Metal Separation

About The Metal Separation Industry

Ferrous metal separation is a key component to a variety of industries from food and grain processing to recycling of municipal solid waste. Magnetic separators are the workhorses of this industry and come in a variety of configurations. Cross-belt magnets are one of the most widely used applications and can range from permanent ceramic or rare earth magnets to electro magnets, each with varying degrees of magnetism.

Another popular separation method is magnetic drum separators. These are often placed in transfer areas between belt conveyors or screw and bucket conveyor transfer areas with a vertical drop. The magnetic drum is contained within a stainless steel housing to prevent the magnetization of the housing. The ferrous metal clings to the drum for part of its rotation and is discharged separately from the remaining materials. Magnetic head pulleys are also used in addition to or in lieu of other separators. Eddy current separators are used to separate non-ferrous materials.

screen shot 2014 01 27 at 1 45 14 pmScrap metal can be collected from community recycling programs, electronic recycling and commercial scrap generators. Once the metal is collected, it is sorted by type and composition and then sent to a metal recycling plant. The plant inspects the quality of the scrap metal and makes sure the metals have been correctly separated. Separation is typically done by use of magnets attached to excavators in scrap yards.  Further downstream processing utilizes conveyors with magnetic head pulleys or cross-belt magnets mounted above the conveyor.

Food and grain processors utilize magnets throughout their processes to remove metal pieces or flakes from the underlying commodity. Grain processors use screw and bucket conveyors to convey grain in their storage facilities and mills. Permanent suspended or mounted magnets as well as drum magnets are frequently used to separate contaminants such as metal flakes from bolts or other stray metals. Removal of these larger items is crucial to prevent damage to gran mill components downstream.

Vulcan® Drying Systems ASR Dryers are engineered to dry automotive shredder residue, making the material easy to transport, separate, and handle by reducing moisture, weight, clumping, and volume.  As metal sorting and separation technologies improve, many auto recyclers have begun to dredge up old landfills to reclaim materials lost decades ago to low quality separators.  Proper resorting can only be achieved if the moisture content of the landfill material is reduced to prevent clumping and sticking.

ASR Drying Systems consist of a drum with a burner that is mounted to a combustion chamber. Auto shredder residue is fed into the direct heated rotary dryer, to be thermally heated. After the material has been thoroughly processed, the dried ASR is discharged to a transfer conveyor for further sorting and separation. The vapors from the process are pulled through a cyclone that is designed to manage ASR particulates with the vapor stream. Remaining fine particulates are removed in the baghouse.

Highly efficient Vulcan® Drying Systems ASR Dryers keep material temperature under 185°F (85°C) while reducing ASR moisture levels to as low as 2% by weight. The dryers can be automated, and production rates and material quality are easily controlled.