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Magnetic separator for lithium battery powder
The quality of cathode powders such as nickel, cadmium and lithium must be optimal to guarantee the operation of a battery. Any metal contamination present in the powder reduces the quality of the material mix and leads to a battery’s short life. The automatic cleaning rotating magnetic separator filters metal particles as small as 30 μm from the poorly flowing lithium powder. Lithium is extracted from salt lakes such as the Salar de Atacama in Chile, where there are huge reserves of brine containing lithium. Some large producers process this lithium into a powder that serves as a raw material for batteries used in electric cars, laptops and mobile phones, among other things.
The magnetic separator contains nine strong, rotating magnetic bars that prevent the fine powder from sticking to the bars like a bridge. The rotating movement ensures that the product does not block on the bars, so that good deferrization is possible. The contact with the magnetic bars is therefore optimal. This is important because weakly magnetic particles in particular must touch the magnetic bars. The pneumatically operated magnetic bars of Ø50 mm have a deep catch field. With a flux density of 12,000 gauss on the bars, the magnet can capture paramagnetic particles such as iron oxide and stainless steel in addition to iron particles. The magnetic separator is dust-proof and can be cleaned automatically. The valve box in the system removes the captured metal particles on site.
Largest sorting plant in Latin America begins operation
With this facility, the city government is the first in the country to move towards a correct treatment of urban waste based on a circular economy concept – one of the priority objectives of the current administration.
Stadler supplied the cutting-edge technology to achieve this milestone. Natalya Duarte, Sales Director for Mexico at Stadler, says: “We would like to thank Mexico City for allowing us to give our contribution and take part in the great challenge of reducing waste in Mexico City, one of the most populated megacities in the world, where more than 12,000 tons of waste are generated every day.” The city government thus lays the groundwork for fulfilling its environmental responsibility, recognising the importance of complying with international agreements and the need to apply circular economy principles.
It is the country’s first government-owned automated plant for the separation and treatment of municipal solid waste. The 11,000 m2 facility sorts paper, cardboard, multilayer packaging, PET and HDPE, plastic bags and film, aluminum cans, metallized bags, textiles, glass and other metals. The plant was commissioned in May 2021. It operates in conjunction with a transfer station to process around 1,000 tons per day of waste from the municipalities of Cuauhtémoc, Gustavo A. Madero, Miguel Hidalgo and Azcapotzalco, and will be able to receive up to 1,400 tonnes of waste per day. Its operation will generate 404 jobs.
The facility is run by Pro Ambiente, a subsidiary of Cemex, which has more than 25 years of experience in waste management and in operating plants for the selection and recovery of waste-derived fuels. “We are proud to participate in this new project, which is in line with our sustainability and emission reduction objectives. We are prepared to operate this plant under a model that guarantees, first and foremost, the safety of all our employees, operational continuity through maintenance and production programs with international standards, and sorting quality to ensure a greater use of the waste generated in Mexico City,” says José Guillermo Díaz, Cemex’s manager of technology and alternative fuels.
Largest sorting plant in Latin America begins operation
With this facility, the city government is the first in the country to move towards a correct treatment of urban waste based on a circular economy concept – one of the priority objectives of the current administration.
Stadler supplied the cutting-edge technology to achieve this milestone. Natalya Duarte, Sales Director for Mexico at Stadler, says: “We would like to thank Mexico City for allowing us to give our contribution and take part in the great challenge of reducing waste in Mexico City, one of the most populated megacities in the world, where more than 12,000 tons of waste are generated every day.” The city government thus lays the groundwork for fulfilling its environmental responsibility, recognising the importance of complying with international agreements and the need to apply circular economy principles.
It is the country’s first government-owned automated plant for the separation and treatment of municipal solid waste. The 11,000 m2 facility sorts paper, cardboard, multilayer packaging, PET and HDPE, plastic bags and film, aluminum cans, metallized bags, textiles, glass and other metals. The plant was commissioned in May 2021. It operates in conjunction with a transfer station to process around 1,000 tons per day of waste from the municipalities of Cuauhtémoc, Gustavo A. Madero, Miguel Hidalgo and Azcapotzalco, and will be able to receive up to 1,400 tonnes of waste per day. Its operation will generate 404 jobs.
