AI-powered systems use automated monitoring of feed lines to enable the preventative removal of batteries and other hazards from our waste streams. By Jeff Gloyd Welcome to the NAHMMA Corner! They say that necessity is the mother of invention. In over two decades working in the waste and recycling industry, there has not been a single issue more pressing than the safe and cost-effective means of managing batteries and batteries embedded in devices. It was not until recently that companies using AI and machine learning have focused on effectively solving our industry’s problems. Couple that with processing technology that is built specifically for the management of small form factor batteries, and we now have solutions at the warehouse and facility level. A July 2021, an EPA report found, “…that there were more than 240 fires caused by lithium-ion batteries at 64 facilities between 2013 and 2020.” Additional studies state that there are more than 5,000 MRF and other recycling operation fires annually. The most common source of fires identified were batteries from small consumer devices, including cell phones, tablets, laptops, hoverboards, and e-cigarettes. In reality, the actual number of thermal incidents far exceeds these reports. If you have ever run a recycling operation that accepts and processes batteries, I am sure you will agree. Many of these fires cause facility and vehicle damage, create operational down-time issues, and put staff safety at risk. Lost revenue and increased cost can easily add hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual expenses. Current Management Currently, loose mixed batteries and batteries-in-devices are regularly managed by HHW and electronic scrap (e-scrap) recycling organizations. These facilities manually sort batteries by chemistry and regularly hand sort mixed devices in an attempt to find batteries inside of equipment. Once found, the batteries are removed by hand (sometimes at great difficulty), wrapped, or taped, and stored in pails next to thousands of pounds of other batteries. Every step in the process is a production cost and adds to facility safety risk. Once a warehouse develops an inventory of 10 to 15 tons of batteries, they are shipped to large scale battery recycling operations. These operations often reject batteries-in-devices and prefer larger format electronic vehicle batteries. Reactive to Proactive Because detecting and removing batteries has been impractical given their size and the burden depth of incoming material, facilities have until now dealt with battery fires by using flame-suppression systems. However, newer AI-powered systems have the capability to change that by using automated monitoring of feed lines to enable the preventative removal of batteries and other hazards from our waste streams. One system uses X-ray imaging to identify common battery types as well as other dangers like pressurized tanks. The equipment provides actionable responses (via screens, lasers, text messages, and/or hone applications) to ensure staff recognize and properly sort batteries and other hazards. The transition from a reactive approach to the new proactive, extraction-based model offers a new opportunity and presents the industry with a new question: “What do we do with all the batteries we are removing from waste streams?” After more than two years of research and engineering, battery shredding systems have been developed that solve warehouse production issues, production down-time, and risks of battery related fires. Designed for individual warehouse applications, they are compact, easy to install, simple to operate, and will manage the typical volume of hard-to-manage items received at most facilities. System are delivered to your warehouse in a ‘plug and play’ configuration. Feed stock is mechanically separated into a plastic fraction, metal fraction, and black mass. A wet scrubber ensures zero emissions and no need for external emission permitting or water discharge. Exploring Technologies NAHMMA looks forward to continuing to explore companies and technology that improve production costs and increase facility safety. | WA Jeff Gloyd, Founder of Gloyd Recycling Solutions and the Head of Revenue at BinIt, currently serves as the NAHMMA Affiliations Committee Chair, and is a long time BOD member, and is the at-large member of the Executive Committee. He has nearly three decades of waste and recycling experience across a multitude of industry sectors. Jeff can be reached at (832) 520-6914 or e-mail [email protected]. Join NAHMMA’s March and April webinar series where these new technologies will be discussed in detail. For more information, visit www.nahmma.org.
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