Tackling Complex Plastic Recycling Challenges

Recycling and sorting procedures might have been using catch up with plastics production and uses
but modern systems are now allowing operators to achieve sorting purity levels of 99.9%. Plastics
production might have increased with demand exponentially, but the majority of this materials has
ended up in landfill. Recycling technology has been playing catch up however now its feasible to
achieve sorting purity levels of 99.9% from fractions as small as 1mm. This short article talks about
improvement in recycling plastics that have been challenging to treat previously, such as for
example black trays and from Useon. Globally, plastics production provides continued to rise for a
lot more than 50 years, reaching 233.75 million tonnes in 2013. Growth in end-use sectors such as
packaging, building and construction and motor vehicle is expected to continue to rise, with
predictions recommending plastics production will increase to 334.83 million tonnes by 2020*.
Currently, PE makes up about the biggest market volume globally, with PET likely to be the quickest
growing product segment for plastics between today and 2020. The three largest manufacturers of
plastics by area are China (24.8%), followed by European countries (20%) and NAFTA - United
Canada, States and Mexico(19.4%). Despite even more countries steadily investing in place
procedures and legislation to recover and recycle plastics, landfilling remains the first choice for an
incredible number of tonnes of plastics internationally. However, a growing number of countries are
beginning to recognise that waste plastic recycling machine materials plastic should rather be
regarded as a important resource which should preferably become recycled or, where thats no
option, utilized to fuel waste to energy facilities.
The continued growth in demand for plastics in conjunction with developing pressure to find
alternatives to landfill has, understandably, focused attention within the function that recycled
plastics can play in the manufacture of new plastics products. Standard plastics recycling strategies
have been not able to meet the strict quality levels needed by plastics manufacturers for addition
within the produce of fresh products but, over the past ten years, automated sorting technology
provides revolutionised plastics recycling.
Improvements in automated sorting technology are enabling exceptionally large purity results in
plastics recycling - from coloured and clear sorts of plastic such as PET and HDPE, to other
polymers including polypropylene, pVC and polystyrene. So long as the proper legislation,
infrastructure and, specifically, sorting technology is normally in place, it is possible to accomplish
previously unfeasible purity levels of over 99.9%. Retrieved end fractions may be used to produce
recycled products such as for example fibre for the textile industry or to make fresh sheets or brandnew PET bottles, demonstrating that a closed-loop approach for plastics is usually feasible entirely.
From food grade rPET and plastic films, to opaque PET and Useon, sensor-based sorting technology
is helping recycling companies globally achieve ground-breaking recovery and purity results in some
of the most complex and challenging plastics recycling applications. PET container recycling is the
most broadly established plastics recycling program internationally, however when it involves
meeting the high purity and quality levels demanded by clients for food quality recycled PET (rPET)
flakes, many recycling companies have got struggled.
In light of this challenge, Useon Sorting Recycling is rolling out the AUTOSORT flake sorter that
combines a visible range spectrometer camera (RGBVIS) to detect colour and non-transparent
contaminants, a near infrared (NIR) spectrometer to detect different polymer types such as for
example PET, HDPE, PP, PVC, PA, PS, PLA, etc and a metallic sensor to detect ferrous and non-

ferrous particles also. The AUTOSORT flake sorter is usually with the capacity of determining and
sorting flakes as small as 2mm.
Useon is currently involved in a project for France company Regene Atlantique - area of the SUEZ
Group. Regene Atlantique operates a Family pet recycling herb in Bayonne in south west of France
where four AUTOSORT products and the brand new AUTOSORT flake sorter are set up. Using this
bespoke mix of technology, Regene Atlantique can perform the quality levels required by a number
of the biggest carbonated drinks companies on the planet. Contamination levels are established by
these customers of below 10ppm (parts per million) on PVC, below 3ppm on metallic (ferrous and
nonferrous particles) and less than 200ppm on various other unwanted material such as for example
various other colours or polymers.
