At a glance
Fritz Kuttin wanted to upgrade its shredding line to recover higher-grade iron and reduce emissions. The new plant had to be built within a short time frame, and on a limited, existing area.
Lybover proposed replacing the original air treatment system with separate and distinct filter systems for the shredder and the sifter. In addition, it would replace the sifter with a higher-performance one. Lybover started from a 3D scan to design several possible solutions and accurately incorporate all the necessary conveying systems.
Lybover harnessed the expertise of its various business units to deliver a total solution, in collaboration with third-party partners. All this resulted in a recycling line that allows Fritz Kuttin to recover much purer iron from scrap metal, while meeting imposed emission guidelines.
Specialists who do not shy away from a challenging project and collaborate across departments. That is how Lybover invariably figures out and delivers successful projects. Also in Austria, where metal recycling company Fritz Kuttin wanted to improve its shredding line. Lybover provided more efficient air extraction and a better sorting system, so that Fritz Kuttin meets emission standards and recovers purer iron, which serves as a raw material for sustainable steel production.
Shredder line future-proofed
Fritz Kuttin has been recycling scrap metal at its Knittelfeld site for more than 100 years. Today, the company is part of the REON Group, for which Lybover previously provided a tailor-made solution. Every day, end of life vehicles and scrap metal are poured into the shredder at Fritz Kuttin, which crushes everything. The material then enters a sifter, which removes all the light, non-metallic parts out of the waste stream. The heavy fraction is led further down the sifter to a magnetic drum. This separates the iron from the non-ferrous materials. A pivoting conveyor dumps the iron into wagons or on site, while the non-ferrous metals are further treated and upgraded.
Initial talks with Lybover began as early as 2019. The question? To overhaul the existing recycling line to meet new emission standards and recover higher-quality, better-purified iron fractions.
“Due to the very limited layout, many design iterations were required to arrive at a suitable solution. No problem for Lybover’s engineers and technical designers, as they are only too happy to dive into a complex challenge. Everything started with a 3D scan of the site, as no plans were available. That scan also made it convenient to continue designing from a distance during the corona pandemic,” recalls Technical Designer Thijs Van de Velde.
The actual construction could only start in 2023. The permit process with the government was particularly difficult.
The right air treatment
The shredding process causes many diffuse emissions, requiring air treatment. Air technology is also needed for the sifter. In the original plant, there was only one air treatment system, with a cyclone and wet filter, for both processes. As a result, the discharged air was not sufficiently pure.
“Because of the lower investment costs, such a setup used to be chosen a lot. Today, emission standards are stricter and this system is no longer sufficient,” says Frederick Thoma, Business Unit Manager Lybover AIR. “Our philosophy is to provide separate air technologies for the shredder and the sifter. So we recommended separate air treatment to the customer from the start, with a separate cyclone and filter per installation. This is the only way to guarantee optimum under pressure to reduce diffuse emissions from the shredder, independent of the sifter operation. A wet filter was provided for the shredder and a dry filter for the sifter. Moreover, our solution had to be resistant to fire and explosions, which occur regularly in this type of plant.”
Improved sorting facilities
At the same time, the existing sifter was insufficiently performant. As a result, the separation of light and heavy materials was not optimal and the iron fraction still contained many impurities. Bjorn Delagrange, Project Engineer at Lybover: “We proposed a Lybover sifter to Fritz Kuttin. This did create a new challenge, as there was not much free space to install such a sifter. The Lybover sifter also meant that the conveyor belt feeding the material would be at a steeper angle. With too steep an angle, there is a risk of the material rolling back down. Together with the specialists at Lybover BULK, we found a workable solution.”
Next to the new sifter, Lybover provided a sorting cabin in which operators manually check the iron fractions before they leave the line. Finally, a pivoting conveyor was installed to dump the clean scrap either into a train wagon or at the iron collection site.
Total solution
Once the client had approved the proposals and the authorities had issued a permit, the actual construction could begin. A short downtime was crucial in this process. Lybover’s various business units provided customised solutions (such as the cyclones, filters, sorting cabin and metal structures) or machinery from partner brands (e.g. conveyor belts from Westeria, a vibrating table from Spaleck or a magnetic drum from Steinert). Lybover also helped coordinate third-party work. “It was an added value for Fritz Kuttin that it could count on a party that understands clean air technology and sorting plants and also knows how to cooperate with other parties,” says Frederick Thoma.
“Some of the original plant would remain or had to be recovered, such as the shredder and a screen for non-ferrous metals. But of course new conveyors were needed to connect the old and new machines. During design and assembly, we also took into account the high concrete foundation on which the entire recycling line rests. This is there to ensure that the pivoting conveyor is high enough to unload into a train wagon. The foundation could not be demolished or extended, so we had to stick to its dimensions. All those factors made it not an obvious project, but fortunately Lybover has the expertise for that,” says Bjorn Delagrange.
The modifications to the recycling line did mean that some soundproofing walls had to be moved. Thijs Van de Velde: “Thanks to 3D scanning and the use of a total station, the contractor was able to move the soundproof walls with millimetre precision. They just fitted on the foundation.”
High-grade iron for sustainable steel production
Despite time and space constraints, Lybover delivered an efficient solution that – after a conversion completed according to the planned timing – allows Fritz Kuttin to reduce its emissions and recover higher-grade iron for its customers.
“Thanks to the new design of the clean air technology, Fritz Kuttin no longer has congestions in their ducting. In turn, the correct extraction of the shredder ensures that far fewer explosions are observed in that machine,” Frederick Thoma explains.
“But the biggest asset for the company is the high efficiency of the plant. The customer told us that the residual fraction containing light materials from the sifter doubled in size. This means that the iron at the end of the recycling line is much purer than before and is therefore also a more valuable raw material for the metallurgical sector. In this way, the company increases its ecological footprint, as it makes an important contribution to making steel production more sustainable, among other things. Thanks to sorting lines like this sustainably produced steel, also known as Green Steel, is becoming more and more evident,” he concludes.