New recycling system for Mörfelden concrete plant

Betonwerk Mörfelden GmbH is part of the Dreher group of companies with administrative headquarters in Bensheim and distinguishes itself by many years of experience gained in the building materials industry. At the end of 2022, the company contacted Bibko Umwelt- und Reinigungstechnik GmbH to equip their plant in Mörfelden with an appropriate recycling system for the arising residual concrete.

 Due to additional bucket equipment, the supplied recycling system of type ComTec20 has a recycling capacity of more than 20 m³/h, it was hot-dip galvanized and is furnished with a hinged alunimum cover and with a complete recycling water treatment unit. The 3.2 m-wide hopper and the revolving washing gantry allow for discharging two truck mixers simultaneously. Moreover, owing to the given hopper width, material feeding by a wheel loader is possible too. From the feeding hopper, the residual concrete gets into the machine directly, solids > 0.2 mm are washed out and discharged here. The internal helix, fitted with plastic shovels and plastic paddles, is moving the sand and gravel towards of the helical conveyor and, in this process, is cleaning the interior walls of the trough washing unit by continuous stripping. At the same time, water is fed to the system from the helical conveyor side so that washing out is performed according to the counter flow principle.

Sand and gravel are carried into the machine trough through a bucket conveyor system and discharged into the hopper of the helical conveyor. For discharging the washed-out material, the machine is furnished with a 4 m-long helical conveyor system.

In addition to the washout system, Bibko has supplied a steel basin measuring 5 x 3 x 2.9 m that serves as agitator basin for the arising residual water.

At first, the excess water including fine particles < 0.2 mm is carried to a pump sump attached to the machine. This pump sump is equipped with a pump that pumps the water from the pump sump to the recycling water basin supplied, when exceeding the maximum filling level. This steel basin is provided with an agitator keeping the fine particles contained in the residual water in suspension by cyclic agitation, thus avoiding sedimentation of the residual concrete.

Conclusion

A closed-loop material system is achieved by the above-mentioned concept.

Apart from the economic benefit, the use of the Bibko recycling system results in an ecological benefit as well. This is the conservation of natural mineral resources and in avoiding CO₂ emissions which would be caused by the mining and extraction of minerals, respectively.