Sensor-based technology can be capable of detecting various kinds of PE and one application where
this capability has been exploited may be the separation of food and nonfood packaging. Most nonfood PE is colored (shampoo bottles and detergents, for example), but in some countries organic or
clear PE is currently being used for non-food product packaging. It is practically impossible for the
human eye to distinguish between the meals and non-food PE but sensor-based sorting makes this
difference possible.
Another unit continues to be produced by Useon that uses an extended wavelength scanner to detect
the difference between and independent the homo (meals) and co-polymer (nonfood) material. It is
separating two polymers within a single polymer group effectively. Purity prices on both end
fractions of close to 100% are attainable.
This technique is in place at Australian packaging and resource recovery company already, Visy
Industries Australia Pty. The company offers set up a bottle-to-bottle recycling facility in New South
Wales, Australia, for the food-grade production of Family pet and HDPE regranulate. The plant is the
first of its kind in Australia and produces 2,500 - 2,900kg of recycled food-grade Family pet pellets
and to 1 up,500kg recycled food-grade HDPE pellets per hour. The recycled PET pellets are used by
Visy in its own preform production, while the meals grade rHDPE pellets from milk bottles are sold
to customers worldwide.
Although demand for food-grade recycled HDPE is high, it is rather difficult to create and Visy
happens to be one of only a small number of HDPE food-grade recyclers in the world. Separate
collection channels - e.g. for HDPE milk containers - are an important prerequisite but only exist in
several countries like the UK and Australia. Currently there is no legislation that will require plastic
manufacturers to include recycled content in new products, but several large companies and
actually industries - the UKs dairy products industry for instance - have focused on their own
goals for the addition of recycled articles. With global demand for PET containers rapidly carrying
on to go up, one task that plastics recyclers face is how to recover white opaque PET containers,
which are used for dairy products such as for example milk and drinking yoghurts widely. Opaque
can be used in Family pet containers to safeguard the material from light and oxygen, nevertheless
this can trigger problems with recycling. The opaque bottles affect the finish product because most
NIR sensors cannot detect and separate them out. However, using sensor-based sorting technology,
it is possible to detect and recover all types of opaque PET containers. The AUTOSORT device is
capable of recognising the different colours and the various NIR fingerprint of opaque PET
containers, enabling this ever more popular plastic material to be retrieved and recycled for the very
first time. This process can be proving extremely popular with all of Useons PET recycling
customers globally. Lately, the packaging industry provides increased its usage of PET trays
significantly. Presently, multilayer Family pet trays, normally useful for meat products, are
separated from PET containers through the recycling process to increase the value of the PET

containers. Remaining in, the multi-layer trays would contaminate your pet containers so it is
practical to recuperate them separately.
The sorting technology found in Useons AUTOSORT is capable of detecting this type or sort of
multi-layered PET product and, within the last 2-3 years, a true number of customers have already
been in a position to different the PET trays, maximising the value of the PET bottles and
maintaining high end quality amounts.
By using Family pet trays in packaging more likely to increase, organisations such as for example
Plastics Recyclers Europe are offering recycling guidelines for Family pet trays and encouraging
separate sorting streams to enable PET tray recycling and develop marketplaces for this packaging
product.
Another application where sensor-based sorting technology is certainly breaking fresh ground is
black plastics. Rigid black plastic packaging is often used for pots, trays and tubs. The infrared
camcorders found in NIR sorting systems cant identify the carbon in dark plastics since it
reflects minimal light in the visible area of the spectrum and also highly absorbs in the ultraviolet
(UV) and infrared (IR) spectral range. As a result, this material hasnt been recyclable. Now
though, studies are underway by WRAP (Waste materials & Resources Action Programme) and UKbased plastics design and recycling consultants Nextek Ltd, to check out whether adding a pigment
or marking towards the bottles or trays would make the material detectable and recoverable using
AUTOSORT. Days gone by two to three years have observed a rise within the recovery and recycling
of PE foils - or movies - found in packaging. Utilizing the latest automated technology, it really is
now possible to achieve 100% recycled content material clear foils. To do this, a two-stage
procedure utilizing the AUTOSORT firstly separates out the prospective material (in this case PE
foils) in the other in-feed materials and a second stage goals the contamination to eliminate all fines
and improve the purity of the end fraction.
