Equipment Spotlight | OCT 2020 Glass Pulverizers

by MARY M. THORNTON

Approximately 12 million tons of glass is generated as municipal waste every year, but only approximately 3 million tons are recycled – a process that can be done repeatedly with no loss in material quality. Glass is a 100 percent recyclable and that process also allows for the reduction of emissions, energy saving and the reuse of raw materials such as sand, soda ash, limestone and cullet, which is furnace-ready recycled glass.

Andela Products has been manufacturing glass recycling equipment and systems for over 25 years. The firm’s glass crushers, pulverizers, breaker/crushers, trommel screens, surge hoppers and conveyors are available as stand alone products, or as part of a system for processing 1 to 20 TPH of waste glass. Andela products’ unique selective reduction and separation technology crushes or pulverizes glass but leaves the non-glass debris un-crushed for easy separation. Cynthia Andela, president, stated, “Our customers use our crushers or pulverizers for CRT/TV electronics glass, mixed broken glass, separated glass bottles, windshields or industrial waste glass to make a cullet or tumbled glass aggregate for use in their community and of course, this also helps to keep glass out of landfills.”

The technology in Andela machines is used to crush whole CRT/TV tubes, but the metal frame portion remains for easy removal. Over time, due to market demand for leaded vs. un-leaded glass, most CRT/TV tubes are now separated into panel (un-leaded) glass and funnel/frit (leaded) glass. Processors may also use Andela’s pulverizer system. For example, Ruby Lake Glass, an Andela-owned, approved down-stream recycler, pulverizes panel glass to make abrasives, and color coated recycled glass aggregate.

As the markets for glass continue to change and expand, from re-melt markets to industrial mineral or aggregate markets, Andela custom builds equipment and systems that will take glass mixed with other materials, and reduce the glass to the size specifications, cullet or sand sizes, required. Glass is separated from non-glass metals, plastics or paper. Andela products allow users to recycle all types of waste glass; microwave plates, photocopier glass and any mixed glass found in the electronics. Andela systems turn glass into sand and stone aggregate without sharp edges, which can be used for pipe bedding, road construction, crushed glass abrasives, glass mulch for landscaping, sand for beaches and much more.

The Glass Gator from Cemco quickly and efficiently turns waste into recyclable cullet or soft-edged sand that can be repurposed into new glass containers.

The machine also cuts down on waste volume and waste-handling costs. “Because the Glass Gator safely and efficiently crushes eight glass containers down to the equivalent volume of just one container, waste fills trash receptacles with more glass and less air. This reduces the frequency of waste removal, the size and number of roll-off receptacles needed and associated costs. This volumetric reduction can decrease disposal and haulage costs by hundreds of dollars per month depending on related size and consumption rates,” Jennifer Hise, vice president, noted.

The Glass Gator was designed for easy clean up and it can process thousands of bottles between screen replacements and blade maintenance. A simple detergent mix is all that’s necessary to clean the inside of the unit, and the tray can be easily removed and sanitized. Rotor parts and sizing screens are easy to replace, and Cemco also offers parts and service support worldwide.

With more than 55 years of experience in designing and manufacturing a full line of Turbo Vertical Shaft Impact crushers, Cemco provides innovative solutions for a variety of recycling applications including cement, glass, ceramic tile, drywall, brick, roofing tiles, copper slag and steel slag. The company offers a number of portable and stationary crushing systems that are easy to maintain and highly energy efficient.

Lisa Woodward, president of Compactors Inc., commented, “As landfill tipping fees have increased, one of our clients – a municipality, chose an alternative that would help them ‘stay green’ but also be financially palatable. With a $25,000 recycling equipment grant used for the purchase of a glass pulverizer, employees helped construct the building for the machine and the pit below it, which helped with costs. Planning ahead on where to position the machine also paid off.” Due to the various uses for the recycled glass produced by the city and interest from other cities as well (e.g., “glassphalt,” for roads and even airport runways), pulverizer output is now being evaluated as a possible revenue source for the city.

Compactors offers a range of products for glass recycling: pulverizer models (GP 1000 and 1500C) are meant for glass bottle recycling centers, municipalities and bottlers that process 1,000 to 1,500 lbs. per hour; crushers (the REM® GB Series and numerous other models), are for recycling centers, casinos and many other types of businesses. Trash compactor bags, baling wire and many other related items are also available. “We sell solutions. If you have a recycling or waste challenge, give us a call. We’ll find the perfect solution for you, then with input from our engineers, make suggestions for the machine that is optimal for your process,” said Woodward.

Julie VanderMoore, sales, explained how Bright Technologies Sebright Products “manufactures the X-Sizer glass crusher, which helps reduce the volume of disposable glass containers, up to 95 percent.” The stainless steel machines are designed to pulverize glass and also offer the following features: long life cycle and high throughput, and convenient, safe loading and inexpensive IBC Tote cullet containers. Direct drive gear motors process glass up to 15 cu. yards of glass per hour, providing volume reductions of up to 3 to 1. The crusher hopper accepts 1 yard of self-dumping carts, can accept IBC totes as cullet receptacle and features an interlocked cullet receptacle door.

Published in the October 2020 Edition