How to prepare end-of-life vehicles (ELV) cars for recycling
Did you know that Australians send about 850,000 vehicles to scrap yards each year?
This creates a whopping 1.36 million tonnes of waste, of which around 70% is typically recycled.
Recycling an end-of-life vehicle (ELV) is not as simple as crushing it into a block of metal however. Cars contain a wide range of materials and fluids that can be toxic and explosive. It is critical to remove these before proceeding with further recycling.
Here are four essential systems you need to prepare an end-of-life car for scrap and recycling.
Fuel Recovery
ELV’s rarely arrive with an empty tank and removing any fuel is an essential task to prevent leaks or explosions.
Iris-Mec designs top quality fuel recovery machines built to the highest European standards to assist with end-of-life vehicle recycling.
Their systems include the option of a visual fuel recovery glass container to enable operators to monitor the quality of recovered fuels. The operator can then decide whether to send that fuel to a good storage tank or bad quality fuel storage tank.
Video: https://youtu.be/HjunNbNOEKs
Gas Recovery
In Australia, a hard-working air conditioner is a must for every car. But at the end of the car’s life, the air conditioning gas must be safely removed. It can then be stored for reuse. This can be done with an Iris-Mec RGF Freon Gas Recovery Machine.
Iris-Mec also offers a machine that can recover LPG gas from cars. The LPG can then be stored in LPG bottles and can be reused in forklifts or any other LPG-run unit in your yard.
Liquid Recovery
Even once the fuel and air conditioning gas has been removed, there are still plenty of other specialised liquids that must be recovered before the car can be scrapped.
Iris-Mec offers a large range of drainage systems for waste fluids such as radiator water, coolant, brake oil, engine oil, Adblue and transmission oil.
Iris-Mec modules can be combined with different types of stands and lifts to create the optimal working station for any budget or operation size.
Video: https://youtu.be/bN3m62z7vnY
Catalytic Converter Cutters
Once all the fuels, fluids and gases have been removed, the heavy work can begin.
A Catalytic Converter Cutter is a handheld shear for removing catalytic converters and exhaust systems from end of life vehicles, as well as cutting cables, frames and metal sheets.
Powerful, precise and easy to use, they are an essential tool for decommissioning cars and extracting valuable materials for recycling.
Video: https://youtu.be/FInIfvbnSoc
Enquire for more information
If you’re interested in expanding your scrapyard capabilities or upgrading your operation, chat to us today! Recycling ELVs is a profitable operation with the right equipment.
