Tomra sorter drives smarter aluminium scrap recycling

Tomra and Gerhard Lang Recycling (GLR) are working on a state-funded project in Germany to recover higher quality aluminium scrap from automotive production.

‘Kanal’ is a EUR 3.9 million scheme uniting Tomra, GLR and Pforzheim University of Applied Sciences. Tomra’s laser-induced plasma spectroscopy technology is being used in one of its specialist sorting units at a GLR facility.

The plant’s infeed material consists of stamping scrap generated during the production of car parts and panels. The process generates significant amounts of scrap, with an estimated 30-50% of the material being discarded.

It is a mixture of 5xxx (high-magnesium) and 6xxx (low-magnesium) aluminium wrought alloys used in different components within automotive production.  

​Shredding

Upon arrival at GLR’s metals plant in Gaggenau, the material is shredded before undergoing magnetic separation to remove the ferrous metals. Non-ferrous material is then fed into the Autosort Pulse sorter. 

Prior to the installation of the sorting unit, GLR sold the mixed material to aluminium manufacturers immediately after the shredding process as there was no other efficient solution to separate the high- and low-magnesium aluminium alloys.

Maximilian Lang, md at GLR, says the company can now process 4-7 tonnes per hour and achieve purity levels exceeding 95% – and potentially reaching 97%.

No downgrading

‘As a result, our material is suitable for use in the production of aluminium without downgrading. We can now sell the recovered materials to leading aluminium manufacturers and recyclers for direct integration into the production of new alloys.

‘What’s more, we are considering the potential to explore additional applications for other aluminium alloys.’

Frank van de Winkel, market strategy manager at Tomra, argues there has never been a more crucial time to explore ways of making the aluminium supply chain more sustainable.

‘Our Autosport Pulse system empowers manufacturers to enhance the utilisation of recycled aluminium in their production processes. This innovative solution unlocks access to previously untapped scrap sources, enabling the recovery of high-quality, ‘alloy-true’ recycled aluminium.’