Netherlands: ARN’s Solution for Automotive Shredder Residue
According to Dutch-based ARN, it is the first company to operate the new CCM20RT delamination mill which makes a big step forward in power and size.
As an experienced processor of Automotive Shredder Residue (ASR) in the Netherlands, ARN is producing non-ferrous metal concentrates using sinkfloat techniques. The metal products separated by these systems typically include metals not easily recovered earlier in the ASR system by magnets and eddy current separators. The composition is a mix of cable, hair wires, plugs, connectors, PCB, plastic and organic residue. It took ARN one year to do all necessary trials with different separation techniques at recycling companies and machine manufacturers before building up a business case for recovering non-ferrous metals from ASR. “This comprehensive study showed that the swissRTec process was the way to go for fine copper recovery due to the balling and liberation effect of metals within the delamination mill”, the company says.
The swissRTec process
The SRT2 module produced by swissRTec, Switzerland, is a recent edition to the recycling plant located in Tiel (Netherlands). There is a high value associated with metal concentrate fractions destined for the SRT2 process; copper contents may vary from five to 25 percent. The main outlets for this metal concentrate include shipping to Asia, reprocessing in Europe or in-house processing. When a recycler is producing a volume large enough then recycling in house becomes an attractive proposition.
Mario Zoellig, swissRTec’s managing director, states that the system in Tiel adds to a growing number of references in the ASR field. “We see the ASR sector as active and growing at a time where many recyclers face difficult times due to declining commodity prices. Recovering the metals within ASR to a level where they can be sold to European refineries and smelters is a further step in the direction of a true circular economy and allows customers to derive maximum value from their material.” The delamination mill is at the center of the swissRTec process and works on the principle of impact milling where materials are exposed to many collisions with the rotor, stator and other objects. Composite material such as cable comprises PVC and metal together. Metals become liberated and ball shaped after exiting the delamination mill and subsequent steps of screening and density separation produce clean metal fractions which can be sold directly to smelters or refiners.
ASR is a mix of cables, hair wires, plugs, connectors, PCB, plastic
and organic residue (left) / According to the Dutch processor, fine particle sizes give
the highest copper grades (right) – Photo: ARN/swissRTec
The CCM20RT is based around the same design as its predecessors, the CCM10 and CCM15 RT, however, with a two-meter rotor diameter and 630 kilowatt max power rating it makes a big step forward in power and size. “With the development of the CCM20RT machine swissRTec is able to deliver a high throughput plant with a high quality output to match,” ARN emphasizes.
After delamination the material is screened in five size classes for further treatment at the density tables, which are separating a heavy non-ferrous metal mix and a light organic plastic mix. Loss of metals within the reject plastic fraction is – according to ARN – below two percent and can be further processed for higher recovery. The metal mix is further separated on the offline unit where heavy metals such as copper and brass can be separated from lighter aluminium. A magnetic fraction is also separated. “The experience of ARN is that the fine particle sizes, below 1.5 millimeter, give the highest copper grades,” the Dutch recycling company reports. “A copper grade of 95 percent plus had been achieved and analysed by the copper smelter.” The remaining plastic mix fractions should find a market as well, the management of the company is convinced.
Photos: ARN/swissRTec
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