Until recently, most recyclers considered it either impossible or not cost-effective to recover smaller metal fines from automobile-shredded residue. Most of these pieces are quite small, termed micro fines, and can include bare copper wire.
By Mike Shattuck
Lakeside Auto Recyclers has been operating for more than four decades from its 10-acre facility in Carter Lake, IA. The third-generation family-owned business serves western Iowa and parts of Nebraska by accepting #1 and #2 copper, aluminum, brass, stainless steel, tin, and iron鈥攁 majority of which comes from automobiles and white goods. Lakeside Auto has upgraded its recycling operation over the past three years with the installation of an American Pulverizer shredder and two downstream eddy current separators to recover nonferrous metals. The company subsequently enhanced its recycling efforts by installing an Eriez Model ST-22 Eddy Current Separator to handle the small ASR fraction.
Eriez庐, based in Erie, PA, has developed new equipment to retrieve and sort metallic components from material. The equipment provides a significant return on investment through quantity and quality of metal recovery. A growing number of shredder operators in North America are investing in this equipment to take advantage of the added revenue stream, which would previously go to waste.
Cleanup During the Shredding Process
Lakeside Auto approached Eriez to purchase an Ultra High-Frequency (UHF) Eddy Current Separator to clean up mixed fine metals from the shredder line. The UHF recovers extra-small cast aluminum and bare copper wire fractions at the end of the fines recovery that were missed by the previous eddy current separators. The process to upgrade Lakeside Auto鈥檚 recycling operation was extensive, according to the company鈥檚 President, Mike Levell. 鈥淚 was traveling around doing a bunch of research to find the best system for our operation,鈥� he recalls. 鈥淎fter installing the Pulverizer, we met with Eriez on several occasions and added the first fines eddy, then purchased the UHF eddy during an ISRI show.鈥�
The Eriez Ultra High-Frequency Eddy Current Separator generates new revenue for scrap metal processors by recovering valuable aluminum, copper, and other nonferrous fines as small as 2 to 3 mm from ASR, without the requirement for expensive sensor-based or optical sorting equipment. Product off of the UHF Eddy Current Separator is a high-grade zorba package with considerably higher-than-normal copper content. This fine zorba product is typically comprised of more than 20 percent red metal content that can be sold at a premium price, according to Mike Shattuck, Eriez Metals Recycling Market Manager.
鈥淐ustomers are reporting a quick return on investment with increased profits after installing this equipment,鈥� observes Shattuck. 鈥淔or Lakeside Auto, Eriez developed the UHF Eddy to recover aluminum and bare copper from the waste off the fines eddy. The fines eddy removes bigger zorba, but has little effect on the micro-fines or bare copper wire. Material missed by the fines eddy is recovered on the UHF Eddy.鈥�
Efficient Recovery
Lakeside Auto can now recover about 50,000 pounds a month of fine nonferrous material that was previously missed by their standard eddy current separator units. 鈥淎dding the fines eddy and the UHF Eddy is allowing us to produce a significant load of fines zorba every month,鈥� says Levell. 鈥淚n that one extra load a month, you鈥檙e actually getting paid for one additional load that doesn鈥檛 go to a landfill.鈥�
鈥淭he system setup is pretty straightforward in one continuous operation,鈥� Levell explains. 鈥淲e have the shredder and the two original eddys in the downstream that are housed in the main building, along with the Eriez fines eddy. The UHF material鈥攚hich comes off the fines eddy鈥攚as installed outside on the other side of the building. We built a roof over the UHF, so everything is connected, and all units are under cover.鈥�
鈥淩ecycling operations that don鈥檛 have this type of equipment and the setup leave valuable material that is going into the trash,鈥� Levell says. 鈥淚n our business, it鈥檚 not always about running more volume through the plant. It鈥檚 also about recovery and not leaving material in the trash, because the small stuff eventually adds up.鈥�
Bottom: A UHF Eddy provides an economical solution to improve Zorba recovery without the need for additional expensive sensor based or optical sorting equipment.Photos courtesy of Eriez庐.
Making the Investment
Making the investment worthwhile depends on the shredder yard鈥檚 setup and the types of material it accepts and processes, according to Jeanne Anderson of Industrial Motion Technologies, a longtime Eriez manufacturers鈥� representative based in West Des Moines, IA. Anderson was heavily involved with the Lakeside Auto operation. 鈥淵ou might have a shredder yard that takes in cars as well as industrial scrap with random items people bring off the street,鈥� Anderson says. 鈥淚n Lakeside Auto鈥檚 case, they have the right kind of shred containing nonferrous metals, making investing in the UHF more viable. It allows them to get down to a finer separation of the small nonferrous metals.鈥�
鈥淭he UHF can now recover that extra small cast aluminum and bare copper wire fractions that their other eddy current separators already passed over,鈥� Anderson observes. 鈥淎fter doing some offsite testing and verifying the results, buying and installing the UHF made the most sense for them.鈥�
Recyclers are looking for ways to create additional margin and derive some advantage over their competitors, according to Levell. He explains, 鈥淲hen we鈥檙e looking for the potential to retrieve a lot of additional metal, it is typically in the fines. It鈥檚 worth the effort to recover metal fines from ASR.鈥�
Levell concludes, 鈥淲e realized the UHF was the best option for us. We have had a really good experience with Eriez and Industrial Motion Technologies. Recovering metal fines from ASR is a process that we鈥檝e developed and refined over a period of years with the help of Eriez.鈥� | WA
Mike Shattuck is Market Manager-Metals Recycling for Eriez, which is recognized as the world authority in separation technologies. The company鈥檚 magnetic separation, metal detection, material handling, fluid recycling, and advanced flotation technologies have application in the mining, processing, packaging, food, recycling, aggregate, plastics, and metalworking industries. Eriez designs, manufactures and markets these products through 13 international subsidiaries located on six continents. Mike can be reached at 814 835 6000, e-mail [email protected], or visit .