Search for European Projects

Enhanced recycling of post-consumer film waste from light packaging by automatic sorting of trapped improper and degradable polymers (FILMSORT)
Start date: Sep 1, 2012, End date: Aug 31, 2015 PROJECT  FINISHED 

Post-consumer waste film recyclers that produce pellets are facing a situation in which entering material quality is penalised due to the fact that selection plants are receiving polymers different to LDPE that are unable to classify out of the film fraction. Traditionally the existence of improper polymers has been a problem and nowadays the increasing presence of biodegradable polymers is a critical point since these materials tend to take moisture up and degrade at typical extrusion temperatures for the LDPE film. The proposed solution is to develop identification equipment based on technologies, computer vision and/or spectroscopy, for the recognition of different film types and develop suitable devices for sorting them in order to enrich the LDPE fraction and separate the other materials at recycler facilities.Objectives are associated to the conceptualization, design, construction and validation of the identification and pilot plant for film sorting. One objective set is the development of specific parts, the sensors and actuators, which will be mounted as modules on the main structure used on currently marketed systems of the recognition and selection plants. Other objective set is to incorporate the adaptations to the specific features of the waste plastic films (nature, morphology, weight, size, density, etc.) that will request to characterise several waste films, expand the polymer database to new materials and adjust/change identification and/or sorting devices. The run of waste film classification tests and their analysis in terms of achieved results is another objective set that will be used as feedback for new adjustments. The last objective set is the characterisation of the plastic materials and the manufacture of products.
Up2Europe Ads

Coordinator

Details

2 Partners Participants