USA: BHS recovery system to minimise manual sorting

United States – Bulk Handling Systems (BHS) will supply the turnkey system to be installed at RePower South’€™s new recycling and recovery facility in the US state of South Carolina. Currently under construction and scheduled for start-up in early 2019, this is being heralded as ‘€˜the most advanced mixed waste processing facility’€™ on the US east coast.

The plant will process 50 tons per hour of mixed waste sourced from Berkeley County to recover recycled commodities and a fuel feedstock. Using advanced technologies, the aim is to recover ‘all recyclables rather than only those placed in a recycling bin’.

The facility will be able to recover non-recyclable papers and plastics for production of a high-quality, low-carbon renewable fuel sold to industry, cement and utility customers. The set-up will require ‘minimal manual sorters per shift’, relying instead on technological advances from BHS companies.

The BHS FiberPure system – consisting of BHS screens, NRT optical sorters and Max-AI AQCs (autonomous quality control) – will remove contaminants to produce a clean end product.

Non-recyclable fibres and plastics destined for fuel will undergo further purification by NRT SpydIR optical sorters equipped with MetalDirector options to remove unwanted contaminants.

Max-AI AQCs are also utilised in each sorting position on the container line. In total, the system comprises seven NRT optical sorters and nine Max-AI AQCs.

‘With NRT optical and Max-AI technology, we have an almost unlimited degree of flexibility to create a wide variety of high-quality products to serve multiple markets,’ says RePower South’s president Bob Shepard. ‘The technology will maximise the recovery and quality of those products, and with Max-AI technology there’s no real need to expose people to this work during the QC process.’

A PAAL Konti 500 will bale all commodities heading to the secondary market, including ferrous, aluminium, cardboard, paper and plastics, while fuel will be baled by a PAAL Dokon 500.

‘The system is built to run with low operating costs over multiple shifts and has the ability to adjust its outputs to meet market conditions,’ comments BHS’ ceo Steve Miller.