Investing in knife technologies enables recyclers to shred, chip and size plastic scrap.

Traditionally, plastic product original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have shipped scrap and defective products to China or regional recyclers after shredding for more manageable transport. Further grinding or granulating the plastic to a size suitable to mix with virgin plastic pellets also has enabled reuse in the manufacturing process to reduce input costs.

However, the process of shredding, screening and grinding the plastic to size with different equipment in separate processes can be inefficient and also cause production bottlenecks.

For OEMs of a wide range of plastic products, such as car bumpers, barrels, bottles, garbage cans, gas cans, paint cans and film and wrap, equipment manufacturers offer an alternative: shredder knife technology can help to cut, screen and size plastic materials in a single pass with one machine on-site.

Because the sizing of the scrap can be specified, uniform and even tailored to the manufacturing process, more material can be reused with less labor and processing, boosting profits. Shipping costs also are reduced for scrap transported off-site to be recycled because voids (i.e., empty spaces) within the container are minimized. 

By using knife technology, it enables the machine to do the work of a typical shredder and a granulator. It’s also more energy efficient and takes less space on the production floor. Knife technology is flexible enough to be incorporated into the smallest or the largest industrial shearing and grinding equipment.

For decades, the reduction of large plastic scrap or unusable products has usually involved shearing equipment, such as dual- or quad-shaft shredders. To further decrease size, this is typically followed by the use of grinding machinery, such as granulators, stone mills, tub grinders or chippers. 

Screens often are used at various points, which decreases processing speed. As an example, a standard dual-shaft shredder typically turns material into strips and requires a screening device to reduce plastic material to a specific size, says Doug Bartelt, president of Milwaukee-based BCA Industries, a developer and manufacturer of industrial shredding and recycling equipment as well as knife technology.

Bartelt says conventional shredders like this usually are used in conjunction with granulators.

A single-shaft granulator is a simple device consisting of a knife (or multiple knives) attached to a shaft that mates with a stationary bed knife. Material is randomly chopped and continues to be cut until small enough to fit through a sizing screen in the bottom of the machine.

“Both the shredder and granulator create various sized material. Usually, this is determined by a random event in how the material is fed into the system in terms of speed, timing, etc., which results in about 40 to 50 percent incorrectly sized material. So, efficiency on either of these systems only approaches around 50 percent,” Bartelt says.

Bartelt and his brother discovered a more efficient way to size without a screen. The insight was developed into BCA’s patented Triplus knife system technology, which changes a standard shredder to a hybrid between a dual-shaft rotary shear shredder and a single-shaft granulator. 

The approach uses the grabbing action of a high-torque, dual-shaft shredder to cut the width of the material, while the bed knife design of the shredder sizes the length. This is accomplished in one operation, which produces accurately sized material in one pass without a screen. The end product size is based on the size and geometry of the knives.

Unlike traditional equipment, the knife system can shred, chip and size any kind or size of plastics in a single pass without using a screen. A shredder using this design can produce more than 85 percent correctly sized material in one pass with less than 10 percent oversized material, Bartelt says.

Such regularly sized plastic material facilitates OEMs redirecting scrap back into their own on-site manufacturing process. This move toward a closed-loop sourcing approach can not only dramatically reduce input costs but also eliminate most, if not all, of the expense of shipping plastic materials to be recycled off-site.

With BCA’s knife system, an OEM operator just specifies the chip size needed, and it produces chips in the specified size. The design works with wet or difficult-to-screen materials, and cleanly cuts those that normally create fines and dust. With a traditional system, fines and dust must be air vacuumed away and are considered undesirable for many reasons.

Functionally, for OEMs looking to streamline the plastic scrap reuse or recycling process, the knife system can increase efficiency and throughput, potentially surpassing that of typical granulators, hammer mills, chippers and quad-shaft shredders used in the industry.

By eliminating separate equipment and steps to shred, screen and grind scrap to size—and combining this into a single function—the manufacturing process can be expedited.

Another factor increases production output for OEMs: the rpm of the knives can be adjusted to the load needed for optimal production efficiency. Unlike typical shredders that tend to operate at low speed and high torque, BCA shredders using the knife design can be operated at high speed and low torque for higher production speeds. When more torque is required for anything tougher to grind, the system automatically provides the rpm necessary; it then readjusts to the higher speed, lower torque setting for faster production within seconds.

Additionally, the knife system can reduce plastic scrap to the appropriate size with much less energy than typical shearing and grinding equipment. Power efficiency approaches 150 percent over any standard shredder or granulator. 

