Megablender increases waste recovery
04/28/2012
Geocycle has recently trialled a new resource recovery project that allows previously
unprocessable waste to be recycled.
The Megablender, a huge-scale metal blender the size of a large water tank, has five hardened-alloy cutting blades that rotate up to 500 rpm in both directions.
It is able to shred entire steel drums containing solid and semi-solid hazardous and combustible waste materials generated by communities and industry.
These waste materials contained in the bottom of the drums are often solid and require manual removal prior to processing. In some cases the material cannot be effectively removed and the drums with the solid material are either sent to landfill or stored later for offsite disposal or processing.
The Megablender allows the shredded metal to be washed for recovery and recycling and the waste contents to be processed as solvent based fuel (SBF).
SBF is a liquid fuel used as an alternative fuel in the cement industry and is derived from liquid, solid, and sludgy waste.
The SBF is provided to Cement Australia, which operates cement manufacturing plants in Queensland and Tasmania.
The capacity to blend existing incoming solid wastes and accumulated solid drum stock into SBF reduces the amount of waste disposed to landfill or sent offsite and recovers 100% of steel for recycling.
Sustainability Victoria provided funding assistance and technical support for the project.
For more information on Geocycle please visit the website.