CA1305116C

CA1305116C - Means and method of pneumatic comminution

Info

Publication number: CA1305116C
Application number: CA000500251A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Allen Claire Wiley
Original assignee: CP COAL MILLS, INC.
Current assignee: FULLER POWER Corp
Priority date: 1985-01-31
Filing date: 1986-01-23
Publication date: 1992-07-14
Anticipated expiration: 2009-07-14
Also published as: EP0209580A1; AU5357186A; ZA86711B; WO1986004527A1

Abstract

ABSTRACT

MEANS AND METHOD OF PNEUMATIC COMMINUTION

An improved centrifugal pneumatic comminutor (10) including a housing (16) containing a fan means (14) operatively connected to a motor means (22), said housing (16) having an inlet opening (28) aligned with the axis of said fan (14) and an outlet opening (42) on the perimeter of said housing (16), an input conduit (30) mounted to said housing (16) surrounding said inlet opening (28) including a frustal conically shaped section adjacent said housing, and an output conduit (44) attached to said housing surrounding said outlet opening (42), the material to be comminuted being introduced into said input conduit (30) and being drawn into said frustal conically shaped section by suction of said fan (14). The materials are comminuted in said input conduit (30) in a rotational impact area directly below said fan (14) and thereafter are pulled through said fan (14) and forced out said output conduit (44) by the pressure of said fan (14).
The fan means (14) includes a ring member (118) attached to the fan (14) which rotatably mates with a journal means (76) attached to the housing (16) creating an air lock through the comminutor (10).

Description

~3Q~

MEANS AND METHOD OF PNEUMATIC COMMINUTION

BACXGROUND _ THE INVENTIO
l. Field of the Invention.
This invention relates to a means and method of comminuting materials, in particular, a means and method of pneumatically comminuting various materials.

2. Problems in the Art.
Comminution, the pulverization or breaking apart of material3 into small parts, is a significant operation in many industries, particularly the coal ~- and cement industries which require tremendous amounts of crushing and grinding. However, current comminution technology used by industry i3 both energy intensive and inefficient. Annual electrical energy consumption in size reduction operations by United States indu~try is approximately 32 billion kilowatt hours (KWH).
More than hal~ of this energy i9 consumed in the crushing and grinding of minerals. An additional 3.7 billion KWH per annum is contained in energy inconsum-ables, ~uch as grinding media and liners. The totalamount o~ energy approaches 2% of the national electric power pro~uction.
The amount of energy used by United States industry to produce its products not only contributes to that co~t of production, but also is a factor in the end product'~ marketability on world markets. A study of ~3~

United States industries reveals that the cost o~ a commodity intended for hoth national and international markets is closely as~ociated with th~ cost oE energy re~uired to manufacture that commodity. ~hese energy S costs are particularly high in the primary metals, chemical, food, paper and petroleum industries. All of these industries rely hèavily upon particle size reduction operations, which i8 therefore a significant contribution to product cost. It can therefore be ~een that there exists a continuing need for improve-ments in comminutors, and energy consumption in the comminution proce~s. Two vivid examples are the coal and cement industries.
It is well known that using coal as an energy source presents several barrier~ preventing its widespread use. Among these are derating of a boiler burning natural gas or oil, more elaborate handling and combustion facilities, and e%pensive pollution control. Inve~tigations concerned with coal combustion and pollution control show promise of removing these barrierq without significant cost increases. Thus, the price of coal should remain favorable and yield wide~pread u~age of coal.
It i8 known in the art that micronized coal burns more efficiently than lump coal. Micronized coal is lump coal which is disintegrated to micron sized particles. Micronized coal also provides for easier handling, more efficient, complete and controllable combustion, and an opportunity to reduce particulate emissions.
A microrlized coal particle has a larger surfac0 ~per unit volume, thereby increasing the burning rate.
Microllized coal burns much like a No. 2 oil, suggesting that retrofitting can be accomplished by replacement of the oil or gas burner with a coal burner~ and derating of a furnace is unnecessary. Further develop-~3~

