1 research outputs found
Experimental investigation of the productivity of a wet separation process of traditional and bio-plastics
The separation process within a mechanical recycling plant plays a major role in the
context of the production of high-quality secondary raw materials and the reduction of extensive
waste disposal in landfills. Traditional plants for plastic separation employ dry or wet processes
that rely on the different physical properties among the polymers. The hydraulic separator is a
device employing a wet technology for particle separation. It allows the separation of two-polymer
mixtures into two products, one collected within the instrument and the other one expelled through
its outlet ducts. Apparatus performance were analyzed as a function of fluid and solid flow rates, flow
patterns developing within the apparatus, in addition to the density, shape, and size of the polymers.
For the hydraulic configurations tested, a two-way coupling takes place where the fluid exerts an
influence on the plastic particles and the opposite occurs too. The interaction between the solid and
liquid phases determines whether a certain polymer settles within the device or is expelled from the
apparatus. Tests carried out with samples of increasing volumes of solid particles demonstrate that
there are no significant differences in the apparatus effectiveness as far as a two-way interaction takes
place. Almost pure concentrates of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC),
and Polycarbonate (PC) can be obtained from a mixture of traditional polymers. Tests conducted on
Polylactic Acid (PLA) and Mater-Bi® samples showed that the hydraulic separator can be effectively
employed to separate bio-plastics from conventional plastics with remarkable grade and recovery