PET | TECHNOLOGY


Working hard on PET recycling innovations


Suppliers in the PET recycling sector continue to innovate in the areas of sorting, reprocessing, controls and more. Mikell Knights discovers what’s new


The latest technological innovations in PET recy- cling target a number of issues, including more contaminated waste streams, non-bottle waste sources and product quality. In machinery, there is a new flake-to-preform process that reduces thermal heat history, a new launch in the optical sorting arena, and upgrades to technology along the PET recycling chain. Sorting technology developer Tomra has launched a new system for high throughput purification of plastic flakes with enhanced features that enable simultaneous sorting by polymer, colour and transparency, to achieve a high-quality sort even from highly contaminated material inputs, according to Alberto Piovesan, Global Segment Manager Plastics. Its new Innosort Flake unit takes mixed plastic


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fractions from a comingled waste stream that has been shredded and washed, sorting the material into clean fractions of PET, PP, PE, and other materials that meet the quality requirements for extrusion and the creation of high-quality post- consumer recycled (PCR) content. “If an operator wants to purify PET this month and produce a clean blue PP next month, it is technically possible with the new machine,” says Piovesan. The new Innosort Flake unit incorporates an advanced near-infrared (NIR) spectrometer and a powerful sensor combination to precisely detect various polymer types, giving access to more recyclable materials that otherwise would be lost or downcycled for lower grade applications, says Piovesan. The unit also features enhanced optics, with a


November/December 2023 | PLASTICS RECYCLING WORLD 19


IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK


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