Aluminum Scrap Recycling Line

Key Features

The line integrates shredding, classification, magnetic separation, air separation, multi-stage eddy current separation, and X-ray sorting under a single PLC control system.

Apron Feeder

The heavy-duty apron feeder receives loose or baled aluminum scrap from a wheel loader or tipping floor and meters it onto the inclined infeed conveyor. Its self-scraping chain-plate design handles bales, oversized cut-offs, and mixed loose input without bridging or manual intervention.

• Function: primary bunker discharge and metering feed
• Design: heavy-gauge steel chain plates with self-cleaning scraper
• Feed handling: not limited by particle size, density, or bale format

High-Angle Belt Conveyor

The high-angle belt conveyor lifts aluminum scrap from the feeder to the shredder inlet with corrugated sidewalls and cross cleats that hold material on steep inclines. Its compact footprint fits sites where floor-level space is limited.

• Function: steep-incline transfer to shredder inlet
• Design: corrugated sidewall belt with cross cleats
• Advantage: high throughput in a small footprint

Hammer Mill Shredder

The hammer mill shredder delivers primary size reduction of the aluminum scrap in a single pass. Hinged hammers on a high-speed rotor impact material against a breaker plate, producing a densified, cleaned flake suited to downstream sensor-based sorting. Hydraulic feed rollers meter input against the rotor at controlled speed.

• Function: single-pass primary size reduction with densification
• Design: hinged hammers on high-speed rotor, hydraulic feed rollers, breaker plate
• Advantage: high throughput, tolerant of hard inclusions, produces smelter-ready flake geometry

Hammer Mill Shredder Specifications:

Vertical Hammer Mill (Alternative Primary Option)

The vertical hammer mill delivers primary size reduction in a vertical rotor configuration, suited to aluminum profile scrap and geometrically consistent input. Material falls into the chamber by gravity, meets the high-speed rotor, and exits through a bottom discharge. The vertical layout gives a compact footprint compared to horizontal hammer mills at similar capacity.

• Function: vertical-axis primary size reduction
• Design: high-speed vertical rotor with chamber-based impact reduction
• Advantage: compact footprint, ideal for aluminum profile and geometric scrap

Vertical Hammer Mill Specifications:

Twin-Shaft Shredder (Alternative Primary Option)

For baled or highly contaminated aluminum feed, a twin-shaft shredder replaces the hammer mill as primary. Two counter-rotating shafts with interchangeable cutter discs shear material at low rpm and high torque, handling packed bales and mixed contamination without stalling.

• Function: primary bale opening and low-rpm shear reduction
• Advantage: handles baled and mixed input without pre-treatment

Twin-Shaft Shredder Specifications:

Single-Shaft Shredder (Secondary Reduction Option)

Paired with a twin-shaft shredder or used stand-alone for cleaner input, the single-shaft shredder delivers uniform target flake geometry against a stationary comb and bottom screen.

• Function: secondary or stand-alone size reduction to target flake size
• Advantage: uniform particle size for sensor-based sorting

Single-Shaft Shredder Specifications:

Magnetic Drum Separator (Top-Fed)

The top-fed magnetic drum separator recovers ferrous fragments (fasteners, steel inserts, bimetal pieces) from the shredded stream immediately after size reduction. A semi-enclosed vibratory-fed drum with adjustable field strength captures ferrous material efficiently while non-ferrous aluminum passes through to downstream sorting.

• Magnetic field strength: 1,800 to 8,000 Gauss (selectable)
• Operation: continuous, high recovery rate
• Design: simple structure, reliable operation, straightforward maintenance

Magnetic Drum Separator Specifications:

Trommel Screen

The rotary trommel screen classifies the shredded aluminum into size fractions for optimal downstream sorting. Wear-resistant screen panels and a shaft-less drive extend service life on abrasive aluminum shred.

