5 June, 2017 | Oliver Admin | Blog, Technology
Oliver Manufacturing’s focus lies first and foremost on serving the agricultural industry. Oliver equipment processes a variety of seeds, grains and similar products. But the same sorting process used for seeds can be applied to non-agricultural materials as well. In fact, the gravity separator was initially designed for processing minerals and was a staple of the mining industry in the early 1900s. Copper ore, other minerals and even plastic can and have been sorted with Oliver’s signature gravity separators.
We contacted Joshua Swafford of A & E Auto Electric, Spartanburg, SC, to hear how they use the Oliver Voyager in their recycling process.
“The gravity separator is the last step in our recycling operation, which shreds and processes a variety of materials including aluminum, steel and copper,” says Swafford. “Steel and aluminum are removed prior to the gravity table. The remaining fraction which consists of copper, plastic, a small portion of aluminum and other impurities, is then processed through a granulator to size the material to about 5/16 inch. The granulated material is then carried to the gravity table by blower. The gravity table separates copper and aluminum from trash, plastic and other contamination.”
For A & E Auto Electric, the gravity separator serves as the last check point in the pre-refinement process. It’s the last line of defense against small unwanted particles that were not filtered out earlier, and it ensures that the end recyclables are free of contaminates. So what uses are the sorted copper and aluminum applied to?
“The copper, aluminum, and steel that we recycle will be sold to refineries which will melt the metal and use them for new materials such as copper wire, aluminum heads in new vehicle engines, and steel building material,” says Swafford.
Oliver Manufacturing is dedicated to processing for a more productive planet, and making the most of reusable metals is a great example of how that can be done. It’s a good feeling to know that Oliver equipment lends utility to A & E Auto Electric’s recycling process.
