Extrusion International 3-2020

23 Extrusion International 3/2020 Focus on Circular Economy and Recycling In its most recent meeting the Executive Board of IVK Europe (the European Association for Plastics Films and Sheets) con- firmed its commitment to support the Circular Plastics Alliance (CPA) actions and to promote mechanical as well as chemical recycling on its markets. The CPA is an initiative under the European Strategy for Plastics (2018) in particular under Annex III related to voluntary pledges by industry. The objective is to achieve a quantity of 10 million tonnes of recycled polymers to be reused annually by 2025. The declaration was already signed in November 2019. IVK Eu- rope shares the Alliance’s vision and contributes actively to its operational work. On the basis of voluntary pledges, more re- cycled plastics shall be used in the upcoming years. In order to meet the commitment new impulses shall be set by the IVK Europe project for mechanical recycling to separate coatings on the basis of polyester fibers and PVC. Another cor- nerstone in its strategy towards Circular Economy is the par- ticipation in the workshops of VinylPlus, the Sustainability Pro- gramme of the PVC industry, to define the goals of the next decade (2020 to 2030). In its work, the association has been strengthened by the affili- ation of three new members in the coated fabrics sector in the beginning of 2020. IVK Europe: www.ivk-europe.com New ElectroStatic Separator The launch of the new Bunting ElectroStatic Separator is in response to enhanced material separation requirements in the recycling, plastics and minerals industries. The ElectroStatic Separator uses tungsten electrodewire togenerate electrostatic charges to separate dry liberated particles. The new technology significantly broadens separation capabilities, opening up new opportunities for recovering materials from waste and optimis- ingmineral reserves. Bunting is one of theworld’s leadingdesigners andmanufactur- ers of magnetic separators, metal detectors, magnets, magnetic assemblies and magnetising equipment. The Bunting European manufacturing facilities are in Redditch, just outside Birming- ham, and Berkhamsted, both in the United Kingdom. ElectroStatic Separation exploits the difference in electrical con- ductivity between various materials in a feed material to pro- duce a separation. The separation depends on a number of key material characteristics including conductivity, moisture content and size range. In many applications, often due to the fine par- ticle size, the ElectroStatic Separator is the only technology that enables a separation (e.g. -2 mm granulated cable scrap). The technology also replaces less environmentally friendly separa- tion processes such as froth flotation in mineral processing ap- plications (e.g. separation of rutile from silica sand). Bunting www.buntingeurope.com , www.mastermagnets.com In operation, the technology utilises the difference in conduc- tivity between insulators (e.g. plastics) and conductors (e.g. cop- per and aluminium) to obtain a separation on an earthed roll. A vibratory feeder evenly feeds a material mix onto the top of a rotating earthed metal roll. The rotating roll transfers the ma- terial under an electrode bar inducing an electrostatic charge. Non-conductive materials (i.e. insulators) adhere to the earthed roll via an image force, whilst the conductors lose their charge quickly and, under centrifugal force, are discharged. This en- ables a separation. ElectroStatic Separators enable material segregation in plants processingminerals, producing plastics, and recycling secondary metals. Differences in conductivity found in recycled materials and minerals are sufficient to enable excellent levels of separa- tion. Indeed, this includes the separation of metals with differ- ent conductivity. When recycling wires, the technology enables the separation of plastics (insulators) from conductors (Copper and Aluminium), followed by segregation of the two metals. The same principle is used to separate aluminium from plastic when recycling shredded window frames and electric waste (WEEE). The mineral processing industry commonly uses ElectroStatic Separators in conjunction with high intensity magnetic separa- tors such as the Rare Earth Roll Magnetic Separator and Induced Magnetic Roll Separator. This combined separation process is used when processing beach sands. The Bunting ElectroStatic Separator is available as a single or double staged system in feed widths of 500 mm, 1000 mm and 1500 mm to suit a specific application. The Bunting Centre of Excellence in the UK includes a labora- tory-scale model of the new ElectroStatic Separator. Bunting invites companies to arrange for controlled tests to confirm the separation capabilities on a specific sample of material. New ElectroStatic Separator Inside the ElectroStatic Separator