THE ADVANTAGES OF WEEE RECYCLING, THE TECHNOLOGICAL WASTE OF THE FUTURE

2020.12.10

WEEE, or waste electrical and electronic equipment, is a relatively new type of waste, often considered difficult to treat. Indeed, materials classified as WEEE are not biodegradable and may contain environmentally harmful substances.

However, the treatment of WEEE has the advantage of allowing the recovery of a large number of precious metals and components, including:

Iron (30%)
Non-ferrous materials (15%)
Plastics (30%)
Electronic boards (5%)
Small engines (variable quantity)
Electrical cables (1%)
Lead acid batteries (variable quantity)
Pen batteries (variable quantity)
Capacitors (variable quantity)
Mixed refusal (2%)

The systems designed by FORREC for WEEE management have a “zero” impact on the environment and are developed to ensure the control of air flows, grinding dust and complete recovery of hazardous parts (such as condensers and batteries). In addition, the factories are designed to achieve a reduction in process costs, thanks to their customized design, which is always made according to the

specific needs of the customer.

Ongoing research allows Forrec to always improve the efficiency and reliability of its systems, with accessories that allow process automation and eliminate inefficiencies due to manual handling.

An example of excellence: Forrec systems for treating 120 refrigerators per hour, one of the largest in the world.

The Derichebourg Group, a leading French company in the treatment of R1 (refrigerators and air conditioners) and R2 (large appliances) has chosen Forrec technology and experience for a treatment line of 120 refrigerators / hour.

Refrigerators are a very common example of WEEE. The absolute novelty, however, is the number of refrigerators treated per hour: an unprecedented capacity.

Compared to more traditional systems, Forrec solutions have expanded automated pretreatment operations in accordance with the WEEE LABEX standard, which requires incoming refrigerators to be cataloged, weighed and classified according to size, type and load. The entire series of classifications has been automated. For cataloging, an automatic refrigerator weighing system and a laser system that detects the dimensions and determines the thickness of the insulation have been studied. There are, of course, checks that the operator must make, but they are minimal.

Deseu DEEE

Fier (30%)
Materiale neferos (15%)
Materiale plastice (30%)
Placi electronice (5%)
Cabluri electrice (1%)
Refuz mixt (2%)
Rest (17%)

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But how is a refrigerator processed?

In the first pre-treatment phase, the refrigerator is ready to be introduced into the processing line. Pre-treatment is manual, and operators separate some refrigerator components, such as electrical cord, any glass shelves, lamps, electronic boards and wood.

The next step is the safety or recovery in which the refrigerator reaches the refrigeration drip station where the compressor or refrigeration circuit is drilled to aspirate the gas and oil contained and sent to a centralized system that separates the oil from the gas. The compressor and refrigeration circuit are then removed by an operator using scissors and sent for specific recycling.

Then the automatic portion of the system starts when the refrigerator enters the crushing phase. In each factory there is a crushing tower equipped with powerful machines that produce pieces of 30 and 10 mm until the polyurethane is sprayed. The refrigerator goes into the crushing tower where there are two shredders with different characteristics in the cascade.

The material cut into small pieces is then subjected to the various separation phases:

magnetic separators for iron, air separator for polyurethane, densimetric separators for the rest of the components. These sequential operations allow the complete separation of all components, which are iron, aluminum, copper, polyurethane and plastic.

This whole phase takes place in an enclosed area to prevent the dispersion of pollutants into the environment. The air is sucked in and filtered, and the gas is sent to the final treatment system.

Polyurethane, which is the heaviest material to store, is sent to a compaction system to be transported safely to its destination.

This specific installation uses a cryogenic (nitrogen) system to treat the gas that is sucked in during treatment and subjected to a thermal process at low temperature. This treatment changes the state of the gas, moving it from gas to liquid and therefore easy to store in transport containers to specialized disposal companies.

FORREC offers a wide range of products and solutions adapted to customer needs such as special material sorting stations, shredders or disc screens.

THE ADVANTAGES OF WEEE RECYCLING, THE TECHNOLOGICAL WASTE OF THE FUTURE