APPLICATION OF A GAS-SOLID FLUIDISED BED SEPARATOR FOR ALUMINIUM-COPPER SCRAP RECYCLING

The EUbs circular economy concept necessitates the recycling of material streams used once or multiple times into the productionb consumption cycle again and again. The commonly known problem b that the number of recycling cycles of plastics is limited drives the economy towards metal usage again, because metal recycling cycles are limitless. Therefore, the efficient and economic separation of mixed aluminium and copper scraps in the 30b100 mm particle size range is an important issue for our society. In this study fundamental and applied research was carried out for the application of a gas-solid fluidised bed separator for aluminium-copper scrap recycling. A laboratory scale aero-suspension dense media separator was developed. Fundamental fluidisation experiments were carried out with this device and a powder rheometer. Afterwards pilot-scale and later industrial-scale separators were designed and built. The results indicate that the well-known Ergun fluidisation model can be the basis of a new process engineering design method for sizing dry fluidised bed separators.