As an example, with this technology, a 50-horsepower single-pass shredder can produce the same amount of recyclable product per hour as a standard 100-to-150-horsepower conventional system. This can reduce OEM energy costs by $1,500-$5,000 per month while producing a more consistently sized product, ready for on-site reuse or cost-effective transport to a recycling center.

The technology is flexible enough to be installed in any size shredder that BCA builds, from 10 horsepower to 800 horsepower, from a 15 inches by 12 inches cutting chamber to a 48 inches by 72 inches cutting chamber, and is licensable to equipment OEMs looking to build their own branded devices.

In addition to plastics, the knife system design effectively shreds and sizes a wide variety of materials including rubber, paper, cardboard, wood, fabric, copper wire, aluminum, fiberglass and batteries.

OEMs needing to reuse or recycle plastic scrap or defective product have long resorted to overly complex in-house shredding, screening and grinding processes as well as costly shipping to offsite recycling centers. 

With industry innovation, however, OEMs can quickly and efficiently cut plastic scrap and subpar products to size on-site. This has the potential to simplify production and reduce shipping costs to boost the bottom line.

Del Williams a technical writer based in Torrance, California, who wrote this piece on behalf of Milwaukee-based BCA Industries.

Green Distillation Technologies to add processing module to plant in Warren, western New South Wales.

Green Distillation Technologies (GDT) Corp. Ltd., based in Cremorne, Victoria, Australia, says it will expand the capacity of its plant in Warren, western New South Wales, by installing an additional processing module. The company has developed technology that processes end-of-life tires into oil, carbon and steel.  

Effectively, this will double the existing production output capacity of the plant in Warren, according to GDT. The company adds that it plans to install additional modules next year as funds become available, bringing the total number to six, to reach an annual processing capacity of 19,300 metric tons of tires.

GDT says work on the extension is underway and is expected to be completed by April 2021. Outside contractors, as well as GDT staff, will work on the addition.

The company says a typical 22-pound car tire will yield 3.6 liters of oil, 10 pounds of carbon and nearly 4.5 pounds of steel; a 154-pound truck tire will provide 25 liters of oil, nearly 73 pounds of carbon and nearly 31 pounds of steel; and a 4-metric-ton oversize mining dump truck tire will yield 1.9 metric tons of carbon, 0.8 metric tons of steel and 1,420 liters of oil. A fully operating plant, therefore, would generate 6.86 million liters of oil, 9,032 metric tons of carbon and 3,760 metric tons of recovered steel.

Chief Operating Officer Trevor Bayley says, “Clearly, investment funds are vitally important, and you have to spend money to make money, and our aim is to get the Warren plant to full capacity so we can not only provide positive proof of our technology but [also] the economics of our process through the sale of the oil, carbon and steel we produce.”

He says Warren is the site of the company’s original research and development work that started in 2009. Since proving the concept, GDT has moved to a 21-hectare location that allows for future expansion. 

The company also has a second facility in Toowoomba in southern Queensland that it is scaling to full production and has plans for five other Australian plants in Gladstone, Wagga, Geelong, Elizabeth and Collie.

Brussels-based European Aluminium re-elects Emilio Braghi to two-year term as chairperson.

The members of the Brussels-based association called European Aluminium have re-elected Emilio Braghi, president of Novelis Europe, as chair of the association at a virtual General Assembly meeting.

European Aluminium says it also has welcomed two new members this year, taking the association’s total membership to more than 85 member companies representing 600 plants in 30 European countries.

“I am grateful to my colleagues for their confidence during this critical time for our industry,’ says Braghi. “I aspire to be a strong ambassador for the entire value chain and help secure adequate support measures for our industry to recover from the [COVID-19] crisis and set the right conditions for fostering the production of sustainable aluminum in Europe.”

Adds Draghi, “I’m especially looking forward to the mid-term review of our industry’s sustainability roadmap to assess progress made and redefine our ambitions in the light of the Green Deal.”

Novelis Europe, based in Kuesnacht, Switzerland, is part of Atlanta-based Novelis, which is part of Mumbai-based Aditya Birla Group.

European Aluminium also has elected Philip Schlüter, CEO of Germany-based TRIMET Aluminium SE, as its new vice chair. Ingrid Jörg, president of global metals producer Constellium’s Aerospace and Transportation business; Arnaud de Weert, CEO at Paris-based Alvance Aluminium Group; and Gerald Mayer, CEO of AMAG Austria Metall AG, have now joined the 12-member executive committee of European Aluminium.

