{"id":2888,"date":"2014-09-23T13:48:28","date_gmt":"2014-09-23T13:48:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wasteadvantagemag.com\/?p=2888"},"modified":"2014-09-23T13:48:28","modified_gmt":"2014-09-23T13:48:28","slug":"mrf-best-practices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wasteadvantagemag.com\/mrf-best-practices\/","title":{"rendered":"MRF Best Practices"},"content":{"rendered":"

In order to operate a successful MRF,<\/em>explore and confirm a well thought out custom design, hire a successful operating team and perform routine maintenance.<\/em><\/p>\n

Chris Hawn<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

When considering the long-term operation of a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF), it is very important that the process start early in the design and continue many years beyond the start of operation.\u00a0 There are certainly not enough pages in a single publication to cover all of the details, but if you strongly consider a few simple steps, you will find that equipment and operations will perform as efficiently as you imagined when the initial purchasing decision was made.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Design Best Practices<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are many considerations when deciding on a MRF design and build.\u00a0 The most recognizable are system capacity and commodity focus, but design goes far beyond just these parameters. The physical building and property are a critical first step to a successful operation.\u00a0 Two statements that have never been made by MRF operators are \u201cmy tip floor is too large\u201d or \u201cwe have an overabundance of bale storage.\u201d You would be surprised how quickly both of these areas shrink when the operation begins. System providers should be able to give you data as it pertains to storage of incoming and outgoing material, as well as bunker storage of materials that have already been processed.<\/p>\n

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Equipment will require a predetermined footprint but ask vendors to think outside of the box.\u00a0 The path of least resistance for many manufacturers is to reuse a past design or focus on \u201cstandards\u201d for the equipment they are recommending.\u00a0 Every facility is different and a good supplier can often eliminate, or at the very least minimize, building modifications with a site-specific design instead of trying to squeeze their cookie cutter system into the wrong envelope.<\/p>\n

Further details will follow dealing with the best operational and maintenance practices, but even prior to installation, it is important to recognize that accessibility should be considered early in a system design. Although one would hope that every system requires zero maintenance, the reality is that there are many motors, belts, gearboxes, etc. that need to be maintained. It is important that these items not be treated as an afterthought. It is a proven fact that all items that are to be serviced will stand a much better chance if they are made easy to access. All too often, systems are designed with multiple levels, small platforms, ladders and difficult to reach locations that require man lifts to maintain.\u00a0 Ask questions and request explanations on how equipment will be maintained.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When millions of dollars are being spent, you should expect that your vendor is considering today\u2019s needs and recognizing future growth and market changes that could affect performance.\u00a0 Challenge manufacturers to defend their \u201csales puffing\u201d and then require multiple references and pursue visits to similar installations where you can witness the claims firsthand. During such visits, take note of staffing requirements, maintenance access, system performance and, ultimately, ask pointed questions regarding the system provider and if they simply met, or exceeded, expectations.\u00a0 It is amazing what you can glean from others\u2019 experience that might lead to a better solution in your given scenario.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The first step towards operating a successful and profitable MRF is insuring that the infrastructure is in place and that the operating costs do not exceed the pro-forma.\u00a0 When you learn from your supplier and the experience of others, you are sure to make a decision that is best for your specific needs.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Operational Best Practices<\/strong><\/p>\n

It goes without saying that the operation of a MRF involves much more than the simple \u2018Log In\u2019 and \u2018Log Out\u2019 of a system on a day-to-day basis. Every processor has different goals and a commodity focus in mind but, at the end of the day, efficiency and purity remain the driving force. Knowing this, it is critical that the plant management pay close attention to many aspects within the plant.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Equipment can only take you so far when it comes to leaping over the Green Fence. An MRF\u2019s sorting staff and plant management become the backbone of success.\u00a0 Sorters, by nature, require constant supervision and evaluation. They can often become complacent if they are located in the same position day in and day out. For that reason, it is important to recognize their individual strengths and weaknesses. For example, a sorter that picks over 100 picks\/minute is put in a position where there is minimal potential of cross contamination. It is important to evaluate the commodity and recognize the allowable amounts of out-throws, or \u201cprohibitives\u201d, prior to positioning that specific sorter.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

