Meanwhile, the BIVITEC® banana design has a unique curved deck that’s paired with innovative flip-flow technology. It’s engineered to maximize efficiency, improve stratification, and handle the toughest materials with ease.

Understanding Standard Vibrating Screens

These screens have a relatively simple design: a flat, horizontal deck vibrates at high speeds to separate materials based on size. As material flows across the deck – smaller particles fall through the openings, while larger particles continue to the discharge end.

These screens have a compact design and offer a controlled material flow, operating on a principle of precision conveyance. Their most common and effective application is as a finishing screen in aggregate and mining operations. After material has been crushed and washed, the horizontal screen provides the high accuracy needed to create precise final product specifications for concrete, asphalt, and other high-value applications.

However, standard vibrating screens may struggle with blinding and plugging as well as stratification efficiency, as the flat deck doesn’t always encourage material to spread evenly or separate quickly.

Compare inclined versus horizontal screens.

The BIVITEC Screen’s Banana Design

Unlike flat horizontal screens, the banana design features a steeper angle at the feed end that gradually lessens toward the discharge. This geometry allows material to move more efficiently across the deck while maintaining a consistent bed-depth from start to finish.

By keeping the bed-depth even, the Banana BIVITEC® maximizes tonnage capacity without sacrificing accuracy. Combined with the dual-vibratory, flip-flow system and flexible polyurethane screen mats of the BIVITEC® screen — engineered to eliminate blinding and clogging — the banana design offers greater efficiency, reduced downtime, and higher throughput compared to standard screens. 

The BIVITEC® is the definitive solution for applications defined by difficult, variable, and high-moisture feed materials.

• Recycling (C&D, MSW, ASR): The BIVITEC® is uniquely capable of screening materials that would instantly paralyze a horizontal screen, such as removing high-moisture fines from construction and demolition (C&D) waste, classifying auto shredder residue (ASR) and its associated fluff, and handling sticky incinerator ash.
• Compost and organics: The BIVITEC® is the ideal technology for screening compost, wood waste, peat moss, and other organic materials that are inherently fibrous, leafy, and tend to mat together on a screen deck. The high-G acceleration actively breaks up these clumps, ensuring a consistent and high-quality final product.  
• Difficult minerals and aggregates: In the aggregate and mining sectors, the BIVITEC® excels where the raw feed is contaminated with high percentages of silt, mud, and clay. It is a leading solution for producing manufactured sand and agricultural lime, where fine particles and moisture are inherent to the process.  
• High-moisture materials: The BIVITEC® is the definitive solution for any application where high or variable moisture content is a persistent challenge. Its flip-flow action eliminates the need for expensive and energy-intensive solutions, like heated decks or less effective ball decks, providing reliable performance in all weather conditions.

Ready to see how the BIVITEC® screen’s banana design can improve your operation? Request a quote today or contact our team with any questions — we’re here to help you find the right solution.

The post What Makes the Banana BIVITEC® Different from a Standard Vibrating Screen? appeared first on AEI Screens.

The highly mixed nature of ASR makes it difficult to efficiently separate and recycle. By integrating advanced screening solutions, recyclers can enhance the overall effectiveness of ASR processing and make a positive environmental impact.

The Benefits of Recycling Auto Shredder Residue

Valuable resources (such as aluminum, copper, and steel) can be extracted and reused, reducing the need for new raw materials and lowering production costs.

Additionally, proper recycling supports sustainability by decreasing the carbon footprint associated with manufacturing new materials. Effective ASR recycling reduces the volume of waste sent to landfills, helping to conserve landfill space and prevent environmental contamination and health risks. 

• Soil and water contamination: ASR contains a mix of materials, such as heavy metals (lead, mercury, cadmium), plastics, and chemicals, like PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls). These substances can contaminate groundwater, surface water, and soil, harming ecosystems and making the land unusable for agriculture or development. Plus, they can affect drinking water supplies for nearby communities, potentially leading to serious health problems.
• Increased landfill waste: Without proper recycling, large volumes of ASR take up significant landfill space. This leads to the depletion of landfill capacity and increases the environmental burden of waste management.
• Exposure to toxic chemicals: Human exposure to the hazardous materials in ASR, such as heavy metals and asbestos, can occur through direct contact, inhalation, or ingestion. These substances can lead to respiratory issues, neurological damage, and long-term health conditions, like cancer or kidney disease.
• Harm to wildlife: Contaminants can enter ecosystems, harming plants and animals. This disrupts biodiversity and can cause bioaccumulation of toxic substances in the food chain, ultimately affecting human health as well.

