Technology | sorting
Making advances in plastic bottle and flake sorting
With its origins in the food industries, optical sorting technology is now well established in the plastics recycling business. While visible sorting can separate coloured polymers or labels, advances in near-infrared technology (NIR) now make separating plastics by resin type possible by looking at the wavelength of different material chemistries. Continued improvements in sorting technology are now increasing the accuracy and speed of plastics recycling, providing higher quality recycled plastics streams and enhancing their re-use in the plastics industry. According to Felix Hottenstein, Sales Director of
MSS, the optical sorting division of the CP Group, there are a number of issues influencing new developments in sorting technology for plastics recycling at present. “Firstly, the introduction of new packaging and labelling materials by the large consumer brands are currently the biggest driver for us to simultaneously improve our existing hardware and software or develop new sensing technology,” he says. “This includes new PET-G full-sleeved PET bottles or new tracer materials in PET and other packaging materials that require either upgrades to existing or new sensor platforms. In addition, there is a requirement to sort smaller
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Optical plastics sorting systems can differentiate by colour and chemical signature, raising quality and capacity. The sorting of black plastics is even being addressed by technology developers, writes Mark Holmes
particles and small size containers, which requires the development of better and higher resolution sensor technology. Finally, the sorting of black plastics needs to become more affordable.” The latest products that MSS has developed to meet the needs of the industry include the NIR and colour sensor platforms Cirrus PlasticMax and PurePlastic- Max. Hottenstein adds that tests performed by inde- pendent institutes have shown them to have the best average sorting performance when it comes to detecting new label materials on PET and HDPE bottle
Main image: US-based NRT is offering
bottle sorting technology in Europe in a partnership with Bühler Sortex
June 2017 | PLASTICS RECYCLING WORLD 15
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