In a landmark demonstration at a lead smelting site, the Bobcat S70 skid steer loader significantly improved furnace loading time and cut fuel consumption, delivering a major leap in productivity and safety. Compact yet powerful, the S70 transformed traditionally labour-intensive processes—such as material loading and battery dismantling—into efficient, low-strain operations
In a major step towards improving productivity and safety in battery recycling operations, the Bobcat S70 skid steer loader was successfully demonstrated at a lead smelting site. The results showed a significant improvement in furnace loading times with reduction in fuel consumption leading to unmatched productivity and enhanced operational safety.
Optimizing the lead recovery process: The recycling process begins with the manual disassembly of used batteries. Skilled workers separate lead from the plastic casing, ensuring efficient material recovery. Once extracted, the lead is mixed with soda ash, charcoal, and rolling mill waste, which are essential for the smelting process. This mixture is then loaded into a rotary furnace using a special attachment that fits a 2-ton capacity forklift. Traditionally, this loading process, which is entirely manual, took around 45 minutes.
Smelting operations: The rotary furnace, powered by natural gas and preheated to 1000°C, processes the lead mixture in 3 charging cycles over 3 to 4 hours. Each cycle consumes approximately 1100 units of gas, yielding a total of 10 tons of processed lead. After smelting, the molten material is allowed to cool in a trolley container. Once cooled, workers manually separate the slag from the lead, which is then cut and prepared as the final product for dispatch to battery manufacturers.
The Bobcat S70 skid steer loader proved to be a game-changer during the demonstration, reducing furnace loading time from 45 to 20 minutes and saving 25 minutes per cycle. This improvement cut burner idle time, boosted heating efficiency, lowered natural gas consumption, reduced operational costs, and minimized physical strain on workers for safer conditions. Its versatility was further showcased with a breaker attachment for battery dismantling and a grappler attachment for efficient scrap handling.
The Bobcat S70 skid steer loader enhances various jobs such as battery breaking, material shifting, and mixing and loading operations. Its key benefits include saving furnace loading time, reducing gas consumption, enhancing productivity, minimizing manpower effort, ensuring safer operations, and offering versatility across multiple tasks.
This successful deployment highlights Bobcat’s commitment to providing compact and powerful solutions for industrial operations.
