Plant Design for Electronics Recycling

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Plant Design for Electronics Recycling

• Rafael Reveles
• Director of Engineering
• Noranda Recycling Inc.

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Noranda Recycling Inc.

• 4 sites in US, 1 in Canada
• Brampton, Roseville and Lavergne operations focus
  on end-of-life electronics recycling.
• Wholly owned subsidiary of Falconbridge - 48
  operations, 18 countries
• One of the worlds largest producers of zinc and
  nickel and a significant producer of copper,
  primary and fabricated aluminum, lead, silver,
  gold, cobalt and sulphuric acid.

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U.S. Recycling Plants
Noranda Recycling, San Jose CA
Noranda Recycling, E. Providence RI
Noranda Recycling, Roseville CA
Noranda Recycling LaVergne, TN
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Key Elements of Plant Design

• Facility selection
• Tenant improvements
• Layout
• Machinery

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Facility Selection

• Transportation needs
• Local regulations
• Equipment needs
• Output option proximity

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Transportation needs

• Rail spur can reduce freight costs by 25.
  Especially helpful when shipping shredded
  material to smelters.
• Alternatively, local rail yards usually have
  trans-loading service providers.
• Proximity to interstate and airports.
• Survey freight providers.
• Evaluate shipping container options.

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Output vendors

• Steel and Aluminum recycler proximity
• Smelters- North America or Europe
• Ports
• Hazardous waste
• Useful tool- Develop a matrix containing volumes
  vs. proximity

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Regulatory considerations

• E-scrap managed as waste? (California Universal
  Waste)
• Example In CA, subject to DTSC inspections,
  special container requirements, inventory aging
  requirements, facility signage, etc..
• Output destination management can be affected-
  Excluded Recyclable Materials.
• Zoning
• Air permitting- dust collector discharge
• Storm water permitting

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Equipment needs

• Power- 3000 amp service (upgraded transformer a
  significant expense)
• Foundation at least 6
• Ceiling height 28 to 32 feet
• Grade level roll up doors
• Fire pump, ESFR sprinklers
• Roof loading- ceiling column spacing

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Tennant Improvements

• HVAC
• Restrooms
• Entrance / security
• Footings
• Lighting
• Racking
• Truck docks
• Sprinkler
• Permits

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HVAC

• Is it necessary?
• Insulated ceilings
• Roof mount vs. floor level units
• Make up air balanced to dust collection
• Cold climates- sprinkler pipe freeze issue,
  ceiling fans, make up air must be heated

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Restrooms and Plumbing

• Extra restroom capacity
• Showers
• Circulation pumps can be extra maintenance

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Security

• Most customers require video surveillance video
  server
• Building alarm monitoring company (includes fire
  panel)
• Entrance lobby guard or bell
• Card lock system- isolate business office
• Trucker access
• Perimeter security fence - bins

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Equipment footings

• Soil sample with Civil P. E. analysis and permit
  if required
• Excavation equipment access
• Concrete cure time
• Footings can be costly and deeper depending on
  soil conditions
• Ensure final equipment layout prior to
  construction

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Lighting

• Bay lighting
• Ensure OSHA lighting standard
• Add task lighting over production area

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Warehouse Racking

• Rack usage depends on business model, turn around
  time, and available floor space
• Wire guide warehouse vs. conventional
• Additional sprinklers may be necessary
• Installation usually requires permitting due to
  seismic concerns
• Protect the racks with bollards

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Wire Guide Warehouse
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Truck docks

• Quantity?
• Expensive to add after building construction
  (gt25K to upgrade)
• Hydraulic dock plates speed up unloading and
  provide a smooth forklift path into the truck
• Ergonomically friendly vs. manual dock

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Truck Docks
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Fire Sprinklers

• Absolutely a must with any E-Scrap plant
• Early Suppression Fast Response preferred by
  insurers such as FM Global
• Machinery usually requires additional fire
  suppression by local FD
• Maintenance- flow, pressure, and alarm
  notification testing

