The new ASR plant from Matec collects and refines shredder light fractions (SLF) and Zorba materials from a total of six other Matec plants. It consists of two separate sorting lines that are geared towards different material streams and target metals. While one line concentrates stainless steel and heavy metals, the second line is focused on separating metals from a light fraction. Even the smallest particles of less than 6 mm are processed and fed into the recycling process. The plant in Tomakomai utilizes a total of 10 Steinert sensor sorting systems, 6 non-ferrous metal separators, and 2 electromagnets.
The primary objective of the plant is the recovery of stainless steel and cable materials (copper) from the shredder residue. The heavy fraction line processes the material in various grain sizes and passes it through several sorting steps. The plant utilizes advanced separation technology, including non-ferrous separators, upstream magnetic separators, Steinert ISS induction sorting systems and Steinert KSS CLI high-tech systems with a sensor combination of induction, 3D and colour detection. These systems are used in succession to ensure efficient separation in the 30-60 mm and 60-120 mm size ranges.
For fractions of 6-30 mm, the focus is on copper extraction. Steinert ISS and KSS CLI systems are used to efficiently isolate the cable fraction. The fines below 6 mm undergo a separate sorting process in which metals, particularly Zorba, are specifically separated. The system is also reliant on technological precision when processing SLF. Fraction sizes below 25 mm and above 25 mm each pass through non-ferrous separators and induction sorters, which reject all metals. These metal concentrates are then processed in a downstream system with X-ray transmission (XRT). The remaining fractions, consisting of plastic, rubber and similar materials, are used as fuel for the local cement industry and thus contribute to resource-conserving recycling.
