Air Separator

Introduction to air sorting machine

In the fine sorting link of metal recycling, in addition to relying on magnetic separation of magnetic metals, air sorting machines that use material density differences to achieve sorting also play an important role. It can accurately separate light and heavy materials in mixed materials, especially in the separation of non-metallic impurities and metals, and the classification of metals of different densities. It plays an irreplaceable role, providing a strong guarantee for improving the quality and efficiency of metal recycling. ​

1. Principle​
The core working principle of the air sorting machine is based on aerodynamics and material density differences. The equipment mainly consists of a feeding device, a wind sorting chamber, a fan, a gathering device and other parts. When the crushed mixed material is evenly fed into the wind sorting chamber by the feeding device, the directional airflow generated by the fan will form a stable wind field in the wind sorting chamber. ​
After the material enters the wind field, the denser material (such as metal particles, block metal, etc.) will overcome the influence of the airflow under the action of gravity because its gravity is greater than the buoyancy and resistance generated by the airflow, and will fall rapidly along the bottom of the wind sorting chamber and enter the heavy material collection area.​
Materials with lower density (such as plastic fragments, rubber blocks, wood chips, paper and other non-metallic impurities) are subject to airflow buoyancy and resistance greater than their own gravity, and will be carried upward or horizontally by the airflow, and guided into the light material collection area through the guide plate. ​
By adjusting the air volume, wind speed and material feed speed of the fan, the strength of the wind field can be accurately controlled to meet the sorting needs of materials with different density differences and achieve efficient separation of light and heavy materials. Some advanced air sorters are also equipped with multi-stage wind sorting structures, which can further improve the sorting accuracy through multiple wind sorting. ​

2. Advantages​
1. Non-contact sorting and protection of materials: The air sorter sorts materials through airflow. During the whole process, there is less hard contact between the materials and the equipment, and no damage such as extrusion and collision will be caused to the metal materials. It can effectively protect the physical form of the metal materials, especially suitable for metal recycling scenarios with high surface quality requirements. ​
2. Flexible adjustment to adapt to a variety of materials: Materials in different recycling scenarios differ in particle size and density. The air sorter can conveniently adjust the fan frequency, damper size and other parameters through the knob or control system, accurately control the air volume and wind speed, and can effectively sort from small metal debris and plastic particles to large pieces of metal and light impurities. ​
3. Collaborate with other equipment for efficient operation: The air sorter can be perfectly integrated into the metal recycling automation production line, and seamlessly connect with crushers, magnetic separators, conveyors and other equipment. After the magnetic separator separates the magnetic metal, the air sorter can perform secondary sorting on non-magnetic metals and non-metallic impurities, forming a coherent process of "crushing - magnetic separation - air sorting", greatly improving the overall recycling efficiency. ​
4. Clean, environmentally friendly and low operating cost: The air sorter uses air as the sorting medium. The entire sorting process does not require the use of consumables such as water and chemicals, and does not produce pollutants such as wastewater and waste residue, which meets environmental protection requirements. The equipment structure is relatively simple, and the main energy consumption comes from the fan. The maintenance cost during operation is low, and only regular cleaning of the air sorting chamber and inspection of the fan are required.​

III. Value​
1. Improve the purity and quality of metal recycling: By removing light impurities such as plastics and rubber from metal materials, the air sorter significantly improves the purity of recycled metals and reduces the impact of impurities on subsequent smelting and processing links, which helps to produce high-quality recycled metal products and enhance the market competitiveness of products. ​
2. Reduce the cost of subsequent processing: The impurity content of metal materials sorted by the air sorter is greatly reduced, which can reduce energy consumption and impurity treatment costs during the smelting process, while reducing furnace losses caused by excessive impurities, indirectly saving production costs for recycling companies. ​
3. Promote comprehensive recycling of resources: While separating metal materials, the air sorter can also collect lightweight non-metallic impurities such as plastics and rubber. These separated non-metallic impurities can be further processed as resources, realizing the comprehensive recycling of metal and non-metallic resources in waste materials and improving the overall resource utilization rate.​
4. Assist in the construction of an automated sorting system: As an important part of the metal recycling automated production line, the air sorter works in conjunction with equipment such as magnetic separators to form a multi-dimensional sorting system, reducing the participation of manual sorting, reducing labor costs and sorting errors, and promoting the metal recycling industry to develop in an intelligent and refined direction. ​

Against the background of the increasing requirements for sorting accuracy and resource utilization in the metal recycling industry, the air sorter has become an indispensable and important equipment in the metal recycling process with its unique sorting method based on density differences, flexible adaptability and significant environmental and economic value, providing reliable support for the efficient separation and comprehensive resource utilization of waste materials.