ment of techni~ues for combu~tion systems usingmicronized coal and application~ of the~e techni~ues to industrial ~ize furnace3 i~ in process.
It is interesting to note that studie3 have shown that the critical pollution problem involved with the ~ulfur content in coal can be controlled or eliminated by injecting limestone into the coal during the combustion process. The calcium react~ with the ~ulfur to produce calcium sulfate particles which are removed with the ash, using conventional particle gas ~eparators. To facilitate injection of the lime3tone, it too must be micronized~ The combined micronized limestone and coal repre~ents a viable method of reducing both energy costs, through use oE coal, and sulfur dioxide pollutant3 by the sulfur calcillm reaction. There is therefore a continuing need for an apparatus which will allow efficient and economical coal micronization.
Micronized coal of the size between 5 micrometers (um) and 30 um is more advantageous than the particles produced by conventional pulverizers where particle sizes range from 50 to 150 um. The centrifugal comminutor of this invention will efficiently and economically produce coal particles between 5 um and 30 um in diameter.
A second major advantageous use for comminution exi~ts in the cement indu~try. In the cement industry, the surface area per unit weight has become a standard for characterizing cement quality. Acceptable fineness is around 3,200 to 4,200 cm2 per gram (cm2/gm) of cement. This measurement, known as Blaine Surface Measurement, is made by measuring the pressure drop which result~ from the flow of air through a standard packed bed of cement.
Recent .~tudies have ~hown that the particle size of cement is important~ based upon the following ~3~ 16 findings: (1) by controlling the cement particle size to below 20 um, with a Blaine area of only 2600 cm2/gm, strengths equaling that of normally ground cements of 3600 cm2/gm Blaine area can be achieved (2) The amount of ground clinker in a 2.5 um particle ~ize range has large effects on bleeding, water requirements for flow, and strength of development;

(3) Controlled product particle size of cement grinding results in cements of as high or higher strengths at age~ from 1-60 day~ at Blaine areas of 450-800 cm2/gm, ~ubstantially lower than the normal grinds of the same composition.
It is estimated that the adoption of particle ~ize control in clinker grinding by the entire Unitqd States cement industry would re~ult in a 27~ ~aving in grinding energy, and an 8.5~ savings in kiln fuel. To achieve such control, however, reliable on-line ~real time) particle size and specific surface measurement devices need to be developed. The centrifugal coin-minutor of this invention can be succes~fully usea inthe cement industry.
It is generally believed that high specific surface areas produce high strength cement. The actual particle size distributions also influence cement strength. The particle sizes that have the greatest effect o cement strength are 5 to 30 um.
~ y comminuting the elements of cement, namely, limestone and clinker in the comminutor of this invention, improvements in cement quality and savings in energy consumed in producing cement can be achieved.
In other areas too, besides coal and cement, a tremendous energy savings could be realized by reducing energy consumption for other comminuted products.
For example, comminution is utilizea on a signifi-cant scale for many other commodities including, butnot limited to the following: aluminum, arsenic, asbe~tos, barite, boronJ calcium, ceramics, chromium, clays, copper, diatomite, feldspar, fluorspar, golds, grain, gypsum, iron ore, lead, lithium, magnesium, manganese, mercury, mica, molybdenum, nickel, perlite, S phosphate, potassium, pumicet rare ea~th, ~and and gravel, salt~, silicon, silver, a ~tone, chalk, titanium, tungsten, uranium, vermiculite, and zinc.
It is e~timatea that the energy used for comminution of these materials approaches 30 billion kilowatt hours per year.
Existing technology utilize~ such apparatuses as ball mills, rod mills, roll mills, autogenous mills, and hammer mills aq fine grinders, and attri~ion and fluid energy mills as ultrafine grinders. The trernen-dous cost of these devices centers not only on theiroperating energy consumption, but also on their capital costs, maintenance, metal 1099 from attrition of moving parts with the material being comminuted, and ancillary equipment which i9 needed to operate in ; 20 coniunction with these devices.
The present invention represents a significant improvement over the above mentioned conventlonal comminutor~ as it utilizes pneumatics and particle-to-particle attrition for both transport of the material and comminution of the material, respectively.
Pneumatic or vacuum comminution, was the subject of United States Letter~ Patent 3,255,793, issued to Clute on June 14, 1966. Clute utilized pneumatic comminution for crop grinding. Clute used a vertically rotating fan in a housing having an horizontal inlet along the fan axis. However, Clute neither encountered ; nor contemplated the use of this device for coal comminution or cement industry applications nor was the Clute device successful in its intended use.
Furthermore, it has been found that Clute's invention was and is not success~ul hecau~e of problems with the ~ 3~

pneumatics and because of exce~sive and unacceptable metal los~ ~rom the blades of fans. The device of this invention accompli~hes mucl~ smaller size reduction than Clute when comparable energy is expended.
In the centrifugal action of the present improved comminutor, its non-uniforin acceleration of various massed particles, causes particle-to-particle attrition of the material in the area directly before the fan.
Thus, comminution is achieved ~ubstantially prior to the particle~ passing through the rotary fan. As a re~ult, metal wear is lessened considerably.

