BMRA service member, SGM Magnetics, has announced the development of its Salt Slag Fines Recovery Line, a dedicated separation solution for the treatment of ground aluminium salt slag fines.

In secondary aluminium production, salt slag remains one of the most complex residues to process mechanically. After crushing, grinding and classification, the fine fraction can still contain recoverable metallic aluminium and other valuable non-ferrous metals. However, fine particle size, salt content, dust, abrasiveness and corrosive behaviour make efficient separation particularly demanding.

For aluminium smelters and salt slag processors, unrecovered metal in the fine fraction represents a direct loss of value and reduces the quality of the material sent back to remelting or further treatment.

The SGM Salt Slag Fines Recovery Line has been developed to address this challenge through a combination of advanced separation technologies, configured according to the customer’s material characteristics, particle size distribution, ferrous and non-ferrous content, throughput and recovery targets.

The line typically combines SGM DSRP dynamic magnetic separators and SGM VIS-EF high-frequency eddy current separators. The DSRP stage is designed to remove residual fine ferrous particles that may affect downstream separation efficiency, while the VIS-EF stage is dedicated to the recovery of fine metallic aluminium and other non-ferrous particles from small-size fractions.

For particularly aggressive operating conditions, SGM can supply the equipment in AINOX execution, with AISI 316 stainless steel construction on the parts exposed to the material, excluding specific eddy current separator components. This configuration is designed to support long-term reliability when processing corrosive and abrasive materials such as salt slag fines.

Salt slag fines are a challenging material stream, but they can still contain recoverable metal value. With this dedicated line, SGM aims to support aluminium recyclers and salt slag processors in defining a separation process specifically designed for this application.

The same engineering approach can also be applied to other fine fractions containing valuable metals, including ASR fines, post-fluff and fine Zorba, where small metal particles may remain difficult to recover with conventional separation layouts.

SGM supports customers from material testing and process definition to complete line engineering, commissioning and after-sales service. The SGM Test Centre allows customers to evaluate their material under real separation conditions before defining the most appropriate industrial configuration.