Flake sorting recycling technologies 24-12-2021 - Arhive

This content has been archived. It may no longer be relevant

Flake sorting recycling technologies

-Integrated pre-sort and flake sorting is key to increased quality

Despite the ongoing battle against plastic pollution, its rate continues to rise on a global scale. The latest figures suggest more than 359 million tons of plastic were produced for the global marketplace in 2018, a 3.2 percent increase compared to the previous year. In total, the amount of plastic produced globally has approximately tripled since 1990.

The majority of this plastic doesn’t have a long-term future. In Europe, almost 40 percent of plastic produced is used for food and product packaging which, in most cases, is single-use plastic. Most of these products are being incinerated or disposed of in landfills. This, coupled with the fact that more than a million plastic bottles are sold every minute worldwide, means that there is more pressure on plastic producers and retailers than ever before. Flake sorting recycling technologies

With this rise in throughput comes the need for more efficient recycling systems to ensure all material is handled correctly, as a valuable resource, and brought back into the plastics loop. There’s also a need for higher purity when it comes to recycled plastics to ensure the material meets increasingly rigid regulations. Recycled content laws in the EU, for example, introduced in October 2018, mean that producers must now ensure plastic bottles have a minimum of 25 percent recycled content by 2025. This also means plant operators need to enable systems that can increase the purity and yield of their recycled plastic output to a very high level – high enough to be suitable for re-use in food-grade packaging. The European goal is also to boost the EU market for recycled plastics up to 10 million tonnes by 2025.

Flake sorting is key for recyclers to meet demand

One way in which recycling plant operators can improve the purity and yield of the plastics they recycle is through flake sorting. This can help improve the output quality of the recycling process and also allow for more types of plastic to be efficiently sorted. This helps recycled material to be re-integrated into the plastics value chain, and is a key factor in reaching the higher recycling targets set forth by the European Union, North America and other regions.

Currently, in the EU, there is a high demand for polyolefins, but recycling levels are still very low. Polyolefins is the collective name for materials which include polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), including different variations of the basic polymers, such as high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and low-density polyethylene (LDPE). Flake sorting recycling technologies

Although the market for high quality and pure recyclates has been traditionally more focused on PET, the recent demand for recycled polyolefins signals its importance for the market and the need to recycle these materials efficiently.

Flake sorting recycling technologies

-Integrated pre-sort and flake sorting is key to increased quality

TotalEnergies and Plastic Omnium to Develop Recycled Materials for the Automotive Industry

Cyclyx to start up first-of-its-kind plastic recovery facility in late 2022

-From the oil­field to the lab: How a spe­cial mi­crobe turns oil into gases

European panel OKs PET recycling technologies

-Danish consortium launches bottle made from local household recycled plastic waste

-How Coca-Cola’s packaging design is reducing plastic waste

Versalis to license technology to Indian company Supreme Petrochem Ltd for production of styrenic polymers

Flake sorting recycling technologies

Biodegradable plastic Nanocomposites RadiciGroup 23-12-2021