copy (LIBS) sensor with H Ripley and Co, a
large recycler in the UK.
THE PROBLEM
Fast, cost-effective aluminium sorting has long
been a desire for recyclers. H Ripley and Co,
based in Hailsham, is a fifth-generation family-
owned British scrap yard which has been in
business for over 100 years. Like many yards, it
has dealt in ferrous and non-ferrous scrap
since its inception. However, unlike others, it
has also been shredding aluminium for over 30
years.
Jason Ripley, commercial director with H
Ripley and Co, realised a long time ago that
significant value that could be extracted from
aluminium if the right tools existed. His com-
pany was selling mixed aluminium containing
multiple premium grades because a fast, cost-
effective sorting tool was not available to sep-
arate the grades and alloys – and hand sorting
was not an option. ‘The concept and need
have been there all along,’ says Ripley. ‘There
just was not the right technology to sort alu-
minium quickly and effectively.’ The significant
uptick in aluminium demand over the past
decade further drove this need.
H Ripley and Co, like other scrap recyclers, is a
user of handheld X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and
was aware of online X-ray solutions. While a
good option for heavy metal sorting, X-ray
does not lend itself well to sorting aluminium.
Ripley was introduced to an Austin, Texas-
based company, Austin AI, by one of his cus-
tomers, a large UK extrusion ingot and sheet
ingot production. This company had had suc-
cess with Austin AI’s solution and urged him to
investigate it further.
SENSOR SORTING TECHNOLOGY
Austin AI ceo Rick Comtois is a veteran of ele-
mental analysis and has been focused on online
sensor sorting technology for over 20 years.
Having previously implemented numerous units
based on both nuclear magnetic resonance
(NMR) and XRF technology, Comtois shifted his
focus to LIBS in 2014. He says LIBS technology
offers unparalleled light element technology
that is not feasible with other methods.
The company’s interest in light element sorting
solutions led to a relationship with Hydro
Aluminium in which Austin AI built a sorting
system for recovering aluminium 6063 from
construction and demolition (C&D) material.
The result of this process for Hydro Aluminium
and any secondary smelter was melt-ready
‘green material’ allowing them a much-desired
lower carbon footprint.
Austin AI’s LIBS sorting system offers the fol-
lowing advantage:
– reliable, robust modular design with minimal
moving parts
– flexible setup with either one or six lanes, the
latter design allowing for a LIBS module to
be internally replaced to maintain uptime
– chute design where sample drops in front of
the LIBS laser and there is no need to adjust
focal distance per sample
– works with clean production scrap as well as
post-consumer scrap with no pre-ablation
needed
– lowest fully loaded cost per weight ratio in
the world
– compatibility with Ocean Applied’s
SpeedSorter LIBS sensor.
Aluminium scrap yard.
TECHNOLOGY EXPERTS
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