Smart Separator: Optimizing Conveyor Belt, Vibration Feed, and Drum Speeds of Barrier Eddy Current Separator

Shohreh Kia, Benjamin Leiding

2025

Abstract

Efficient separation of metals and plastics in recycling is crucial for improving material purity and reducing costs. This paper optimizes the performance of a Barrier Eddy Current Separator (BECS) for sorting alu-minium, copper, plastic, and brass. The BECS consists of a conveyor belt, vibration feeder, and magnetic drum. Current methods rely on operator experience for speed and angle settings, often leading to suboptimal performance. This research applies a data-driven approach to determine optimal operational parameters. The study examines how varying conveyor belt speed (6.80 Hz to 87.70 Hz), vibration feeder amplitude (low, medium, high), and magnetic drum angle (20°, 30°, 40°) affect separation accuracy and energy consumption. Eighty-two experiments measured separation errors and energy use, with machine learning models identifying optimal settings. Experimental validation showed significant error reduction, achieving the lowest separation errors and energy consumption. Minimizing errors also eliminated rework, improving efficiency. Unlike conventional trial-and-error methods, this systematic approach enhances BECS calibration, demonstrating its effectiveness in improving recycling separation accuracy and energy efficiency.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Kia S. and Leiding B. (2025). Smart Separator: Optimizing Conveyor Belt, Vibration Feed, and Drum Speeds of Barrier Eddy Current Separator. In Proceedings of the 20th International Conference on Software Technologies - Volume 1: ICSOFT; ISBN 978-989-758-757-3, SciTePress, pages 304-318. DOI: 10.5220/0013558500003964

in Bibtex Style

@conference{icsoft25,
author={Shohreh Kia and Benjamin Leiding},
title={Smart Separator: Optimizing Conveyor Belt, Vibration Feed, and Drum Speeds of Barrier Eddy Current Separator},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 20th International Conference on Software Technologies - Volume 1: ICSOFT},
year={2025},
pages={304-318},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0013558500003964},
isbn={978-989-758-757-3},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the 20th International Conference on Software Technologies - Volume 1: ICSOFT
TI - Smart Separator: Optimizing Conveyor Belt, Vibration Feed, and Drum Speeds of Barrier Eddy Current Separator
SN - 978-989-758-757-3
AU - Kia S.
AU - Leiding B.
PY - 2025
SP - 304
EP - 318
DO - 10.5220/0013558500003964
PB - SciTePress