rPlanet Earth, a new company specializing in closed-loop recycling of plastic waste, has started a global large-scale vertical integrated recycling production plant project to convert PET packaging waste directly into recycled PET products comparable to raw PET materials.
Located in Vernon, Calif., with an area of 302,000 square feet (28,060 square meters), the facility collects a variety of bottles, plastic boxes and other packaging waste, then through a series of sorting and cleaning processes, and crushes the waste into thin slices. , after strict washing and decontamination treatment, and according to the needs of the end use, enhance the intrinsic viscosity of the material, and finally process it into food grade board, thermoformed container and injection molded preform. The new rPlanet Earth factory every year. Can handle 80 million pounds of waste (36,290 metric tons).
So far, the total investment of the project has reached 100 million US dollars. Robert Daviduk, co-president of rPlanet Earth, said that the factory will add a top-down one-stop production line in the next two years, 'We have invested in the corresponding equipment and other facilities. , will double the existing capacity by then. ' Robert Daviduk said. 'We plan to build three or more new workshops in other parts of the United States, and may also set up workshops in other countries.'
In addition to recycling PET waste, rPlanet Earth is also striving to achieve other sustainability goals, said co-president Joseph Ross. 'Our recycled PET packaging products are not only comparable in appearance, purity and physical properties to finished products made from raw PET, carbon footprint It is also 60% lower than the original resin package and 20% lower than other recycled PET packaging products. He added that the data is calculated by the material collection, packaging, transportation and production processes in the workshop. Out. 'In addition, we recycle 90% less water per ton of production than PET resin workshops.'
Vernon's range of state-of-the-art recycling and polymer processing systems includes three Welex block lines supplied by Graham Engineering Corporation, equipped with EDI extrusion dies and BKG melt transfer devices from Nordson Corporation.
Recycling and recycling process
After the bales entering the rPlanet Earth workshop are separated into separate bottles and thermoformed containers, multiple sorting processes are performed. Magnetization sorters remove debris such as wires; near-infrared scanners identify PET materials and other polymers Separation, and additional sorting steps classify PET materials by color.
Next, go into the drying process and press the material into a thin sheet. In this step, pay attention to waterproofing, because water can carry ink and adhesive, which will affect the quality of recycled PET products. The first participation of water is when the material is moved into the recycling tank. In the previous washing process, during this process, the PET material with higher density than water sinks, and the labels, adhesives and other impurities are removed.
In the final process, the flakes are fed into a Krones MetaPure reactor at a temperature of 200 and vacuum. The SSP raises the viscosity of the recycled PET material to different standards depending on the intended use.
rPlanet Earth uses its own plastic processing line to skip the granulation step and add value to the flakes. 'By bypassing the granulation step, the appearance of the product can be prevented from being damaged, because the color effect of the melting process can be completely avoided. 'Daviduk Mr. said. 'Our customers are looking for products made from real closed loop recycling systems.' He said that rPlanet Earth can provide 100% sheet of recycled PET, thermoformed packaging products and models, depending on whether the customer is It is required to contain a certain proportion of the original PET material.
The company currently operates seven plastic processing lines, including two injection molding systems for production models, three Welex extrusion systems for the production of thin sheets for commercial coils, or two large Lyle thermoforming machines for use in the workshop. rPlanet Thermoformed products produced by Earth may include drinking cups, production of packaging materials and plastic boxes, and the final production of any other food-grade thermoformed packaging products currently made of PET.
The three Welex sheet lines from Graham Engineering include extruders up to 74 feet (190 cm) wide and capable of co-extruding; XSL Navigator controls compatible with the automation system in the workshop, Nordson's BKG HiCon screen changer, BlueFlow gear pumps, static mixers and Nordson's EDI Ultraflex sheet metal molds. Graham Engineering also supplies scanners, edge repair systems, winders and other equipment.
'We spent a lot of time researching various plastic processing equipment suppliers, and finally chose Graham Engineering because of their outstanding technical capabilities, engineering skills and excellent design, as well as their Converge CTS (conical twin screw) Technology, simpler and more refined than traditional twin-screw technology. ' Ross said. 'The choice to join the Nordson device is a joint decision between us and Graham Engineering. The online backflush function of the BKG screen changer is particularly attractive because of this Automated cleaning features prevent downtime caused by dust accumulation on the screen. In addition, Nordson has extensive experience in the processing of PET sheets, making their EDI molds far superior to other mold suppliers.