GLASS RECYCLING

Identifying Contaminants in Recycled Glass

Identification and removal of contaminants from cullet (furnace ready, recycled glass) is a growing concern for glass processors and manufacturers. One of the most common contaminants is glass ceramic—a combination of glass and ceramic that forms a heat resistant material found in many stovetops and special cookware. Other common contaminants include leaded crystal, metals, and commingled colored glass. While metals and color contaminants can be removed via magnetic separators, eddy current systems and optical inspection equipment; glass ceramic and leaded crystal are problematic. The rate of contamination from these products has grown proportionally with market demand, increasing the quality assurance risk for glass manufacturers using recyclable materials.

The QXR-G, with the ability to detect glass ceramic and leaded crystal contaminants in the cullet processing line, selectively targets these difficult contaminants for removal. Installed systems have proven to be an efficient quality assurance tool in guarding against glass ceramic and leaded crystal contamination.

The QXR-G is placed before or after the crusher for optimal detection capabilities, before the contaminants are mixed and diluted by subsequent processing. It employs an automated spectrometer to scan a monolayer of cullet in free fall, moving over a slide-way or traveling on a conveyor belt. When unworthy materials are detected by the instrument, a diverter is activated to redirect the contaminants away form the processing line.

The system is not designed to replace existing separation technologies, but rather another safe guard to enhance cullet quality, to minimize rejected product and wear and tear on furnaces created by glass ceramic and leaded crystal contaminants.

A typical QXR system is composed of a conveyor-mounted XRF spectrometer with integrated material position sensing technology infrared (IR) camera. The camera determines the presence of material, while the XRF device determines the elemental composition. The data, through customer defined parameters, actuates one of a variety of downstream diverter mechanisms—all precisely synchronized via high performance PLC technology. The material is accurately directed to the appropriate collection bin or take-away conveyor.


The QXR is based on our proven XRF technology. This technique is ideal for real-time measurements of moving materials—being fast, non-contacting, and, in most cases, equally accurate on clean, wet, dry, dirty or coated material.

Each QXR is designed specifically to a customer’s process configuration. A wide variety of conveyors, feeders and diverters are available to meet performance requirements.

Engineered with flexibility in mind, the QXR series operates in batch or continuous mode and allows quick, on-site software modifications by the customer to meet changing criteria and new market demands—no additional cost or hardware is required.

The QXR Series is designed around a measurable return on investment. It has a reasonable initial cost combined with a low operating cost—yielding a superior CoO. Every QXR system promises to deliver:

• Reduction in labor costs, such as manual pickers
  
• Increased commercial opportunities for assets
  
• Less product reject
• Peace of mind