SortCAS · Innovative sorting facility for the circularity of aluminium scraps

Innovative sorting facility for the circularity of aluminium scraps

Aluminium is the most widely used non-ferrous metal worldwide, and its global demand is expected to continually grow over the 21st century. Recycling of aluminium is important to meet the growing demand while minimizing the corresponding impacts of resource consumption and pollutant emissions. However, the EU loses about 1 million tonnes of recycled aluminium scrap annually due to impurities that make it unsuitable for the high-end EU smelting industry. This leads to the increased dependency on the imports of critical raw materials (e.g., bauxite), the loss of EU economy (about €960 million per year), and the increase of greenhouse gas emissions (about 9 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year). As such, it is of critical importance to develop innovative sorting technologies for obtaining high-quality aluminium scraps, thus mitigating the negative impacts of scrap exporting and facilitating the circularity of aluminium. The current trend of developing sorting technologies relies increasingly on sensors, AI, and automation/robotics. Nevertheless, developing efficient yet cost-effective sorting technologies is challenging in the recycling field. Also, the complex shapes of scraps and their random dynamics in industrial environments raise challenges for the effective integration and implementation of sensors, AI, and automation/robotics. The SortCAS project aimed to develop and integrate multiple efficient yet cost-effective innovations for the automated sorting of high-quality aluminium scraps, and apply the developed/integrated innovations to industrial applications through collaboration with an industry partner, thus facilitating the circularity of aluminium.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз