OSENC Magnetic Separation
Magnetic Separation for Rubber and Tire Recycling
Separate Liberated Steel from Rubber
Magnetic equipment can remove steel wire and ferrous fragments only after they are sufficiently liberated and presented within reach of the magnetic field. In tire and rubber recycling, use staged separation after size reduction rather than expecting one magnet to pull embedded reinforcement from intact or thick rubber pieces.
The Main Variable Is Liberation
A clean steel fragment responds differently from a steel wire still wrapped in rubber. The attached rubber increases mass, changes shape, creates drag, and may prevent a distinct discharge trajectory. Record both the steel content and how much rubber remains attached at each processing stage.
Use More Than One Separation Opportunity
| Stage | Objective | Possible solution |
|---|---|---|
| Before primary size reduction | Remove loose tools or heavy tramp | Suspended magnet if burden and working distance permit |
| After shredding | Remove liberated large steel pieces | Self-cleaning overband or head pulley |
| After granulation | Separate smaller wire and fragments | Magnetic head pulley or controlled drum stage |
| Before final product | Reduce remaining exposed ferrous pieces | Additional thin-layer stage selected by test |
Feed Presentation Determines Separation
Spread material into a controlled, reasonably thin layer and prevent surges. Tangled wire, long strips, light rubber, and irregular pieces can bridge, wrap around shafts, or travel unpredictably. Feeders, belt speed, drop height, splitter position, and air movement may affect the result as much as the magnetic circuit.
Selection Inputs
- Rubber source and process stage
- Minimum, typical, and maximum particle size
- Steel-wire diameter, length, shape, content, and liberation
- Normal and peak throughput with bulk density
- Moisture, fiber, dust, temperature, and material tendency to tangle
- Belt width, speed, burden depth, or free-fall feed geometry
- Required rubber purity and how it will be measured
- Available installation, cleaning, guarding, and maintenance space
Product Choice
- Use an overband for frequent larger ferrous pieces and continuous side or inline discharge.
- Use a head pulley when the conveyor discharge can create separate trajectories for magnetic and nonmagnetic fractions.
- Use a housed drum only when the feed can be distributed and the housing, splitter, wrapping risk, and wear are addressed.
- A magnetic grate designed for powders is generally not the first choice for long steel wire or irregular rubber pieces because of plugging and cleaning risk.
Test the Actual Material
A meaningful test records input mass, particle distribution, liberated and attached steel, feed rate, layer depth, belt or drum speed, splitter setting, collected fractions, and repeat passes. Report both steel recovered and saleable rubber lost with the magnetic fraction. Do not promise a recovery or purity figure from a different feedstock.
Safety and Maintenance
Control wire entanglement, rotating equipment, sharp steel, dust, fire risk, guarding, isolation, and manual handling. Inspect belt damage, wrapping, splitter buildup, bearings, fasteners, liners, and discharge chutes. A sudden change in captured steel may indicate upstream wear or process instability.
Request a Material Review
Send representative samples or clear photographs from each stage, size distribution, steel-wire details, throughput, bulk density, current equipment layout, belt data, required output specification, and available test method.
Rubber and Wire Conditions to Confirm Before Selection
Use these inputs to decide whether the proposed separator and process position fit the real operating duty.
| Equipment direction | A suspended magnet can remove larger exposed steel before size reduction, while a drum or head pulley may recover smaller liberated wire after shredding and screening. |
|---|---|
| Material condition | Define whole tire, shred, chip, crumb or fiber fraction; record size distribution, bulk density, moisture, fiber content, bounce, tangling and feed uniformity. |
| Target iron or magnetic fraction | Describe bead wire, cord wire, fasteners and equipment-wear steel; state liberation level, wire length and acceptable rubber carryover in the magnetic fraction. |
| Throughput and presentation | Provide normal and peak t/h, belt width and speed, layer depth, feeder surges and whether fluffy fiber creates a deeper effective working gap. |
| Installation and access | Confirm wrapping and cleaning access, splitter and collection-bin geometry, guarding, dust and fire controls, and maintenance space around pulleys and bearings. |
| Test or acceptance | Test the real liberation stage. Weigh wire recovery and rubber loss in both fractions instead of judging performance from visual capture alone. |
What We Need to Configure This Project
Input set for Magnetic Separation for Rubber and Tire Recycling
- How we use your data: We compare your material, contamination risk, production target and line interface before we configure a proposal or rule out an unsuitable option.
- Material: name and composition; dry or wet; powder, granule, lump, fibre or slurry; minimum, maximum and typical particle distribution; moisture, stickiness, tendency to cake or bridge, abrasiveness, corrosiveness, bulk density, normal temperature and maximum temperature.
- Production and target: normal and peak throughput, continuous or batch feed, feed uniformity, contaminant or recovery target, magnetic response if known, typical and maximum target size, initial concentration, acceptable residual and whether product loss is permitted.
- Installation: belt width and speed, normal and maximum burden depth, magnet position and rated working distance, available suspension and maintenance space, support and lifting arrangement; cleaning method, permitted shutdown, contact-material, wear and corrosion requirements; indoor, outdoor, washdown, high-humidity, dusty or hazardous-area conditions.
- Supporting project files: drive voltage, frequency and phase where a self-cleaning unit is considered; control interface and any site air requirement; destination country; current drawings, site photographs, running video and a representative material/contaminant sample when testing is needed.
- What you receive next: We use the confirmed inputs to prepare a project-specific drawing and inspection plan. We do not treat performance as confirmed until the agreed design and any required representative test or site acceptance establish the result.
How We Configure a Solution for Your Process
Magnetic Separation for Rubber and Tire Recycling: seller-side application review
- Your process problem: Ferrous contamination can damage downstream equipment, reduce product consistency, create rejects or force unplanned cleaning and downtime.
- What we review: We confirm your material form, particle size, moisture, temperature, bulk density, normal and peak throughput, contaminant type and size, required residual and process position.
- What we configure: We compare capture point, magnetic structure, working distance, material presentation, cleaning method and line interface before we prepare a proposal.
- Buyer value: This helps you intercept contamination before a critical machine or quality stage, reduce repeat purchases and avoid a separator that restricts normal production flow.
- Boundary: We do not recommend the application when the target is non-magnetic, the material path prevents exposure or the required result cannot be supported without testing.
- Next step: Send the material and target, particle range, moisture, temperature, throughput, contamination, installation drawing, available space, cleaning preference and any sample or site video. Send your process and contamination data
Project Support
Send your material and process conditions
We can review the process point, material shape, iron source, capacity, available space and cleaning method before recommending a magnetic separator layout.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is “The Main Variable Is Liberation” important for this decision?
A clean steel fragment responds differently from a steel wire still wrapped in rubber. The attached rubber increases mass, changes shape, creates drag, and may prevent a distinct discharge trajectory.
Why is “Feed Presentation Determines Separation” important for this decision?
Spread material into a controlled, reasonably thin layer and prevent surges. Tangled wire, long strips, light rubber, and irregular pieces can bridge, wrap around shafts, or travel unpredictably.
Why is “Test the Actual Material” important for this decision?
A meaningful test records input mass, particle distribution, liberated and attached steel, feed rate, layer depth, belt or drum speed, splitter setting, collected fractions, and repeat passes.