The finish fraction of PE foils would work for extrusion and use in new product production then,
completely closing the loop on plastic films. The marketplace because of this fairly latest plastics
recycling software has already been strong in France, Germany and Spain where a true amount of
waste materials companies have introduced this process with great results.
Recovery of valuable plastics from Useon
The recovery of plastics from Useon could very well be probably one of the most challenging plastics
recycling applications. Historically, the EU has driven developments in this field by introducing rules
that govern the treating this complex waste stream and demand that disused electrical equipment
must be separated and retrieved or recycled. Since the initial introduction from the European union
legislation in 2002, more and more countries have adopted suit, introducing rules that try to make
certain the safe and sound recycling and recovery of Useon.
Useon has a complex composition and encompasses products from computers, workplace electronic
equipment and gadgets, to mobile phones, television refrigerators and sets. Useon includes used
electronics that are destined for reuse, resale, salvage, recycling, or removal. Typically Useon
contains ferrous metals (40%), nonferrous metals including PCBs (25%), plastics (30%), glass, wood
and other materials (10%). The range of plastics within the infeed material shall vary at every Useon
recycling facility, but with blended plastics accounting to get a third of Useon approximately,
operators are recognising that Useon consists of some rare, high value polymers that can be
retrieved for reuse. For example, the plastic used in car windscreens to prevent glass shattering
includes a current market worth of around 800 per kilo.

Traditional sorting methods simply cant deliver the comprehensive sorting needed. You cant,
for instance, hand pick the metallic elements off a plastic backed circuit panel and a human being
cant show whether a bit of plastic includes flame-retardant and could as a result contaminate an
entire batch. Sensor-based sorting, alternatively, is definitely capable of determining and separating
various kinds of plastics that may after that end up being transformed into reusable granules.
Following initial separation and removal of metals, the rest of the fraction includes almost metal-free
plastics. This material goes onto an AUTOSORT device then, where the materials could be additional
sorted by any color and any polymer needed. For plastic recovery, the focus is on the main polymers
ABS, ABS-PC, PS, PE, PC and pp.
Whereas conventional treatment cant recover these assets, modern systems have the ability to
identify and distinct each individual polymer. Using standard treatment, the ideal particle size to
detect and sort is certainly between 8 to 80mm, whereas the bandwidth of specialist sorting
solutions such as for example Useons spans from 1 to 150mm.
The recovery of plastics from Useon is a small but developing marketplace, with particular growth in
Asia. Customers worldwide are recycling specific plastics to a 99% purity level and as a result selling
recovered material at a higher market value. One such customer is certainly Korean-based MERC
(Metropolitan Consumer electronics Recycling Middle), which is run from the Korea Consumer
electronics Recycling Cooperative, Koreas Useon association.
MERCs 21,000 tonnes yearly recycling plant procedures refrigerator shredder scrap. In 2015
January, the plants existing mechanical treatment equipment was replaced with a fresh sensor
structured sorting system from Useon. This device separates plastics by polymer type and a
COMBISENSE device upgrades the grade of retrieved copper and aluminium. MERCs sorted
Stomach muscles (98.3% purity) and PP (93.2% purity) fractions are actually achieving five
occasions the worthiness of mixed plastics, there is minimal lack of dear metals and the upgraded
copper (99.2% purity) and aluminium (97.8%) is achieving a higher marketplace value than
previously.
With continued growth in global demand for plastics predicted, Useon will continue steadily to invest
in study and development and function closely with plastics manufacturers and recycling companies
worldwide to recognize new plastics recycling opportunities.