a dehydrator, e.g., for removing water from incinerator bottom ash and retaining high density recovery material.

In various embodiments, the first density separator 12 may be configured to remove a majority of the low density material such that the third density separator 16 does not need to process a lot of the low density material. In various embodiments, this can result in high throughput, high efficiency, or high accuracy, and reduce the cost of separating high density materials from wet incinerator bottom ash.

In various embodiments, because the system 10 is configured to use multi-stage density separation of wet incinerator bottom ash, this can provide various benefits, for example, when compared to treatment of dry incinerator bottom ash and/or treatment using single-stage density separation. For example, in some embodiments, because the system 10 is configured to treat wet incinerator bottom ash, the system 10 may be used to freshly incinerate bottom ash, and this may result in higher metal recovery, reduced dust emissions, avoidance of aging periods (4 to 6 weeks) and associated storage space for wet emission incinerator bottom ash required prior to treatment, and/or other benefits. In some embodiments, the multi-stage density separation facilitated by system 10 may allow for faster and more accurate separation of high density materials and/or metals from incoming wet incinerator bottom ash.

In some embodiments, the system 10 may include aspects for further processing wet incinerator bottom ash. For example, in some embodiments, the separated stream of incinerator bottom ash may be further separated and/or sent back to one or more of the first density separator 12, the second density separator 14, and the third density separator 16. In various embodiments, such further processing and/or feedback may facilitate accurate and efficient separation of high density materials or metals from wet incinerator bottom ash.

Referring now to fig. 2, a system 180 for facilitating wet recovery of high density material from incoming wet incinerator bottom ash is shown, according to various embodiments. The system 180 includes a first density separator 182, a second density separator 184, and a third density separator 186, the first, second, and third density separators 182, 184, 186 functioning substantially similarly to the first, second, and third density separators 12, 14, 16 of the system 10 described above. In various embodiments, the system 180 may also include an incinerator 188, a wet incinerator bottom ash source 190, and a dehydrator 191.

In some embodiments, the incinerator 188 may be configured to incinerate imported materials such as municipal and/or industrial waste to produce source incinerator bottom ash 192. For example, in some embodiments, the incinerator 188 can include a grate, rotary kiln, and/or fluidized bed incinerator, and the incinerator bottom ash resulting from incineration can be discharged by wet cooling quenching to produce a waste stream.

The wet incinerator bottom ash source 190 may be configured to produce input wet incinerator bottom ash from source incinerator bottom ash 192. In some embodiments, the wet incinerator bottom ash source may include a wet attrition scrubber configured to receive the source incinerator bottom ash 192 and break up the accumulated ash/cake. The wet incinerator bottom ash source 190 may further include a screen or a size classifying means for separating fine incinerator bottom ash particles from the incinerator bottom ash and only the fine incinerator bottom ash particles are contained in the wet incinerator bottom ash supplied to the first density separator 12. For example, in some embodiments, the screen may be configured to size separate particles from the incinerator bottom ash to produce a fine slag wet stream of incinerator bottom ash that may be used as input wet incinerator bottom ash received by the first density separator 182. In various embodiments, some or all of the functionality provided by the wet incinerator bottom ash source 190 may be incorporated into the incinerator 188.

In some embodiments, the wet incinerator bottom ash source 190 can be configured to generate input wet incinerator bottom ash so that it consists of a suspension of fine incinerator bottom ash in liquid or water, the fine incinerator bottom ash consisting of particles having a maximum diameter less than a threshold diameter. The threshold diameter may be selected such that particles having a diameter smaller than the threshold diameter may be particularly difficult to separate by density using dry separation. In some embodiments, the threshold diameter may be selected by the efficiency of dry processing techniques (e.g., vortex separators or optical sorters) of small particle size. In some embodiments, as the particle size decreases, the efficiency may decrease, and 4mm may be a detrimental economic point for dry metal recovery. Thus, in some embodiments, the threshold diameter may be about 4 mm. In some embodiments, the threshold diameter may be about 2mm to about 4 mm.

