When announcing the market introduction of its latest high-volume shredder, the Annihilator, Continental Biomass Industries (CBI) described its new machine as the MOAS … “Mother of All Shredders.”
The nickname makes sense when taking a closer look at the specs. Powered by 600 or 1,000-hp (447 or 745 kW) Cat diesel or electric motors, with an 8-ft. wide by 10-ft. 4-in. (2.4 by 3.2 m) shredding chamber, an 8,000-lb. (3,629 kg) anvil, and a 6-in. (15.2 cm) thick high-strength forged steel rotor that weighs more than 20,000 lbs. (9,072 kg) and features 42 hammers each weighing 95 lbs. (43.1 kg), the Annihilator has been designed and manufactured to take over the primary shredding of bulky, mixed, untreated C&D waste and MSW materials.
According to CBI President Anders Ragnarsson, the American market was ready for this type of high throughput shredder.
“The notion of low-speed, high-torque shredders that can deliver the kind of extreme throughput C&D and MSW operations need is not necessarily new, but we took it further by building it into the right machine,” explained Ragnarsson.
CBI Director of Business Development Mark Taitz added, “Our customers’ main concerns are high volume and consistent throughput. Offering them a machine that can meet those demands even under the nastiest conditions — with the ability to take on rugs, tires, railroad ties, mattresses, etc., without breaking stride is exciting news.”
To fit the diverse applications of the C&D and MSW industries, CBI kas developed the Annihilator to be configured in two ways — as a portable unit or as a stationary machine within a system — with two Rexroth axial piston transmission pumps that can be driven by either electric crusher-duty motors or a diesel Cat powerplant.
The rotor is powered by twin Hagglunds CB400 radial piston motors, with a combined output torque of 250,000 ft./lb. Ragnarsson stresses the importance of choosing only top-of-the-line components when developing his material recovery systems.
“When you are engaged in an operation where high availability and throughput are keys to being profitable, system reliability is non-negotiable.”
According to CBI, the Annihilator eliminates the need for costly labor and space-intensive preliminary processes, such as picking up large or difficult-to-process pieces with a grapple, and then crushing the spreadout waste with a dozer before it can be fed into a grinder or separator.
“Existing grinders choke and come to a halt if they have to handle mixed material that hasn’t been pre-crushed,” explained Ragnarsson. “Interruptions to the operation cause a ripple effect, with people and equipment idling until the flow is brought back up again, and at the end of the day, when your plant is taking in hundreds or even thousands of tons of trash and you have a line of trucks waiting to unload, all that down time quickly translates into big money,” he added.
Facility operators who have seen the Annihilator in operation have noted that the precious space needed to spread out the trash so it can be pre-crushed can be as large as a football field, and that the manpower and equipment required to achieve the necessary pre-crushing can now be put to a better use.
“We have watched the Annihilator at work at customer facilities and the excavators can’t feed the hopper fast enough. In a recent demonstration, we processed 789 tons in 5 hours … a rate of over 150 tons per hour,” said Ragnarsson.
Whether the Annihilator is configured as part of a recycling line or as a standalone shredding unit, its objective is to streamline operations, and Ragnarsson is confident CBI’s customers will realize outstanding return on investment (ROI).
Besides high torque and low speed, other features of the Annihilator include a feed hopper designed to take oversized waste; an extra large, extra wear-resistant shredding chamber; and an 8,000-lb. anvil, with a cutting gap that can automatically adjust to receive different size feed stock and to produce different size processed material.
“We have put years of field experience into the design of this shredder, even anticipating difficulties, such as times when materials will get stuck and need to be cleared by designing an Auto Rotor reverse sequence, as well as an auto material purge cycle,” stated Ragnarsson.
In business since 1988, New Hampshire-based CBI is a designer and manufacturer of material processing and recovery equipment, components and turnkey solutions. CBI customers range from forestry and landclearing to pulp and paper, municipal solid waste and construction and demolition.
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