New technology made by Eriez is meant to simplify that process. Its CleanStream separation system uses a powerful magnet to remove metal that has iron in it, even huge spheres that usually don’t stick to magnets. Out of what remains, up to 90 percent of the metal containing copper is separated from the metal that doesn’t have any copper in it. The stream of metal without copper ends up with as little as 0.18 percent copper before any human hands touch it.
That means workers whose job it is to take out the copper by hand can deal with less material and do their jobs more easily. As a result, less manpower is needed for this task. “The pickers become more efficient and you need fewer of them,” says project manager Mike Shattuck of the Erie-based company.
This is good news for scrap-metal processors because the technology results in a purer product and buyers will pay more for it.
Source: Mike Shattuck, Eriez
Writer: Rebecca VanderMeulen