The vast majority of sorting recycling facilities that handle plastics use Near Infrared (NIR: 750 -- 1700 nm wavelength) spectroscopy for automated detection of polymer type for effective sorting; this technique has been chosen and developed over the past twenty years as being the only cost effective and robust technique for sorting mixed post consumer wastes (compared to Mid / far IR, Raman, UV, XRay fluorescence etc).
NIR spectroscopy is likely to remain the de facto standard identification technique for sorting, due to its ability to identify dirty and wet polymers, the equipment simplicity, speed and robustness, no need for sample preparation, and its low cost. However, the NIR technique fails when trying to identify black materials and other colours that contain carbon black. This is because the carbon black pigment absorbs the incident infrared beam and prevents the reflection of the polymer's characteristic spectrum used to identify and sort polymer types. This volume, in excess of 4 million tonnes (EU), has a potential annual value of over £4.4 billion (if recycled) and represents a significant waste of finite resources and lost value to the economy.
This project will build on our work and experience to date in order to create a closed processing loop of NIR sortable black and coloured polymer which will enable NIR sorting operations to segregate black and coloured plastic for recycling where they have been unable to before, crucially - using existing infrastructure.
It will also help to address one of the UK's Grand Challenges as set out in the new UK Industrial Strategy -- namely Clean Growth: "The move to cleaner economic growth -- through low carbon technologies and the efficient use of resources"
"Although much progress has been made in recycling the easier polymer streams such as at-line production waste, or through specialist closed loop systems, the challenge to recycle Post Consumer polymer waste (mainly packaging from consumer goods such as food, sauces and detergents) is still tough, particularly for polypropylene and polyethylene. These polymers strongly absorb odours from their contents, which currently needs uneconomic levels of cleaning before they can be recycled into high value products such as automotive fascias and building products.
Of the UK's 260,000 tonnes of post consumer polypropylene waste, under 1% is recycled into high quality products; the rest is used in low value applications such as buried geotextiles, or is landfilled or incinerated. The Odex process concept from Luxus, a recycling compounder for automotive plastics, has been specifically created to provide a cost effective method to deodorise polymers for higher value uses. This project is intended to produce a validated prototype of the process and its ability to cope with the variability in the type and levels of odour compounds that occur in post-consumer polymer, to underpin our future objectives of scaling it up to commercial application. The future embodiment of the technology is envisaged as a turnkey or retrofit option for Luxus and other existing compounders as licensees, allowing them to provide high quality polymers from materials that would otherwise have been destined for landfill or incineration."
The UK and EU polymer processing industry continues to contract, with companies struggling to maintain market share against competition from low cost economies. Whilst energy cost reductions would be welcomed, cycle time and component thickness are key drivers of financial performance, with parts costed as a function of cycle time & machine hourly rate. The Soniplas system will apply ultrasonic energy into the molten polymer just before it enters the cavity. This can yield as much as 90% temporary reduction in melt viscosity, enabling a significant reduction in melt temperature, saving both heating & cooling energy. The benefits of this are numerous. Melt temperatures could be maintained and the lower viscosity used to enable easier filling of existing parts or design of thinner-walled parts with corresponding reductions in cooling times. Alternatively, the melt temperature could be reduced significantly, while still being able to fill the same mould (due to the reduced viscosity). This technology could enable UK moulders to increase productivity and competitiveness, regain market share and capitalise on new business opportunities.
Although much progress has been made in recycling the easier polymer streams such as at-line production waste, or through specialist closed loop systems, the challenge to recycle Post Consumer polymer waste (mainly packaging from consumer goods such as food, sauces and detergents) is still tough, particularly for polypropylene and polyethylene. These polymers strongly absorb odours from their contents, which currently needs uneconomic levels of cleaning before they can be recycled into high value products such as automotive fascias and building products. Of the UK’s 260,000 tonnes of post consumer polypropylene waste, under 1% is recycled into high quality products; the rest is used in low value applications such as buried geotextiles, or is landfilled or incinerated. The VOCex process concept from Luxus, a recycling compounder for automotive plastics, has been specifically created to provide a cost effective method to deodourise polymers for higher value uses. This proof of concept project is intended to validate the feasibility of the process and its ability to cope with the variability in the type and levels of odour compounds that occur in post-consumer polymer, to underpin our future objectives of scaling it up to commercial application. The future embodiment of the technology is envisaged as a turnkey or retrofit option for Luxus and other existing compounders as licencees, allowing them to provide high quality polymers from materials that would otherwise have been destined for landfill or incineration.
The UK and EU polymer processing industry continues to contract, with companies struggling to maintain market share against competition from low cost economies. Whilst energy cost reductions would be welcomed, cycle time and component thickness are key drivers of financial performance, with parts costed as a function of cycle time & machine hourly rate. The Ultramelt system will apply ultrasonic energy into the molten polymer just before it enters the cavity. This can yield as much as 60% temporary reduction in melt viscosity, enabling a significant reduction in melt temperature, saving both heating & cooling energy. The benefits of this are numerous. Melt temperatures could be maintained and the lower viscosity used to enable easier filling of existing parts or design of thinner-walled parts with corresponding reductions in cooling times. Alternatively, the melt temperature could be reduced significantly, while still being able to fill the same mould (due to the reduced viscosity). This technology could enable UK moulders to increase productivity and competitiveness, regain market share and capitalise on new business opportunities.
The automotive industry is striving to reduce vehicle weight and desire to use more recycled polymers. For every kg of polymer
used, 2kg of weight (replaced metal) is saved. This in turn saves 750 litres of fuel over the life of the vehicle. Meanwhile recovered
polymer prices steadily increase making recycled compounds expensive. Recycled polymer compounds are expected to meet
virgin specifications at lower cost yet generally contain more ingredients at higher cost to enable them to achieve the same
performance specification. Our idea is to create a new range of PP compounds using a novel combination of organic fibres and
mineral fillers to achieve the properties required. Use of high performance, low cost organic fibres can reduce cost and compound density, providing a significant reduction in specific cost, while meeting the required properties.