The newly developed STEINERT PLASMAX | LIBS promises to sort three products in one run, undertake a novel multi-spot analysis, and deliver more than 95 per cent purity levels. As a leading supplier of sorting solutions for the recycling industry, STEINERT presents its new LIBS sorting system during the ISRI Convention in Las Vegas (15-18 April 2024) and IFAT in Munich (13-17 May 2024). Designed specifically to sort ready-to-smelt aluminium series 5xxx and 6xxx, it sets new standards in efficiency and precision.

If you ask leading figures and visionaries in the recycling sector about the direction in which they see metal recycling headings, they will often mention sorting aluminium alloys. STEINERT responded to this trend in 2016 with the STEINERT LSS and is now launching the second LIBS sorting system.

Replete with numerous innovations, the STEINERT PLASMAX | LIBS is the solution for the high-purity separation of aluminium series and can handle large volumes. Delivering purity levels in excess of 95 percent, the new LIBS system achieves high quality, enabling the sorted product to be fed straight into the production process.

What is LIBS technology?

LIBS stands for “Laser-Induced-Breakdown-Spectroscopy”, a technology used to analyse materials down to their elemental composition. A high-energy laser beam is directed at the aluminium, evaporates material and produces a plasma heated to several thousand degrees, which then disintegrates into light emissions. Spectral analysis can be used to determine its elemental composition, and aluminium can be separated with very high levels of precision.

Volume sorting with maximum precision

With a processing capacity of 3 – 6 t/h and three material discharges simultaneously, the STEINERT PLASMAX | LIBS makes what is probably the most efficient processing of high-grade aluminium scrap possible and, therefore, meets all current industry standards.

The new sorting system combines several technological innovations with the tried and tested STEINERT KSS platform—a symbiosis promising maximum quality and reliability. Its compact design also makes it very easy to integrate into existing systems.

Karl Hoffmann, Global Sales Director Metal Recycling at STEINERT, summarises what drove the development: “Precise sorting of aluminium with the STEINERT PLASMAX I LIBS delivers quality levels that produce an excellent basis for the increase in demand for recycled aluminium. Given the need to decarbonize the automotive industry and its supply chains, greater use of high-grade recycled materials is essential. I am delighted that, through the STEINERT PLASMAX I LIBS, we can present a technology that we have developed in-house and is once again setting new standards in the circular aluminium economy.”

A new approach to sorting aluminium

The material starts to be processed as soon as it is placed on the new feed system. A specially developed multi-stage feeder ensures that the conveyor belt is covered perfectly.

Next up is 3D detection and ultra-precise in-flight detection: in other words, detection immediately after the material has left the belt. With the aid of kinetic energy, the material flies in a stable parabola through the laser unit. The novel multi-spot analysis simultaneously uses several laser measurement points, which accurately strike the material at right angles to guarantee optimum detection.

The plasma produced when the laser pulse encounters the aluminium is analysed using AI and, a moment later, separated into one of the three discharges by a compressed air pressure pulse.

Presentation in Las Vegas and Munich

Customers who have tested the STEINERT PLASMAX | LIBS so far are impressed by its performance. It can achieve high throughput rates and produce high-grade fractions, enabling it to tap into new potential sales. The sorting system offers operational flexibility and a key step towards a sustainable future through efficiently recycling aluminium alloys.

The presentation of the new STEINERT PLASMAX | LIBS in April at ISRI in Las Vegas and in May at IFAT in Munich promises exciting insight into this and other sorting solutions for the future of metal recycling. We warmly invite anyone interested in this system to contact our recycling specialists and learn more about the sorting system of the future.

About STEINERT

The history of STEINERT dates back more than 130 years: the family-owned, Cologne-based business is one of the world's leading experts in sensor sorting and magnetic separation for waste and metal recycling as well as mining. With 450 employees, STEINERT generates an annual turnover of approximately EUR 180 million. In addition to 50 sales partnerships and joint ventures across the globe, the company has subsidiaries in Germany, Australia, Brazil and the USA.