The facility is run by Pro Ambiente, a subsidiary of Cemex, which has more than 25 years of experience in waste management and in operating plants for the selection and recovery of waste-derived fuels. “We are proud to participate in this new project, which is in line with our sustainability and emission reduction objectives. We are prepared to operate this plant under a model that guarantees, first and foremost, the safety of all our employees, operational continuity through maintenance and production programs with international standards, and sorting quality to ensure a greater use of the waste generated in Mexico City,” says José Guillermo Díaz, Cemex’s manager of technology and alternative fuels.
Flexible film recycling capacity grows by almost 10%
The new estimate points to 2.7Mt capacity for PE film recycling with 30 new film recycling facilities, totalling 218.
Representing a demand of more than 9 million tonnes, LLDPE/LDPE is the second-largest plastic fraction in the EU market and therefore shows a major recycling potential. Today 17% of recycled flexible polyethylene already finds outlet in film-to-film applications with non-food packaging and building & construction being its largest markets, while the forecasts show that PE film products could incorporate overall as much as 38% of recycled content by 2030.
“Once deemed difficult to recycle, flexible household polyethylene waste recycling is a successful business case model of today. Fast-paced technological developments in collection, sorting and recycling, made it possible to recycle film back to film. Closed-loop recycling is the future of circular flexible plastic, placing Europe as a front runner of mechanical film recycling. This is a strong signal not only for investors but also brand owners, retailers, policy-makers and citizens,” said Ton Emans, President of Plastics Recyclers Europe and PRE LDPE-Working Group Chairman. “This does not mean that there are no challenges. The main obstacles in targeting new high-end applications are multi-layer & multi-material products, which are not in line with the Design for Recycling principles”, he added.
The growth of flexible plastic recycling, however, is set to expand thanks to the ongoing positive trends. Firstly, with extended collection schemes being implemented across the Member States to reach the EU recycling targets, the collection of flexible plastic film from households is set to grow. Secondly, better sorting technologies paired with the effort of EPR systems and sorting centres generate mono-material streams, gradually decreasing mixed polyolefin fraction. Lastly, with flexible plastic value chain players’ commitments to improving the recyclability of plastics, as well as incorporating recycled plastics in their products, demand for high-quality recycled flexible PE will further grow.
To pursue these positive trends, nevertheless, the industry players must look towards long-term solutions and not quick fixes. To give an example, the Quality Recycling Process developed by Ceflex is not in line with the objective of making flexible packaging household waste fully circular. On the contrary, it will jeopardize well-established and well-functioning recycling processes while bringing efforts of making flexible plastic packaging fully recyclable to a standstill. Implementation of this ‘so-called’ new solution will generate additional tonnages of mixed polyolefins which can be destined only to an already saturated injection moulding market that cannot absorb the important quantities coming from recycling of flexible household waste. Furthermore, using recycled materials to substitute wood, glass or metal can never be the industry target.
“Processes which propose only 20 % of the recycled film back to film applications and 80 % to injection moulding are a step backwards for our industry as they are not aligned with the principles of the circular economy”, stated Ton Emans, President of Plastics Recyclers Europe and PRE LDPE-Working Group Chairman. “It will never be a profitable business case”, he added.
If the industry is to transform flexible plastic waste management genuinely and durably towards circularity, the focus must be on further optimizing and advancing the already well-performing processes and solutions to produce the highest quality of recycled material, driving the uptake of recyclates in film applications.
Flexible film recycling capacity grows by almost 10%
The new estimate points to 2.7Mt capacity for PE film recycling with 30 new film recycling facilities, totalling 218.
Representing a demand of more than 9 million tonnes, LLDPE/LDPE is the second-largest plastic fraction in the EU market and therefore shows a major recycling potential. Today 17% of recycled flexible polyethylene already finds outlet in film-to-film applications with non-food packaging and building & construction being its largest markets, while the forecasts show that PE film products could incorporate overall as much as 38% of recycled content by 2030.