In various embodiments, the wet incinerator bottom ash source 190 can be configured to add water to the incinerator bottom ash such that the resultant input wet incinerator bottom ash comprises about 40 wt.% solids and 60 wt.% water. In some embodiments, the solids contained in the incinerator bottom ash may include, for example, 44% minerals, 37% slag, 15% metals, and 4% organics. In some embodiments, the wet incinerator bottom ash source 190 can be configured to provide, for example, about 8 tons/hour (solids) of input wet incinerator bottom ash. In some embodiments, other flow rates of the incoming wet incinerator bottom ash may be provided, for example, a higher flow rate of about 40 tons/hour (solids). In various embodiments, the system 180 may include a pump, pump box or reservoir, and/or piping for pumping wet incinerator bottom ash from the wet incinerator bottom ash source 190 to the first density separator 182. For example, in some embodiments, the pump may be implemented as a peristaltic pump or a centrifugal pump.

The first density separator 182 shown in fig. 2 may be configured to receive input incinerator bottom ash via an input 200 of the first density separator 182 in fluid communication with a wet incinerator bottom ash source 190. In some embodiments, the first density separator 182 may comprise a clamped gate density separator. In these embodiments, receiving input wet incinerator bottom ash can include receiving input wet incinerator bottom ash at a clamped sluice density separator input. In some embodiments, the use of a clamped gate as the first density separator 182 may provide advantages, such as, for example, facilitating handling of high input flow rates by the system 180, allowing for widely variable selectivity ratios, which may be defined as the ratio of the flow rate of solids in high density wet incinerator bottom ash divided by the flow rate of solids in low density wet incinerator bottom ash, and/or work well with typical incinerator bottom ash mixed particle shapes, which may include, for example, spheres, wires, and the like. In some embodiments, the clamped gate can be configured to receive and process high flow rates, such as 8 tons/hour of solids.

The first density separator 182 may be configured to density-separate the first high-density wet incinerator bottom ash and the first low-density wet incinerator bottom ash from the input wet incinerator bottom ash. As described above, in some embodiments, the first density separator 182 may comprise a clamped sluice density separator, and thus separating the input wet incinerator bottom ash may comprise a clamped sluice density separator that separates the first high density wet incinerator bottom ash and the first low density wet incinerator bottom ash from the input wet incinerator bottom ash. In various embodiments, the first density separator 182 may be configured to output the first high density wet incinerator bottom ash from the high density wet stream output 202 of the first density separator 182 and the first low density wet incinerator bottom ash from the low density wet stream output 204 of the first density separator 182.

In some embodiments, the first density separator 182 may be configured to separate the first high-density wet incinerator bottom ash and the first low-density wet incinerator bottom ash such that the first high-density wet incinerator bottom ash comprises metallic solids (e.g., solids having a Specific Gravity (SG) of 3.0 or greater) and the first low-density wet incinerator bottom ash comprises solids that may not be metallic (e.g., solids having a SG of less than 3.0). In some embodiments, the cutter used as the pinch gate of the first density separator 182 may be adjustable to vary the mass yield for the concentrate. In some embodiments, the first density separator 182 may be configured to provide about a 13 mass% yield to the concentrate/heavy stream. For example, in some embodiments, the first high-density wet incinerator bottom ash may be delivered at a solids output of about 1 ton/hour, and the first low-density wet incinerator bottom ash may be delivered at a solids output of about 7 tons/hour.

In some embodiments, the first density separator 182 may be configured such that a first low efficiency ratio, defined as the flow rate of the low density solids in the first high density wet incinerator bottom ash divided by the total flow rate of the solids in the first high density wet incinerator bottom ash, is associated therewith. For example, in some embodiments, the first density separator 182 may be configured to separate metallic solids (e.g., solids having a SG of 3.0 or greater) into a first high density wet incinerator bottom ash and non-metallic solids (e.g., solids having a SG of less than 3.0) into a first low density wet incinerator bottom ash, although such separation may not be perfect, and thus the first high density wet incinerator bottom ash may contain some low density solids having a SG of less than 3.0. For example, in some embodiments, the first high density wet incinerator bottom ash output by the first density separator can comprise a flow rate of low density solids of 0.75 tons/hour out of a total flow rate of solids of 1.0 tons/hour. In these embodiments, the low efficiency ratio of the first density separator may be about 75%.

