First system of recycled of plastic with nanotubos of carbon

The Technological Institute of the plastic (Aimplas) has concluded the European project Recytube, that after 30 months of development has given like result an innovative technology that allows to recycle and reutilizar plastic with structures of nanotubos of carbon. In the project also participates the Valencian company Faperin, the Belgian Nanocyl and the Dutch Colorex.

The nanotubos of carbon are structures that can vary his electrical behaviour and that incorporated to materials like the plastic confer him extraordinary properties. In this sense, the capacity of apantallamiento electronic that these particles confer to the plastic opens enormous possibilities in his utilisation in the carcasas of electronic devices. In the industry of the automotive sector already is using in the system of repostaje to substitute metallic pieces or to manufacture the hoses since it avoids the accumulation of electrostatic loads and the possibility of derivative explosions of them. Also they can find already in the sector of the sportive equipment bicycles, raquetas of tennis, or sticks of hockey manufactured with nanotubos of carbon, since this material contributes them a ligereza and unprecedented resistance, as well as new possibilities of design and manufacture.

The generalisation in the employment of this type of materials does necessary to foresee efficient systems of recovery of the rests that produce during the process of injection of the plastic like consequence of the set up or the cleaning of the machines, as well as of the defective pieces descartadas. The project Recytube proposes the recycled of these wastes to produce new nanocomposites plastic with commercial value. “We have achieved to recycle nanotubos of carbon to level post-industrial, like the use of this type of materials goes to increase exponencialmente in the next years the aim to half term will be to develop a system of recycled to level post-consumption”, affirms Luis Rock, researcher of the project.

During the first stage of the project Recytube have identified diverse fast methods that they could use in the plant of production to quantify the nanotubos of carbon and predict the final properties of the material in question, without the need to have of costly equipment of laboratory. In a second stage the project has centred in the development of pieces for the industry of the electricity and the electronics equipment dealers equipment dealers, employing nanocomposites recycled that they contain nanotubos of carbon. Specifically they have developed carcasas of rear-view mirrors for the industry of the car with apantallamiento electromagnetic and painted intelligent.

In the first case, the profits of the nanotubos of carbon go directly related with the elimination of interferences. In the case of the painted of the piece, the utilisation of plastic with nanotubos of carbon will allow to apply a process of painted electroestático that deletes the need to apply a first coating. Of this form attains a better superficial finishing and a process medioambientalmente sustainable.