Alutrade Ltd recovers 99% pure aluminium by installing TOMRA’s sophisticated new X-TRACT™ unit

Alutrade, the UK’s largest independent aluminium recycling company and extrusion specialist, is the first company in the world to reap the benefits of the sophisticated new sensor-based sorting solution. The new X-TRACT™, TOMRA’s most advanced x-ray metals sorting unit, has enabled Alutrade to achieve 99 per cent pure aluminium for secondary aluminium production.

The new X-TRACT™ unit was installed in March 2021 at Alutrade’s Oldbury recycling plant in Birmingham, which processes 42,000 tons of waste annually. The plant’s infeed material comprises metal extrusions from different types of post-consumer construction waste, such as windows and doors and aluminium cans.

A combination of mechanical and sensor-based sorting 

When the infeed material arrives at Alutrade’s Oldbury plant, it is pre-shredded into smaller pieces around one to two meters long before being further shredded by a hammer mill. Magnets and eddy current separators are then used to separate the metals into ferrous and non-ferrous metals, removing contaminants in preparation for the subsequent sorting stage. 

Following magnetic separation, a combination of TOMRA sensor-based sorting units is used to process, sort and recover the target fraction of aluminium. Two earlier edition TOMRA X-TRACT™ units installed in 2017 and 2018 are programmed to capture a more significant aluminium fraction of >30mm. The new machine targets a smaller 10-30mm aluminium fraction, removing any heavy metal content from the aluminium. Both the earlier and new edition X-TRACT™ units sort metals based on the difference in atomic density, separating any heavy metals. 

Meeting industry demand for premium recycled aluminium

Alutrade’s customers are remelts based worldwide who demand the highest purity grade of aluminium product for their remelting process, as any heavy metal content affects the melt specifications.

Andrew Powell, Director at Alutrade LTD, explains: “Over the past five years, we have worked closely with TOMRA and our main customer and have undertaken a lot of research to achieve this milestone of recovering an aluminium end fraction that meets the exceptionally high purity levels required to go straight into the remelting process. The smaller 10-30mm grain size captured by the new machine is 99 per cent pure aluminium, which means we can sell it at a much higher price to our customers for use in producing new aluminium products. Moreover, the new version of X-TRACT™ has opened up new international market opportunities for Alutrade as we can now source different infeed material and sell on the ejected heavy metal products.”

The new X-TRACT™ – a superior solution 

Although the two earlier edition TOMRA X-TRACT™ units at the Oldbury plant allowed Alutrade to capture the >30mm aluminium fraction, there were some restrictions on smaller fractions. However, thanks to a new x-ray sensor design, the new X-TRACT™ can separate fractions down to 5mm at even higher purity levels.

TOMRA’s new X-TRACT™ uses the same process of separating metals by atomic density as the earlier edition but offers far superior x-ray capabilities. The software-based solution can guarantee premium remelt quality recycled aluminium by ejecting the heavy metal contaminants.

The new generation X-TRACT™ unit boasts several new innovative features, including much faster sorting (up to 3.8 meters per second) and an increased capacity per meter width. A new high-acutance XRT sensor ensures sharper detection and shorter integration times for higher throughout. A high-power (up to 1,000w) x-ray source can process multiple applications and grain sizes. An extended separation chamber reduces material loss by improving the trajectory of sorted objects, and a new catcher hood ensures safer access and faster maintenance.

Alutrade’s X-TRACT™ unit is connected to TOMRA Insight, TOMRA’s secure, nearly real-time and on-demand cloud-based data monitoring platform. The platform enables customers to turn their sorters into connected devices and to transform sorting from an operational process into a strategic management tool. Generating high-value data, TOMRA Insight helps to maximize plant throughput, boost sorting performance and optimize output quality.

Reflecting on the long-standing partnership between Alutrade and TOMRA, Andrew Powell of Alutrade adds: “Alutrade has been using X-TRACT™ units for the past four years to guarantee the quality of our products that we supply to our customers. This has enabled us to build trust between ourselves and our customers. Right from day one of operation, TOMRA has helped us improve the recovery rates of aluminium reliably. By using X-TRACT™ units, we have upgraded our material to remain in the UK rather than be exported.

“Investing in the new X-TRACT™ has enabled us to close the loop on the recycling process as much as possible, converting aluminium back into aluminium for use in high-grade aluminium products so that, in effect, a window frame can be recycled into a new window frame. With low operational costs, improved safety and superior sorting capabilities, the new X-TRACT™ stands out in the aluminium recycling solutions available in the global metals recycling market.”

Terence Keyworth, Segment Manager of Metal Recycling North/East Europe, adds: “TOMRA and Alutrade have worked together for more than ten years, so Alutrade’s Oldbury plant was ideal for this us to test and prove the capabilities of our new X-TRACT™. As the prototype of this unit in an industrialized environment, it has been a fascinating project. We’re delighted that Alutrade has been so impressed with the sorting capabilities of this new technology and look forward to rolling out further installations over the coming months.”