This news article was originally written in Spanish. It has been automatically translated for your convenience. Reasonable efforts have been made to provide an accurate translation, however, no automated translation is perfect nor is it intended to replace a human translator. The original article in Spanish can be viewed at Línea de reciclado de envases de PET

Ecomáquinas offers facilities for PET and other materials

Recycling of PET packaging line

Drafting PU28/04/2008

April 28, 2008

This article shows in detail how a line of recycling of PET packaging waste is structured as the offered Ecomáquinas. The company also offers lines to other plastics, like PEHD and PP, among others, as well as facilities for the recovery of electrical cable and other products, according to demand.

Ecomáquinas offers a provision of line based on modular elements interconnected among themselves. This has numerous advantages: minimization of electrical failures, ease of expansion of the production, simplification of the work of maintenance, flexibility in the provision of operator terminals, teleservicio, distance and remote diagnostics and maintenance.

The quality of the recycled material is excellent. This is accomplished by degrading to minimize the material throughout the process, and to eliminate almost all the impurities common, such as paper and films for labels, queues, oils and organic matter, land and sludge, ferrous and non-ferrous metalspolyolefins and PVC.

The process of recycling is functionally divided into the following stages: crushers, separations of mechanical, chemical washing temperature and waste treatment.

The line of recycling, step by step

We see then what are the modules that make up the complete installation for the recycling of PET packaging waste.

• Automatic feed: module consisting of desbalador block, a group of conveyor belts, improper separator (metals, stones, etc.). Reduces manual work of feeding the line at the same time that improves and independent production of the human factor.

• First grinding: grinding traditional systems are based on Mills engaged in drag with straps. Ecomáquinas has developed a specific mills for crushing of plastic containers. They have direct transmission, inertia, as well as electronic boot or flying straps. This allows to obtain superior performance, as well as a very compact design.

• Pre-washing dry: centrifugal system of high durability that allows the selective elimination of abrasive elements in very contaminated plastics, with the consequent improvement in the length of the blades of crushing.

• Separation of banal: the majority of manufacturers of facilities for the recycling of PET need prelavar packaging to remove the tags. This involves large investments in sewage treatment plants to treat water for washing. The problem is further exacerbated with the growing presence of tags with inks of titanium and other elements of difficult to treat. That's why Ecomáquinas proposes a total separation of labels in dry.

• Second crushing: mill of similar characteristics to the first operation, but optimized to balance the load between the two and thus increase the production. Incorporated in addition to several chutes Lung in order to minimize downtime for maintenance.

View general and details of the crusher mill.

Main data of the recycling line

Production objective of output: 1000 kg/h

Power supply: 400V 50 Hz III

Total installed power: 450kW

The main features of the recycled material are following:

Type of plastic: polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

Origin: From post-consumer or post-industrial packaging.

Size of the scales: 8-12 mm.

Typical residual humidity: less than 0.7%

Pollutant content: less than 50 p.p.m

Intrinsic viscosity: greater than 0.7 (IV Davenport)

Fine separation of banal: the objective of this phase is to eliminate the remains of labels that put stay in the material, as well as the dust produced in the second crushing.

• Prelavado or wash cold: in this module are removed the soluble dirt remains present in the material. This prolongs the water of the chemical washing cycle and reduces the consumption of detergent. The remains of metals in highly contaminated materials are also deleted in this module.

• Chemical washing temperature: Ecomáquinas combines the use of very energetic washed at high temperature, which removed not soluble queues and severe impregnations of oil, with minimal degradation of the material. This demonstrates the high intrinsic viscosity of exceeding the 0.7 IV recycled material. Another significant parameter is the low oxidation or concentration of chains free carboxílicas, typically less than 40 ° mol/gr.

Reactor at the final assembly stage.

The quality of the recycled material is excellent, you get degraded material to a minimum throughout the process

Tamizadora and densado cuba.

• Rinse: soft Dodge of the already washed material of which the remains of detergent are removed. In this module are also separated by densado most of the polyolefins and other lightweight plastics.

• Tuned: Treatment that removes excessive humidity, dust and small waste that could be in the already washed PET.

• Separation of PVC: the PVC is the pollutant that most affects the quality of the PET, a few parts per million of PVC are sufficient to make the PET recycled in a yellow and brittle material. This line includes a system of selection of own PVC, which improves the traditional separation ratios, with a minimum power consumption and a practically zero maintenance.

• Treatment of water and waste: A very important factor in the whole process of recycling is the consumption of water and the management of waste generated. The following measures are taken in this regard in this line of recycling.

• Recruitment and retention of dust. In all stages of the process likely to generate dust, basically in the triturations and manipulations in dry, are available a recovery system composed of aspiration, cyclone and filter sleeve.

• Water for pre-washing and Dodge. Provides a system of retention of particles composed of vibrant sieves, hidrociclones and solaje deposits.

• Water of washing soda and metallic salts. Reduce by evaporation to the vacuum of 15 to 20 times in volume.