In some embodiments, the first low efficiency ratio may be relatively high compared to the low efficiency ratio of the third density separator 186, for example, as discussed in further detail below. In various embodiments, this relatively high low efficiency ratio may allow the first density separator 182 to be manufactured using low cost devices/systems, and/or so that it can handle high flow rates.

In some embodiments, the use of a clamped gate as the first density separator 182 may facilitate high capacity relative to cost, despite having a high low efficiency ratio, which is acceptable for the first density separator 182 according to various embodiments disclosed herein.

In various embodiments, the system 180 may include one or more flow controllers, such as a pump and a set of pipes arranged to pump the first low density wet incinerator bottom ash to the second density separator 184.

The second density separator 184 may be configured to receive the first low-density wet incinerator bottom ash and to density-separate the second high-density wet incinerator bottom ash and the second low-density wet incinerator bottom ash from the first low-density wet incinerator bottom ash. In various embodiments, the second density separator 184 may include one or more centrifugal concentrator density separators configured to separate the second high-density wet incinerator bottom ash and the second low-density wet incinerator bottom ash from the first low-density wet incinerator bottom ash. The centrifugal concentrator may be configured to output the second high density wet incinerator bottom ash via the high density wet stream output 208 of the second density separator 184 and the second low density wet incinerator bottom ash via the low density wet stream output 210 of the second density separator 184And (5) incinerating bottom ash. In some embodiments, for example, the second density separator 184 can include two parallel-acting centrifugal concentrators, such as a Sepro^TMTwo Falcon concentrators (Falcon concentrators).

In some embodiments, the second density separator 184 may be configured to separate the second high-density wet incinerator bottom ash and the second low-density wet incinerator bottom ash such that the second high-density wet incinerator bottom ash contains metallic solids (e.g., solids having a Specific Gravity (SG) of 3.0 or greater) and the second low-density wet incinerator bottom ash contains solids that may not be metallic (e.g., solids having a SG of less than 3.0). In some embodiments, the second density separator 184 may be configured to process flow rates of the first and third low density wet incinerator bottom ash (as described below) at its input, which together may comprise about 7.8 tons/hour of solids.

In some embodiments, the second density separator 184 may be configured to provide about a 0.64 mass% yield to the concentrate/heavy stream. For example, in some embodiments, the second high density wet incinerator bottom ash may be delivered at a solids output of about 0.05 tons/hour and the second low density wet incinerator bottom ash may be delivered at a solids output of about 7.75 tons/hour. In various embodiments using centrifugal concentrators, about 60-100Gs may be applied to the incoming first low density wet incinerator bottom ash to facilitate separation.

In some embodiments, one or more centrifugal concentrators may be included in the second density separator, as this type of density separator may facilitate efficient metal recovery at low selectivity ratios as long as there is not too much metal in the input stream/feed. In some embodiments, it may be advantageous to use a centrifugal concentrator after the clamped gate because the clamped gate removes a large portion of the easily recoverable metal, and the centrifugal concentrator may be configured to concentrate on very fine metal particles that the recovery/separation clamped gate cannot selectively recover/separate.

In various embodiments, the second low-density wet incinerator bottom ash can be discarded. In some embodiments, the output 210 of the second density separator may be in fluid communication with a waste container, which may be filled and periodically emptied at a waste site (e.g., a landfill site). In some embodiments, the second low-density wet incinerator bottom ash can be dewatered using a filter press or a dewatering centrifuge. The resulting dehydrated product can then be sent to a landfill or can be used as a building material because the heavy metal materials/metals have been removed.

In various embodiments, in system 180, the second high-density wet incinerator bottom ash can be the subject of further separation or treatment, as will be discussed in further detail below.

Still referring to fig. 2, the first high density wet incinerator bottom ash from the output 202 of the first density separator may flow to the input 212 of the third density separator 186. In various embodiments, the system 180 may include one or more flow controllers, such as a set of pipes arranged such that gravity causes the first high density wet incinerator bottom ash to flow to the third density separator 186. In some embodiments, it may be desirable to use gravity flow control to treat the flow of high density and/or coarse particles included in the first high density wet incinerator bottom ash. In some embodiments, the flow controller may additionally or alternatively comprise one or more pumps and/or reservoirs or pump tanks.