SUM~ARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a means and method of significantly economizing energy use and capital costs associated with comminution technolo~y, while at the same time providing accurate and uniform-in-size comminution, with minimal metal 109S to the comminuting device.
These advances over Clute are possible by virtue of the improved structure and methods of this invention.
Improvements in the 3tructure include inter alia mo~ification of the fan structure and its association with the fan housing, horizontal placement and rotation of the fan, variations in the dimensions and relation sl1ip of the cone leading into the fan hou~ing with fan size and speed, and tailoring of the structure and method to enhance performance with minerals and other products.
The present invention includes a fan means rotatably connected to a power source and enclosed within a fan housing. ~he axle of the fan extends upwardly through the top surface of ths housing, whereas an opening concentrically aligned with the fan axis exists on the lower surface of the housing. An outlet opening is provided along the perimeter of the fan housing.

~3~5~

The lowermost portion of the fan has a ring member including a flange means which i3 mateable in close proximity with the flange mean3 of a journaling mean3 mounted surrounding the inlet opening to the fan housing. The ring member and journaling means combina-tion assures a sealed and efficient air flow through the device by creating an air lock between the inlet, the fan housing and the outlet.
The method of the present invention utilizes variou~ structural relationships to provide an improved method of comminution within the device. For example, the Ean speed is variably adjustable in accordance with the througllput and i9 directly related to particle size output. Fan 3ize and blade shap~ i~ related to the input cone size and shape to achieve a desired air flow and particle size. The step of providing an air lock by way of the ring and journal means improves the air flow through the device, to achieve better particle-to-particle attrition.
The results of the improved structure and method of the present invention provide uniformity-in-size of comminuted particles which is accurately controllable, while at the same time minimizing or eliminating any metal 1099 from the blades of the fan. Moreover, the means and ,nethod of the present invention allow it to be effectively operative for many different types of material~ with tlle same re3ults, from very hard minerals ~uch as granite, iron ore, chromium and mica, to soft materials such as grain, clay, and the like.
The present invention also presents the advantages of significant economy in energy con~umption per product comminuted, and significant savings in capital ; equipment c03ts, for the comminutor itself by elimi-nating the need for most ancillary equipment. It can be operatively implemented into micronized coal combustion sy3tems, cement grinding operations, and a multitude of other applications.

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It is therefore a primary object of the invention to improve over tl1e problem~s and upon the ~eficiencies in the art of comminutor~.
A further object of the invention is to provide a ineans and method for comminuting material~ which does so efficiently and effectivelyO
A furtl1er object of the invention is to provide a means and method of comminuting materials which produces uniform-in-size output particles.
Another object of the invention is to provide a mean~ and method of comminuting materials which experience~s little or no metal lo~s in the comminutor.
~ nother object of the invention iq to provide a blade means and method of comminuting material~ which produce~ effective suction or vacuum and creates an effective comminuting environment which combine~ the effects of reduced environment pressure and centriEugal force in combination with a pulsating turbulence zone just in front of the fan blade tips.
~ further object of the invention is to provide a means and method of comminuting materials which ~ provides an effective air lock throughout the device.
- A further object of the invention is to provide a I mean~s and method of comminuting material which i~
variable in adjustment of air flow speed which as a result allows selection of particle size output.
Another object of the invention is to provide a means and method of comininuting materials which can be used for many different applications, from hard materials to soft materials.
These and other objects, features, and advantage~
of the invention will become apparent with reference to the accompanying specifications and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure l i~ a partial elevational view, partial :~3~5~

