Page 41 - Hub-4 Magazine Issue 73

Recycling
A unique design challenge: two plants in one, high automation
The new Remeo MRF presented unique and complex design challenges for being the first of its kind, combining a C&D plant capable of processing 30 t/h and a C&I plant with 15 t/h capacity, and its high level of automation. Resolving them required the best ingenuity and innovative thinking from Remeo, STADLER and ZenRobotics, as well as an exceptionally close collaboration among the partners.
“The combination of our experience with the C&D line, STADLER’s solid familiarity with the C&I line and ZenRobotics’ impressive knowledge of robotics made this an excellent co- operation with the best results,” Mauri Lielahti, Business Director, Processing at Remeo. “We appreciated STADLER’s capability to be innovative, their willingness to seek new solutions and that they were ready to listen to the customer’s needs. We have been working closely with ZenRobotics since 2014 and have a continuous development cooperation. Thanks to the knowledge we acquired on our older recycling facility, we knew what we should and should not do. It has been easy to work with them.”
The result of this collaboration is a design that “combines ballistic separators, screening drums, 3D drums, optical sorters, air separators, sorting robots, magnets, eddy-currents as well as the ZenRobotics robots, making it the most advanced waste sorting facility in the European Union,” says Nikolaus Hofmann, Sales Engineer at STADLER.
Juha Mieskonen, Head of Sales at ZenRobotics, adds: “The Remeo facility is equipped with 12 robot arms that pick objects from bulky C&D waste that weigh up to 30 kilograms and together perform up to 24,000 picks per hour. In other words, the robots do all the heavy lifting that’s neither safe nor feasible for humans. They sort multiple fractions on the spot, including different qualities of wood, metals, stone and plastic. The robots can be trained to recognize new fractions if needed, thanks to various sensors and artificial intelligence.
The facility integrates two different processing lines and features two consecutive robot systems on each line. It’s the largest fully roboticized MRF of its kind, which brought new operations and safety aspects to take into consideration in the design.”
“The most innovative aspects of the design can be described with the ‘Form from Function’ principle,” explains Nikolaus Hofmann. “The function of the lines was the driver in every design decision. For example, C&D waste tends to clog, especially at 90-degree transitions of the conveyors, so we eliminated them in the design as much as possible. To accommodate this, we designed a narrow and long building rather than a square structure.”
This approach to design extended to looking at the best solutions for maintenance, “in order to ensure a reliable and safe sorting facility for the future,” says Nikolaus Hofmann. “The layout is designed for easy maintenance, with almost every motor being accessible from walkways and maintenance platforms. The layout groups similar equipment together where possible and allows future possibility of extension. The dedusting system with multiple suction points across the whole plant and two large filter units installed outside the building further adds to the plant’s cleanliness.”
This “Form from Function” approach has proved effective in translating the customer’s demands into a design that fully meets their expectations: “The quality, usability and maintainability are excellent. We appreciate the appropriateness of the purpose of solutions and that the user perspective is taken into account,” comments Mauri Lielahti.
Close collaboration key to a successful outcome and completion ahead of schedule
The successful outcome of such a unique and complex project lies on the remarkable reciprocal trust and close collaboration between Remeo, STADLER and ZenRobotics – from the design phase right through to completion of the build and installation.
Nikolaus Hofmann explains: “The design phase of the project requires a lot of communication and iteration steps to find the best suitable solution. The close work between Remeo and STADLER was fantastic in defining all the specific requirements for the sorting process and the arrangement of the sorting equipment. The communication, information flow with ZenRobotics was also excellent, and enabled us to develop problem-free solutions.”
Mauri Lielahti adds: “It is no secret that the pandemic has been a challenge to us all and it has added its own challenges to our project as well. We had to do the whole planning phase in online meetings. The process has required rigorous communication, but it has worked well. STADLER’s sales team has been involved all the time and we think it is one of the cornerstones for this project being such a success. We felt that there weren’t any gaps between sales and manufacturing teams, and in our experience, this guarantees a successful project.”
The construction process was complicated by the pandemic, beginning from getting the assembly team on site, as Nikolaus Hofmann explains: “they were required to quarantine after arriving in Finland and work in bubbles, but they did a great job!” Logistics were also affected, so that “the coordination of all external suppliers and delivery of all aggregates to the site was a challenge. Some oversized transports were delayed because of problems on the ferry. We had to improvise a lot and focus all our efforts to keep to the schedule.”
www.hub-4.com March-April 22 - Issue 73
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