In the wake of newfound uncertainty following the Brexit decision, UNTHA UK’s chairman Chris Oldfield was invited to author an article for CIWM Journal, which asked whether technology investments will now come under even greater scrutiny. He therefore looked at where this leaves shredders, a piece of kit renowned for their functionality – is innovation progressing at the necessary pace? If you missed the resulting CPD approved article in the August issue of the magazine, you can read it in full here…
The economic crisis that emerged from the crash of 2008 is by far one of the toughest fiscal situations that modern businesses have had to manage. For some, the financial pressures proved too much to bear and, eight years on, despite putting up a good fight, casualties of the recession are still closing their doors.
For others, the downturn forced organisations to think smarter, work harder and achieve more, to protect their robustness moving forward. Thankfully, this mind-set shift saw many businesses in the waste and recycling industry emerge far stronger than before.
With this newfound attitude came a previously unseen wave of scrutiny when it came to the investments made. This is neither unsurprising, nor a bad thing. Every pound of capital expenditure grew to matter more than it did in the prosperous days of the early millennium. Increased demands were therefore placed on manufacturers within the waste and recycling industry. Technology now had to break boundaries.
Embracing the challenge, suppliers did not disappoint. We should never have expected anything less. Pioneers within this marketplace have long epitomised the very definition of innovation. Waste water treatment technologies have revolutionised the world’s ability to salvage its greatest resource, for example; Near Infra-Red optical sorters have evolved to facilitate the precise and automated separation of materials using identification algorithms and high-pressure air jets; and turbines now exist to transform waste gases such as methane, into clean, useful power.
The industry is full of exciting new technologies that are changing the face of waste and recycling and proving the profession’s role in securing a resource-efficient future.
When contemplating such advances, it’s perhaps unsurprising that some people still view a shredder as a comparatively functional piece of equipment – a ‘workhorse’ that processes a variety of materials so that some of the aforementioned innovations can ‘do their thing’. To a certain extent, this viewpoint is true – a shredder has a job to do. But people would be very much mistaken if they thought that innovation hadn’t taken place within the shredding arena too.
Some manufacturers have concentrated solely on operational performance, prioritising factors such as throughputs, capacity and uptime. This helps to ensure the shredder is a value adding asset within a plant. In some instances, it may even pay for itself in a couple of years – an important factor given the continued focus on ROI (return on investment).
But for other manufacturers, this has just been the baseline. Some have sought even further progress, keen to demonstrate that a shredder can revolutionise a recycling plant or an alternative fuel production facility, just as much as, if not more than, some of the other technologies already highlighted.
Rigorous research, development and engineering – not to mention decades of experience – have made this progress possible, to the point that it is no longer enough for a shredder to just…shred. Modern shredder performance should therefore no longer be evaluated solely in terms of criteria such as throughputs and final particle size. There are other factors to consider too.
- Energy efficiency is important, for instance, especially if the shredder is helping to manufacture a renewable energy source such as SRF. It would be fairly hypocritical if its own fuel consumption was excessive. Manufacturers have therefore worked hard to develop eco drive systems that use up to 50% less energy than conventional electro-hydraulic drive options. In addition to the obvious environmental benefits, the electricity savings alone – recouped over the lifetime of the shredder – can offset the cost of the machine and more. Such low-power electric drives are also present in certain mobile shredders – machines that have traditionally been fuel-intensive, diesel-driven pieces of kit.
- The use of intelligent computer programming and modems also means shredders can ‘talk’ to other waste handling technologies within a plant, enabling seamlessly ‘joined up’ and efficient operations regardless of the plant’s complexity. Remote diagnostics also allow operational faults or potential ‘weak links’ in the facility to be proactively identified, facilitating quicker fixes, more uptime and greater yield.
- On that note, a number of other shredding features have come to market, to boost performance. Water-cooled synchronous motors can work uninterruptedly without overheating, to prevent operational disruption; foreign object protection mechanisms can automatically stop shredders, protecting cutting chambers from damage and enabling quick and easy object extraction; and longer-lasting, low-wear parts are being manufactured to reduce the likelihood and cost of unexpected breakdowns or repair programmes – some cutters can even be refurbished, like new, to prolong their life.
- Shredder flexibility seems to have come to the fore in the last 12 months. Different machines are continually being engineered to tackle tough, complex material streams that were previously considered ‘unshreddable’, which of course is opening up the market’s potential. But the versatility of shredders also now means that operators only have to invest in one capital asset, not many. It is now possible to manufacture SRF in a single pass, for instance, using a shredder that can handle a variety of input materials and shred down to a homogenous particle size of 400mm, or as small as 50mm, depending on the end user’s specification. Previously two pieces of kit would have been required to achieve this.
- Some manufacturers have even looked beyond the task at hand – shredding – in favour of adopting more responsibility for their duty of care to the wider facility too. That’s why certain shredders have in-built fire suppression Carefully positioned UV, infrared, heat and spark detectors on a shredder’s inlet hopper and discharge conveyor, for example, can sense when a fire is likely to begin. In the event of a significant temperature increase, extinguishing nozzles, positioned in the same place as the sensors and thus pointing directly at the fire risk, can automatically spray water onto the targeted area, dousing the material before it becomes alight. Slower speed shredders – with high torque – will also help lessen the risk of fire in the first place, without compromising throughputs. Even the risk of explosion can be reduced, by design, with the installation of Atex-specification motors and electronics.
- Continuing the ‘duty of care’ theme, some shredder manufacturers have started to pay greater attention to ergonomics, in order to protect operator health and wellbeing. Machines are being designed to ensure operators can service and maintain the equipment quickly, safely and in an upright position, for instance. Noise levels have also been considered, with certain shredders now operating below 80 dB(A) – the first action point. This means ear defenders are not required, personnel’s hearing is better safeguarded and plants mitigate the risk of damage claims.
The progress highlighted here has been made possible due to ever-smarter technology and industry professionals who are truly passionate about saving clients’ money, better protecting the environment and driving change. With waste and recycling firms now experiencing a new wave of uncertainty following the UK’s decision to leave the EU, such innovation must be reassuring.
Biography
Chris Oldfield has more than 40 years’ industrial experience. His career began in the chemical manufacturing sector, where he designed, built and managed ground-breaking new production facilities. In 1997 he moved into the waste industry, supplying waste and recycling machinery to organisations very much like his previous businesses. He has grown to become a well-known face within the environmental space and now – as chairman of UNTHA UK – is an active speaker on topical industry issues. On 6 September, UNTHA UK will partner with CIWM to deliver an advice-led webinar ‘A buyer’s guide to shredding technology’.