Hungarian eco-center features Andritz shredder for e-scrap and appliances

Andritz MeWa, part of the Germany-based Andritz Group, has completed a recycling plant for electrical and electronic scrap and refrigerators in the town of Karcag in eastern Hungary. The plant is the start of the new Eco-Center being set up in Karcag intended to strengthen the region’s economy with several hundred new jobs. At the end of March 2014, politicians and representatives from the business sector attended the celebrations to open the country’s largest recycling center for electronic scrap, Andritz reports.

The combined plant is designed to recycle 20,000 tons of electrical and electronic scrap as well as over 150,000 refrigerators a year to meet the latest European environmental standards and with a recycling quota nearing 95%. According to Andritz, the plant provides flexibility because it offers different operating modes depending on application.

The center features an Andritz MeWa QZ 2000 cross-flow shredder for disintegration of bonded materials, as well as a UG 1000 MSL granulator for reducing the material to a specific size. The company says that parts containing hazardous substances, such as batteries and capacitors, are left intact during the process and can be removed afterwards. The harmful gases contained in the cooling liquids and insulation of refrigerators are removed by suction and collected. Fractions containing valuable substances, such as aluminium, copper, iron and plastics, remain and can be removed with a suitable separation method, Andritz says.