초록 ▼

A system for and method of analyzing a cullet stream prior to batch formulation in glass manufacturing. Cullet is fed onto a conveyor where a real-time composition analysis is performed. Contaminants are optionally removed, and a determination is made as to whether the cullet batch color is consiste

A system for and method of analyzing a cullet stream prior to batch formulation in glass manufacturing. Cullet is fed onto a conveyor where a real-time composition analysis is performed. Contaminants are optionally removed, and a determination is made as to whether the cullet batch color is consistent with a predetermined tolerance threshold. If necessary, the glass batch formulation is modified in view of the cullet analysis. Virgin raw materials requirements of the modified glass batch formulation may then be communicated to the batch controller before sending batch ingredients to the mixing stage and completing the overall glass manufacturing process.

대표청구항 ▼

What is claimed: 1. A method of creating recycled glass products comprising the steps of: providing a glass batch formulation of mixed cullet and virgin raw materials required to make a recycled glass product; determining constituents of a supply of mixed cullet; comparing determined mixed cullet c

What is claimed: 1. A method of creating recycled glass products comprising the steps of: providing a glass batch formulation of mixed cullet and virgin raw materials required to make a recycled glass product; determining constituents of a supply of mixed cullet; comparing determined mixed cullet constituents to a desired tolerance threshold; modifying, in real-time, said glass batch formulation based on a result of the comparison of said determined mixed cullet constituents to said desired tolerance threshold; determining a quantity of virgin raw materials based upon said modified glass batch formulation; mixing said determined quantity of virgin raw materials and said supply of mixed cullet; and producing at least one recycled glass product from the mixed virgin raw materials and mixed cullet in accordance with said modified glass batch formulation. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of selectively diverting at least one of said mixed cullet constituents that does not satisfy said desired tolerance threshold. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein said diverting is performed by an air jet device. 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the desired tolerance threshold comprises a specification provided by a cullet supplier. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the desired tolerance threshold comprises at least one of a preset and a user-determined specification. 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of operatively communicating said modified glass batch formulation to at least one location for review by a user. 7. The method of claim 6, wherein said user authorizes the production of at least one recycled glass product in accordance with said modified glass batch formulation. 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the determination of said mixed cullet constituents comprises determining at least one of number percent per color, number percentage per color, weight per color, and weight percentage per color data. 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the determination of said mixed cullet constituents is used as a quality control metric. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the determination of said mixed cullet constituents comprises analyzing the supply of mixed cullet with a device capable of determining the composition of at least one constituent of said mixed cullet. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein said device comprises an optical imaging device. 12. The method of claim 10, wherein said device comprises a device capable of measuring color of at least one constituent of said mixed cullet. 13. The method of claim 10, wherein said device comprises a device capable of measuring at least one of optical transmission properties and optical reflectivity properties of said mixed cullet. 14. The method of claim 1, wherein said mixed cullet comprises at least one of amber, green and flint glass. 15. The method of claim 1, wherein said recycled glass product is a beer bottle. 16. A method of manufacturing recycled glass products comprising the steps of: providing a supply of mixed cullet to a conveyor; determining constituents of said mixed cullet prior to providing said mixed cullet to a mixer; providing a glass batch formulation of mixed cullet and virgin raw materials required to make a recycled glass product; comparing determined mixed cullet constituents to a desired tolerance threshold; modifying said glass batch formulation, in real-time, based on a result of the comparison of said determined mixed cullet constituents to said desired tolerance threshold; determining a quantity of virgin raw materials based upon said modified glass batch formulation; mixing the mixed cullet with the determined quantity of virgin raw materials in said mixer; and producing at least one recycled glass product from an output of the mixer in accordance with said modified glass batch formulation. 17. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of diverting at least one of said mixed cullet constituents from said conveyor which does not satisfy said desired tolerance threshold prior to mixing. 18. The method of claim 17, wherein said diverting is performed by an air jet device. 19. The method of claim 16, wherein the desired tolerance threshold comprises a cullet supplier specification. 20. The method of claim 16, wherein the desired tolerance threshold comprises at least one of a preset and a user-determined specification. 21. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of operatively communicating said modified glass batch formulation to at least one location for review by a user. 22. The method of claim 21, wherein said user authorizes the production of at least one recycled glass product in accordance with said modified glass batch formulation. 23. The method of claim 16, wherein the determination of said mixed cullet constituents comprises at least one of number per color, number percent per color, weight per color, and weight percent per color data. 24. The method of claim 16, wherein the determination of said mixed cullet constituents is used as a quality control metric. 25. The method of claim 16, wherein the determination of said mixed cullet constituents comprises analyzing the supply of mixed cullet with a device capable of measuring the composition of at least one constituent of said mixed cullet. 26. The method of claim 25, wherein said device comprises an optical imaging device. 27. The method of claim 25, wherein said device comprises an X-ray spectroscopy device. 28. The method of claim 25, wherein said device comprises at least one of an infra-red and a Raman spectroscopy device. 29. The method of claim 25, wherein said device comprises a device capable of measuring at least one of optical transmission properties and optical reflectivity properties of said mixed cullet. 30. The method of claim 25, wherein said device comprises a device capable of measuring color of at least one constituent of said mixed cullet. 31. The method of claim 16, wherein said mixed cullet comprises at least one of amber, green and flint glass. 32. The method of claim 16, wherein said recycled glass product is a beer bottle.