The third density separator 186 may be configured to receive the first high-density wet incinerator bottom ash and to density-separate the third high-density wet incinerator bottom ash and the third low-density wet incinerator bottom ash from the first high-density wet incinerator bottom ash. In various embodiments, the third density separator 186 may include a vibrating table, such as the Holman 8000 vibrating table manufactured by Holman-Wilfley, configured to separate the third high density wet incinerator bottom ash and the third low density wet incinerator bottom ash from the first high density wet incinerator bottom ash. The vibratory table may be configured to output the third high density wet incinerator bottom ash via the high density wet flow output 214 of the third density separator 186 and the third low density wet incinerator bottom ash via the low density wet flow output 216 of the third density separator.

In some embodiments, the third density separator 186 may be configured to separate the third high-density wet incinerator bottom ash and the third low-density wet incinerator bottom ash such that the third high-density wet incinerator bottom ash includes metallic solids (e.g., solids having a Specific Gravity (SG) of 3.0 or greater) and the third low-density wet incinerator bottom ash includes solids that may not be metallic (e.g., solids having a SG of less than 3.0). In some embodiments, the third density separator 186 may be configured to process the flow rates of the first and second high density wet incinerator bottom ash at its input 212, which may, for example, comprise about 1 ton/hour of solids. In some embodiments, the third density separator 186 may be configured such that the third high density wet incinerator bottom ash comprises about 0.05 tons/hour of solids and the third low density wet incinerator bottom ash comprises about 1.0 tons/hour of solids.

In some embodiments, the use of a vibratory table in the third density separator 186 can facilitate the production of a clean metal concentrate in the third high density wet incinerator bottom ash that contains very little low density waste. In some embodiments, the vibratory table may be capable of separation at relatively low flow rates/capacities, but may be used as the third density separator 186 because the first density separator has performed an initial separation that removes a majority of the low density material included in the incoming wet incinerator bottom ash, such that only a low capacity is required for the third density separator.

In various embodiments, material from the third high-density wet incinerator bottom ash may be recovered and/or stored. In some embodiments, the output 214 of the third density separator may be in fluid communication with a water separator 191, and the water separator 191 may be configured to remove water from wet incinerator bottom ash and store the remaining material in a recovery vessel, which may be periodically emptied and/or sold. In some embodiments, the dehydrator 191 may comprise a tank or container that allows for overflow, thereby removing water via the overflow water. In some embodiments, the dehydrator may include a fiber bag or a filter for dehydrating the third high density wet type incinerator bottom ash.

In various embodiments, the system 180 may include one or more flow controllers, such as a set of pipes arranged such that gravity flows the third high density wet incinerator bottom ash to the dehydrator 191 for the dehydrator to remove water from the third high density wet incinerator bottom ash and recover metals.

In various embodiments, the third low density wet incinerator bottom ash from the output 216 of the third density separator 186 can be the subject of further processing in the system 180, as will be discussed in further detail below.

In some embodiments, the third density separator 186 may be configured to have a third low efficiency ratio, which is defined as the flow rate of the low density solids in the third high density wet incinerator bottom ash divided by the total flow rate of the solids in the third low density wet incinerator bottom ash. In some embodiments, the first density separator 182 may be configured to separate less efficiently than the third density separator 186. Thus, in some embodiments, the third low efficiency ratio of the third density separator 186 may be less than the first low efficiency ratio of the first density separator 182. In various embodiments, the difference in efficiency between the first density separator and the third density separator may facilitate rapid, accurate, and/or efficient separation and/or removal of high density materials from the incinerator bottom ash. For example, the first density separator 182 may process a large flow rate of incinerator bottom ash and remove a large flow rate of low density material, but may operate relatively inefficiently, allowing the third density separator 186 to be configured to focus on high efficiency in the separation/treatment of small flow rate of incinerator bottom ash.

