Speira puts new recycling furnace into operation

Speira has put the first of four new recycling furnaces into operation in Grevenbroich. The company is thus strengthening its Recycling Services division, which offers solutions for foundry applications, among other things.

Bernhard – that is the first of four new recycling furnaces with which Speira is upgrading the plants in Grevenbroich and Töging, replacing ageing units with state-of-the-art systems. The furnace, which can hold up to 25 tonnes, is used in particular for the recycling of so-called “low grades”, i.e. heavily contaminated scrap and dross produced during the melting process. The name of the new tiltable rotary furnace was chosen from suggestions made by the staff of Speira business unit Recycling Services. This honours a colleague who died at an early age and who was already involved 1999 in the construction and commissioning of the furnace that has now been replaced.

"Wherever aluminum is in it, we want to get the maximum out of it and put it back into the cycle," explains Speira CEO Einar Glomnes. "With this latest, most efficient and environmentally friendly technology, we can now recover even the smallest quantities that were previously lost for recycling."

Less CO₂ and ready for hydrogen use

Speira is investing around eleven million euros in the four furnaces. This includes charging machines, suction hoods, thermal afterburners, piping and other infrastructure. State-of-the-art burner technology and automatic charging will enable a higher productivity. Work on the new units will be even easier and safer for employees: the individual components are easily accessible for maintenance, the molten metal can be tapped with the furnace doors closed, and wheel loader and forklift traffic in front of the furnaces is minimized thanks to the charging machines.

According to Speira, the selected model meets the highest environmental standards for new systems, the new suction and burner technology causes less CO₂ and is “H₂ ready”, i.e. the furnaces can also be operated with hydrogen in the future.

Plant concept for greater energy efficiency

In terms of energy efficiency, the new furnaces are a threefold improvement. Firstly, because of the increased throughput: each tonne of recycled aluminum saves up to 95% of the energy required to produce one tonne of primary aluminum. Secondly, because of the modern burner and afterburner technology: these ensure optimum energy yield from the natural gas used. At the same time, the adhering impurities of the low-grade scraps are used as combustibles in the melting process, and the input spectrum for these grades in particular is even greater in the new furnaces. And thirdly, because of the optimized furnace design: even less heat is lost thanks to the automatic charging process and tapping with closed furnace doors.

The decision to invest in the four furnaces was made in July 2024. The overall project is on schedule for the first furnace in Töging to start production in October 2025, the second furnace in Grevenbroich in May 2026 and the second furnace in Töging in October 2026.

Featured photo: Speira