Scrap is an ideal recycling material because it can be used again and again without any significant loss of quality. The production of one ton of liquid steel from scrap saves up to 70% energy compared to the production of one ton of crude steel.
It is now possible to recycle up to 100% of many metals from scrap metal. The challenge in recycling scrap lies in supplying the purchasing industry with a secondary raw material that meets their specifications. These require a maximum foreign material content of 2% for iron and steel scrap or, as an alternative criterion, a metal yield of at least 90%.
Processing includes, for example, the removal of adhesions and impurities, crushing or pressing as well as mechanical or manual sorting. Various processing units are available for the required and different forms of processing.
“Many companies use SPLITTER technology from Anlagenbau Günther for mechanical sorting to remove adhesions and impurities.”
In the first step, the SPLITTER technology sorts out the metal parts, e.g. larger than 100 mm, as oversize particles and simultaneously removes adhering particles by rotating them on the screen shafts. Depending on the material mix and requirements, the oversize particles can be separated even further using SPLITTER technology. This is because the elongated parts are usually transported over the screen deck and the cubic parts are discharged sideways. This allows the user to further separate the oversize particles according to size.
The undersized particles consist of other metal parts, dust, soil, stones and other impurities. In order to extract the remaining metal parts from the undersized material, it is recommended to use an overbelt magnet, which can be mounted above the discharge conveyor. Depending on the size and nature of the undersize grain, it may also be advisable to use an additional non-ferrous and ferrous metal separator as a further process step.
“Depending on the process and local conditions, both mobile and stationary machines can be used for mechanical scrap sorting with SPLITTER technology.”
When using a stationary system, there are different sorting variants depending on the material used. For material mixes with strong adhesions, the material is first fed into a feed dosing unit. This loosens up the material and feeds it in good quantities onto the SPLITTER, which then sorts it by size. The use of different SPLITTER variants in series may also be necessary depending on the material properties. If you start the separation process with a TWIN WAVE splitter, which is recommended for heavy build-up, it can move the material on the screen deck for a long time due to its geometry and possible inclination adjustment, thus removing the build-up. For further subsequent sorting, a downstream FLAT screen deck is recommended, which, depending on the screen cut, can perform a maximum of 3 further sizing operations.
In addition to the sorting process, mobile machines such as the SPLITTER TRACK offer great advantages in terms of mobility on extensive sites. The machine can be easily moved from one place to another with the Track chassis and without additional equipment. Maneuvering to the right and left is also possible without any problems. The SPLITTER TRACK is operated via a radio remote control.
“Regardless of which SPLITTER variant is used, the advantages of the technology are always there.”
Due to the arrangement and geometry of the splitter shafts, system downtime due to clogging is virtually impossible and therefore also suitable for difficult-to-screen material. The use of SPLITTER technology provides the user with reliable, fast and cost-efficient separation of the scrap metal so that it can be fed directly into steelworks and foundries for final use.