• Screen material: wear-resistant alloy panels
• Drum options: hexagonal or cylindrical, custom aperture sizes
• Drive: polyurethane driving system, low noise, no-shaft design

Trommel Screen Specifications:

Flip-Flow Screen

The flip-flow screen handles the damp, sticky, or fine fraction that blinds conventional screens. Flexible polyurethane screen panels are stretched and released ("flip-flow" action) by the vibrating drive, throwing material clear at high acceleration and preventing mesh blinding.

• Application: fines separation on wet, sticky, or oil-coated aluminum
• Screen deck: elastic polyurethane panels
• Anti-blinding: dynamic stretch-release action across the deck

Vertical Air Separator

The vertical air separator lifts light contaminants (film, dust, coating fragments, labels) from the sized aluminum stream into a cyclone dust collector. A vibratory feeder distributes material into a Z-hopper, a centrifugal fan draws light particles upward, and heavy aluminum drops by gravity into the discharge.

• Function: light-fraction removal and dust extraction
• Design: Z-hopper vibratory feed, centrifugal fan, cyclone dust collector

Vertical Air Separator Specifications:

Eccentric Eddy Current Separator (Multi-Stage Configuration)

The eccentric eddy current separator recovers aluminum from the non-magnetic stream. An eccentric rotor design places the magnetic pole close to the belt surface, giving a wider throw angle for small aluminum flakes than a concentric rotor design. Aluminum scrap lines typically deploy the separator in a multi-stage configuration: a high-frequency (H) rotor variant handles the fine fraction while a standard rotor handles coarse material, and a second-pass eccentric ECS catches undersize aluminum missed by the primary. A vibrating feeder and adjustable baffle at each stage allow fine-tuning to the specific flake profile.

• Rotor type: eccentric high-speed magnetic rotor (standard and high-frequency variants)
• Particle size range: ≥1 mm²
• Magnet material: NdFeB with anti-fall spray-plastic protection
• Recovery target: aluminum, brass, copper, zinc, and other non-ferrous metals

Eccentric Eddy Current Separator Specifications:

X-Ray Transmission Sorter

The X-Ray Transmission sorter provides a final quality upgrade of the aluminum concentrate by rejecting residual heavy-metal contamination (copper wire, lead-bearing fragments, dense alloy pieces, bimetal composites). Material passes on a conveyor belt between an X-ray emitter above and a set of LDA dual-energy receivers below, and a self-learning classifier reads the atomic-density signal and triggers a compressed-air jet valve at the belt head pulley to eject targeted particles.

• Detection method: dual-energy X-ray transmission with LDA receivers
• Classifier: self-learning system that accumulates material characteristic samples
• Typical application: heavy-metal removal from aluminum concentrate, cast-vs-wrought separation, alloy quality upgrade
• Ejection: compressed-air jet valve array

X-Ray Transmission Sorter Specifications:

Buffer Silo (Optional)

An optional buffer silo between shredding and downstream sorting decouples the shredder throughput from the sorting stage. This allows batch-mode sorting, material blending across shredder cycles, and steady-state operation of the sensor sorters when shredder output is intermittent.

• Function: intermediate storage and flow regulation between shredding and sorting
• Advantage: enables batch sorting, material blending, and decoupled operation
• Configuration: multi-cell silo with metered discharge to downstream conveyor

Chain Apron Conveyor and Belt Conveyors

Heavy-duty chain apron conveyors handle the high-abrasion transfers (post-shredder discharge, ferrous byproduct), while belt conveyors carry lighter-duty inter-stage material between sensor sorting modules. All conveyors are integrated into the central PLC control system for coordinated line operation.

• Chain apron function: high-abrasion transfer
• Belt conveyor function: light-duty inter-stage transfer
• Integration: full PLC coordination and safety interlocks

Electrical Control System

The line runs under a single PLC control system with automatic overload reverse control, interlock logic, and an operator HMI. All motors, sensors, and pneumatic actuators are wired to the central cabinet for coordinated operation and remote diagnostics.

• Controller: PLC-based programmable control
• Protection: automatic overload reverse, safety interlocks across the full line
• Interface: HMI touchscreen with process-status visualization