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Process and apparatus for recovering metal and plastic from insulated wire
Published: 09/14/2010 by Morey; Booker W. (Pasadena, CA)
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Method and apparatus for recovering metal and plastic from plastic insulated wire. Plastic insulated wire is first chopped or otherwise comminuted to reduce the wire size. The bare metal, typically copper or aluminum, is separated from the insulation and insulated wire by aspiration or electrostatic separation. The plastic insulation is then separated from the insulated wire and any remaining bare metal by eddy current separation, typically in a linear induction motor, resulting in three fractions, the bare metal, the pure plastic, and the remaining plastic insulated wire pieces. The latter may be further processed, as by impact milling to separate the plastic from the metal, and then recycled to separate bare metal, plastic insulation, and insulated wire.