2016 World Recycling Forum: All systems go
2016 World Recycling Forum: All systems go
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From re-marketable components to plastic scrap, for nations to hit ambitious end-of-life vehicle (ELV) recycling targets such as 95% of materials generated numerous automated recycling techniques will likely need to be in place.
Presenters at a session at the 2016 Word Recycling Forum: Electronics & Cars Recycling, held in Macau, China, in mid-November, provided overviews of automotive components tracking systems, plastic recycling techniques and motor oil recycling methods.
On the plastics frontier, Brian Riise of MBA Polymers Inc., which has plants in Austria, China and the United Kingdom, says all three plants have multi-stage systems that take in a “complex plastics mix from shredded durable goods.” The Austrian and Chinese plants largely deal with shredded electronic scrap mixtures while the U.K. plant processes the mixed nonmetallic fraction of auto shredder residue (ASR).
Even though previous recyclers have tried to extract all the metal before material arrives at MBA plants, the MBA systems nonetheless start with more magnetic treatment to pull out the last remaining bits, not only for the value but to prevent metal from entering the plastics extruding or compounding processes.
He said the stream that heads into MBA’s plant in China consists on average of about 27% HIPS (high impact polystyrene) and 24% ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene), resins commonly used in computer equipment housings. Thus, MBA targets these two resins for identification and separation in the mixed stream.
Secondary resins produced by MBA and downstream reprocessors it works with have been used to make clothes hangers as well as components for printers, coffee makers, vacuum cleaners, desk lamps and office supplies.
Clemens Kitzberger of Austria-based equipment maker EREMA Group GmbH says manufacturers with sustainability and circular economy goals have created ongoing demand for the extruders and other equipment made by his firm.
A typical system to recycle computer housings and other e-scrap components will involve melting the already purified scrap to 130 to 140 degrees Celsius (265 to 285 Fahrenheit), followed by more filtering to help ensure even greater purity. The partially melted pliable scrap is then extruded through a small opening to prepare it for degassing and down-sizing to pellets.
Kitzberger says EREMA has installed systems that create secondary resins that can be used in automotive interior components, irrigation pipes and non-food-contact bottles.
Recycling drained engine oil and other lubricants has been a focus of the Hong Kong-based Dunwell Group for several years. Victor Li of Dunwell says the business can be lucrative for those involved, but auto recyclers who wish to handle their drained oil properly should be wary of some oil recyclers who use “primitive” and “polluting” methods.
Acknowledging that oil is part of the ELV stream at a “relatively small volume” compared to metal or plastic, Li said some 4.8 million tons of end-of-life lubricants are estimated to be generated annually. He said Dunwell has established a process to purify drained oils back into new lubricants, with successful plants set up in Hong Kong, China, Indonesia and Mongolia.
Sin-Won Oh of Recycle Park Co. Ltd. in South Korea says the GParts online network set up by the Korea Auto Dismantlement Recycling Association has helped automate and legitimize the used auto components market in that nation.
Parts sold and purchased on the network may have up to eight photos accompanying their entry, said Oh. One participant in the system, Incheon Salvage, has been able to stock a 5,000 square metre (54,000 square feet) warehouse with parts that can be sold nationwide, he added.
The 2016 Word Recycling Forum: Electronics & Cars Recycling, was organized by Switzerland-based ICM AG and was Nov. 15-18 in Macau, China.
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Source: Recycling Today
2016 World Recycling Forum: All systems go
<![CDATA[From re-marketable components to plastic scrap, for nations to hit ambitious end-of-life vehicle (ELV) recycling targets such as 95% of materials generated numerous automated recycling techniques will likely need to be in place. Presenters at a session at the 2016 Word Recycling Forum: Electronics & Cars Recycling, held in Macau, China, in mid-November, provided overviews of automotive components tracking systems, plastic recycling techniques and motor oil recycling methods. On the plastics frontier, Brian Riise of MBA Polymers Inc., which has plants in Austria, China and the United Kingdom, says all three plants have multi-stage systems that take in a “complex plastics mix from shredded durable goods.” The Austrian and Chinese plants largely deal with shredded electronic scrap mixtures while the U.K. plant processes the mixed nonmetallic fraction of auto shredder residue (ASR). Even though previous recyclers have tried to extract all the metal before material arrives at MBA plants, the MBA systems nonetheless start with more magnetic treatment to pull out the last remaining bits, not only for the value but to prevent metal from entering the plastics extruding or compounding processes. He said the stream that heads into MBA’s plant in China consists on average…