In some embodiments, the first low efficiency ratio may be at least 5 times greater than the third low efficiency ratio, and this may facilitate rapid, accurate, and/or efficient separation and/or removal of high density materials from the incinerator bottom ash. In some embodiments, for example, the first low efficiency ratio may be at least 35 times greater than the third low efficiency ratio. For example, in some embodiments, the third high density wet incinerator bottom ash output by the third density separator 186 may include a flow rate of low density solids of 0.001 ton/hr out of a total flow rate of solids of 0.05 ton/hr, such that the third low efficiency ratio may be about 2%. In various embodiments, as described above, the first low efficiency ratio may be about 75%, and thus in various embodiments, the first low efficiency ratio may be about 37.5 times the third low efficiency ratio.

In some embodiments, using a vibratory table as the third density separator 186 may facilitate a low efficiency ratio that may be desirable for the third density separator, as the vibratory table may generally function well at low efficiency ratios.

As described above, in various embodiments, the second high density wet incinerator bottom ash from the output 208 of the second density separator 184 can be further processed. In some embodiments, for example, the second high-density wet incinerator bottom ash may be flowed to a second high-density wet incinerator bottom ash density separator for causing the second high-density wet incinerator bottom ash density separator to density separate the contents of the second high-density wet incinerator bottom ash. This facilitates further consideration and/or density separation of the process material that is first classified or separated into a low density material by the first density separator 182 and then classified or separated into a high density material by the second density separator 184. In various embodiments, such further processing may be beneficial because materials that have been classified as low density by the first density separator 182 and high density by the second density separator 184 may have properties that make accurate and/or rapid density separation difficult.

In some embodiments, the third density separator 186 may be used as the second high density wet incinerator bottom ash density separator. In these embodiments, the system 180 may be configured to flow the second high density wet incinerator bottom ash to the third density separator 186 to cause the third density separator to density separate the contents of the second high density wet incinerator bottom ash.

For example, in some embodiments, the output 208 of the second density separator 184 may be in fluid communication with the input 212 of the third density separator 186 via a set of pipes and one or more pumps and/or pump tanks or reservoirs configured to flow the second high density wet incinerator bottom ash from the output 208 of the second density separator 184 to the input 212 of the third density separator 186. The third density separator 186 may be configured to receive the second high-density wet incinerator bottom ash and separate the wet incinerator bottom ash by density.

In some embodiments, the input 212 of the third density separator 186 may receive a mixture of both the first high density wet incinerator bottom ash from the first density separator 182 and the second high density wet incinerator bottom ash from the second density separator 184, and the third density separator 186 may separate the third high density wet incinerator bottom ash and the third low density wet incinerator bottom ash from the received mixture. For example, in some embodiments, the system 180 may include a pump box or reservoir in fluid communication with the output 208 of the second density separator 184 and the output 202 of the first density separator 182. In operation, the pump box may be filled and mixed with wet incinerator bottom ash from outputs 202 and 208, and the pump may stream the contents of the pump box to input 212 of third density separator 186.

In some embodiments, it may be desirable to use the third density separator 186 as a second high density wet incinerator bottom ash density separator to allow further separation/disposal of certain materials without incurring the cost of an additional density separator in the system 180.

Still referring to fig. 2, as discussed above, in various embodiments, the third low density wet incinerator bottom ash output by the output 216 of the third density separator 186 may be further processed. In some embodiments, for example, the third low-density wet incinerator bottom ash may be flowed to a third low-density wet incinerator bottom ash density separator to cause the third low-density wet incinerator bottom ash density separator to density separate the contents of the third low-density wet incinerator bottom ash. This facilitates further consideration and/or density separation of the process material that is first classified or separated into a high density material by the first density separator 182 and then classified or separated into a low density material by the third density separator 186. In various embodiments, such further processing may be helpful because materials that have been classified as high density by the first density separator 182 and low density by the third density separator 186 may have properties that make accurate and/or rapid density separation difficult, for example.

In some embodiments, the second density separator 184 may function as a third low density wet incinerator bottom ash density separator. In these embodiments, the system 180 may be configured such that the third low-density wet incinerator bottom ash flows to the second density separator 184 for causing the second density separator to density separate the contents of the third low-density wet incinerator bottom ash.

For example, in some embodiments, the output 216 of the third density separator 186 may be in fluid communication with the input 206 of the second density separator 184 via a set of pipes and one or more pumps configured to flow the third low density wet incinerator bottom ash from the output 216 of the third density separator to the input 206 of the second density separator 184. The second density separator 184 may be configured to receive the third low-density wet incinerator bottom ash and separate the incinerator bottom ash by density.

