How a Copper Wire Granulator Works

Copper is a highly valuable metal in the scrap industry, prized for its ductility and ability to be shaped into wires, setting it apart from other metals like iron or steel. Its worth is widely recognized, with even non-experts aware of its value, as seen in cases where investors strip copper piping and wiring from properties for profit. However, scrap copper often arrives at recycling yards in a form that requires processing before it can be resold. This is where copper wire granulators come into play, efficiently stripping insulation and transforming scrap into reusable copper granules, generating significant revenue for scrap yards. This blog explains the process of how a copper wire granulator operates.

Feeding

The process begins by feeding scrap copper wire, typically covered with plastic insulation, into the granulator. While copper holds high resale value, the plastic insulation does not, and removing it manually or with a dedicated wire stripper can be time-consuming, especially for large volumes. A copper wire granulator simplifies this task by accepting insulated wiring directly, streamlining the recycling process and preparing the material for further processing.

Shredding

Once the wire is fed into the granulator, the machine performs the heavy-duty task of breaking it down. The goal is to reduce the copper wire to fine granules, similar in size to granulated sugar or grains of sand, suitable for reuse by manufacturers. Using a water-free method involving physical shredding and crushing, the granulator first reduces the wiring to pieces approximately one centimeter long. A second pass through the machine further refines these pieces to as small as three millimeters, ensuring a uniform and manageable size for the next stage.

Separation

The critical step of separating the valuable copper from the plastic insulation follows shredding. Historically, older methods led to significant losses, with up to 15 percent of copper mistakenly discarded as waste, resulting in lost revenue. Modern granulators employ electrostatic separation, a highly efficient technique that charges the copper and plastic mixture. This process attracts the highly conductive copper while repelling the inert plastic, achieving over 99 percent copper recovery. The outcome is finely pulverized copper, ready for resale to manufacturers.

Langye, a leader in advanced recycling solutions, offers a comprehensive range of copper wire granulators that utilize cutting-edge electrostatic principles to maximize efficiency. By incorporating a granulator into your salvage operations, you can recover copper with exceptional precision, enhancing profitability and strengthening your business’s recycling capabilities.