Customer Increases Abrasive Recyclability And Decreases Cost
Can Abrasives Be Recycled?
Yes, abrasives can be recycled.
Many of our industrial customers engage in abrasive blast media recycling using 10X superoxalloy abrasives. Some opt for a straightforward method with little to no equipment: vacuuming or sweeping up the blasted abrasive and placing the recovered material back into a blasting pot with a simple screen on the blasting pot inlet. However, most customers do not follow this method.
Why 10X Does Not Recommend Simple Recycling Without Proper Equipment
10X does not recommend the simple method of abrasive recycling due to the high chance of non-abrasive debris (like nuts, bolts, welding rods) entering your blasting system, which can cause undesired temporary shutdowns. Additionally, this method of abrasive blast media recycling will likely reduce your blasted surface quality and it can even reduce the efficiency of the abrasive to cut through and remove certain types of coatings, especially powder coating. This happens because the recycling process concentrates pulverized coating within the abrasive mix and the ratio of high-pressure air to abrasive to pulverized coating is such that it reduces the amount of energy from the high-pressure air that the substrate would otherwise receive if the abrasive had the non-abrasive debris removed, and this will decrease your speed and increase your overall cost per square foot.
10X Recommendations for Optimal Blasting and Recycling
Blasting Optimization:
The first focus should be on blasting optimization. Achieving desirable results quickly involves proper blasting pressures, correctly set abrasive metering valves, correctly sized hoses and nozzles, nozzle adapters, and properly connected hoses. This approach and focus on optimizing your blast can reduce abrasive consumption by 20% to 80% per square foot and improve blasting speed by 20% to 60% or more within the first few weeks of adopting 10X superoxalloy abrasives.
Planning for Recycling:
Once blasting techniques are optimized and you are achieving great results, you can begin planning for recycling if desired. However, most of our outdoor and industrial blasting customers find that abrasive grit recycling is not worth the operational efforts or the additional equipment and labor costs associated with recycling.
Typical Recycling Environments
10X customers who do recycle often use enclosed and converted blasting booths initially designed for steel or stainless steel grit blasting. In these environments, recycling is convenient and cost effective. Many of these customers use our EpiX products, starting with smaller and stronger particles, typically achieving 8 to 12 recycles.
Abrasive Recycling Equipment
It is possible to achieve four to five recycles with DynamiX and KinetiX, resulting in five to six complete blasts. Beyond six blasts, the surface profile depth typically falls below customer requirements, although the recyclable blasting abrasives would still remove paint. Instead of pushing for maximum recycles, we recommend developing an abrasive working mix. Each shift, assess how much abrasive has been removed from the working mix of recyclable blasting abrasives by the processing equipment and add approximately the same amount of brand-new unblasted superoxalloy abrasive into your system. This practice ensures consistent profile depths and a consistent blasting experience.
Abrasive Recycling Equipment Options:
To maximize recycles, using well-designed and engineered abrasive recycling equipment is recommended. Options include magnetic debris removal, dedusting of the spent abrasive, and integrated material dryers if the recovered abrasive is wet. 10X products are resilient to moisture because they are amorphous and do not absorb moisture, allowing for relatively low-effort drying. In contrast, most slag abrasives cake or mud when exposed to excessive moisture, making them unusable.
Need Help?
If you would like assistance determining whether abrasive recycling is right for your operations, please contact a 10X team member today. We are here to help you.