Equipment Report

Eriez DensitySort Separates Fines fraction

Using space within a newly purchased 114,000-square-foot building in Erie, Pa., Eriez researchers led by Dr. Jiang Xinkai and product managers led by Mike Shattuck conducted a significant number of tests of the company's DensitySort Air Table. The Eriez team used samples of mixed metals provided by shredding plant operators from throughout the U.S.

The company describes the DensitySort as "a media-free option for fines sorting." The air table technology was borrowed and downsized from technology Eriez has long used in the mining industry.

The unit is designed to separate light and heavy fractions of material sized 0.25 inch by 1 inch and also 1 inch by 2 inches without a change to the machine's setup.

The DensitySort Air Table uses air, vibration and slope to separate the fines fraction. It does not require a media base, like sand or water, to achieve separation, which Eriez touts as a cost-savings and operational advantage.

"You do not have to purchase a medium and you do not have to process the material after it's done to clean the media off the material, so that's a big cost savings both up front and as you operate," Shattuck says.

Mixed metals are introduced to the DensitySort at the high point of the table's slope. Specific mass then directs pieces of metal to the low or high side of the table, providing an upgraded high grade aluminum product (twitch) as well as a product containing nearly 80 percent heavy metals by weight.

Once a fluidized bed of material is maintained, heavy products sink to the bottom and travel up the table to a discharge point, Eriez says. The light fraction remains on top of the burden and travels to the low side of the table. Material recirculates until it reaches the appropriate discharge.

More information is available at www.eriez.com.
 

BHS Installs Solid Waste Processing System in Northern Michigan

A highly automated municipal solid waste (MSW) processing system, designed, manufactured and installed by Bulk Handling Systems (BHS), Eugene, Ore., has begun processing materials at the new American Waste material recovery facility (MRF) in Traverse City, Mich. The custom-designed facility recovers recyclables from mixed waste streams, much of which previously ended up in a landfill. The system, which BHS describes as a "unique and flexible," is capable of processing single-stream recyclables as well as construction and demolition materials, the company says.

"We will be focusing on recovering all the valuable commodities in the waste stream at a much greater capacity than was previously possible," Mike Ascione, co-president of American Waste, says. The company, which has service contracts for multiple residential areas, describes the system as the most advanced in the state, adding that it was developed with the capacity to serve all of northern Michigan.

The plant processes 500 tons per day of MSW and up to 50 tons per day of residential and commercial single-stream recyclables using screening, air and optical technologies to ensure maximum recovery and purity of recyclables at high throughput rates, BHS says.

The recovery rate from the MSW stream is expected to top 50 percent compared with an average rate of 15 to 25 percent seen at conventional facilities, according to BHS. Products that can be recovered include cardboard, paper, plastics, wood, metal and aluminum.
 

UNTHA Relocates US Headquarters

UNTHA America, the subsidiary of UNTHA Shredding Technology GmbH, Salzburg, Austria, has relocated from Newburyport, Mass., to Hampton, N.H. To celebrate the move, the company hosted an open house Oct. 18, 2011, to showcase its line of shredding machines.

UNTHA President and CEO of U.S. Operations Berhard Mueggler, left, stands with New Hampshire Division of Economic Development Business Development Manager Michael Bergeron at the company’s recent open house.

"UNTHA is another great example of a family-owned high-tech company that has found New Hampshire to be a lower-cost state to operate a business," says Michael Bergeron, business development manager for the New Hampshire Division of Economic Development.

The new complex consists of larger office and warehouse space and an expanded test facility, which includes UNTHA's newest single-shaft shredder, the VR, as well as a newly redesigned RS Series four-shaft machine.

"This new facility is twice the size of our old one in Massachusetts and reflects both UNTHA's growth as well as our commitment to the North American market," said Bernhard Mueggler, president of UNTHA America, during the open house ceremony.

"By relocating to New Hampshire, I expect to cut my operational costs by up to 10 percent annually," Mueggler added. "Hampton is close to Interstate 95, with easy access to the Boston metropolitan area and the rest of New England."

Peter Dion, UNTHA America regional sales manager, said, "Here in Hampton we are much more capable in terms of being able to test a wide variety of materials for our existing and potential customers."

More information is available at www.untha.com/us.