Turning small metal pieces into big profits

Scanmetals has developed a proprietary dry process to recover nonferrous metals from incinerator bottom ash (IBA) generated by energy-from-waste facilities. By incorporating the latest STEINERT mechanical and sensor sorting technology, it turns IBA into pure metal fractions that reach primary raw material quality.

“Approximately 20 percent of the waste that goes into an incinerator ends up as bottom ash,” Scanmetals founder Ejvind Pedersen says. “Two percent are metal pieces that range from 1 to 100 millimeters.”

At the incinerator, eddy-current separation can lift the recoverable metals in the bottom ash from 2 percent up to 50 to 60 percent. This treated bottom ash sells for roughly $1,000 more per ton. “The small pieces are important to me.” Pedersen says.

Scanmetals uses the STEINERT XSS^® T (X-ray transmission) to separate heavy metals from high-alloyed aluminum, creating a product that is 99.9 percent pure aluminum.

It also employs the STEINERT KSS | XF CLI and the STEINERT Chutec (both X-ray fluorescence) to separate heavy metals into copper, brass, zinc and precious metals, achieving more than 97 percent purity in the finished products.

These technology investments allows Scanmetals to recover more fine-grain sizes and complete its final nonferrous metals down to 5 millimeters.

The purity is so high that Scanmetals’ customers can reduce their reliance on primary aluminum from mines. Recovered aluminum can be recycled unlimited times without losing its quality, so this is a real win-win because buyers can maintain quality and reduce materials costs while improving sustainability rates.

Collaborating with STEINERT has been huge for Scanmetals’ ability to attract and retain clients. “All my production people trust them,” Pedersen says. “The machines are easy to handle and all the technical components are easy to understand and use.”