Learn more about the benefits of recycling ASR.

Key Challenges in Processing ASR

Recycling ASR presents several challenges due to the complex and mixed nature of the materials it contains. Some of the most common challenges include:

• Contamination: The toxic substances that can be found in ASR pose health and environmental risks, requiring careful handling and specialized processing technologies to avoid pollution.
• Regulations: Due to the hazardous materials found in ASR, the recycling process must comply with strict environmental and safety regulations.
• Safe disposal of residual waste: Even after recycling, some non-recoverable hazardous materials must be disposed of in a safe, environmentally compliant manner.
• Energy and labor intensive: Recycling ASR is often more labor and energy-intensive compared to recycling more homogeneous materials, increasing the overall cost of processing.
• Variable market for recovered materials: The demand for recycled metals, plastics, and other materials can fluctuate, impacting the profitability of ASR recycling efforts.
• Challenges in sorting: Given the mix of lightweight and heavy materials, precise sorting is a challenge. Metals, plastics, and glass all need to be separated accurately for recycling, and traditional screening methods may struggle to handle the wide range of materials.

AEI’s Solutions

The HARDOX discs of the Freedom Disc Screen ensure that the equipment can withstand the abrasive nature of ASR, which often contains sharp metal shards, plastics, and other tough materials. This durability reduces maintenance costs and downtime, leading to a more efficient recycling process. And the screen’s design allows for a high throughput capacity, enabling it to handle large volumes of ASR efficiently.

The dual-vibratory action of the BIVITEC allows for more-effective stratification and separation of mixed materials found in ASR. This advanced screening technology can separate lightweight materials from auto shredder fluff.

By utilizing these technologies, recyclers can enhance the recovery of valuable materials, reduce landfill waste, and contribute to a more sustainable future. If you have any questions about our ASR recycling machines, please don’t hesitate to contact AEI Screens.

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Several metals can be reused repeatedly without losing their inherent properties. But recycling them can be inefficient, and the scrap metal recycling industry is facing a variety of hurdles, due to the diverse nature of metals and the presence of contaminants.

Understanding the Scrap Metal Recycling Process

The scrap metal recycling process involves several key stages designed to recover valuable materials efficiently while reducing waste. It begins with collection from sources, such as construction sites, manufacturing facilities, demolition projects, and consumer goods. Once materials arrive at a recycling facility, they are inspected to identify contaminants and determine how they should be handled.

The scrap is then sorted and separated into ferrous and non-ferrous metals using magnets, manual sorting, and advanced separation technologies. After sorting, the metal is processed by shredding, cutting, or crushing it into uniform sizes to meet buyer and manufacturing requirements. The prepared scrap is then sent to mills or foundries, where it’s melted down and reused to create new products, supporting both sustainability and efficient material reuse.

Current Challenges of Scrap Recycling

• Processing diverse metal streams
• Scrap metal contamination and purity
• End-of-life product variation
• Transportation and storage issues
• Complex techniques and specialized knowledge
• Meeting regulatory compliance and legislation
• Global market fluctuations

Processing Diverse Metal Streams

The industry is marked by a diverse array of metals, ranging from the familiar ferrous metals (like iron and steel) to the valuable non-ferrous metals, like aluminum, copper, and zinc. Each type of metal has different properties, densities, and magnetic characteristics, making it challenging to efficiently separate them.

Scrap Metal Contamination and Purity

Non-metallic materials, chemicals, paint, oil, dirt, and other impurities often find their way into the metal recycling stream. These contaminants can significantly impact the quality and value of recycled metals. 

To counter this, meticulous cleaning and thorough sorting processes are imperative to ensure the purity of the materials.

Need help sorting scrap metal?

End-of-Life Product Variation

As our world becomes increasingly reliant on technology, the challenge of recycling end-of-life products — especially cars and electronic waste — has grown. These products often comprise a mix of metals, plastics, and other components, making their recycling complex. Dismantling and processing these items pose a challenge that requires both expertise and resource investment.

Transportation and Storage Issues

Delivering and storing scrap metal poses challenges for consumers as well as businesses in the recycling industry.

Logistics and space constraints require careful planning to manage transportation routes and allocate sufficient storage space. Handling large volumes of scrap metal poses safety risks for workers, necessitating proper training and safety protocols. Plus, storing such large quantities can make a facility a target for vandalism.

