Waste Sorting & Separation | Eddy current, sensor, AI, X-ray, and laser sorting for mixed material streams

The mixed material problem

In plastics recycling, e-waste recovery, and scrap rubber and plastic recovery, mixed material is the standard challenge. Plastics and metal impurities are deeply intermingled. Material sizes vary, compositions are complex, and fine impurities are hard to strip. Traditional sorting cannot fully separate them. The result is low-purity recycled plastic with high contamination, limiting both quality and market value.

Tofun Environmental Protection (拓丰环保) has focused on solid waste sorting equipment for nearly ten years. Its product range now covers multiple sorting technologies.

High-frequency eddy current separator

Non-ferrous metals are a key recovery target, especially in incinerator bottom ash and shredder residue from scrap steel. After crushing and screening, aluminum and copper remain mixed in.

Tofun's high-frequency eddy current separator uses an eccentric structure. The eddy current rotor and outer drum maintain an offset, reducing the impact of ferromagnetic material entering the internal structure. This suits high-iron, complex operating conditions.

The magnetic roller reaches 4,500 rpm, handles non-ferrous metals above 1.5 mm, and uses a no-blind-zone roller design. PLC control, variable frequency control, and key component monitoring track bearing temperature and motor current. The device holds 17 national patents. Applications include bottom ash processing, shredder residue, recycled aluminum, used glass, and PET. On production lines, it works with iron removal, screening, and conveying equipment.

All-metal separator

After crushing and screening, material may still contain copper, aluminum, and small particles. Conventional magnetic separation cannot recover all metals.

Tofun's all-metal separator uses high-sensitivity sensors to detect material. When metal particles are identified, compressed air nozzles quickly separate them from the material stream. Compared with manual sorting, the equipment continuously detects, identifies, and separates, reducing manual involvement and suiting higher-throughput recycling projects.

AI sorter

Plastic and e-waste streams present more complex identification targets. Different plastic materials can look similar. E-waste mixes metal, plastic, and glass. Material sizes and shapes vary. This demands higher identification capability.

Tofun's TFCGS AI sorter uses AI visual recognition to analyze shape, color, and material, then sorts per set requirements. Unlike equipment that identifies only a single feature, AI sorting extracts more material information simultaneously. The TFCGS targets waste plastics, scrap metals,cables, glass fragments, and e-waste, addressing high mixing rates, fine material sorting difficulty, and line adaptation across operating conditions.

X-ray sorter

Some materials cannot be judged by surface alone — a limitation of conventional optical sorting.

Tofun's X-ray sorter uses X-rays to inspect material internally, identifying and separating based on density, atomic number, or elemental composition differences. Compared with surface-color sorting, X-ray technology accesses internal information, suiting complex and visually similar materials. Applications include building door and window recycling, can recycling, and e-waste aluminum recovery.

Laser-induced sorting

Tofun has also developed laser-induced sorting equipment. Through feeding, positioning, detection, sorting, and analysis control, it automatically identifies and sorts scrap metals and ores.

About the exhibitor

Tofun employs over 100 people, with R&D and technical staff over 30%, including senior magnetic circuit engineers, electrical engineers, senior technicians, and postgraduate researchers. The factory covers about 60,000 m2m2 with annual capacity of 2,600 units/sets. Products are sold domestically and exported to multiple countries.

Primary applications: incinerator bottom ash processing, shredder residue sorting, recycled aluminum, used glass, plastics, and automotive dismantling. Overseas markets include Saudi Arabia, Canada, and Spain.

Booth: B1A49

At-a-glance

Tofun Environmental Protection | Waste Sorting & Separation | Eddy current, sensor, AI, X-ray, and laser sorting for mixed material streams

Tofun Environmental Protection: Sorting Technologies for Mixed Material Streams