perspective view, and a partial schematic view of the invention .
Figure 2 i~ an elevational view with the fan, housing and conduits in section.
Figure 3 is a partial sectional view of the fan.
Figure 4 i5 a partial elevational view and partial sectional view of the fan.
Figure 5 is a bottom view of the fan with a broken away portionO
Figure 6 is a partial sectional top view of a fan blade oE the invention taken along lines 6-6 of Figure 4~
Figure 7 is a partial sectional view of a fan blade tip of the invention taken along lines 7-7 of Figure 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED
EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION
By reEerring to the drawings, the preferred embodiments of ~he invention are now described in detail~ The invention i~ useful in dif~erent comminu-tion operations, but i5 illu~trated with micronized coal. The basic operation and method is the same for all application~, only the supporting components differ. The speed of the fan and the dimension of the components such as the cone shape of the chamber could differ as to varying applications. For example, a multistage device would comminute to a given particle size without external classification.
Figure l depicts the comminutor lO schematically 3Q in as~ociation with ancillary supporting components for micronizing coal and introducing it into a coal furnace 12.
The basic comminutor l0 consists of a fan 14 (see Figure 2) contained within a hou~ing 16. Fan 14 i3 rotatable within hou~ing 16 by operative connection of ~3~?5~ ~ ~

axle 18 via belts 20 to a motor 22. selts 20 enhance safety of the invention by providing slippage in the event of any jamming of fan 14. An input conduit 24 i~s comprised of an annular st3ction 26 attached to the bottom of said housing surrounding an inlet opening 28 (see Figure 2), a conical ~ection 30 and tubular section 32 having a side opening 34 therein. Side tube 36 is attached to tubular section 32 around side opening 34 and in turn, at its outer end, i3 put into communication with hopper 38 having a feeder gate 40.
Fan housing 16 has an outlet opening 42 along the perimetric edge of housing 16 to which is connected an outlet conduit 44.
By operating motor 22 to rotate fan 14, a partial vacuum is produced in input conduit 24. By introducing the Inaterial to be comminuted into hopper 38, which controllably channels the material into tubular section 32 through side tube 36, the partial vacuum in input conduit 24 causes most of the material to be suctioned into conical section 30 where, because o~
tlle shape of conical section 30, the material is caused to assume a centrifugal, upward spiraling path.
At a point in front of the fan blade tips (the rota-tional impact zone), the difference in mass of ttle various piece~ of material causes some to accelerate faster than the others, and as a result causes particle-to-particle attrition to take place. Because the centrifugal motion i3 at a maximum in annular section 26 (the rotational impact zone), at a level nsarest fan 14, the greate~st amount of attrition occurs at that location, i.e., just prior to fan entry.
Attrition continues until the material is com-minuted to a minute .size at which point the uniorm-in-size comminuted particles are suctioned into fan housing 16 and pushed by the positive air pressure on the back sitle of fan 14 out of outle~ conduit 44 for ~3~