Complex Techniques and Specialized Knowledge

The evolution of technology has given rise to advanced recycling and sorting techniques tailored to specific metals. For instance, recycling aluminum requires complex procedures, such as smelting and electrolysis. 

While these methods are highly effective, they demand specialized knowledge and a substantial investment in technology, presenting a hurdle for many facilities.

Meeting Regulatory Compliance and Legislation

The scrap metal recycling industry operates in a landscape shaped by dynamic environmental regulations and legislation that continue to evolve. Compliance with these regulations demands:

• Continuous monitoring
• Adjustments to procedures
• At certain times, substantial financial investments to meet changing requirements

Global Market Fluctuations

The global market for scrap metals is influenced by factors ranging from demand in various industries to energy costs and economic conditions. These market fluctuations can be unpredictable, impacting the revenue streams of recycling operations. Prices for scrap metals can vary greatly, affecting the profitability and viability of recycling efforts.

According to IBISWorld, revenue in the scrap metal recycling industry has experienced a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) decline of 2.1% over the last five years. Projections indicate that it is set to reach $41.4 billion in 2023, including an anticipated decrease of 13.2%.

Solutions

Finding solutions to these problems can help us save energy and virgin ores while also reducing waste, pollution, and emissions. It also contributes to local economies by providing a steady supply of raw materials for manufacturing. 

• Education and training
• Collaboration
• Innovation
• Advanced metal recycling technology

Education and Training

Public awareness and understanding of proper recycling practices are crucial to keeping the right materials out of landfills and reducing contamination in the recycling stream. 

Educational initiatives aimed at businesses, individuals, and recycling professionals can significantly improve the quality of collected scrap. Additionally, training programs can help prevent contamination and enhance the knowledge and skills of those working in the industry.

Collaboration

Collaborative efforts involving scrap recyclers, manufacturers, governments, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) can yield more comprehensive solutions to these complex problems. Partnerships that bring together diverse stakeholders often result in improved practices, streamlined processes, and better infrastructure.

Innovation

Ongoing research into new recycling methods and technologies is essential to finding more efficient and effective ways to process various types of scrap. Innovations can lead to breakthroughs that transform the industry and make scrap processing and recycling even more sustainable.

Advanced Metal Recycling Technology

With the help of advanced scrap metal sorting technology, recycling facilities can achieve higher purity rates, increased recovery of valuable metals, reduced waste, and improved overall operational efficiency.

What to Look for in Screening Equipment for Scrap Metal

• Durability in abrasive environments: Scrap metal sorting puts extreme wear on equipment. Look for heavy-duty construction, reinforced screen decks, and components designed to withstand impact, sharp edges, and high volumes over time.
• Resistance to blinding and clogging: Sticky fines, dirt, and moisture can cause screens to clog, reducing efficiency and increasing maintenance. Technologies, such as flip-flow or self-cleaning screen media, help prevent buildup and keep material moving.
• Effective fine material separation: Recovering valuable fines is key to improving yield. Equipment should be capable of accurately separating small particles without sacrificing throughput or losing recoverable metals.
• High throughput without sacrificing accuracy: A strong screening system should handle high tonnage while maintaining consistent separation quality. Look for designs that balance speed, screening efficiency, and material control.
• Low maintenance and easy access: Frequent downtime can quickly erode profits. Choose metal recycling equipment with easy access for inspection, quick screen media changes, and minimal lubrication or service requirements.
• Flexibility for changing material streams: Scrap streams can vary significantly depending on source and processing stage. Adjustable settings, interchangeable screen media, and modular designs allow operators to adapt to new material types and market demands.
• Energy efficiency and operational cost savings: Efficient screening systems reduce energy use, labor demands, and wear-part costs — helping facilities improve both sustainability and long-term operating margins.

One such solution is the Bivitec screen. This specialized vibratory screening technology is designed to efficiently separate and classify difficult materials. 

Unlike traditional screening methods that utilize a linear, back-and-forth motion, the BIVITEC employs a unique dual-vibration motion that involves both linear and elliptical movements, ensuring efficient screening even with challenging materials.

The post Navigating the Challenges of Scrap Metal Recycling appeared first on AEI Screens.

By employing more efficient methods of handling ASR, more materials are diverted from landfills and reused in ways that benefit both the global environment and the economy. 

What is Auto Shredder Residue?

ASR is the result of shredding end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) into small pieces. The ASR, also referred to as “fluff,” consists of many materials, including: 

• rubber
• wood
• sand
• textiles
• plastics
• glass
• metals 

Processing automotive shredder residue has become a huge industry. In the U.S. there are over 75 million automobiles that reach their end of life each year. 

