The city of Québec City, Quebec, has modernized its material recovery facility (MRF) to meet a growing volume of material. The modernization effort was a collaboration between Quebec City, the MRF operator Société VIA and equipment manufacturer Machinex, Plessisville, Quebec.
The modernized facility began operating last spring and processes 35 metric tons of recyclables per hour, producing high-quality materials, according to Machinex. David Marcouiller, project manager at Machinex, says the initial modernization phase has allowed Société VIA to double its capacity and improve the effectiveness of the MRF.
The glass is removed in the first steps of mechanical sorting with the OCC disc screen separator and the scalping screen. This step helps to prevent premature equipment wear and decreases glass contamination of fiber bales significantly, Machinex says.
The MACH ballistic separator, placed toward the end of the system, has reduced rejects and has increased the rate of fiber recovery, the company adds.
A feed drum ensures a constant flow of material to the sorting system, while a bag opener and an aspiration system enable the better management of plastic bags. The system also includes disc separators to recover newsprint as well as presorting stations and quality control.
“We are very pleased with the offer made by Machinex and with their support all along the way,” says M. Stephan Bugay, director of the Division of Residual Materials Management of the Quebec City Department of Public Works.
On the operator’s side, M. Jean-Sébastien Daigle, vice-president of operations at Société VIA, comments, “We are highly satisfied of the whole project, and the results are conclusive.”
Machinex has designed and installed more than 300 turnkey facilities in partnership with leading MRFs in Canada, the United States and Europe.