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Artificial vision improves recycling |
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The European
Software Institutes Tecnalia Technology Corp., based in
Spain, is investigating a new method based on multi-spectral
artificial vision systems to enhance the value of electronic
scrap, which currently represents 4 per cent of urban waste in
Europe. The aim of the project, known as SORMEN, is to develop
a technology for the separation of scrap metal from electronic
waste based on a system of multi-spectral vision and
incorporate it into the process of a recycling plant. This new
machine overcomes the limitations of current, basically
manual, methods that takes a large amount of manual labour and
time, and are unable to separate metals whose characteristics
of colour, shape and weight are similar.
Tecnalias
technology enables the separation of elements of the same
colour such as aluminium, nickel or stainless steel
employing the recycling of these materials to the full. It
represents a very significant advance over other techniques of
separation based on colour vision and is useful for other
processes, such as separating lead impurities from copper. In
the case of aluminium, for example, the system designed by
Tecnalia will enable the recovery of an additional 30-40 per
cent of the metal. There are six other partners in the SORMEN
project.
Source:
www.sciencedaily.com
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Recycling plant for CRT tubes |
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A fully automated recycling plant for cathode ray tubes (CRTs)
has been opened in South Australia. CRT Recycling Australia is
reported to be the only company in Australia and New Zealand
to recover the lead-containing CRT glass from computer and
television screens, diverting it from landfills. The facility
will initially process 6,000 t/y of CRT material.
The CRTs will be delivered intact to the plant, where its
metal components and phosphor coatings are removed, and the
glass is separated into unleaded panel glass and leaded funnel
glass. The leaded glass is passed through the cleaning system,
which removes all the coatings such as graphite and
silicate-conductive coating, iron oxide, aluminium oxide and
other substances. The glass can then be reused in the same
application.
Source:
www.insidewaste.com.au |
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Mercury-absorbent container linings for broken CFLs |
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Researchers at Brown University, the
United States, have invented absorbent materials to soak up
the mercury gas from broken compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs).
The CFLs contain a small amount of mercury, a neurotoxin
that can be released as vapour when a CFL bulb is broken.
The gas can pose a minor risk to certain groups, such as
infants, small children and pregnant women.
Led by Prof. Robert Hurt, the team has created a prototype
mercury-capturing lining that can be attached to the inside
of store-bought CFL packaging. The packaging can capture the
mercury of a bulb broken in the box. The researchers have
also created a specially designed lining for plastic bags
that soaks up the mercury left over from the CFLs shards
that are thrown away. In controlled experiments, the
researchers found that the patented mercury-absorbent
packaging mopped up 99 per cent of mercury vapour from a CFL
broken in a sealed chamber.
The first prototype is a three-layer cloth attached to the
packaging or box containing the CFLs. A nanoselenium-coated
layer is placed between the cardboard packaging and a cloth
on the inside of the box containing the CFL. The extra
layers prevent contact with the nanoselenium layer. If a
bulb breaks, the user simply undoes the packaging and lays
it on the spot where the break occurred. The absorbent
material is effective on different surfaces. The second
prototype incorporates the same layering fitted into a
sealable plastic bag as a lining to absorb the mercury in
the sealed bag.
Source:
www.news.brown.edu |
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