By comparison, roughly 15 million ELVs are processed annually in the European Union, amounting to about 3 million tons of fluff. Many countries within the EU have enacted strict guidelines to handle ASR and reduce landfill waste. 

As a result of the large quantities of ELVs and increasing disposal guidelines, the demand for better and more sophisticated recycling and recovery methods continues to grow.

Environmental Benefits of Recycling ASR

With decreasing space for landfills and a shift in society towards greener solutions, researchers, scientists, and engineers have come up with ways to recycle, reuse, and reprocess ASR.

Here are just some of the environmental benefits of recycling auto shredder residue:

1. Reduced space in landfills. Reducing ASR in landfills is beneficial for the local ecosystem because hazardous waste, like lead and cadmium, can leach into the environment when landfilled. It also opens up significantly more space for landfilling actually safe and biodegradable waste, reducing the need to expand landfills.
2. Materials can be recovered from ASR to use as alternative fuels. For example, petroleum in ASR plastics can be reused in cement kilns which avoids using coal.
3. Plastics and other recyclable materials in automotive shredder residue can be recovered and reconstituted into other plastic materials for future use in automobiles.

Economic Benefits of Recycling Automotive Shredder Residue

Not only is ASR recycling beneficial for the environment, but it’s also helping the economy. Auto shredder fluff benefits the economy in these ways:

1. Recycling reduces the demand for landfilling, thus reducing the volume of waste. This frees up landfill space and minimizes the need for waste fills in the future.  
2. While not 100% of auto shredder residue can be recycled, some shredder fluff can be used as cost-efficient landfill covering which lessens the need for expensive soil fill.
3. Aside from the traditional materials that are recovered and sold from shredding ELVs, new technologies allow oils to be recovered from plastics through a process known as pyrolysis. This creates a market for recycled oils that can be used in the production of new products.

The Unique Benefits of the BIVITEC® in Processing & Screening ASR

Aggregates Equipment, Inc. has developed a screening process to make auto shredder residue processing and recycling more efficient. The BIVITEC® screen utilizes a flip flow screen to maximize screening performance. Equipped for large screening operations, the BIVITEC® can process even the most difficult materials.

As a leader in material processing equipment, AEI has over 60 years of design, engineering, and manufacturing experience to present best-in-industry equipment. Our screening solutions have made a big impact in reducing waste and maximizing recycling output. Learn more about our innovative and unique vibratory screen process or contact us online to get started with a quote.

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Read on to learn more about mechanical screening and how material and operating characteristics impact screen efficiency.

View available screening equipment and systems for demanding applications from Aggregates Equipment, Inc. (AEI).

Why Do Materials Need to be Screened?

Processors screen materials for different reasons, often to:

1. Produce a product with a desired particle distribution or characteristics
2. Split a feed stream to separate processing lines
3. Remove fines
4. Remove finished product prior to an additional reduction step

Screening is often given a cursory glance in a process, but it can have a great effect on the capacity of a system and the quality of your products. Often the screen is one of the least expensive pieces of your system, while having an outsized impact on your profits.

Many applications utilize mechanical screening processes for the reasons mentioned above. Below are some of the most common screening applications.

Process control in aggregates and mining

Screens serve as a process control to protect process equipment, possibly a boiler for power generation, or to maintain the finished characteristics of a product such as asphalt or concrete.

Means to split feed stream in recycling and waste

Screening is often used as a means to split the feed stream between separate processing lines. Because of limitations in downstream sorting capacity, whether manual (picking stations) or mechanical (sensor sorters or magnetic separators), multiple processing lines are often required to handle the volume of the feed stream

Plant maintenance and cleanliness

Fine material can be removed from the process and treated separately, greatly reducing maintenance concerns throughout the plant. Fines collect in other machinery, creating health and explosion hazards and ferrous fines create problems in magnetic sortation processes.

Operating cost reduction and increased capacity

There is often a fraction of raw material that is already properly sized. In a size reduction process such as crushing, grinding, shredding or shearing, feeding finished product unnecessarily into a reducer creates avoidable wear and power consumption. Size reduction machines are often the most expensive wear related operating cost in a plant, as well as the largest consumers of power. Pre-screening the material or scalping reduces unnecessary operating costs and increases plant capacity.

If your operation needs efficiency screening, AEI offers industry leading materials screening solutions

What is mechanical screening, and how does it work?