the de3ired use. In Figure 1, since the desired use consists of micronizing coal, the microrlized particles are directed into the coal furnace or kiln 1~. A
conveyor 46 deposits lump coal into bin 48 which, by operation of gate 50, allows the lump coal to pass to disc feeder 52 which feed~ the coal into hopper 38.
At the output end of the system of Figure 1, a twincone classifier 54 is connected to outlet conduit 44 and serves to reject non-uniform size coal particles or otherwise unacceptable particles and rechannels them through air lock 56 into hopper 38. The pressure from fan 14 provides the Eorce to move the micronizea coal to classifier 54 and then to damper 58, which control~ the amount of micronized coal going into furnace or kiln 12.
Control of both lump coal entering comminuter 10 and micronized coal entering urnace or kiln 12 i3 accomplished by coal rate controller 60 which is electronically connected to damper actuator 62 on the one hand, and a semi-conductor controlled rectifier (SC~) G4 which controls the rate of di~k feeder 52 on the other hand. Coal rate controller 60 can be a computerized mechanism having sensors of rates of flow which can compare ~aid rates to predetermined values for furnace 12 output, and, of course, can consist of manual controls. Such coal rate controllers are known in the art.
The exact structure of comminutor 10 is more clearly seen in Figure 2. Fan 14 is removably secured to axle 18 within housing 16. Importantly, an effective air lock is accompli3hed throughout the system, and particularly between input corlduit 24, housing 16, and output conduit 44, by a ring mean3 66 secured annularly to the bottom of fan 14. Ring means 66 has a flange means consisting of annular rings 70 (see Figure 4) which are mateable with flange means or rings 74 (see ~3(~16 Figure 4) of a journal means 76 which i8 9ecured around the inlet opening 28 on the bottom surface o~
housing 16. This arrangement forces all materials to pass between blades or vane~ 78 of fan 14 and in conjunction with the air pres~ure relation~hips within the comminutor creates an effective air lock throughout the sy~tem. The ring and journal means also provides for retention of the bottom portion of the fan for stability and accurate po~itioning although a gap of approximately .30 cm exist~ therebetween. It is to be understood that the air lock get~ ~tronger as fan speed increases because of a corresponding increase in pressure differential above and below fan 14.
Axle 18 is itsel journaled within two bearings, the fir~t bearillg 80 being secured to the top surface of hou~ing 16, the second bearing 82 extending from supports 84 which in turn i~ attached to housing 16.
~ p~llley 86 is rigidly secured to axle 18 between first and second bearings 80 and 82 and is frictionally rotated by belts 20 which are attached to drive wheel 88 of electric motor 22 which is connected to an electrical power source (not shown~ by electrical condu i t 90 .
In the preferred embodiment, journal means 76 is comprised of two semi-circular parts, both semi-; circular parts being attached to housing 16 by bolts 92 (three bolts per semicircular part). The two piece coi~struction of journal means 76 allows journal means 76 to be removed from mating engagement with ring means 66 of fan 14 to allow removal and maintenance tofan 14. The attachment of input conduit 24 to journal means 76, and tubular section 32 to conical section 30 of input conduit 24, and hopper 38 to side tube 36 can be accomplished by methods known within the~art, and usually can be accolnplished by some sort of holt mean3 or other removable fa~tening means. It is to be understood that journal means 76 could also be comprised of three or more parts.
sy referring to Figures 3, 4 ancl 5, the exact structure and conjo,int relationship of fan 14 with ring means 66 can be more clearly seen. Figure 3 illustrates the shape and association of the preferred fan blades or vanes 78. The center of tile fan is comprise(3 of a sleeve 94 having a key slot 96 extending its longitudinal length for matable matching o a key 98 (not ~3hown) on axle 18. Blades 78 are attached to sleeve 94 at their innermo4t ends 100, and are attached at their upper edges 102 to plate 10~. sy referring concurrently to Figure 4, it can be seen that ring means 66 is secured in the L-shaped cut-out portions of the lower part9 of blades 78. Ring means 66 consists basically of a ring shaped member 108 secured to the vertical edge 110 of L-shaped cutouts 106 of blades 78, and an annular ring 112 attached to ring shaped member 108 and the horizontal edge of L-shaped cutouts 106 of blades 78 extending to the lowermost edge 116 of blades 78. In the preferred embodiment, a middle ring 118 and a bottom ring 120 comprise the ring means 66 described above.
Correspondingly, journal Ineans 76 includes a top ring 122 and a middle ring 124 which matingly position between middle ring 118 and bottom ring 120 of ring means 66 to provide a journaling and retententive relationship for ring mean~ 66 to housing 16. Journal means 76 is secured to a supporting piece 126 which is rigidly attached to housing 16 by bolts 92, and as discussed above, journal means 76 is split into two semi-circular parts (not shown) so that by removing bolts 92, journal means 76 can be split apart, thus allowing access to and maintenance capabilities to fan 14. It is worthy of mention that the Earthest width of fan 14 does not extend as far as supporting ring 126, thus allowing removal of an 14 through inlet ~l3~ S31 :~

opening 28. It can also be seen that annular section 26 oE input conduit 24 can be removably attached to supporting piece 126, or can be rigidly secured thereto. Tha methods and manner of securement of the various component3 can be as is sufficient and as is known in the artO
Figures 3 and 4 illu~trate that the lower surface 128 of plate 104 is of increasing thickness from its perimetric edge to its point of attachment with sleeve 94. ~herefore, the upper edges 102 of blades 78 are correspondingly sloped e.g., 10 downward. This solid back with an inward taper improves air flow.
It can also be ~een from Figures 3 and 4 that the plate 104 and ring means 66 es~entially ~andwich and provide upper and lower boundaries and stress bearing members for fan 14, ~hereas blades 78 exte~d es3entially hetween plate 104 and the lower edge of ring means 66.
The Ina jor portion of blades 7~, as can be seen in Figure 4, consists of the portion extending from the points of attachment with sleeve 94 outward to outer end 130. For purposes of the description, this will be referred to as upper blade portion 132. An addi-tional part o blade 78 extend~ downwardly from this upper blade portion 132 and has a lowermost edge 116 and an outermost edge (vertical edge 11~) attached to annular ring 112 of ring means 66. For reference, this will be referred to as lower blade portion 134.
It should be noted that tlle inner edge of lower blade portion 134 consists of cur~ed edge 136 which creates a substantial open area 138 below ~leeve 94 in the interior of housing 16, directly adjacent to and above inlet opening 28. However, the lowermost edges 116 of 1ower blade portions 134 of blades 78 extend inwardly from journal mean~ 76 in inlet opening 28. A hard, durable material such as tungsten carbide piece 140 is secured behind and along lowermost edge 116 and curved edges 136 to create a thickened hammer edge. These ~.3~