“Once deemed difficult to recycle, flexible household polyethylene waste recycling is a successful business case model of today. Fast-paced technological developments in collection, sorting and recycling, made it possible to recycle film back to film. Closed-loop recycling is the future of circular flexible plastic, placing Europe as a front runner of mechanical film recycling. This is a strong signal not only for investors but also brand owners, retailers, policy-makers and citizens,” said Ton Emans, President of Plastics Recyclers Europe and PRE LDPE-Working Group Chairman. “This does not mean that there are no challenges. The main obstacles in targeting new high-end applications are multi-layer & multi-material products, which are not in line with the Design for Recycling principles”, he added.
The growth of flexible plastic recycling, however, is set to expand thanks to the ongoing positive trends. Firstly, with extended collection schemes being implemented across the Member States to reach the EU recycling targets, the collection of flexible plastic film from households is set to grow. Secondly, better sorting technologies paired with the effort of EPR systems and sorting centres generate mono-material streams, gradually decreasing mixed polyolefin fraction. Lastly, with flexible plastic value chain players’ commitments to improving the recyclability of plastics, as well as incorporating recycled plastics in their products, demand for high-quality recycled flexible PE will further grow.
To pursue these positive trends, nevertheless, the industry players must look towards long-term solutions and not quick fixes. To give an example, the Quality Recycling Process developed by Ceflex is not in line with the objective of making flexible packaging household waste fully circular. On the contrary, it will jeopardize well-established and well-functioning recycling processes while bringing efforts of making flexible plastic packaging fully recyclable to a standstill. Implementation of this ‘so-called’ new solution will generate additional tonnages of mixed polyolefins which can be destined only to an already saturated injection moulding market that cannot absorb the important quantities coming from recycling of flexible household waste. Furthermore, using recycled materials to substitute wood, glass or metal can never be the industry target.
“Processes which propose only 20 % of the recycled film back to film applications and 80 % to injection moulding are a step backwards for our industry as they are not aligned with the principles of the circular economy”, stated Ton Emans, President of Plastics Recyclers Europe and PRE LDPE-Working Group Chairman. “It will never be a profitable business case”, he added.
If the industry is to transform flexible plastic waste management genuinely and durably towards circularity, the focus must be on further optimizing and advancing the already well-performing processes and solutions to produce the highest quality of recycled material, driving the uptake of recyclates in film applications.
Elemental Holding acquires Legend Smelting and Recycling
Under the transaction, Elemental Holding Group has acquired 100 per cent of shares in Legend Smelting and Recycling (LSR). With 40 years’ experience and a well-established reputation, LSR has a strong position in the US market for sourcing and green production of strategic metals. The company’s facilities – located in Ohio, California, Illinois, Indiana and Texas – source raw materials from all across North America, including Mexico. LSR’s annual turnover reached around USD 250m in 2020.
The acquisition of Legend Smelting and Recycling is yet another investment by Elemental Holding Group in the US strategic metal recycling segment. In December 2019, the Group took over a controlling stake in PGM of Texas, which has a large purchasing network with twelve locations across the United States, as well as a state-of-the-art processing plant and a chemical laboratory. Moreover, this May, the takeover of Maryland Core Inc. was finalized.
Krzysztof Spyra, Management Board Member at Elemental Holding, commented: “The growing awareness of the global industry in the fields of ESG, computerization, electrification of the automotive industry, hydrogen technologies and the shift towards renewable energy sources generate a huge demand for precious metals, including platinum group metals (platinum, palladium, rhodium), as well as copper group metals (silver, gold). Boosting the recycling of all these crucial metals is key to meeting the growing technological and environmental challenges globally.”
“By bringing together worldwide operating companies, we invest in the latest technologies to ensure that the production process of strategic raw materials is fully sustainable and follows the best ESG practices. Further strengthening our position in the US market is an important step towards creating a global urban mining leader in the segments of strategic ‘green metals’ production and the recycling of PGMs, electronics (gold, silver, copper, aluminum), and e-mobility (nickel, cobalt, lithium).”
