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Air technology is a versatile and essential component of modern waste management strategies, offering substantial economic, operational, and environmental benefits, which can be included as part of the initial design of the recycling facility or retrofitted to suit the needs of the operation.
By Dave Lansdell

Air technology for resource recovery offers numerous advantages that enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of modern waste management and recycling processes. Technological advances, and importantly, response to waste operators’ requirements over recent years, means there are now many methods that work well to recover valuable and recyclable material, rather than them ending up in a landfill. Air technology is now widely accepted as one of the key technologies used to support recycling of various material streams.

How Does Air Technology Work?
Air technology is a versatile and efficient method used in various waste separation processes. Not only can air be used to move product from A to B through a ductwork system or to handle a variety of hazards such as dust, fumes, or odors, but it can also be used effectively to separate or grade material. Air separation works by leveraging the differences in physical properties such as weight, size, aerodynamic characteristics, and density of the materials in the waste stream.

 

 

Airlift flexible plastic packaging recovery system. Images courtesy of Impact Air Systems.

 

Accurately Sort Waste Material
One of the primary benefits is its ability to rapidly and accurately sort waste materials based on their physical properties, such as density, size, weight, and aerodynamic characteristics. Like all technology used in the recycling industry, the key to success is selecting the right solution for the application and applying it in the correct position in the recycling process. Air knives and wind sifters or other similar methods offer high throughput basic levels of heavy/light separation or polishing, while zigzag or air classification offers much more precise and higher quality separation. These technologies can quickly separate lighter materials such as paper, plastic films, and flexibles, and small particles from heavier items such as metals, aggregates, rigid plastics, and glass.

Improved Purity
Another major advantage is the improved purity of recovered materials. Air technology can differentiate between different types of materials, resulting in higher quality and less contaminated recycled outputs. For example, the final de-dusting of granulated plastics before extrusion, removal of unpickable light contamination from gypsum recycling or MRF glass, removing unwanted aggregate from finished SRF, through to capturing flexible film plastics at optical separators used to quality control the final material streams such as OCC (old corrugated containers) or N&P (newspaper & paper). This increased purity makes the recovered materials more valuable and easier to process in subsequent recycling stages, enhancing the overall economic viability of recycling operations.

 

Flexible plastic packaging collected via Impact Airlift System.

Reducing Manual Sorting
Using air technology reduces the reliance on manual sorting, lowering labor costs and minimizing human error, and can also be used to enhance the performance or uptime of other key equipment in the recycling process, such as screens and optical separators. It also decreases the wear and tear on machinery that can occur with other separation methods, such as mechanical sorting, which often involves more contact and friction. This leads to lower maintenance costs and longer equipment lifespan.

 

Glass clean-up system (Zigzag Air Classifier) in material recovery facility.

Mitigating Environmental Impact
Environmental benefits are also significant. Dust control can be a major benefit to using air separation technology, reducing the respiratory risk to staff and personnel, and reducing the need for housekeeping and the fire risk due to dust, by treating the air used for the separation using fully compliant dust filters. Additionally, dedicated dust control solutions are becoming more common features of the recycling process and are being considered during the design phase or as part of major plant upgrades. By efficiently separating and recovering recyclable materials, air technology reduces the volume of waste sent to landfills, mitigating the environmental impact of waste disposal. It also supports the circular economy by promoting the reuse of materials, conserving natural resources, and reducing the need for virgin material production.

 

Glass and SRF material separation with Impact’s ZAC (Zigzag Air Classifier).

An Essential Component
Air technology systems can be integrated with other advanced sorting technologies, such as optical sorters, screens, and magnetic separators, to further enhance recovery rates and efficiency.
When you identify inefficiencies in current processes, ensure that you have the budget and infrastructure to support the investment, face regulatory pressure to improve sorting accuracy, and aim to align with sustainability goals. By considering these factors, you can determine the optimal moment to enhance your waste management operations with air technology, leading to better resource recovery, cost savings, and improved environmental outcomes.
The integration capability makes air technology a versatile and essential component of modern waste management strategies, offering substantial economic, operational, and environmental benefits, which can be included as part of the initial design of the recycling facility or retrofitted to suit the needs of the operation. | WA

Dave Lansdell is Technical Sales Director for Impact Air Systems, Dave has worked in the engineering sector for more than 25 years and in the air conveyance and recycling sector for 20 years, securing contracts in various recycling facilities across the U.S. and around the world. His extensive knowledge and expertise in this field is unparalleled. He has been an exemplary leader and contributor to the exponential growth of Impact, which led to the buy-out of the company, by Swedish technology firm, Addtech, in 2021. Dave is supported by arguably the best team of technical sales managers, project managers and installation engineers, ensuring that the
solution offered, is seamlessly integrated into the recycling process. For more information, e-mail [email protected] or visit .

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