Bunting-Redditch has supplied three magnetic separators and one Eddy Current Separator to recover metals in an overseas recycling plant designed and installed by Northern Ireland-based CRS NI Ltd.

CRS NI is a leading player in the UK waste processing market, designing and manufacturing bespoke material recycling facilities to suit any size operation at its facility in County Tyrone, from in-line trommel plants to full co-mingled waste plants as well as original plant extensions and ‘add-ons’.

After an extensive review of recycling equipment suppliers at the end of 2020, CRS selected Bunting-Redditch to supply the metal separators. The configuration of the waste processing plant led to the selection of three ElectroMax Overband Magnets and one Eddy Current Separator with vibratory feeder.

Bunting is one of the world’s leading designers and manufacturers of magnetic separators for the recycling and waste industries with manufacturing facilities in Redditch and Berkhamsted.

EMAX150 ElectroMax Overband Magnets recover steel cans and other ferrous metals from the conveyed waste. One is suspended inline with a conveyor, over a non-magnetic head pulley, with the remaining two positioned across the conveyors. All the ElectroMax models feature compact, air-cooled, high-powered electromagnets with heavy-duty self-cleaning rubber belts.

In operation, the waste passes under the electromagnet on a conveyor where any ferrous metal attracts up and out of the burden. The self-cleaning belt transfers captured ferrous metal out of the magnetic field, discarding into a collection area. Each EMAX150 weighs 2.8 tonnes and is 2,750mm long, 460mm high and 1,590mm wide.

In this particular project, two of the conveyors are 1,200mm wide for the cross-belt installation, with the third being 1,500mm for the in-line position. There are three size fractions: less than 50mm, 50-150mm and 150-400mm with the burden depth on all three conveyors averaging around 300mm.

The 1,500mm wide Eddy Current Separator, with integrated vibratory feeder, is located later in the process and recovers non-ferrous metals such as aluminium cans. The HIC Model (high-intensity concentric) features a 300mm diameter magnetic rotor. The vibratory feeder regulates an even and controlled feed of waste material onto the faster running Eddy Current Separator conveyor belt, which then transports the waste into the alternating magnetic field of the rotor.

An Eddy Current Separator is a dual pulley conveyor system, where the non-metallic rotor cover houses an independently rotating high-speed magnetic rotor. Separation occurs when a non-ferrous metal particle (aluminium, copper or zinc) is conveyed into the magnetic zone. The non-ferrous metal particle is exposed to rapidly changing magnetic polarity. This induces ‘eddy currents’ into the particle generating an electrical current that subsequently creates its own magnetic field.

The combination of the ElectroMax Overband Magnets and Eddy Current Separator ensures the maximum recovery of metal from the waste stream.

Adrian Coleman, Bunting-Redditch general manager, said: “This is another manufacturing export success story for the UK. CRS is one of the leading designers and suppliers of recycling plants and we were thrilled to be selected as the suppliers of the metal separators. Effectively managing waste is a global challenge and we are proud to see plant designed and built in the UK being used in overseas recycling projects.”