FLUIDIZED BED PROCESS FOR REMOVING ORGANIC MATERIALS FROM METALLIC ARTICLES SUCH AS ALUMINUM SCRAP

摘要

A process is described for removing organic materials from the surfaces of metallic articles, e.g. scrap metal such as aluminum scrap, in which the metallic articles are fed into a heated fluidized bed of particles being fluidized by an upward flow of gas. This fluidized bed is operated at a temperature in the range of between about 400 and 650 DEG C and the metallic articles are conveyed through the fluidized bed of hot particles to heat the metallic articles and thermally decompose the organic materials without flaming and removing decoated or cleaned metallic articles from the fluidized bed. It has been found according to the invention that the system can be operated more efficiently and economically by equalizing the organic loading of the metallic articles so that the system can run continuously without otherwise constant adjustment to compensate for varying organic load.