Sonic's Hot Air Knife System Safely Contained Mercury Vapor

Overview

Disposing of used LCD screens and electronic devices poses challenges due to environmental concerns, with landfills already prohibiting their disposal due to groundwater and soil contamination. With the increasing demand for precious metals and minerals, companies can now look into recycling discarded electronic devices as financially viable. Sonic Air Systems was tasked to provide an e-waste recycling solution focused on safe mercury vapor containment  and other pollutants during the shredding process of electronic devices. Sonic provides our air knife for recycling and classifying products in many industries. However, this mercury vapor application is a first for Sonic centrifugal blowers.

Solution

After removing any batteries within the electronic devices, Sonic Air Systems engineered a centrifugal blower solution using their patented Industrial Air Blower and Hot Air Knife System for e-waste. The heater-less hot air blower system delivers a constant 275°F (135°C) air stream into the shredder enclosure, ensuring all mercury vapor can be safely collected in a hermetically sealed chamber while other airborne particulates could be captured by the customer's multi-stage HEPA filtration pollution control system.

Result                                                                                                                                                                                    

By utilizing Sonic's heater-less hot air technology, which operated at a 50% total operational energy savings versus blowers with in-line heater coils, the customer achieved intrinsically safe heating and efficient containment of mercury vapor. The Hot Air Knife System proved to be a successful solution for Electronic Recyclers International, the largest electronic recycling company in the United States.