College of Engineering Unit:
Pacific Recycling Inc. (PRI) is a metal recycling company based in Eugene, Oregon. The company recycles all ferrous and non-ferrous metals, which are remanufactured for other beneficial uses. However, the process also produces a non-metallic residue called Auto Shredder Residue (ASR) that poses a challenge for the company in terms of disposal and environmental impact. Auto Shredder Residue (ASR) is a mixture of foam, glass, plastic, dirt, fabric, and other materials due to the process of shredding automobiles. The heterogeneity of this mixture provides a unique challenge when it comes to finding use cases for utilizing ASR.
PRI efficiently generates a monthly production of 2,000 tons of ASR while incurring a disposal cost of $50 per ton for landfill management of the ASR. None of it is diverted from the landfill and is costly to dispose of safely. The problem of preventing ASR from being discarded has been around for decades and has been researched for equally as long without a widely accepted solution being found.
The client has taken over the search for alternative uses of ASR, but valuable insights were gained from our efforts. PRI has recommended the inclusion of a sorting machine and is currently discussing with an optical sorter company to enhance yields and reduce waste. PRI will also explore density sorters as potential solutions. Additionally, Denton Plastics plans to acquire bumpers from cars at the start of the process to reduce costs and ASR volume. Moreover, a simulation tool using specialized software will be developed to assist PRI in optimizing plant operations and evaluating bottlenecks, throughput, and process adjustments. This tool will continue to benefit PRI even after the project concludes.
Industry Sponsor(s):
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
 Project Poster | 2.06 MB |