carbide pieces 140 are easily replaceable, and enhance the grinding action~
Figures 3 and 4 also illustrate the concaval shape of the forward faces of blades 78. Additional features characterize blade~ 78. First, the very outer portion of upper blade portion 132 of each oE blades 78 is bent slightly backward~ from the direction of travel.
Whereas the invention operates adequately witll the outer portion of upper blade portion 132 extending in alignment with the entire upper blade portion 132, it has been found that abrasion can carve a groove to be formed in the middle of the blades 78 and that bending back these outer portions prevents blade abrasion from the comminuted particles which are being conducted and pushed through fan housing 16 and out of outlet opening 42.
Secondly, ring means 66 includes a rounded shoulder 67 which mateably is positioned against rounded edge 69 of blades 78 formed between horizontal edge 114 and 20 vertical edge 110. Rounded shoulder 69 prevents particle build-up between blades 78 and enhances air flow throughout comminutor 10.
Thirdly, the angle of lower blade portion 139 with respect to plane 146 (shown by dotted line~ in Figures ; 25 3, 4, 7) intersecting the lowermost edges 116 ~f blades 78 i3 crucial to operation of the invention.
In particular, by referring to Figure 7, it can be seen that carbide tip 140 along the back edge of lowermost edge 116 of lower blade portion 134 is aligned with lower blade portion 134. The preferred angle (identified by reference numeral 144) between lower blade portion and plane 146 is between 35 and 45, and optimally, between 37 and 42.
In addition to the structure of blades 73, the operation of the invention is dependent upon other factors. The number and spacing of blades 78 and the :~3~

speed at which fan 14 i9 rotated all are critical factors in the operation of comminutor 10. In the preerred embodiment, eleven blades 78 are utilized.
The spacing of blades 78 is controlled by the following ratio: Blade gap area, total inlet area, where blade gap area and total inlet area are both measured in plane 146 defined by lowermost edges 116 of lower blade portions 134 of blades 78, or equivalently, defined by the lowermost surface of journal means 76 or ring means 66. slade gap area is thus the area between each blade 78 shown by the dotted line 148 in Figure 5. It is preferred that the ratio between 1:15 and 1:25 and in particular, between 1:18 and 1:23.
'rhe ~peed of fan 14 is variable, but for a desired particle size can be determined by utilizing fan laws sucll as are known in the art. Fan 14 is generally rotated at a tip speed of from 61 meters to 90 meters/
second. Motor 22 generally must produce a rotation of axle 18 of from 7,000 to 10,000 r.p.m. For example, if fan 1~ was 30.48 cm in diameter, had 11 blade~ each being 6.99 cm tall, and the fan wa~ rotated at 7250 rpms resulting in the lowermost edges 116 traveling at 82 meters per second, the air volume of fan 14 would be approximately 1000 acfm (average cubic feet/minute).
On the other hand, a 51 cm fan with a blade height of 4.45 cm and having 16 blades run at 4000 rpms producing a tip speed of 85.1 meters per second would produce approximatley the same air volume.
It is to be unde~stood that the combination of the angle of incidencer the number, and the spacing of blades 78, combined with the tip speed of lowermost edges 116, produce~ the action which results in the efficient and uniform comminution of comminutor 10.
This combination produces a pulsating turbulence zone ~.3~5~

