Shredding and liberation characteristics of refrigerators and small appliances.
Mechanical disaggregation, or shredding, is an important part of the recycling process. Occurring at the beginning of the processing sequence, it significantly affects the efficiency of downstream processing stages. This study examines the size reduction and liberation characteristics of the single-stage shredding of household appliances to improve the efficiency and quality of the recycling process. Several disposed appliances, including 75L refrigerators and five major categories of small appliances (vacuum cleaners, videocassette recorders (VCRs), electric rice cookers, fans, and electric heaters), were shredded using a high-speed vertical shredder under varying discharge clearance conditions. The fragments were analyzed according to size, composition, and degree of liberation. It was found that single-stage crushing with the high-speed vertical shredder was sufficient to produce fragments at an appropriate size and with a high degree of liberation. Based on the experimental results, an optimal shredding and separation scheme for the process is proposed.
Department of Energy Systems Engineering, Seoul National University, 1, Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, 08826 Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Joonheon
J
Lee
Department of Energy Systems Engineering, Seoul National University, 1, Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, 08826 Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Kihong
K
Kim
Department of Energy Systems Engineering, Seoul National University, 1, Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, 08826 Seoul, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: hccho@snu.ac.kr.
Heechan
H
Cho
Department of Energy Systems Engineering, Seoul National University, 1, Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, 08826 Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Jeonghoon
J
Ok
Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, 124, Gwahak-ro, Yuseong-gu, 34132 Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
Sookyung
S
Kim
D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D059029:Electronic Waste; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006794:Household Articles; D010969:Plastics; D059027:Recycling / Q000379:methods*; D012037:Refuse Disposal / Q000379:methods*; D056910:Republic of Korea; D018505:Waste Management / Q000379:methods
D010969:Plastics
Liberation; Refrigerator; Shredding; Small appliance; Waste electrical and electronic equipment