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12. July 2022

Excursion to the Espenhain site of SCHOLZ Recycling GmbH

Practical exam preparation as part of the sorting technology course

Who hasn't seen them in lectures - apparatus drawings, process flow diagrams and schematics over which you pore and try to understand how it works. What goes in where? What turns? What comes out? Which separating feature is used? .... These are just some of the questions that will be explained in theory and illustrated with practical examples as part of the sorting technology course.

On Thursday, June 23, 2022, students of the NÖWb20 course and employees set off as part of the LaNDER³ Impulse Project 7 - Recycling project to see almost all the processes taught in the summer semester "live" at SCHOLZ Recycling GmbH.

We saw impressive cranes and excavators in front of large piles of waste, which manually mix the incoming material on site and ensure that it is continuously fed to the first step - shredding.

Shredder input material
Shredder input material

The digestion process is followed by several sorting steps - starting with magnetic separation, float-sink separation, classification, sifting, sensor-based picking and, again and again, manual work processes. The end result is metal products, plastic products and substitute fuels for resale to steelworks, the cement industry or plastics recyclers.

With the words: "Now I've given you a very rough idea of our plant technology. To understand the production lines in detail, you need to plan 2-3 days for each process step. Perhaps one or the other would like to come back as part of a student project," Dr. Wuschke concluded the tour. Now we were able to fortify ourselves in the company canteen before setting off on our journey home - of course not without loading lots of samples into the car, which are now being examined at LaNDER³.

The students' conclusion was consistently positive: "Now I've understood how the air oven works - once you've seen it, the process becomes clearer." "The proportion of manual process steps surprised me. I didn't expect that."
Excursion to SCHOLZ GmbH
Excursion participants at the end of the factory tour

As a long-standing practice partner, the company has been involved as a partner for practical semesters, bachelor's and diploma theses since the start of the project in 2018, meaning that the students are making an important contribution to the "recycling plant of the future" with their work.

Many THANKS to Dr. Wuschke and his team for the good preparation and support during the excursion.

Photo: Dr.-Ing. Maria Schäfer
Dr.-Ing.
Maria Schäfer
ZIRCON
02763 Zittau
Hochwaldstrasse 14
Building Z XV, Room 1.02
Upper floor
+49 3583 612-4314
Photo: Dipl.-Ing. Anett Kupka
Dipl.-Ing.
Anett Kupka
ZIRCON
02763 Zittau
Lausitzer Weg 2
Building Z VIId, Room 13
First floor
+49 3583 612-4961
ZIRCON
02763 Zittau
Hochwaldstrasse 14
Building Z XV, Room 1.02
Upper floor
+49 3583 612-4961