In some embodiments, the input 206 of the second density separator 184 may receive a mixture of both the first low density wet incinerator bottom ash from the first density separator 182 and the third low density wet incinerator bottom ash from the third density separator 186, and the second density separator 184 may separate the second high density wet incinerator bottom ash and the second low density wet incinerator bottom ash from the received mixture. For example, in some embodiments, the system 180 may include a pump box or reservoir in fluid communication with the output 216 of the third density separator 186 and the output 204 of the first density separator 182. In operation, the pump box may be filled with wet incinerator bottom ash from the outputs 204 and 216 and mixed, and a pump (e.g., a centrifugal pump) may flow the contents of the pump box to the input 206 of the second density separator 184.

In some embodiments, it may be desirable to use the second density separator as the third low density wet stream density separator to allow further separation without the cost of additional density separators in the system.

Referring now to fig. 3, a system 300 for facilitating wet recovery of high density material from incoming wet incinerator bottom ash is shown, according to various embodiments. In various embodiments, system 300 may include, for example, elements that are substantially similar to elements of system 180 shown in FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 3, the system includes an incinerator 302, a wet incinerator bottom ash source 304, a first density separator 312, a second density separator 314, a third density separator 316, and a dehydrator 318, all of which function substantially similarly to the similarly-named elements of the system 180 shown in FIG. 2. In various embodiments, the first density separator 312 includes an input 320, a high density wet stream output 322, and a low density wet stream output 324. The second density separator 314 includes an input 340 in fluid communication with an output 324 of the first density separator 312, a high density wet stream output 342, and a low density wet stream output 344. The third density separator 316 includes an input 360 in fluid communication with the output 322 of the first density separator 312, and may also include a high density wet stream output 362 and a low density wet stream output 364.

In various embodiments, incinerator 302 and wet incinerator bottom ash source 304 may function as described above with respect to incinerator 188 and wet incinerator bottom ash source 190 such that wet incinerator bottom ash source 304 produces wet incinerator bottom ash for input received by first density separator 312. The first density separator 312 may be configured to receive the input wet incinerator bottom ash and to density-separate the first high-density wet incinerator bottom ash and the first low-density wet incinerator bottom ash from the input wet incinerator bottom ash. In some embodiments, in the system 300 shown in fig. 3, for example, the first density separator 312 may comprise a centrifugal concentrator.

The second density separator 314 may be configured to receive the first low-density wet incinerator bottom ash and to separate the second high-density wet incinerator bottom ash and the second low-density wet incinerator bottom ash by density from the first low-density wet incinerator bottom ash. In some embodiments, in the system 300 shown in fig. 3, the second density separator 314 can comprise, for example, a clamped gate.

The third density separator 316 may be configured to receive the first high-density wet incinerator bottom ash and to separate the third high-density wet incinerator bottom ash and the third low-density wet incinerator bottom ash by density from the first high-density wet incinerator bottom ash. In some embodiments, in the system 300 shown in fig. 3, the third density separator 316 can comprise, for example, a vibrating table.

Referring to fig. 3, in various embodiments, the output 342 of the second density separator 314 may be in fluid communication with the input 360 of the third density separator 316 via one or more flow controllers (e.g., a pump box or reservoir, and piping) configured to flow the second high density wet incinerator bottom ash to the third density separator 316 for the third density separator to density separate the contents of the second high density wet incinerator bottom ash. In various embodiments, the second high-density wet incinerator bottom ash output by the second density separator 314 may be mixed with the first high-density wet incinerator bottom ash, for example, in a pump box or reservoir, before being pumped to the third density separator 316 and received by the third density separator 316.

Referring to fig. 3, in various embodiments, the output 364 of the third density separator may be in fluid communication with the input 320 of the first density separator 312 via one or more flow controllers (e.g., pumps and piping) configured to flow the third low density wet incinerator bottom ash to the first density separator 312 such that the first density separator density separates the contents of the third low density wet incinerator bottom ash. In these embodiments, the first density separator 312 may function as a third low density wet incinerator bottom ash density separator.

