Equipment Report

Erema installs irrigation tube recycling systems

Austria-based Erema GmbH says it has successfully installed recycling and reprocessing shredder-extruder combination systems for manufacturers of linear-low density polyethylene irrigation pipes that have proven to be “the ideal solution for recycling challenging production [scrap].”

Erema says the system designed by its Pure Loop brand can accomodate scrap from drip tapes and irrigation pipes that accumulates during the production of irrigation systems or products that are rejected during quality inspection.

According to Erema, “Manufacturers who implement this technology reuse production [scrap] in the form of recycled pellets in proportions of up to 20 percent—without any loss of quality compared to production from virgin material.”

Manfred Dobersberger, managing director of the Pure Loop brand, says, “This level of reuse can still be significantly increased thanks to the high quality of the recycled pellets. The high demands on the recycling process result from the high volume of the bulky input material as well as the material composition of the drip tapes and irrigation pipes.”

Erema says the recycling concept created by Pure Loop has “already impressed irrigation system producers in the United States, Israel, Italy and Mexico.” The company adds, “They operate recycling plants with throughputs of 100 to 500 kilograms (200 to 1,100 to pounds) per hour and reuse the recycled pellets produced in proportions of up to 20 percent in the production process of thin-walled tapes and thick-walled pipes.”

Murphy Road Recycling to build $30 million MRF

Murphy Road Recycling, headquartered in Enfield, Connecticut, has announced that it will build a $30 million material recovery facility (MRF) in Berlin, Connecticut. The All American MRF will feature a processing system supplied by Van Dyk Recycling Solutions of Norwalk, Connecticut, that includes optical sorters as well as artificial intelligence and robotics.

Murphy Road Recycling is part of a family-owned and operated team of subsidiaries and affiliates that provide recycling and waste management services to Connecticut and western Massachusetts.

The All American MRF system will be operational by early 2022 and will employ 200 people during the construction phase and another 50 people when fully operational, according to a news release from Murphy Road Recycling. Once online, it will be capable of processing in excess of 50 tons of recyclables per hour, with a projected annual capacity of at least 200,000 tons, providing Connecticut with a critical resource to reach its 60 percent waste disposal diversion goal.

Murphy Road Recycling says it approached Van Dyk Recycling Solutions more than a year ago to help it deliver on its vision for a new MRF that would increase the quantity, quality and purity of recovered recyclables; provide an innovative and safe working environment; and have the flexibility to adapt to ever-evolving consumer habits and recycling market conditions.

“Today’s curbside material isn’t what it was 10-15 years ago,” Jonathan Murray, director of operations, Murphy Road Recycling, says. “It was heavy on newspaper and relatively clean. Today, everyone reads news online and orders everything from the internet. Today’s stream is full of small cardboard boxes and shipping envelopes and requires that we, as recyclers, innovate and change our thinking around the sorting of recyclables.”

The All American MRF will feature a fully integrated system that includes artificial intelligence and several second-chance mechanisms to ensure valuable material is recovered. The design includes equipment to target paper, cardboard, boxboard, glass and five types of plastic.

“It will employ an unprecedented 11 optical scanners, which can identify and separate materials based on their chemical composition, and will utilize robotics and artificial intelligence to perform additional quality control on the final mixed-paper line before baling,” Pieter Van Dijk, CEO of Van Dyk Recycling Solutions, says. “As material trends change over time, these machines can simply be reprogrammed to adapt and prevent the system from aging out.”

He adds, “This facility will include cutting-edge technology and safety measures that will be the new industry gold standard, not just in Connecticut but across the country.”

In addition to producing high-quality recyclables, the MRF is designed to keep its employees safer. The All American MRF’s “monolevel structure” and heightened focus on automation will create the innovative and safe working environment that Murphy Road Recycling was seeking, the company says.

“The health and safety of our employees is our number one concern at Murphy Road Recycling,” says Frank Antonacci of Murphy Road Recycling. “That is why we invested heavily in automation to further increase the safety and productivity of the facility. We are retraining employees for positions to operate and maintain the optical sorter and other equipment, which are higher skilled, higher wage positions.”

Redwave releases conveyors for the recycling industry

Redwave has expanded its product portfolio of sensor-based sorting technology to include conveyor belts specially optimized for the recycling sector. Redwave is headquartered in Austria, with branch offices in Germany, China, Singapore and the United States.

