Pellenc ST supplies sorting machines to French MRF

Pellenc ST has supplied optical sorting machines to ValcopIA, a French material recovery facility (MRF) that opened in July.

According to Pellenc ST, ValcopIA sets the standards for sorting in France by using Pellenc’s latest generation of sorting equipment. In total, Pellenc ST supplied 21 Mistral+ Connect machines to recover 13 fractions of recyclable materials (excluding metals and aluminum).

The firm, which is also based in France, adds that 13 AISEE machines use artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze the quality of the streams in real time and assist in performance management. Pellenc ST recently launched its AISEE quality control analyzer, designed to monitor, analyze and improve the quality of recyclables while reducing material losses.

“Thanks to all these technologies, we achieve recycling rates of over 92 percent,” ValcopIA Director Vincent Castaignede says.

Pellenc ST says ValcopIA’s mission is to recycle packaging waste from more than 1 million residents in the Toulouse, France, region. The MRF operates two lines and 21 machines, nine of which are dedicated to separating flat items, and 12 are dedicated to sorting hollow items.

AISEE gantries are used to check the purity on 12 of the 13 materials sorted and are positioned at the end of conveyor belts. They continuously monitor the quality of the stream, recovery rate and overall efficiency of the sorting center. A final AISEE unit will be installed on the refuse conveyor belt. Positioned upstream, downstream or at key points in the process, these units provide real-time information on the composition of the stream.