TOMRA's latest X-ray sorting unit targets impurities in wood waste
X-TRACT detects and separates wood waste from impurities like metals, heavy plastic, and glass based on atomic density
TOMRA Recycling has launched its latest generation X-TRACT unit to deliver results in the most challenging environments. The new X-TRACT uses X-ray transmission (XRT) technology to detect and separate wood waste from impurities like inert materials, metals, heavy plastic, and glass based on atomic density.
Advanced XRT technology for wood waste separation
The innovative sorting system is capable of processing up to 33.6 tons (30 tonnes) of wood chips per hour, depending on material conditions like moisture content and grain size. It delivers enhanced speed and accuracy in removing contaminants, thereby producing high-purity recycled wood content to meet industrial production standards. The unit comes with a 16,000-hour warranty on critical components like the X-ray source and sensor, demonstrating TOMRA's confidence in the robustness and longevity of the X-TRACT.
Innovative features of the new X-TRACT include:
- Up to 25 percent reduction in air consumption: X-TRACT now comes with a new standard ejection module that not only delivers greater precision but also reduces the amount of compressed air needed by up to 25 percent, depending on application and infeed material. As a result, users can benefit from significant energy cost savings without compromising throughput rates.
- Sorting accuracy: TOMRA's latest innovation delivers high ejection rates, consistently exceeding 98 percent for metals (excluding foil), 98 percent for inert contaminants, and 97 percent for heavy plastics. This performance is the result of robust mechanical hardware, the new standard ejection module, carefully selected X-Ray components, and TOMRA's core technologies, ensuring consistently high throughput and sorting results.
- Enhanced reliability and stability: Engineered for high sorting accuracy and minimal downtime, the new X-TRACT delivers long-term sorting stability, improved machine reliability, and lower operational costs. For improved safety, a dust-resistant design prevents blockages and dust build-up. The unit's sensor also comes with a reinforced design that enables the extended component warranty of 16,000 hours. A redesigned catcher hood enables safer and faster maintenance, minimizing disruptions and maximizing uptime.
Achieving next-level purity with GAINnext
While X-TRACT effectively separates contaminants from waste wood, GAINnext, TOMRA's deep learning-based technology for sorting wood by material type, takes sorting granularity to the next level by identifying objects by their shape, size, and visual characteristics, enabling the differentiation between various types of wood or wood composites.
The GAINnext technology, trained by TOMRA's experts using thousands of photos, has evolved to meet the market's growing demand for advanced wood sorting solutions. GAINnext now enables a wide range of wood recycling applications, including the precision sorting of different wood types and composites. It can distinguish between non-processed wood (Wood A) and processed wood (Wood B) such as OSB, chipboard, and coated materials. It can also recover high-purity MDF for MDF-to-MDF processing. The purity of recycled wood from complex construction and demolition waste can also be enhanced by identifying and removing large objects of up to 15.7 inches (400mm).
Jose Matas, head of waste emerging segments at TOMRA Recycling, comments: "We understand the critical importance of uninterrupted 24/7 operations for our customers, and with the latest advancements in our X-TRACT, we are now even better equipped to support the industry. Furthermore, the combination of X-TRACT and GAINnext delivers an unprecedented level of purity, resulting in recycled waste wood of near-virgin quality and, ultimately, opening new profitable revenue streams for our valued customers."