In various embodiments, the third low-density wet incinerator bottom ash output by the third density separator 316 may be mixed with the input wet incinerator bottom ash in a pump box and then pumped to and received by the first density separator 312.

Thus, in some embodiments, the input 320 of the first density separator 312 may receive a mixture of both the input wet incinerator bottom ash and the third low density wet incinerator bottom ash, and the first density separator 312 may separate the first high density wet incinerator bottom ash and the first low density wet incinerator bottom ash from the received mixture. In some embodiments, further processing of the low density wet incinerator bottom ash output from the third density separator 316 using the first density separator 312 can reduce the likelihood of high density material or metal loss or classification errors, as high density particles erroneously contained in the third low density wet incinerator bottom ash by the third density separator 316 will have to pass through and be erroneously separated at the two density separators and then discarded.

Various embodiments

As described above, in some embodiments, the first high density wet incinerator bottom ash flowing from the output 122 of the first density separator 12 shown in fig. 1 may be dewatered and the high density materials and/or metals therein may be recovered, and in these embodiments, the third density separator 16 shown in fig. 1 may be omitted from the system 10.

For example, referring to FIG. 4, a system 400 is shown that includes substantially similar elements to the system 10 shown in FIG. 1, except that the third density separator is omitted. In various embodiments, the system 400 includes a first density separator 402 and a second density separator 404, the first density separator 402 and the second density separator 404 functioning substantially similarly to the first density separator 12 and the second density separator 14. Referring to fig. 4, in the embodiment shown, the first density separator 402 includes a high density wet stream output 422 for outputting the first high density wet incinerator bottom ash. In various embodiments, the output 422 can be in fluid communication with a dehydrator for removing water from the first high density wet incinerator bottom ash and recovering materials therefrom. In various embodiments, in the system 400 shown in fig. 4, the first density separator 402 may comprise a clamped gate and the second density separator 404 may comprise a centrifugal concentrator. In various embodiments, the use of a clamped gate as the first density separator 402 and a centrifugal concentrator as the second density separator 404 in the apparatus shown in fig. 4 may facilitate accurate separation of high flow rate, high density materials and/or reduce the cost for separating such materials from incoming wet incinerator bottom ash.

In various embodiments, features and/or elements of one or more of systems 10, 180, 300, and 400 may be used with another of systems 10, 180, 300, and 400. For example, in various embodiments, system 10 and/or system 400 may further include an incinerator, a wet incinerator bottom ash source, and/or a dehydrator substantially similar to incinerator 188, wet incinerator bottom ash source 190, and dehydrator 191 included in system 180. Further, in some embodiments, systems generally similar to system 180 or system 300 may omit the incinerator, wet incinerator bottom ash source, and/or dehydrator, and the functionality provided by these elements may be provided by another separate system and/or device.

In some embodiments, additional or alternative density separators may be used, and may be used as any of the first, second, and/or third density separators described herein. For example, in various embodiments, any or all of the density separators described herein, including the first density separator, the second density separator, and/or the third density separator described herein, can include one or more of a clamped gate, a shaker table, a centrifugal concentrator, a mineral clamp, a spiral concentrator, a heavy-duty media separation device, and/or other density or gravity separation devices.

In some embodiments, additional or alternative separators may be included in systems 10, 180, 300, and/or 400. For example, in some embodiments, the vibration table included in the third density separator 186 shown in fig. 2 may include a magnetic separator for separating magnetic material from the input wet incinerator bottom ash. In some embodiments, the magnetic separator may comprise, for example, a ribbon magnet.

In various embodiments, alternative or additional flow controllers to those discussed above may be used. For example, in some embodiments, any or all of the flow controllers described herein may comprise a set of tubes that may be arranged such that gravity causes a desired flow, one or more pumps (e.g., which may comprise peristaltic pumps and/or centrifugal pumps), and/or one or more pump boxes or reservoirs for collecting fluid to be pumped.

In some embodiments, the second and/or third high density wet incinerator bottom ash density separators may be implemented as additional separate density separators as compared to the density separators shown in fig. 2 and/or fig. 3.

While particular embodiments of the present invention have been described and illustrated, these should be considered as illustrative embodiments of the invention only, and not as limitations of the invention as interpreted according to the appended claims.