The Value in Auto Shredder Residue

In North America every year, almost 12 million

automobiles reach the end of their useful lives. As

new cars continue to be manufactured and sold, the

disposal of old vehicles represents a growing issue and

environmental threat. Fortunately, 75 percent of an

end-of-life vehicle (ELV) can be recycled.

Automobiles consist of primarily ferrous metals, such

as steel and iron as well as non-ferrous metals like

aluminum and zinc. Automobile recyclers have long

been able to recover up to 85 percent of a vehicle’s total

materials just by collecting the residual ferrous and non-ferrous metals

that are left behind after shredding. The remaining materials—a mixture

of plastics, wood, fabric and glass—are known as automotive shredder

residue (ASR) or auto fluff.

ASR usually consists of a Mixture of plastics, rubber; glass, wood

products, cloth, paper, foam, dirt and electric wiring, as well as, a variety

of ferrous and non-ferrous metals. The U.S. generates around five million

tons of ASR every year. While most ASR is currently disposed of in landfills,

up to 60 percent of auto shredder residue can actually be recovered as

reusable materials.

An ASR separation system can be a continuous dry process that

separates ASR into a mixture of polymers, wood, glass, metals, sand, rocks

and dirt. Once the oversized material is removed, the residue may go

through a shredder to further reduce its size. The ASR is then separated

with the use of a trommel screen before a magnetic separator recovers

the ferrous metals and an eddy current separator and other separators

recover the non-ferrous metals. The end product contains more than 90

percent of the recycled polymers that were present in the original ASR.

In 2013, the EPA announced a new interpretation of their regulations

on ASR that allows plastics to be recovered during the recycling process,

provided that the materials do not contain levels of PCBs exceeding 50

parts per million. This new interpretation has the potential to reduce the

amount of ASR that is consigned to landfills every year by more than one

million tons and may improve the material recovery rate for ELVs to more

than 90 percent.

Worldwide Recycling Equipment Sales, LLC in Moberly, Missouri,

can supply a full range of equipment to dry, sort and move automotive

shredder residue. Our new and used dryers are designed specifically to

dry ASR, making the material easy to transport, separate and handle. We

can size and build a dryer to best suit your specific project needs. In the

past, we have designed plants for industry clients that process 40 and 80

tons per hour.

Our Vulcan® Dryer Systems consist of a correctly sized drum and a

burner mounted to a combustion chamber. After passing through the

dryer, the dried material is discharged to a transfer conveyor for further

sorting and separation. The vapor from the process is pulled through a

cyclone that is specifically designed to deal with the fine ASR dust, as

well as a high-temperature baghouse which removes all fine particulates

from the vapor stream. All ductwork, cyclone and other high-wear areas

in the system have abrasive resistant plates to reduce lifetime wear and

maintenance costs.

Recycling the polymers and residual metals in ASR would save the

equivalent of 24 million barrels of oil each year and would reduce carbon

dioxide emissions by 12 million tons. As recyclers around the world strive

to recycle as much of old vehicles as possible, the value of auto shredder

residue is only increasing and growing more apparent.

For more information on ASR drying systems, contact Worldwide

Recycling Equipment Sales, LLC at (660) 263-7575 or wwrequip@

wwrequip.com. View our complete inventory online at www.wwrequip.com .

 Savannah Cooper

Writer/Copy/Social Media Specialist, Worldwide Recycling Equipment Sales, LLC