PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
According to the EU waste management policy, priority should be given to waste prevention and waste recovery over disposal of waste i.e. landfill. Most of the shredder residue goes to landfill in spite of the fact that it has a better calorific value than household waste. The shredder industry handles yearly in Europe about 10 million end-of-life vehicles recovering some 7,5 million tons of steel and non-ferrous metals. At the same time, about 2,5 million tons of automotive shredder residue, also called shredder fluff, is generated. Other complex scrap in Europe gives rise to another estimated 1,5 million tons of shredder residue. Thus, in total, there is a yearly generation of approx. 4 million tons of shredder residues in Europe. The environmentally acceptable way to handle shredder residue is to recover most of the metals remaining in the waste and the energy from the organic fraction. At the same time, the non-organic remaining fractions should be minimized and detoxicated before going to land fill.
OBJECTIVES
The beneficiary and the project partners aimed to show how shedder residue could be recycled from all complex end-of-life products. The project would implement a quality assurance system for supplying complex scrap from car dismantlers, scrap yards and communities. It would aim to produce a well-specified energy fraction from about 60% of the residue. More metal from the shedder residue would also be recovered. The objectives would be developed through the installation of demonstration pilot plants at the shedder company sites. These would be concentrated in the Hallstahammar shredder plant, about 130 km west of Stockholm. It was expected that major environmental and cost benefits would be achieved if the project was successful, i.e. material and energy savings as well as land fill space savings. The work would be divided into four main tasks. Firstly, the implementation of a shredder scrap quality assurance system was carried out. This would include, for example, informing scrap supplier networks and starting a quality controlled scrap supply to shredders. Secondly, the new separation methods and technology support would be up-scaled. Third, the demonstration process. In the process, pre-trials with existing equipment would be executed. The demonstration process would also include full-scale demo runs and pilot plant demo runs. The final task would be to make a quality assurance of the produced fractions and the test and evaluate the results. Expected Results In Sweden only, about 10.000 tons of shredder waste is land filled each year. With the process, huge quantities of materials can be recovered and recycled. Their value is approx. 3,5 million ECUs, resulting in total savings at EU level of 140 million ECUs. The quality assurance of scrap supply decreases the risk of contamination and results in considerable reduction of wasted material (i.e. steel and non-ferrous metal). As a result, the landfill space now occupied by shredder waste would be reduced by at least 80%. The energy fraction produced, about 60,0000 tons, has a total value corresponding to about 35.000 tons of coke. The energy required by the recycling process is small compared to the energy content in the energy fraction
RESULTS
Unlike many other projects this project has already achieved quantifiable environmental benefits. The benefits consist of a larger proportion of the shredder material being recycled as material. As an example, the amount of recycled material has increased from about 83 % to 85% of the total input to the shredder. Since this is a large-scale operation, this means an increase of the amount of recycled material of about 3, 100 metric tons. An increased amount of recycled material leads to an environmental advantage since it reduces the need for virgin material and since the hazardous material from the process is easier to control. It is also a clear economic advantage as the beneficiary can sell more material using the same input to the process. It is worth pointing out that the estimated value of the metal in the remaining fraction (after this project has been carried out) is about 30 MSEK (3,2 M€). The beneficiary has also made particularly large efforts to identify and remove mercury and PCB (Poly Cyclic Biphenyl). The amount that has been removed is about 300 kg of mercury and 5 000 kg of PCB on a yearly basis. This has been a part of the task concerning quality. Unlike many other projects this project has already achieved quantifiable environmental benefits. The benefits consist of a larger proportion of the shredder material being recycled as material. As an example, the amount of recycled material has increased from about 83 % to 85% of the total input to the shredder. Since this is a large-scale operation, this means an increase of the amount of recycled material of about 3, 100 metric tons. An increased amount of recycled material leads to an environmental advantage since it reduces the need for virgin material and since the hazardous material from the process is easier to control. It is also a clear economic advantage as the beneficiary can sell more material using the same input to the process. It is worth pointing out that the estimated value of the metal in the remaining fraction (after this project has been carried out) is about 30 MSEK (3,2 M€). The beneficiary has also made particularly large efforts to identify and remove mercury and PCB (Poly Cyclic Biphenyl). The amount that has been removed is about 300 kg of mercury and 5 000 kg of PCB on a yearly basis. This has been a part of the task concerning quality.