Equipment report

Infinitus Energy opens material recovery facility in Alabama

Infinitus Energy, based in Plantation, Florida, has announced the launch of residential recycling in the city of Montgomery, Alabama, and the opening of the company's “advanced” mixed material recovery facility (MRF). The IREP (Infinitus Renewable Energy Park) at Montgomery is expected to create 110 local jobs and to divert up to 80 percent of waste from landfill, the company says.

Infinitus Energy says innovative technology, a progressive collection model and a partnership with the capital city helped to bring residential recycling to Montgomery.

Residents will use only one bin for waste and recyclables, an approach that is gaining popularity because of advances in technology, increased collection efficiencies and participation advantages, the company says. The system—designed, manufactured and installed by Eugene, Oregon-based Bulk Handling Systems (BHS)—features BHS screens and Nihot air and NRT optical separation technology designed to recover up to 95 percent of available recyclables at a rate of 30 tons per hour. The system also will recover organic waste for composting.

“The delivery of the Montgomery advanced mixed materials recovery facility is an example of how our company is redefining waste through this decade and beyond,” said Infinitus CEO Kyle Mowitz. “Our mission is to deliver an integrated waste model that benefits the residents of a community in two very important ways. First, we bring overall waste programming costs down with no capital investment required from the community. Secondly, we increase overall recovery rates, which in turn dramatically boosts landfill diversion rates.”

Mowitz said Infinitus plans to make future investments in various technologies at the MRF.

“Our company is committed to additional investment in technologies to benefit the community both economically and environmentally,” he said. “Future phases of this project will include further maximization of the organic waste stream through anaerobic digestion (AD) to create a compressed natural gas (CNG) and compost. The citizens of Montgomery should applaud the vision of their government leaders that have contributed to this project’s benefits—benefits that will be realized for years to come,” Mowitz continued.

Wendt installs upgraded nonferrous system at Interstate Shredding

Wendt Corp., Buffalo, New York, reports that it has installed and started up an upgraded nonferrous separation system at Interstate Shredding LLC, Girard, Ohio.

The upgrade features four Wendt/TITECH Finders and two ASR Windsifters as well as conveyors, feeders and platforms, Wendt reports, providing Interstate Shredding with the ability to recover insulated copper wire (ICW), zorba, zurik and fines material and offers increased revenue potential.

According to Wendt, the upgrade was tied to Interstate’s goal to expand its plant and to help maximize the value of the products produced there as well as to create new products from the company’s automobile shredder residue (ASR).

Interstate Shredding operates a 28-acre scrap metal recycling facility that was started as a joint venture in 2008 with Niles Iron & Metal, Niles, Ohio, and Mercer Co., Sharon, Pennsylvania. Together the companies make up LNM Holdings LLC, headquartered in Phoenix. LNM Holdings is one of the largest scrap metal processors in the northeast Ohio-western Pennsylvania region.

According to Wendt, Interstate installed a 4,000-horsepower 80x104 shredder and nonferrous plant in 2009 but soon recognized the need to expand its nonferrous processing capabilities to recover copper wire from ASR.

“Our desire to purchase new equipment arose as our existing system was deficient in that it didn’t give us the ability to recover wire,” says Gary Chandler, COO of LNM Holdings.

To better understand copper wire recovery options as well as improvements to existing products, Interstate visited the Wendt Test Center in Buffalo to test its ASR material.

“With the testing done at the Wendt Test Center, it revealed to us that we were not only losing wire but losing additional metals as well,” states Chandler. “The Test Center allowed us to recognize the recovery potential and simulate our own process.”