Tomra e-book looks at aluminum sorting tech

Recycling technology vendor publishes 14-page booklet reviewing shredded aluminum sorting advances and techniques.

shredded aluminum recycling
Emerging technologies “can create furnace-ready aluminum for use in the manufacture of aluminum products for high-end applications, helping to close the loop on aluminum,” says Tomra.
Photo courtesy of Tomra Systems ASA

The Tomra Recycling Sorting business unit of Norway-based Tomra Systems AS has released an e-book it says highlights the opportunities that aluminum recycling presents and demonstrates how the latest sorting technologies can unlock potential in the industry.

The 14-page booklet, titled “The Green Revolution: A guide to the future of aluminum recycling,” reviews the benefits of recycling aluminum before describing the range of sensor-based sorting technologies that can be used and configured to create a clean aluminum fraction based on recyclers’ specific requirements.

Emerging sensor-based sorting technologies can create furnace-ready aluminum for use in the manufacture of aluminum products for high-end applications, helping to close the loop on aluminum, Tomra says.

The company is preparing to display those technological advances at the Aluminium Düsseldorf 2024 trade show Oct. 8-10 in Düsseldorf, Germany.

On display will be the company’s Autosort Pulse sorting device, which is built on Tomra's proprietary Dynamic LIBS [laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy] technology.

That sorting method, according to Tomra, closes another gap in the industry’s path toward material circularity by enabling the precise sorting of aluminum scrap by alloys, including 5000 and 6000 alloy classes.

The company’s X-Tract device, which sorts by atomic density and allows for the accurate separation of aluminum from heavy metals, also will be on display in Düsseldorf.

Tomra says it was the first to develop advanced waste and metals sorting applications using high capacity near-infrared (NIR) technology to extract the most value from resources and keep materials in a loop of use and reuse. To date, around 10,000 such systems have been installed in 100 countries worldwide. 

Overall, Tomra has approximately 105,000 installations in more than 100 markets worldwide. The company’s 5,000 employees helped it reap total revenue of about $1.4 billion in 2023.

The aluminum sorting technology booklet can be found on the Tomra website.