“In the past, we often had to live with compromise solutions when purchasing standardized conveyor belts,” says Redwave Managing Director Manfred Ho¨dl. “In many cases, the systems lacked adaptability with regard to customer conditions and needs, such as a small footprint. In addition, we were dependent on the supplier with regard to delivery dates.”

For these reasons, Redwave says it has developed conveyor belts specifically for the recycling industry. “We know the recycling industry and how different materials behave on conveyors in the course of several years. The choice of scrapers, belts, etc., is already made during the planning and design process,” he says.

The right conveyor belt optimizes the performance of sorting equipment and improves throughput, according to the company. The requirements for conveyor belts in the recycling industry differ significantly from the requirements of other industries, Redwave says.

Redwave conveyor belts feature improvements of the chute connection for feeding the sorting machines. They offer easy accessibility, which plays a major role during cleaning and maintenance because contamination and blockages are not uncommon in recycling plants. For example, removable sheet metal cladding and swiveling floor panels make cleaning easier and minimize the amount of maintenance required, the company says. External lubrication points also improve accessibility and offer time savings.

Dust also can be an issue in recycling facilities. For this reason, Redwave has developed belt seals (covers and gutter seals) that are adapted for the material the recycling plant handles.

The conveyor belts are installed in Redwave systems as troughed belt conveyor, sliding belt conveyor and chain belt conveyor. Their modular design allows the length of the conveyor to be modified easily and also allows additional equipment to be retrofitted easily, according to the company.

Using Redwave Mate, a form of artificial intelligence, the conveyor belts are networked into the entire sorting system to aid with optimizing the sorting process.

AMCS releases Smart Transport solution

AMCS, Limerick, Ireland, has announced the launch of its first major release of the AMCS Platform in 2021.

AMCS Platform 8.5 incorporates significant developments in its transport logistics and materials processing functionality, ensuring users rapidly can react to changes in customer demands and helping them to stay ahead of market developments, according to the company.

The latest release features the new AMCS TMS (Transport Management System), which provides automated and integrated functionality capable of managing every aspect of waste collection logistics, including route planning, scheduling, live tracking and a mobile driver application, AMCS says.

AMCS Platform 8.5 offers the following benefits:

• enhanced scale and materials management capabilities through the digitization of inventory, grading and production workflows, enhancing operational efficiency and visibility;
• a new Business Intelligence Dashboard feature that includes an intuitive and interactive dashboard to manage the account receivable’s function; and
• enhancements in customer self-service, increased mobile workforce productivity, expanded API’s and secure integrated payments.

“AMCS Platform provides waste, recycling and resource management companies with an integrated end-to-end platform to achieve greater levels of automation, digitalization and insight on a robust SaaS foundation across their enterprise,” says Elaine Treacy, global product director at AMCS.

Allreco is new name for Doppstadt stationary equipment

LIG GmbH, Velbert, Germany, has announced that, as of June this year, Doppstadt Systemtechnik GmbH (DSG) will be renamed Allreco GmbH as a way for the stationary recycling equipment made by that LIG business unit to “be established more strongly as an independent brand.”

The company says, after the change to Allreco, the business unit’s focus will continue to be on “the development of stationary recycling solutions.”

DSG, soon to be Allreco, is one of three Doppstadt Beteiligungs GmbH business units, along with diversified equipment producer Doppstadt Calbe and machine fabricator Doppstadt Umwelttechnik.

Henning Strunz, managing director of DSG, says the name Doppstadt is “firmly established” in the recycling market. “However,” he adds, “the uniform naming also has its disadvantages. Some of our prospective and existing customers do not perceive DSG as an independent brand.”

The company indicates equipment developed by the emerging Allreco business unit will be made either by Doppstadt Umwelttechnik or by an Allreco “selected partner company.” Allreco also will seek a global presence with a “focus on the markets in Europe, Japan, Korea and Singapore.”

On its website, Doppstadt lists the processing of wood scrap, mixed C&D materials and mixed recyclables, plus the production of refuse-derived fuel (RDF), as its market sectors and applications.

“The strategic reorganization should help our customers to recognize Allreco as an independent brand with a focus on the development of recycling solutions for stationary use,” Strunz says of the change. “Allreco is the clever combination of our many years of experience as a traditional family-owned company and the pioneering idea of breaking new ground.”