Sustainable method to grind plastic scraps for more efficient end use as additives
- Vol.103(2), June
- New York Springer 2022
- 341-348p.
A new method to grind polyethylene-terephthalate (PET) plastics scraps to sizes of 0.5 mm–2.0 mm or less to be more efficiently used as additives has been successfully developed. A device was designed and tested for grinding performance, with a maximum output weight grinding rate of about 12.0 g/min operating at 1,500 rpm and with feed volume of 500 ml and a maximum operational capacity of 650 ml. A cost comparison with an alternative industrial scale grinder was performed. A scenario involving the complete replacement every two years of the new prototype (maximum cost) shows that for year 1 its cost is around 1.6 times less than an industrial scale option (minimum cost), while for the end of life term (year 20), it is at least 5.0 times less costly than the industrial scale grinder; which corroborates that at all times the new prototype is the lowest cost option. Although few drawbacks from the initial design of the new prototype were encountered and then remediated, the new grinding device performs acceptably. The size-reduced PET particles can be immediately added to some asphalt blends for enhancing the blends´ properties and durability. The new plastic scraps grinding method guarantees a sustainable process as it is cost effective, easy to operate, safe and ensures an implicit reduction in the environmental impact. It can be potentially tested for other types of plastic or mixtures and can be scaled to process bigger loads of plastic scraps.