Elemental Holding Group is a manufacturer of economically strategic raw materials sourced in a sustainable and environment-friendly way, including through the processing of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), catalyst converters, printed circuit boards (PCBs) and non-ferrous metals. The Group is present in 15 countries across three continents: Europe, Asia and North America. Elemental Holding is one of 18 European companies (others include BASF, Solvay, Umicore, BMW, Saft, and Varta) notified by the European Commission under the European Industrial Policy, which aims to create a sustainable mobility value chain in the EU.
Elemental Holding acquires Legend Smelting and Recycling
Under the transaction, Elemental Holding Group has acquired 100 per cent of shares in Legend Smelting and Recycling (LSR). With 40 years’ experience and a well-established reputation, LSR has a strong position in the US market for sourcing and green production of strategic metals. The company’s facilities – located in Ohio, California, Illinois, Indiana and Texas – source raw materials from all across North America, including Mexico. LSR’s annual turnover reached around USD 250m in 2020.
The acquisition of Legend Smelting and Recycling is yet another investment by Elemental Holding Group in the US strategic metal recycling segment. In December 2019, the Group took over a controlling stake in PGM of Texas, which has a large purchasing network with twelve locations across the United States, as well as a state-of-the-art processing plant and a chemical laboratory. Moreover, this May, the takeover of Maryland Core Inc. was finalized.
Krzysztof Spyra, Management Board Member at Elemental Holding, commented: “The growing awareness of the global industry in the fields of ESG, computerization, electrification of the automotive industry, hydrogen technologies and the shift towards renewable energy sources generate a huge demand for precious metals, including platinum group metals (platinum, palladium, rhodium), as well as copper group metals (silver, gold). Boosting the recycling of all these crucial metals is key to meeting the growing technological and environmental challenges globally.”
“By bringing together worldwide operating companies, we invest in the latest technologies to ensure that the production process of strategic raw materials is fully sustainable and follows the best ESG practices. Further strengthening our position in the US market is an important step towards creating a global urban mining leader in the segments of strategic ‘green metals’ production and the recycling of PGMs, electronics (gold, silver, copper, aluminum), and e-mobility (nickel, cobalt, lithium).”
Elemental Holding Group is a manufacturer of economically strategic raw materials sourced in a sustainable and environment-friendly way, including through the processing of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), catalyst converters, printed circuit boards (PCBs) and non-ferrous metals. The Group is present in 15 countries across three continents: Europe, Asia and North America. Elemental Holding is one of 18 European companies (others include BASF, Solvay, Umicore, BMW, Saft, and Varta) notified by the European Commission under the European Industrial Policy, which aims to create a sustainable mobility value chain in the EU.
Recycler makes Electric Vehicle Commitment
The new Tesla Model 3 electric company cars will be used by team members based across Scotland and Northeast England including account management, compliance, sales, operations, and service delivery. In support of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, The NWH Group has embarked on a mission to change the industry for the benefit of the planet, and this latest move is part of its wider green programme.
Ricky Ray, Head of Compliance at The NWH Group, said: “As one of the UK’s leading recycling and waste management businesses, we’re a progressive organisation committed to a sustainable future. We’ve embarked on an ambitious green programme to ensure we go way beyond compliance to positively improve the social, economic and environmental wellbeing of the communities in which we operate, and we’re committed to becoming carbon negative. “To achieve this, we’ll be investing in a number of significant improvements. Transitioning our 200 plus fleet to electric will be core to the strategy.”
The business aims to transition its vehicle fleet to electric by 2023. With a view to switching company cars first, the business is also looking at hybrid options to suit a variety of users, as well as trucks, skip vehicles and excavators.
