Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online
Researchers from AK Inovex have developed a new technology that, unlike most conventional plastic recycling techniques, does not require the use of water and could also be used to process materials such as styrofoam, polystyrene and ABS (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene).
The technology was developed by AK Invoex founder Marco Adame, and in a statement, officials there claim that it can process over 90 percent of plastic types without producing waste water. In addition, they claim that is can cut production cost by 50 percent without reducing the overall quality of the recycles plastic pellets by avoiding severe temperature changes.
Adame explained that the traditional process through which these recycled beads are obtained involve the washing and grinding of plastic containers. However, this type of plastic becomes hygroscopic, meaning that it retains moisture at a molecular level when it comes in contact with water, so it has to be dehydrated so that it can be crystallized.
This process requires applying heat at 180 degrees Celsius and then cooling the material with water. The new AK Inovex process, however, performs these steps without water, instead going directly to the formation of the recycled beads. As a result, the company said that 50 percent less energy consumption is used, and less physical space is required to perform the operation.
They also claim that the method produces better quality pellets and makes the recycling process more profitable. Adame said that AK Inovex currently has “a pending patent registration of the three technologies that integrate the development, which are responsible for cooling the plastic through contact with special walls and form the plastic beads.”
The company also said that the technology is advantageous because it can process any type of plastic, including styrofoam, polystyrene, PET and ABS. This is achieved because of a special piece for each type of material in the mechanism, they explained. Currently, it can produce two tons of plastic beads, but the team said that it is currently working on upping that to 10 tons.
Over the course of the next year, the company said that it want to add an ecological washing machine for plastics that uses a special biodetergent, which will further reduce the cost of the operations. These announcements were made by Adame during the 2014 Cleantech Challenge Mexico, a contest design to promote the development of green companies in that country.
During that event, he said that his company had gotten in contact with the ALINSA group, a manufacturer of environmentally friendly cleaning products using biodegradable chemicals. The two companies are reportedly looking to join forces on an ecological washing machine system that uses degradable plastic substances as a replacement for lye.
Last summer, researchers from India revealed a process in which some plastic polymers could be converted into liquid fuel. The low-temperature process used waste comprised of low-density polyethylene (LDPE), a common polymer used to make plastic bags, medical equipment and computer components, in order to develop a liquid fuel that could be an oil substitute.
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