Postindustrial
From Paper-Mill Sludge to Plastic Decking
Kadant Composites’ self-appointed mission for the past eight years has been to find commercial uses for paper sludge, a soggy mix of short cellulose fibers, calcium carbonate, and clay that is the copious byproduct of paper recycling.
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How to Turn Auto Shredder Waste Into 60 Million Lb of Plastic Pellets
While much of the world is studying the possibility of getting any economic value out of auto shredder residue—for example, as fuel for cement kilns or power plants—Europe’s second largest scrap-metal reclaimer cranks out polyolefin and polystyrene pellets made from shredder residue at 20,000 to 100,000 lb/hr, or about 40 million lb/yr.Galloo Plastics, the recycling unit of the Galloo Group in Halluin, France, has been so successful at supplying automotive markets with its black PP compounds that it built a second auto shredder residue (ASR) recycling plant this year next to the first, inside its huge scrap yard.
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Recycled PET/PE Alloys Show Promise In Monofilament, Pallets, Pipe
Alloys of polyethylene and recycled PET were the highlight of the annual SPE Global Plastics Environmental Conference (GPEC) in Detroit in February.
Read MoreFrom NPE 2000: Recycling & Scrap Reclaim
Recycled Resin Prices Flatten OutNew systems to process mixed plastic waste and to upgrade it with fiberglass or wood flour were prominent at last June’s show in Chicago.
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New Granulators Galore at NPE
Processors with scrap to grind must have noticed the prominence of screenless granulators with distinctive hooked “S-rotor” blades at the NPE show in Chicago.
Read MoreNPE Offered Extensive Line-Up Of New Granulators & Shredders
While most of the new granulators shown at NPE 2000 last month were beside-the-press models, there was also an accent on larger units with an appetite for tough hunks of large-diameter PVC pipe, bundles of textile fibers, and wads of molten bottle flash. Many are configured for “difficult” resins from engineering types to soft TP elastomers.
Read MoreIn Auxiliary Equipment--Small Is Big
Auxiliary equipment is shrinking to catch up with a growing market for small precision parts. Dryers, loaders, blenders, grinders, and chillers have all dropped in size for accuracy and fast product changeovers.
Read MoreExtrusion/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 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.
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