Mechanical treatment of automobile shredder residue for its application as a fuel

Abstract

Enforcement of the Automobile Recycling Law in Japan requires utilization of automobile shredder residue (ASR). However, the high contents of copper (~5%) and chlorine (~1%) in ASR stand in the way of practical application. We studied methods for the removal of copper and chlorine from ASR so that it could be utilized as a fuel. By compression of the ASR for solidification with an extruder, the polyvinylchloride (PVC) that covered electrical cables was softened and stripped from the copper wire. The solidified ASR was comminuted with cutter mills and classified by dry density separation. The copper content of the obtained light products was 0.2%-0.5%. Furthermore, we studied the possibility of dechlorination of the ASR by mechanochemical (MC) activation. The light product of the ASR was milled with CaO or CaCO 3 . The chlorine content decreased to about one-tenth of the original value after MC activation over 8 h. Therefore, the combined processing of softening-stripping and comminution liberated the PVCcovered cables and decreased the copper content of the ASR. In addition, dechlorination of the ASR was also possible by MC activation with the addition of calcium compounds.

Evaluation of entanglement properties of crushed automobile shredded residue and detachment of entrapped particles

“…This mill can crush samples with different rotating speeds, and in the experiments described herein the ASR samples were crushed under two different crushing conditions, with different strengths of air flows: conditions I (strong air flow, frequency of motor 50 Hz) and II (weak air flow, frequency of motor 37.5 Hz). In this paper the crushed samples are identified using the sampling point number (1)(2)(3)(4) and the crushing condition (I or II), e.g., no. 1-I.…”

“…Many physical separation and thermal treatments [2][3][4][5][6] have been applied to remove chlorine-containing components from ASR, but no better methods to decrease the chlorine content and processing costs have been developed. In general, thermal treatments need a large amount of energy, and the operating cost of physical separation treatments is lower than those of thermal treatments.…”

Feedstock recycling of waste polymeric material

“…It was found that the use of oyster shells (CaCO 3 ) was slightly more efficient than the use of CaO. The complete dehydrochlorination of PVC was able to be achieved within 2 or 3 h. After removing copper from automotive shredder residue (ASR), Endoh et al [81] milled the PVC containing ASR in the presence of CaO and CaCO 3 . After 8 h milling, the chlorine content of the material was reduced to just one tenth of its original value.…”

Jig separation of crushed automobile shredded residue and its evaluation by float and sink analysis

“…Many physical separation and thermal treatments [2][3][4][5][6] have been applied to remove chloride components from ASR, but a good method to decrease the chloride content and processing costs has yet to be developed. In general, separation efficiency with dry-type methods is lower than that of wet separation methods.…”