Efficient recycling of plastic waste
The technology comprises the efficient production of recyclable plastics or other plastic fractions from structurally altered plastic waste.
Challenge
Material recycling can be divided into chemical, thermal, and mechanical processes. Chemical processes focus on structural modification of materials with the aim to break them down into their basic building blocks. In thermal plastic recycling, material is incinerated to generate heat or electricity. Mechanical recycling is related to processes, in which all materials are reused in their original form or structure. However, plastic waste is typically exposed to a combination of sunlight and salt and fresh water, resulting in structural material changes (e.g. aging and contamination). Consequently, such plastic materials are often classified as non-recyclable and are usually subjected to thermal recovery, as available technologies would require multi-stage and costly treatment processes for their recyclability.
Our Solution
The present invention comprises a technological process for the efficient production of recyclable plastics from plastics waste, which has been exposed to UV radiation and salt or fresh water for extended periods, resulting in significant aging and contamination. Depending on the size and composition of the plastic waste or other plastic fractions, a pre-shredding process may be involved. The process is carried out with the aim to treat the material and to separate it from the damaged, aged and/or contaminated portion of the material. The process technology delivers 95-98% of mechanically recyclable plastic components. The remaining material can be collected separately and can be used in downstream applications or for energy recovery. The processed recyclate can then be further processed into granulate or compounds using established mechanical recycling methods (e.g. grinding, extrusion and granulation).
Illustration of the present technology for production of recyclable plastics from structurally altered plastic waste(image generated with Perplexity AI).
Advantages
- Economic and resource-efficient production of recyclable plastic recyclate
- High recovery rate of approximately 95-98%
- Mechanical material decontamination
- Additional value streams and contribution to the circular economy
- Integration into available plastic processing lines
- Supply of plastics industry with defined recyclates
- Supplement of exisiting collection and take-back systems for plastic waste
Applications
- Recycling of plastics
- Plastics industry
- Automotive industry
- Construction material industry
- Furniture industry
- Toy industry
Development Status
Prototype in development.
Patent Status
European patent application filed.
Patent holder: Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences (Wolfenbüttel, Germany)
Contact
- Dr. Mirza Mackovic
- Patent & Innovation Manager Technology
- mmackovic@sciencebridge.de
- +49 551 30724 153
- CPA-2648-FHBW
