An auto parts manufacturer headquartered in the U.S. is receiving an aluminum chip recycling preparation system. The system will be installed in the plant’s casting house to manage in-house scrap generated from the company’s bank of machining centers.
President and Managing Director
Retech
Retech, a SECO/WARWICK Group company, will provide this equipment. The chip recycling system features a patented ReMelt Thermofuge® chip dryer.
“Thanks to acquiring the ReMelt company and its know-how we can now offer specialization in material handling, waste processing, and system integration. It allows us to offer an even broader spectrum of metallurgy solutions to our customers,” said president and managing director of Retech, Earl Good.
Traditional thermal dryer systems heat the chips to temperatures that remove both the moisture and the residual oils, which generate considerable volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Alternatively, many casting houses truck their aluminum chips off-site to a 3rd party toll-melter for recycling, but all the additional handling required comes with a variety of costs as well. Retech’s new chip recycling system will only remove the moisture, leaving the oil on the chips. The oil is left to combust in the furnace’s side well, creating an oxygen depleted environment which provides a significant increase in aluminum yields.
The Thermofuge system has its own thermal oxidizer (afterburner) to mitigate any incidental fumes, but because the Thermofuge process has been classified by the EPA to be in a lower risk category compared to traditional thermal dryers, it is subject to far less strenuous regulatory compliance, oversight, and mitigation. The afterburner is equipped to recuperate its waste heat, which is reapplied to preheat the incoming materials, reducing energy consumption and emissions. A traditional thermal dryer could have an annual operating cost of $150k, while a comparable capacity Thermofuge system will cost just $45k per year to operate.
Retech will be customizing the chip dryer to work with the plant’s existing chip conveyor and coolant filtration system.
Press release is available in its original form here.
