sustainability
Extrusion/Molding Process Turns Scrap into New Car Doors
On the television screen, it looks a lot like two giant tubes squirting out black toothpaste.
Read MoreSort Plastic Scrap Fast By Resin, Color & Additives
Recyclers of mixed plastics waste can detect materials containing flame retardants, heavy-metal additives, and fillers--or they can sort bottles at high rates by color or by polymer--thanks to new technologies unveiled at the second annual Identiplast Conference held recently in Brussels, Belgium. The three-day conference was organized by the Association of Plastics Manufacturers in Europe, the American Plastics Council, (Washington, D.C.), the European Plastics Converters, and the Japanese Plastic Waste Management Institute.
Read MoreRecyclers Find New Ways to Get More Out of Waste
Enhancing properties of recycled resins, especially commingled mixtures, was one theme of the recent Fifth Annual Recycling Conference, held by the SPE Recycling Div. in Chicago. Using new chemical compatibilizers and other new additives was one approach presented at the meeting. Another was a mechanical processing method that's said to achieve comparable results without additives. Other new developments at the meeting included improved resin-identification instruments, and a new type of silo that can discharge hard-to-move flake or fiber scrap.
Read MoreGranulator Knife Designs Improve Cutting for Efficient Recycling
A batch of new press-side and central granulators introduced at K'98 are designed to cut cleaner and faster. Also new are a washer/dryer for dirty waste and a repelletizer for tough films and fibers.
Read MoreCompounding
The big news at K'98 was some unique multi-screw machines for processing filled, colored, and recycled compounds. One of these machines has five screws, and another has 12. Still another has several grooved rolls instead of screws.
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