in the rotational impact area in the interior of annular section 26 directly below lowermost edges 116.
A pulsing or wave-like air pressure effect is created tending to alternately draw and push away the material being comminuted, thereby maintaining the material in the pulsating turbulence zone for a longer period o ~ime for particle-to-particle attrition to take place.
While the combination of ring means 66 and journal means 76 creates an enhanced air lock and air flow through the device, the angle of lowermost edges 116 along with the thickened hammer edge created by carbide tips 140 and the spacing and number of blades 78 is primarily responsible for the pulsating turbulence.
Figure 5 shows clearly how the blades 73 are attached to sleeve 94 at a location along sleeve 94 which is forward from an imaginery line drawn between the center of sleeve 94 and the outer edge 130 of blade 78. ThereEore, outer edge 130 trails inner end 100 for each blade 78. Figure 5 also shows how upper blade portions 130 of blades 78 extend past the ~ opening defined by journal means 76.
; The operation of the comminutor 10 is as generally described previously. In the case of the apparatus ~hown in Figure 1, lump coal from bin 48 is, in a controlled manner, intruduced into input conduit 24.
It is to be noted that unwanted material such as pig or tramp iron or metal chicks are immediately disposed ; of out of the open bottom of tubular section 32. The suction of fan 14 pulls most of the material to be ; 30 comminuted into frusto-conical section 26. The material slow~ down and assumes a centrifugal motion because of the larger inside diameter of frusto-conical section 30. The material reaches a maximum velocity as it is pulled into annular section 26 directly below fan 14 and it is held there by the force generated, as explained by fan laws. The ~.3~

material is then comminuted to a reduced size between O and .6 cm depending on the pressure being produced (which i9 negative in front of the fan). When it has been reduced to the minimum ~ize for the corresponding pressure, the material will be light enough that it rises to the fan where they are then sent out of outlet opening 42 into classifier 54, wherein the material is sorted, either to be reintroduced into the comminuter or channeled directly into the kiln 12.
It is to be noted that blades 78 extend downwardly to just above the bottom o journal means 76. The portion of annular section 26 of input conduit 24 comprises what shall be known as the rotational impact area. It is at this area which the pulsating turbulence zone is created and where the smaller particles of the material actually assist in breaking up the larger particles. Therefore, the materials are held at thi~
location until a uniform-in-size particle i9 created, at which time it is lifted into the fan housing and then moved out by the positive pres~ure on the back side of the fan.
The included preferred embodiment is given by way of example only, and not by way of limitation to the invention, which i8 ~olely described by the claims herein. Variations obvious to one skilled in the art will be included within the invention deined by the claims~ It can be seen that the invention achieves at least all of its stated objectives.
It is to be understood that the interior oE fan 30 housing 116 could include a ceramic lining 41 or blades 78 of fan 14 could be coated with a material such as, for example, ceramic tile~, a tungsten carbide qheet, or a~rubber lining to reduce wear. A
window could be added to input conduit 24 for viewing of the comminution and acces~ to the interior of input conduit 24.

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It is to be understood that dynamics of the rota-tional impact area throughout the comminutor lO can be changed by altering the fan blade angle and the blade spacing or gap area to inlet area ratio. Similarly, by altering the dimensions of the ~Erustoconical section 30 and annular section 26 of input conduit 24, the ~ize of the comminuted particles can be altered.
Further, a damper could be inserted which could be actuated at the point of impact of the fan which would thus change the air flow and pressure, thus altering the comminuting propertie~ oE the invention.
It is also to be understood that comminuted materials leaving outlet conduit 44 could be rechanneled into input conduit 24 and be further reduced in si~e.
It is to be further understood that the present invention can be applied to other areas such as ine particle technology, biotechnology, heterogeneous combustion, multi-phase and turbulent heat transfer, pollution control, feedback control and explosion prevention. Additional industrial applications include boiler and dryer combustion chambers, a~phalt/
lime/cement~gypsum kiln combustion chambers, incinerator combu~tion chambers and ammonia reformer combustion chambers.

Claims

1. A centrifugal pneumatic comminutor comprising, a housing containing a fan which has a plurality of blades and is mounted on a vertical rotatable axis and capable of operative connection to a motor means, said housing having an inlet opening and a vertical conduit defining said inlet opening and being aligned with the axis of said fan, and an outlet opening and conduit, a sealing ring member for rotatably mating the fan and said vertical conduit in said housing for creating improved air flow and comminution through said comminutor; said sealing ring member comprising an annular member sealingly secured in said inlet to said housing and having at least first and second annular parallel spaced-apart flanges extending inwardly therefrom which mateably retain said fan in a centered position in said housing, and create an effective air lock through out the comminutor, and each blade of said fan having a lower portion of one length and an upper portion which has a length greater than said one length, wherein said lengths are measured radially from the rotatable axis of said fan, and said upper and lower portions are joined so as to form a continuous fan structure, and said inlet opening has a diameter which is larger than twice said one length.

2. The comminutor of claim 1 wherein said lower portion of each of said blades of said fan extends downwardly into said sealing ring member, and said lower portions of said blades having lower edges, the ratio of the planar area between the lower edges of the lower portions of two adjacent blades and the area in a horizontal plane within said sealing ring member being between 1:15 and 1:25.

