Large-Scale Rotary Shear Shredder Performance Testing

Slow-speed rotary shear shredders have recently received considerable attention for processing of municipal solid waste. Potential benefits from shear shredding could include reduced explosion potential, lower power consumption, lower operating and maintenance costs and less overgrinding of glass. Although there has been much interest in rotary shear shredders, little actual operating data exists showing the capacity and performance of these units on municipal solid waste at full scale. A large-scale, 50 tph (45.3 tonnes/hr) Iowa Manufacturing Company (Cedarapids) Model 5096 (127 cm × 244 cm) shear shredder was installed and has been evaluated over a 6-mo period at the Charleston County Solid Waste Reduction Center. Two Heil 42F vertical shaft hammermills also are operated at the reduction center. Long-term landfill tests were conducted on waste processed by both shredders to measure the performance of the shear shredder and compare the effect of shredder type on landfilling characteristics. These results show capacity in excess of 60 tph (54.4 tonnes/hr) using 4-in. (10-cm) cutters and comparable landfilling characteristics for both types of shredders.