On the other hand, equipment should be expected to meet specific purity standards. This is always a balancing act that the plant management should take into consideration.\u00a0 Quality systems are designed with the capability of adjustment, whether through speed or angles of screens, and there are many factors that can change the outcome. Is the material wet, compacted, commercial, residential, etc.?\u00a0 Recognition of the environment or loads can enable the operator to make the appropriate adjustments and equipment should be programmable so that predetermined loads can be processed under a preset menu.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ultimately, neither the equipment nor the plant operations are going to be 100 percent efficient and, therefore, one should take a \u2018Belt and Suspenders\u2019 approach.\u00a0 Recognizing that the equipment is the \u2018belt\u2019 and that the operators and sorting staff are the \u2018suspenders\u2019, a MRF should be able to produce a quality product at a guaranteed capacity, assuming that \u2018Design Best Practices\u2019 are considered.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Maintenance Best Practices<\/strong><\/p>\n

To achieve the goals set forth by \u2018Design Best Practices\u2019 and \u2018Operational Best Practices\u2019, it is critical that \u2018Maintenance Best Practices\u2019 are adhered to by the maintenance staff and the service of the supplier.\u00a0 This is much easier said than done because it is the responsibility of Design and Operations to insure it is achievable.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

With the proper design and operation of a system, commodities should be forwarded to the correct locations on the sorting lines. Over specific periods of time, equipment will only perform as it is allowed to due to routine maintenance as well as wear-and-tear.\u00a0 In all fairness, expectations should be set appropriately for specific pieces of equipment and not oversold by \u201csales puffing\u201d, such as it requires zero maintenance or it never wraps\u2014challenge the supplier.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

OCC (Old Corrugated Cardboard) screens, fiber screens, finishing\/polishing screens and other forms of separation equipment are critical to a sorting system. Over time, there will be a loss of efficiency of about every piece of equipment due to wear-and-tear. Assuming the \u2018Operational Best Practices\u2019 are observed, it is often easy to recognize where equipment is lacking in maintenance or needs to be maintained.\u00a0\u00a0 Some examples include (but are not limited to): contaminated OCC as a result of reduced spacing due to film wraps on the shaft, loss of non-FE beverage containers to the fines due to disc wear, increase in fiber on the containers line, etc. \u2018Maintenance Best Practices\u2019 should help eliminate some of these issues but, because they will<\/em> occur, it is prudent to ask how the system will accommodate them during the design phase of the system.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Optical sorters perform best with optimal presentation and recognition. Singulated materials are presented to the eyes of the system so that a mechanical separation can take place. \u00a0Depending on the manufacturer, items that could affect the efficiency include dirty windows, dirty belts and, ultimately, the functionality of the air ejection. Although it is not an enormous amount of time spent on the optical units, a little bit of attention can go a long way with system efficiency.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ensure Your Results<\/strong><\/p>\n

The \u2018Best Practices\u2019 of a successful MRF go far and beyond any one of the individual practices mentioned in this article.\u00a0 All three should go hand in hand to ensure the results are as expected when the pro-forma was first written.\u00a0 Explore and confirm a well thought out custom design, hire a successful operating team, require routine maintenance and appreciate the results that will follow.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Chris Hawn<\/em><\/strong> has been the North American Sales Manager for Machinex (Plessisville, QC) since January 2010. With 18 years of experience in capital equipment sales in the recycling industry, Chris has been involved in every aspect of recycling from collection and sorting of commodities to processing of recycled materials into new products. He can be reached at (877) 362-3281 or via e-mail at chawn@machinextechnologies.com.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In order to operate a successful MRF,explore and confirm a well thought out custom design, hire a successful operating team and perform routine maintenance. Chris Hawn \u00a0 When considering the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1775,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-recycling-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMRF Best Practices - 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