During 2020, The NWH Group invested in a £2.5 million recycling super plant to save 20,000 tonnes of industrial waste from going into landfill each year. Further plans are also underway to upgrade existing plant and equipment to continue improving recovery rates – helping NWH Group to transform waste in to valuable new resources. But the green programme goes further than just the environment. A key priority for the business is to ensure it creates sustainable jobs for the future, and as part of this promise, has joined forces with Entrepreneurial Scotland to support the Saltire Scholar Programme. The business has already appointed Saltire Scholar Sophie Allardyce whose role is integral to the on-going delivery of the green programme.v
Recycler makes Electric Vehicle Commitment
The new Tesla Model 3 electric company cars will be used by team members based across Scotland and Northeast England including account management, compliance, sales, operations, and service delivery. In support of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, The NWH Group has embarked on a mission to change the industry for the benefit of the planet, and this latest move is part of its wider green programme.
Ricky Ray, Head of Compliance at The NWH Group, said: “As one of the UK’s leading recycling and waste management businesses, we’re a progressive organisation committed to a sustainable future. We’ve embarked on an ambitious green programme to ensure we go way beyond compliance to positively improve the social, economic and environmental wellbeing of the communities in which we operate, and we’re committed to becoming carbon negative. “To achieve this, we’ll be investing in a number of significant improvements. Transitioning our 200 plus fleet to electric will be core to the strategy.”
The business aims to transition its vehicle fleet to electric by 2023. With a view to switching company cars first, the business is also looking at hybrid options to suit a variety of users, as well as trucks, skip vehicles and excavators.
During 2020, The NWH Group invested in a £2.5 million recycling super plant to save 20,000 tonnes of industrial waste from going into landfill each year. Further plans are also underway to upgrade existing plant and equipment to continue improving recovery rates – helping NWH Group to transform waste in to valuable new resources. But the green programme goes further than just the environment. A key priority for the business is to ensure it creates sustainable jobs for the future, and as part of this promise, has joined forces with Entrepreneurial Scotland to support the Saltire Scholar Programme. The business has already appointed Saltire Scholar Sophie Allardyce whose role is integral to the on-going delivery of the green programme.v
E-Waste Day: Focus on the Role of Consumers
A recent study (PDF) shows that a European citizen disposes of up to 1.4kg of old or broken electronics in the mixed waste bins. For a standard household this means nearly 4kg a year. The situation is not much better in the US, where approximately 416,000 mobile phones each day are binned according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency. That means more than 151 million phones are thrown away every year. All this e-waste is then managed with mixed waste and ends up either incinerated or landfilled. It is estimated that even up to 40% of the heavy metals in U.S. landfills come from discarded electronics.
This is also a true loss of resources which could re-enter the manufacturing cycle. For every million cell phones that are recycled, 16 000 kg of copper, 350 kg of silver, 24 kg of gold, and 14kg of palladium could be recovered. E-waste is a true ‘urban mine’, and in some respects even richer than traditional mining: for example, there is 100 times more gold in a tonne of smartphones than in a tonne of gold ore.
“There are so many factors that play a role in making the electronics sector resource efficient and circular. But one thing stands out: as long as citizens don’t return their used, broken gear to officially recognized collection points, or sell it on, or donate it to charity, we will need to continue mining the materials, which is much more damaging for the environment”, says Pascal Leroy, Director General of the WEEE Forum. “This is why the International E-Waste Day this year will focus on the responsibility we all have, as citizens, to help make the economy circular.” he added.
“Alongside convenience, (financial) compensation, care for environment, culture and social norms, awareness is one of the key motivators for people to take action and return their unused and non-functional electronic items” says Magdalena Charytanowicz, in charge of the organisation of International E-Waste Day. “This is why on 14 October this year we want to promote the proper disposal of end-of-life electronics and reach as many citizens worldwide as possible by encouraging campaigns and awareness activities. These may be e-waste collections, school lectures, press and social media campaigns or conferences that debate these issues. Even the smallest action promoting sound e-waste collection, repair, reuse or recycling is welcome in the frame of International E-Waste Day.”
Last year over 120 organisations from 50 countries worldwide supported the celebrations. This year too the WEEE Forum invites all organisations involved in effective and responsible e-waste management to plan awareness raising activities for 14 October and join this common effort by registering here.