Mechanical screening is the probability of a particle of a given size passing through an opening of a given size. As the size of the particle approaches the size of the opening, the probability of passing that particle through the screen decreases. Conversely, as the particle size decreases and the screen opening increases, the probability of passing the particle increases. Each opening in a screen presents an additional chance for a given particle to pass through. The more openings a particle is presented with, the higher the probability of passing that particle.

In real-world screening, this is witnessed through the particle distribution of the fines product and the coarse product. 100% efficiency does not happen in practice. Screening efficiency is defined as the ratio of the material that should pass through a given opening and the material that actually passed through that opening. In practice, the product distributions will be shaped like a curve. Fine particles pass the quickest with the highest efficiency, while near size particles have reduced efficiency.

When feeding a given distribution of material to a screening machine, there are three main steps to screening performed on a single screen deck.

1. Bed stratification: The activation and agitation of the material through the screen motion or the movement of the material.
2. Crowded screening: This section the smaller particles are in contact with the screen media and begin to pass in volume.
3. Separated screening: In this section, the majority of the undersize material is already removed and the near size material has the opportunity to pass.

Material Characteristics of Screening Equipment

By increasing the screen length, you can increase screen efficiency by providing a longer time and probability for near size material to pass through the screen media.

Every application and material presents a unique challenge for a particular screen. Even the same material at a different location will not have exactly the same characteristics.

Particle Size Distribution

The particle distribution describes the sizes of the discrete particles in any feed stream. The percentage of material at each size will determine the capacity of a given machine. Key factors include the percentage passing the chosen sizing point; the more material required to pass through a screen, the larger the required screen area for the duty. The top-size of the material will also have a direct impact on the material’s screening.

Moisture

There are two types of moisture: surface and inherent. Inherent moisture is the moisture present inside of a material. Surface moisture is the moisture that is coating the exterior of a particle. Surface moisture has the greatest impact on the screening performance of a material.

Particle Shape

The particle shape in both the feed stream and the desired products affects the screen selection for the application, and understanding the type of particle is critical.

Density

Density of the material helps to describe the load and bulk the screening machine must convey. Conveying volume and maintaining effective bed depth are keys to handling low-density materials.

Operating Characteristics

When choosing a machine for a screening application, there are also important operating characteristics that must be considered. These may be present in an existing system or can be incorporated into the design of a system.

Feed Rate

Regular, consistent feed is critical to the proper operation of a screen. Irregular feed will result in the passage of oversize material when the screen load is running at its minimum, or result in carryover of fines when the load is at its maximum.

Bed Depth

The depth of the material on the screen affects the ability of the screen to stratify the material and allow the fines to pass through the deck; this is called bed depth.

Screen Openings

When choosing the opening of a screening surface, there is the nominal size of the screening mesh and the effective size of the mesh. Because of crowding of particles on the screening surface, there is a reduced probability of near size particles passing through the mesh. The nominal size of the mesh is the actual diameter of the opening on the deck. The effective size is the size of the product that the mesh produces. In a given application, the chosen nominal mesh size will produce an effective product size smaller than the nominal size.

The design of the openings on the screen surface helps to determine the efficiency of the machine, the capacity of the machine and the quality of the product. Open area on a screen, the ratio between the area of the holes and the screen surface, helps to determine the screen capacity. By decreasing the space between holes, webbing or wire diameter, the open area may be increased, increasing capacity.

Efficient screening is the quickest return on investment within your plant. Although outshined by processes that physically transform a material stream such as size reduction or color sortation, proper screening optimizes all these processing steps. Because the effect of screening is less observable, it is often overlooked. Do so at your own detriment.

To learn more about mechanical screening processes and equipment, contact AEI with specific questions about your processes or topics that you would like to investigate further. You can also email us at sales@AEIscreens.com or call (717)-656-2131.

Below is a list of references used in compilation of this blog and for additional reading on the topic:

Kelley, Errol and David J. Spottiswood, Mineral Processing Short Course, Colorado School of Mines, June 2012

Kelley and Spottiswood, Indroduction to Mineral Processing, Denver: John Wiley & Sons, 1989.

Vibrating Screen Manufactures Association, Vibrating Screen Handbook, Stamford, 1980.

Korte, DJ, Dry Screening Tests Conducted with BIVITEC® Screen, South Africa: Coal Tech, 2008.

Aggregates Equipment Inc, BIVITEC® Operations and Maintenance Manual, Leola, PA: 2012.

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