SA Recycling is an organization at the forefront of the metal recycling and processing industry. This article looks at the company’s use of Evident Scientific’s Vanta™ handheld XRF analyzer at its facility in Montebello, California, and its impact on scrap sorting efficiency.
Image Credit: Evident Corporation (XRF / XRD)
The site’s General Manager, Tog Valizada, discussed how the Vanta analyzer helps enable the accurate sorting of alloys and the identification of light elements throughout the facility.
Streamlining Scrap Sorting at SA Recycling
SA Recycling’s facility in Montebello, California, processes approximately 3000 tons of ferrous scrap and 1.5 million pounds of nonferrous scrap every month. Several analyzers are used at this location, including one Vanta handheld XRF analyzer from Evident Scientific.
General Manager Tog Valizada of SA Recycling. Image Credit: Evident Corporation (XRF / XRD)
Tog highlights how the Vanta analyzer improves scrap sorting efficiency: “The Vanta XRF analyzer is easy to use, and testing takes about three seconds. It’s very quick. Our employees prefer that, especially when we’re sorting through our alloys.”
Employees at the facility use the Vanta analyzer for receiving purposes daily. Tog reports that it is an important instrument on the buying side of the business when scrap is received and purchased.
In terms of shipping, the Vanta analyzer allows the organization’s employees to read the light elements to confirm that scrap is shipped to the end user according to relevant specifications.
The instrument’s SmartSort feature is a rapid sorting method for alloy analysis that automatically shortens or lengthens the test time depending on the material under analysis. This means that the Vanta analyzer tests until it has an exact match for a grade and determines whether to use one or two beams for the analysis.
This useful feature maintains accuracy and precision while saving time, even when light elements are present. For example, should the analyzer switch off testing in the first beam with light elements present in the grade, nominal chemistry will be displayed for any elements not analyzed via the second beam.
Tog elaborates on these benefits: “Testing for light elements is important for us, and we leave the SmartSort feature on. That automatically lets us know if there’s anything that shouldn’t be in the chemistry. If something is not according to the spec, we can catch it during the processing, keep it, separate it, and make sure we don’t ship it. It’s very important and can save us a lot of money.”
SA Recycling must track back any material rejected at the mill, meaning that accurate sorting using the Vanta analyzer is key to saving on freight costs and the time and labor of sorting the materials a second time.
Benefits of Working with Evident Scientific
Tog also highlighted the advantages of Evident Scientific’s local service and support, highlighting how these are key factors in the usefulness of the Vanta handheld XRF analyzer: “One of the things I like, and why I prefer Vanta handheld XRF over other analyzers we’re using, is having the relationship with the local rep who can help you,”
These benefits all help contribute to a rapid return on investment (ROI) as Tog summarizes: “The return on investment is very important. Before purchasing the Vanta XRF analyzer, we ran the numbers to make sure that with the money we’re putting into the instrument, we’ll be able to get it back in a short period of time.”
Acknowledgments
Produced from materials originally authored by Michelle Wright from Evident Scientific.
This information has been sourced, reviewed and adapted from materials provided by Evident Corporation (XRF / XRD).
For more information on this source, please visit Evident Corporation (XRF / XRD).