Process and system for material reclamation and recycling

Abstract

A system and process for reclaiming nickel and cadmium from a feed source such as Ni—Cd batteries. The feed source is shredded to produce feed particles, screened to size the particles, magnetically separated to remove non-metallic materials, and induction heated to generate nickel and cadmium products.

1 . A process for reclaiming nickel and cadmium from a feed source, the process comprising:
 shredding the feed source to produce feed particles;   screening the particles;   separating ferrous materials in the feed particles from non-ferrous materials;   separating metallic materials in the feed particles from non-metallic materials; and   induction heating the feed particles to generate a nickel product and a cadmium product.   
     
     
         2 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the feed source comprises nickel-cadmium batteries. 
     
     
         3 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the feed particles are shredded to a substantially uniform particle size, not deviating from an optimum size by more than one standard deviation. 
     
     
         4 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the feed particles are shredded to a particle size of about ¾″. 
     
     
         5 . The process of  claim 1 , further comprising applying an atmospheric blanket over the particles during the induction heating step. 
     
     
         6 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the metallic and non-metallic materials are separated by vibration sorting. 
     
     
         7 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the ferrous and non-ferrous materials are separated by magnetic sorting. 
     
     
         8 . The process of  claim 7 , wherein the magnetic sorting is carried out in a rotating drum sorter. 
     
     
         9 . The process of  claim 1 , further comprising a second screening step after the separation step. 
     
     
         10 . The process of  claim 1 , further comprising adding graphite to the feed particles prior to completion of the induction heating step. 
     
     
         11 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the nickel product is a high-nickel remelt feedstock, the process further comprising melting and casting the high-nickel remelt feedstock. 
     
     
         12 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the cadmium product is collected by a flash chamber into a condensation collector. 
     
     
         13 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the cadmium product is collected by capturing cadmium vapor in a fume ring. 
     
     
         14 . A system for reclaiming nickel and cadmium from a feed source, the system comprising:
 a shredder for transforming the feed source to particles;   a screen separator for sizing the particles;   a magnetic separator for removing ferrous from non-ferrous materials from the feed particles;   an induction furnace for receiving and heating the feed particles to generate nickel and cadmium products;   a station for collecting the nickel product; and   means for collecting the cadmium product.   
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the means for collecting the cadmium product comprises a flash chamber and a condensation collector. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the means for collecting the cadmium product comprises a fume ring and collector. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 14 , further comprising a vibration sorter for separating metallic particles from non-metallic particles. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the station for collecting the nickel product comprises a mold station for casting remelted nickel product. 
     
     
         19 . A process for reclaiming nickel and cadmium from a feed source, the process comprising:
 shredding a feed source comprising nickel-cadmium batteries to produce feed particles;   screening the particles to produce a feed stream of substantially uniform particle size;   separating ferrous materials in the feed stream from non-ferrous materials, in a rotating drum sorter;   separating metallic materials in the feed stream from non-metallic materials, in a vibratory sorter;   induction heating the feed stream;   adding graphite to the feed stream prior to completion of the induction heating step;   applying an atmospheric blanket during the induction heating step;   collecting a nickel product; and   collecting a cadmium product.   
     
     
         20 . The process of  claim 19 , further comprising melting and casting the nickel product.