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Building Permits

• Local building department turn around time should
  be factored into timeline
• A consultant can speed up the process
• Permits commonly required for- HVAC, sprinklers,
  electrical, footings, racking, machinery
• Permit fees vary and can sometimes include an
  expedited service fee

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Layout

• Receiving
• Shipping
• Warehouse
• Work Cells
• Automated solutions
• Lift trucks
• EHS

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Layout Example
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Receiving

• Receiving is typically a bottleneck when planning
  site capacities
• Reduced docks require delivery appointments
• Scales should be in ground and greater than 48
• Forklift mounted scales can increase shipment
  receiving efficiency
• Buffer considerations- minimize the amount of
  travel for shipping units

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Receiving
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Shipping

• Largely dependant on business model retail
  sales?
• FEDEX or UPS terminal
• Shrink wrap machines

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Warehouse

• Bin size pallet location or small bins
• Keep most popular stock items at floor level or
  in consolidated high demand area

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Work Cells

• 2 types de-package and disassembly
• Determine your sort boxes- boards, steel,
  cardboard, shred, plastic, wire.
• Adjustable height tables and benches reduce
  injury
• Air tools speed up productivity
• Scissor lift tables reduce lifting injuries
• Tool balancers reduce injury and increase speed

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Work cell layout
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Work Cells
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Cell Sorting
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Automation

• Sort line
• Wireless network

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Lift Trucks

• Electric lifts reduce fire risk and do not create
  fumes
• Riding pallet jacks are efficient at receiving
  and general pallet movement
• Sit down units typically have 3000 pound lift
  capacities
• Minimize manual jack use- slow and causes injury
• Wire guide lifts and order pickers are expensive,
  but necessary for a large warehouse configuration

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EHS

• Floor conditioning- Epoxy
• Spill containment
• Flammable cabinet
• Adequate storage for ink, toner, and batteries
• Make sure you facility has a HMMP

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Processing Machinery

• General Theory
• Shredding options
• Separation Technologies
• Dust collection
• Output options
• New Horizons

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Machinery general theory

• Shredding reduces scrap in size and liberates
  metals into separable particles
• Ferrous and Aluminum streams commonly extracted
• All other streams will be copper bearing and go
  to a smelter or broker
• Manual complete disassembly yields a higher
  recovery, but is cost prohibitive in the US

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Shredding options

• Primary size reduction requires a shear type
  shredder
• 4 shaft- can be in series or stand alone
• 2 shaft- delivers large pieces and requires
  secondary size reduction
• Granulators provide a finishing step and produce
  uniform particle size

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Size Reduction
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Separation steps

• Screen off the fines (lt8mm) with a shaker or a
  trommel
• Remove ferrous with a overband or drum magnet
• Remove aluminum with an eddy current

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Roseville Metals Separation Plant

200 HP
400 HP
Shear Shredder (2")
Shear Shredder (4")
Granulator (1)
Eddy Current
Belt Magnet
Aluminum
Copper Family Fines
Copper Family Mixed Plastics



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E-scrap Processing Line
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Dust collection

• Absolutely necessary when shredding
• Must be effective at maintaining safe ambient air
  for staff- validate with periodic air monitoring
• A cyclone-baghouse combination is ideal
• Carry out due diligence and analyze the dust and
  loading conditions to evaluate explosion risk
• Floor sweeper

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Dust Collection
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Output options

• Before selecting equipment, survey your local
  commodity market and know what their quality
  requirements are.
• Steel vendors do not want copper - requires more
  size reduction to achieve
• Aluminum vendors may not want circuit board
  contamination- a second eddy current may be needed

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Gantt Chart
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New Horizons

• Plastics separation- sink float, visual detection
• Inductive separators
• Color sorting machines
• Shredding- VFDs vs. hydraulics

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End Of Presentation