Bunting-Redditch metal separators at MRF successfully recover aluminium and steel

The Neath Port Talbot materials recycling facility (MRF) in South Wales, UK, was designed and installed by Ken Mills Engineering (KME). The plant features metal separation equipment designed and built by Bunting-Redditch, including a Permanent Overband Magnet and an Eddy Current Separator.

The container recycling MRF in Neath Port Talbot processes dry-mixed recyclables, including aluminium cans, film, and plastic. Its design allows for easy future modifications, enabling the council to incorporate additional separation technologies, such as optical sorting.

“The Bunting metal separators are just one stage in a successful recycling process. The ability to successfully recover the steel and aluminium is dependent on the feed.  The excellent plant design means that there is liberated feed to both the Overband Magnet and Eddy Current Separator, enabling the best possible metal recovery,” explained Tom Higginbottom, Bunting’s Sales Engineer who worked on the project with KME. 

How it functions

Up to three tonnes per hour of dry mixed recyclables at the plant pass through a bag splitter for liberation before reaching a ballistic screen. This screen, provided by BRT HARTNER, removes fines and separates heavy materials from the film.

The heavy fraction moves to a pre-sort cabin, where film and unwanted items are manually removed. The materials then travel on a 900mm wide conveyor under a Bunting Permanent Overband Magnet (model 10PCB6) to recover steel beverage and food cans.

The remaining non-magnetic fraction, approximately 2.1 tonnes per hour, is conveyed onto the 1000mm wide belt of a Bunting Eddy Current Separator to recover aluminium cans. The recovered non-ferrous material then passes through a quality control cabin to check for any unwanted contamination. The sorted fractions of aluminium and plastic are subsequently baled in a KME Aries twin ram baler, producing high-density bales.

About the company

Bunting is a global leader in designing and manufacturing magnetic separators, eddy current separators, metal detectors, and electrostatic separators, with manufacturing facilities worldwide. Ken Mills Engineering (KME) is a leading UK manufacturer of MRF systems, baling presses, twin ram balers, conveyors, and shredders. The KME team designs builds, and services MRFs tailored to the specific warehouse space, types, volumes of waste material to be processed, and the desired end quality.