Classification of Non-ferrous Scrap Metal using Two Component Magnetic Induction Spectroscopy

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Abstract

—Magnetic induction spectroscopy is the measurement of how a conductive object reflects and scatters a magnetic
field over different frequencies in response to some excitation
magnetic field. In recent work, we proposed using this technique
to classify different non-ferrous metals for the recycling and
resource recovery sector - specifically, to identify fragments of
scrap aluminium, copper and brass in shredded waste streams
for separation and recovery. We proposed a simple algorithm
that used only two components of the spectra that gave strong
purity and recovery-rates when tested on a manufactured control
set cut from stock metals.
In this paper, we re-examined this method using real scrap
metal samples drawn from a commercial sorting line. We found
moderate purity and recovery-rates of brass and copper of
between around 70% and 90%. However, the classification of
aluminium was poor with ≈55% and ≈80% purity and recovery
rates respectively. Magnetic induction sensors are a natural fit
for the specifications of the industry. They are capable of highthroughputs, are unaffected by dirt or contaminants and are
mechanically and physically robust. Although our results are
modest, they are not insignificant given the simplicity of the
algorithm and the relatively low-cost of instrumentation. Our
work suggests the MIS as a technique may have a significant role
to play in the extraction and recovery of non-ferrous resources
Original languageEnglish
Number of pages7
Publication statusPublished - 2019

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  • Electromagnetic Sensing Group

    Peyton, A. (PI), Fletcher, A. (Researcher), Daniels, D. (CoI), Conniffe, D. (PGR student), Podd, F. (PI), Davidson, J. (Researcher), Anderson, J. (Support team), Wilson, J. (Researcher), Marsh, L. (PI), O'Toole, M. (PI), Watson, S. (PGR student), Yin, W. (PI), Regan, A. (PGR student), Williams, K. (Researcher), Rana, S. (Researcher), Khalil, K. (PGR student), Hills, D. (PGR student), Whyte, C. (PGR student), Wang, C. (PGR student), Hodgskin-Brown, R. (PGR student), Dadkhahtehrani, F. (PGR student), Forster, S. (PGR student), Zhu, F. (PGR student), Yu, K. (PGR student), Xiong, L. (PGR student), Lu, T. (PGR student), Zhang, L. (PGR student), Lyu, R. (PGR student), Zhu, R. (PGR student), She, S. (PGR student), Meng, T. (PGR student), Pang, X. (PGR student), Zheng, X. (PGR student), Bai, X. (PGR student), Zou, X. (PGR student), Ding, Y. (PGR student), Shao, Y. (PGR student), Xia, Z. (PGR student), Zhang, Z. (PGR student), Khangerey, R. (PGR student) & Lawless, B. (Researcher)

    1/10/04 → …

    Project: Research

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