Hot welter separation process for copper and insulating material recovery from electric cable waste

Recycling in the electric cable industry, especially the complete separatio n of metal and insulating material for reuse, has always been a problem. Th e present processes to recover copper and insulating material from cable wa ste involve the grinding of cables into smaller pieces to improve metal lib eration from the insulating material. The method results in fine thread-sha ped metal wedges in the insulating material, which prevents the re-use of t he insulating material. A 'hot water separation process' was used to recover metal and insulating m aterial from cable waste, with no need to grind the cable into smaller piec es to improve the liberation of copper from the insulating material. Based on the differences in coefficient of thermal expansion of the insulating ma terial and copper, the cables are cut into a suitable length and placed int o a blender with hot water. The insulating material and copper are separate d and collected individually. By controlling the water temperature, blendin g speed and cutting length, complete separation can be achieved. This proce ss is suitable for recycling many types of cable waste, including oil-conta ining wires, which are usually more difficult to recover.