Maximizing metal remains ASR focus
Maximizing metal remains ASR focus
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Ambitious targets set in the European Union and other parts of the world call for the recycling or recovery of the plastic fraction of recycled end-of-life vehicles (ELVs). With most ELVs being shredded in Europe and the rest of the world, that means seeking to separate and upgrade plastic contained in auto shredder residue (ASR) has become an R&D priority.
Some steps have been taken along these lines, including by Belgium-based shedding plant operator Galloo. That company’s Ad Rem NV joint venture (with German technology provide Hamos GmbH) has developed and invested in technology to separate and upgrade ASR plastic, with installations in the United Kingdom and in Japan.
The Ad Rem process is described by Galloo Plastics, Hamos and additional technology ally Valtech Group as consisting of “patented separation technology [that] has already proven its worth”
The companies say the recycled plastic produced is able to “meet all required standards as demanded by the automotive industry, automatically qualifying it for a wide array of other possible applications.”
Ad Rem and Galloo also say the results are “being achieved for a cost that is lower than that of petroleum plastic production, provided the oil price remains higher than $60 per barrel.” (Oil traded at that level through most of 2018 and parts of 2019, but in 2020 has plunged closer to the $20 per barrel mark in the wake of COVID-19-related lockdowns.)
Another shredding plant operator, Australia-based Sims Group and its Sims Metal Management business unit, hinted at its ASR plastics fraction research in an April 2019 summary to investors.
Sims said at that time it intends to “expand into waste-to-energy by capturing the energy available in the nonmetallic residue produced from the shredding process (ASR) to generate electricity.” The company says it will invest to “install and operate seven plants within 10 years with the aim of zero waste disposal and energy costs over the long term.”
Auto shredding plants were designed with metal in mind, and downstream systems likewise historically have set metals recovery as the top priority.
Technology firms continue to introduce new devices to recover and upgrade ASR metal fractions. Germany-based Steinert in March debuted the Chutec chute sorter, which it says rounds out the company’s portfolio of sensor-based sorting equipment for nonferrous metals. It allows for the sorting of heavy metals down to a size of 5 millimeters (0.2 inches).
In the ASR stream, the Chutec can be used to separate and upgrade the fine-grain fraction of nonferrous metals by type, the company says.
The Chutec uses X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis to identify and sort metals, combining the signals from the XRF unit with 3D information “to achieve a precise level of classification and separation.” For larger heterogeneous material, the option of sorting with the Steinert KSS [combination sensor sorter] and XF belt-based machine “has proven its reliability in practice,” the company adds.
Tomra Sorting Recycling, a Germany-based business unit of Norway-based Tomra, says it is using X-ray transmission (XRT) technology in its X-Tract and X-Tract X6 Fines units “to efficiently separate aluminum and aluminum alloys from other metals” in ASR. Those devices can deliver “consistent quality for the resulting raw materials and products,” says Tomra.
In a March essay, the company writes that XRT technology can optimize melt shop outcomes for aluminum producers who use shredded aluminum scrap consisting of several alloys and heavy metals, including copper, zinc, iron, magnesium and silicon.
“Prior to the melting process of secondary aluminum, our XRT technology separates the heavy metals from aluminum alloys containing more than 2 percent heavy metals before they enter the furnace,” says Tomra sales director-metals Brian Gist. “Each aluminum alloy contains a certain percentage of other metals, which must be constantly controlled to ensure that the chemical composition of the product meets the required specifications.”
Gist says if scrap processing companies don’t deploy the technology, aluminum remelters may opt to do it themselves. By using an XRT system, “Aluminum producers control the quality level before the material enters the furnace, and [thus] avoid the loss of castings due to heavy metal peaks exceeding the maximum allowable content of these elements,” says Gist. “Tomra’s technology becomes a second control barrier after the materials have been processed by recyclers.”
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Source: Recycling Today
Maximizing metal remains ASR focus
<![CDATA[Ambitious targets set in the European Union and other parts of the world call for the recycling or recovery of the plastic fraction of recycled end-of-life vehicles (ELVs). With most ELVs being shredded in Europe and the rest of the world, that means seeking to separate and upgrade plastic contained in auto shredder residue (ASR) has become an R&D priority.Some steps have been taken along these lines, including by Belgium-based shedding plant operator Galloo. That company’s Ad Rem NV joint venture (with German technology provide Hamos GmbH) has developed and invested in technology to separate and upgrade ASR plastic, with installations in the United Kingdom and in Japan.The Ad Rem process is described by Galloo Plastics, Hamos and additional technology ally Valtech Group as consisting of “patented separation technology [that] has already proven its worth”The companies say the recycled plastic produced is able to “meet all required standards as demanded by the automotive industry, automatically qualifying it for a wide array of other possible applications.”Ad Rem and Galloo also say the results are “being achieved for a cost that is lower than that of petroleum plastic production, provided the oil price remains higher than $60 per barrel.” (Oil traded at that…