MATERIALS RECOVERY & RDF PRODUCTION OVERVIEW
INTRODUCTION Atlantic Recycling are an environmentally conscious company supporting the needs of the construction sector in South Wales. The construction industry and most business are under increasing pressure to reduce their reliance on landfill disposal, increase recycling rates and move to a low carbon economy. The principal aims of Atlantic Recycling s Material Recovery Facility is to extract recyclable materials where they exist and to divert residual waste away from landfill. This is done through a purpose built, sophisticated waste sorting system which Atlantic have invested heavily in. The system enables recyclable materials to be separated and bulked up to send on to specialised recycling companies, who in turn, convert the recycled materials back into products for re-use. Additionally, the process is capable of the preparation of a refuse derived fuel (RDF) for use in renewable energy schemes. This fuel is produced in support of the principals of the waste hierarchy recycling where suitable opportunities exist before the recovery of energy is employed. The investment which Atlantic have made has made it possible to deliver significant rates of landfill diversion for its customers.
WASTE RECEPTION After being weighed on our electronic weighbridge, all loads are directed into the waste reception area. Here the loads are inspected and a visual waste composition analysis is completed.
MECHNICAL PRE-SORT A specially designed Materials Handler fitted with a heavy duty rotator grab conducts a pre sort of the waste to remove large items such as sofas, mattresses, carpets, wheelbarrows etc. which are not suitable to process through the material s sorting line. Metal items are transferred directly into a skip to go to metal recovery, mattresses and carpets are transferred to a specialist recycling facility.
HEAVY DUTY FEEDER/ SCREENER With larger items removed, the mixed waste is loaded into a heavy duty feeder with a mechanical selector grab. The feeder separates the material into a -200mm fraction and a +200mm fraction.
+200mm Materials Recovery The +200mm fraction is transferred onto a slow-moving, wide conveyor to a picking cabin where the recyclable materials are recovered by hand. This hand picking process enables material to be separated cleanly in order to be successfully marketed.
+200mm Recovered Materials The materials which are picked and their markets as follows Material Intermediate process Destination Clear Plastic Film Baled To Plastics Processors for recycling Mixed Colour Plastic Film Baled To Plastics Processors for recycling Cardboard Baled To Paper/ Card Mills for Recycling Mixed Rigid Plastics Baled To Plastics Processors for recycling PVC Window Profiles Loose To Plastics Processors for recycling Carpets Loose or Baled To Specialist Processors for Recycling/ Recovery Metals Loose To Metal Re-processors for Recycling Aggregates Loose To Aggregate Recyclers for processing/ Recycling Wood Loose Further Processed for Recycling and Recovery
Recovered Materials There is an element of non recyclable, light fraction material which arises from these processes, these materials are separated by an air knife. This will blow the light, combustible material into a containment cage until it is further processed into RDF.
Minus 200mm Materials Recovery The minus 200mm material first passes through a long-part separator to remove long pieces which could potentially cause blockages in the plant. These pieces are predominately recyclable such as wood, plastic, metal and PVC.. These items are later reintroduced into the +200mm sorting line via an independent in feed conveyor
Magnetic Separation Any metals contained in the minus 200mm material are then extracted by a powerful in-line magnet. These metals are then consolidated and transferred to a specialist metal processor
MINUS 200mm RDF FRACTION The remaining material is passed over a screen and separated into 3 fraction sizes -35mm 35mm to 100mm 100mm to 200mm Each of these size fractions are passed through an air knife or windshifter to separate any light combustible material present. As this subsequent material is suitable for RDF, it is consolidated and stored in cages before additional processing
RECOVERED AGGREGATES The heavy materials are then picked to recover wood and other non-aggregate material, allowing clean aggregate to continue off the end of the conveyor belts. The recovered aggregates are suitable for re-use as Recycled Aggregates
Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) Processing The various size fractions of light, combustible materials which have been separated through the process are now shredded to produce a homogenous and consistent fuel.
RDF Baling After the material has been shredded, it is processed into industry standard sized bales
RDF Wrapping After the material has been baled, it is necessary to wrap the bales in a tough plastic film, this ensures the integrity of the bale through the handling and shipping processes. This is done via a fully automatic bale wrapper.
Transport & Distribution RDF in baled and wrapped form is transported to end user or to UK Port for shipping to established European markets.
Shipping Specialist equipment is used to load baled RDF at UK Ports. Vessels generally ship directly to European waste to energy facilities, some of which have their own wharfs.
Conclusion By utilising this combination of the segregation of recyclable materials, combined with our ability to produce RDF, Atlantic hope to achieve virtually 100% Landfill Diversion.