3. The comminutor of claim 2 wherein said ration is between 1:18 and 1:23.

4. The comminutor of claim 1 wherein said lower portion of each of said blades of said fan extends downwardly into said sealing ring member, at an angle between 35° and 45° relative to a horizontal plane.

5. The comminutor of claim 1 wherein said lower portion of each of said blades of said fan extend downwardly into said sealing ring member at an angle between 37° and 42° relative to a horizontal plane.

6. A pneumatic comminutor, comprising a fan rotatably mounted on a vertical axis within a housing said housing having a vertical inlet aligned with the axis of said fan and outlet along the periphery of said housing, means to operatively power said fan connected to said fan, a vertical input conduit having a vertical conical section defining said vertical inlet, said fan being comprised of an axle for operatively connecting to said power means, a sleeve member slidably insertable over said axle and securable thereto, a first plate secured annularly to said sleeve, a plurality of fan blades attached at one end to said sleeve and extending outwardly therefrom at spaced apart locations and having first edges attached to said first plate and having opposite side edges, a second plate means secured to said opposite side edges of said fan blades and having a substantial annular opening therein and including a ring member of annular configuration including an annular opening on its inside surfaces and a flange means on its outside surfaces, said ring member being mateably insertable into a journal means surrounding said inlet of said housing by means of mating said flange means with corresponding flange means on the inside surface of said journal means to create an air tight seal for enhancing particle-to-particle impact at the inlet side of the fan and to simultaneously enhance the effect of partial vacuum on the particles on the fan inlet side and positive pushing pressure on the fan outlet side, and each blade of said fan having a lower portion of one length and an upper portion which has a length greater than said one length, wherein said lengths are measured radially from the rotational axis of said fan and said upper and lower portions are joined so as to form a continuous fan structure, and said inlet opening has a diameter which is larger than twice said one length.

7. The comminutor of claim 6 wherein said blades have a concave surface facing the direction of travel of said fan.

8. The comminutor of claim 7 wherein said blades extend radially from said sleeve at a swept back angle so that an acute angle is formed between the top edge of the blade and the radius from the axis of the axle to the point of attachment of said blade to said sleeve.

9. The comminutor of claim 6 wherein said first plate has a generally flat outer side and an inner side which increases in thickness from its outer edge to said point of attachment on said sleeve to present an angled surface.

10. The comminutor of claim 9 wherein each blade has a first section having an inner narrowed end attached to said sleeve and extending outwardly and divergingly to a wider outer end, a second section integrally formed with said first section comprises a portion extending below said first section and the end of said sleeve and forming a cutout portion for securement to said ring member.

11. The comminutor of claim 6 wherein said journaling means is comprised of two removable pieces so that said fan means can be easily removed.

12. The comminutor of claim 6 wherein a damper means is positioned within the input conduit to control input of material to be comminuted and air input.

13. The comminutor of claim 6 wherein the interior of said housing includes a ceramic lining.

14. The comminutor of claim 6 wherein said fan blades include a ceramic lining.

15. The comminutor of claim 6 wherein said fan blades include a rubber coating.

16. The comminutor of claim 6 wherein said leading edge of said fan blades includes a hardened edge member.

17. A method of pneumatically comminuting materials, said method comprising the steps of: providing a device which has a housing in which a fan which has a rotational axis and is mounted on a vertical axis and which is driven by a motor means, each blade of said fan having a lower portion of one length and an upper portion which has a length greater than said one length, wherein said lengths are measured radially from the rotational axis of said fan and said upper and lower portions of each of said blades are joined to form a continuous fan structure, said housing has a conduit defining a rotational impact zone with an inlet opening aligned with the rotational axis of said fan, said inlet opening has a diameter which is larger than twice said one length, creating an air lock by providing a sealing ring secured in said inlet opening to said housing, said sealing ring having at least first and second annular parallel spaced apart flanges extending inwardly therefrom which mateably retain said fan in a centered position in said housing supplying the material which is to be comminuted into said rotational impact zone of said housing, rotating said fan, thereby creating section and rotational turbulence in said housing in said rotational impact zone, thereby causing particle to particle collisions in said rotational impact zone, thereby decreasing the size of said particles to a predetermined size, and withdrawing said particles of predetermined size from said rotational impact zone through said inlet opening.