Tips for Efficient Garnet Recycling: Maximizing Usability and Performance

Recycling garnet can be a highly effective way to reduce costs and minimize waste in your blasting operations. However, achieving optimal results requires careful handling and attention to detail. Here are some essential tips to ensure that your garnet recycling process is both efficient and effective.

Keep Garnet Dry

Damp or wet garnet cannot be recycled. If abrasive does get wet or damp, it must be completely dry before processing.

Is your waste media wet? Explore the free GMA Garnet Return Program. Avoid costly and harmful landfilling by returning your used garnet to GMA’s approved collection points. Save money and protect the environment today!

Do not contaminate Garnet with Grease or Salts

The dry recycling process does not remove these contaminants. Care should be taken when blasting marine vessels as the old coating being removed may contain high levels of salts. Do not attempt to recycle any of this garnet unless salt levels are tested and accepted first. Learn how to test your surface for contaminants here.

Add Virgin Garnet into Recycled Garnet

As the impact of blasting creates a loss of reusable garnet, virgin garnet should be added back into the recycled Garnet to maintain an even surface profile. If the blasting conditions creates a breakdown of 10- 15%, then add in 220-330lbs (100-150kg) of virgin garnet for each ton recycled.

Set up a capture system

Set up a capture system to reduce the input of sand, mud and stones etc. into the garnet to be recycled.

Use a vacuum system

Use a vacuum system to recover garnet from ships, tanks or other inaccessible places. The vacuum system can dump the used garnet directly into the recycling system for efficient handling of abrasive.

Set up an efficient handling system

Set up an efficient handling system to handle the bags of cleaned, recycled Garnet produced by the Recycling System. A small 2.5 ton forklift is ideal, and should be kept with the system at all times the system is in use.

Install a cover

The recycling unit should be installed under cover. It must be kept dry. Consideration in installation and layout design should be made to enable continual recycling, even in very wet weather. This means you can process Garnet for recycling, even when you cannot blast or paint.

Make sure your pavement is level

Set up the recycling unit on a hard, level area, preferably concrete pavement to enable efficient forklift movement all around the equipment.