Company announces its new strategy and financial targets.

Metso Outotec, headquartered in Helsinki, has announced plans to divest its Recycling business as part of a new strategy focused on growth and improving profitability.

Metso Outotec was created earlier this year through the combination of Metso Minerals and Outotec.

The company says it aims to become a top-tier supplier of products, technologies and services in the aggregates and minerals industries and a top financial performer.

Metso Outotec’s Recycling business sells products and services for metal and waste recycling, including balers, briquetters, metal crushers, shears, shredders, preshredders and services for processing virtually every type of metal scrap as well as shredders, preshredders and services for reducing municipal solid waste, commercial and industrial waste, construction and demolition waste, plastics, paper and cardboard. Its sales in 2019 were 156 million euros, or $181 million, and it reported an adjusted earnings before interest, taxes and amortization (EBITA) margin of approximately 6 percent. The Recycling business employs roughly 300 people, and its main locations are in Horsens, Denmark; Düsseldorf, Germany; and San Antonio.

“We have made a strategic decision to exit the Recycling business,” company President and CEO Pekka Vauramo says. “We have concluded that even though the circular economy and other market drivers offer attractive opportunities for developing the Recycling business, it has limited synergies with the core of the new Metso Outotec, and therefore we will not be the best owner to fully leverage its opportunities. This being the case, we have started preparations to divest the business. I am confident that we will reach a solution that is good for Metso Outotec as well as for the Recycling business and its personnel.” 

Metso Outotec says its foundation for implementing its strategy and achieving its goals is based on its comprehensive product and service offering as well as process expertise throughout customers’ value chains, an extensive installed base and strong brand, strong aftermarket presence and know-how and industry-leading, sustainability-focused technology, research and product development expertise. 

As part of the strategy work, Metso Outotec’s board of directors has approved the following financial targets:

“The financial targets underline our intention to improve the company’s profitability and drive sustainable solutions in our industry,” Vauramo says. “The most significant factors in this development are the benefits related to integration and synergies, the businesses’ own profitability improvement actions, increasing market shares and developing our business portfolio. At the same time, we will strengthen the company’s balance sheet by using cash from operations to reduce indebtedness. For shareholders, Metso Outotec’s ambition is to be a good payer of dividends.”  

Metso Outotec says its key customer segments are aggregates, minerals processing and certain areas of metals refining. The company adds that its target markets “offer attractive growth prospects and have significant potential for further growth and development of the aftermarket business” and benefit from trends toward urbanization, infrastructure projects, electrification of societies and climate change mitigation.

Metso Outotec says its primary target in the selected segments is to develop its product and service business by leveraging its comprehensive process expertise.

The company says its strategy will be implemented through four priorities: integration and financial performance, customer centricity, sustainability and performance culture. These priority areas are visible in each business area’s action plans and their realization is measured and managed with several performance indicators.

“Metso Outotec’s new strategy is coherent and clear, and it will help us to become an industry-leading company in customer satisfaction, sustainability and financial performance,” Vauramo says.

“Based on a careful assessment of our businesses and the opportunities they offer, we have selected the areas we will focus on. The aggregates and minerals industries have clear roles at the core of our strategy. Global megatrends are driving their development, and we are well-positioned to offer products, solutions and services that satisfy customer demands. In the Metals business, we will initiate a restructuring and turnaround program to improve financial performance and ensure more granular management of the various businesses and resources. This work will lead us to scope our offering and resources in a more efficient way,” Vauramo continues.

The company says its management will present its strategy and business plans in more detail at the virtual Capital Markets Day Nov. 11. Additional information about the event is available at www.mogroup.com. 

Notifications include the container location, a time range for when the contamination occurred and a photo and description of the contamination.

Compology, San Francisco, announced Nov. 2 that its container monitoring technology can send real-time text messages and emails to customers when it detects contamination in a dumpster.

These notifications include the location of the container, a time range for when the contamination occurred and a photo and description of the contamination.

Content and contamination is one of four data categories tracked by these container monitoring devices, along with fullness, location and pickup activity.  

According to the company, these notifications can help businesses lower waste costs by reducing the potential for contamination fines while also minimizing unnecessary pickups.

The company says that by better tracking contamination, businesses can increase diversion and work toward educating employees on managing waste in more proactive ways. Tracking what goes into a company’s dumpster also can help businesses improve transparency and compliance, Compology says.