What can be used for foam recycling?

 Waste plastic foam is also a source of recycled plastics, and all plastics basically have the value of recycling. The amount of foam plastics is very large. If discarded, it will not only waste precious plastic raw materials, but also pollute the environment. Recycling plastic foam not only turns waste into treasure, but also benefits the environment.

There are two methods of traditional foam treatment: landfill and incineration.

Landfill: Because of the macromolecular structure, waste plastics are not easy to decompose and rot after being discarded, and are light in weight and large in size. They can fly with the wind or float in the water when exposed to the air. Therefore, people often use hilly recesses or natural depressions to build landfills and sanitary landfills. The sanitary landfill method has the characteristics of low construction investment and low operating cost. It has long been a method of disposal of waste plastics widely used in countries all over the world. However, landfill treatment has serious shortcomings: plastic waste has a large area due to its low density and large volume, which increases the burden of land resources.

Incineration: Incineration and recovery of heat energy is another main method of waste plastic treatment. The treatment method of incineration of waste plastics has the advantages of large processing volume, low cost, and high efficiency. Compared with direct landfilling, incineration treatment effectively utilizes waste plastics and has turned waste into treasure. But incineration treatment also has many shortcomings: with changes in plastic varieties and incineration conditions, waste plastics will produce polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon compounds, carbon monoxide and other harmful substances during incineration. For example, PVC will produce HCL and polyacrylonitrile will produce HCN. And so on, these substances have caused pollution to the environment. Waste plastics also contain heavy metal compounds such as cadmium and lead. During the incineration process, these heavy metal compounds will be emitted along with smoke and incineration residues, which will also pollute the environment.

The foam is compressed by the  Greenmax EPS recycling machine, and the volume of the foam is reduced to one-fifth or one-90th of the original volume, which easily solves the problem of difficulty in foam recycling. 

Machine builders and plastic processors

Three years of the rubber and plastics industry science and technology feast K exhibition will be held October 19 -26 at the Messe Düsseldorf exhibition center in Germany. K 2016 will showcase the six largest polymer technologies in the plastics and rubber industry, including customized materials, efficient use of resources, zero defect manufacturing, lightweight, digital (industrial 4.0) and upwood manufacturing.

Trend 1: Customized materials for a specific application or performance
Current industrial polymer materials are increasingly being "mutated", "incremented" and "functionalized" to meet specific application or performance requirements.
Such as food or water in direct contact with the material or medical materials, the characteristics of the polymer have certain requirements. Cosmetics require materials that are chemically resistant and electronic or lighting systems require materials that can withstand continuously varying peak temperatures while maintaining stable performance. Many applications will require tunable electrical or resistive as well as thermal conductivity.
Many applications require tunable electrical conductivity or resistivity in addition to tunable thermal conductivity.
In addition, electric vehicles also require efficient tires, improve friction and reduce rolling resistance, other applications in the vicinity of the internal combustion engine rubber must also withstand the operating environment of continuous warming, but also must have corrosion resistance.
These specific applications require compound processors to tailor the formulation and to customize the material.

Trend 2: More efficient use of resources
At present, the responsible use of limited resources and restrictive consumption is not only a popular expression of the popular slogan, but also an economic needs.

Manufacturers of large-scale processing machines such as injection molding machines, compression molding machines, extruders and blown film machines have made every effort to find opportunities to reduce the energy consumption of machines. The EUROMAP 60 standard, which measures the energy consumption of the machine, provides the processor with some guidance.
For some cases where energy consumption is unavoidable, machine builders have developed components that can save energy during machining, such as slowing down the machine and speeding up the machining process. The heat recovery system is standard on new equipment and is also being reused on a wide range of existing equipment.
Manufacturers of large-scale processing equipment have used composites and systems to achieve less energy consumption and higher production efficiencies.
Many machine and equipment manufacturers are beginning to realize the importance of energy efficiency and availability of materials that are not simply energy-efficient, but also contribute to the overall energy efficiency of processors.
In addition, the reduction of mold replacement time is also an effective way to improve energy efficiency. Rapid clamping systems, quick-change systems, and the ability to automatically detect any new installed mold adapter can increase the effectiveness of the machine while expanding the supplier's product range.
At K 2016, visitors can see how different types of machines can achieve resource efficiency, such as hot runner technology for injection molding of thermoplastics and cold runner technology for injection molding of elastomers (rubber injection molding).

Trend 3: zero defect production, saving materials
"Zero defect production" aims to maximize the reduction of valuable waste of raw materials, which is the goal of many plastic processors. For example, the elimination of edge decoration materials, automatic reduction of plastic film, sheet and profiles and rubber seal thickness tolerance, will effectively improve the efficiency of the extrusion process.
Good simulation and data analysis in the production process will help prevent the production of defective products. Injection molding process, in the production process according to quality standards for product defects in the automatic detection. If defect detection can only be carried out in the final product, it will only be detected more by means of an optical system such as a video camera.

Trend 4: Lightweight
In transportation, light weight is widely recognized as the key to reducing energy and fuel. Plastic machinery manufacturers, manufacturers of plastics and reinforcements, research institutes and plastic processors are working on large-scale production of lightweight components, particularly in the automotive and aircraft sectors.
In order to achieve mass production of lightweight components, special production methods, particularly reaction and injection molding technology, need to be integrated together to find the right solution.

Lightweight plastics or fiber composites, and polymer materials with matrix polystyrene recycling reinforcement fibers and substrates for fast production of weight-optimized components with maximum processability.
Light weight is the development trend of the automobile.
In addition, K 2016 will show metallic plastic blends and polymer fiber reinforcements. Thermoplastics, thermosets, and bio-based polyurethane substrates are being blended with glass, carbon and other synthetic or natural fibers to meet the requirements of modern applications. Substrate materials must meet flame retardant regulations, but also need to provide superior mechanical properties and fluidity, and fiber and matrix materials must provide adequate bonding properties.
Visitors can also see the multi-stage production process of lightweight components, including automated processing of reinforcing fibers and flexible materials.

Trend 5: Digitization (Industry 4.0)
In the production process using digital equipment, that is, popular "Industrial 4.0", allowing plastic processors to analyze production data, information gathering and intelligent production.
In the long run, the data collected in the actual production process will also be used to adapt to the day-to-day operational requirements of production equipment such as machines, robots, dies and dies, and to optimize their design.
The digitization improves the production process and improves the production efficiency. Molds now offer different options for the design of injection molded parts and the combination of structural material properties. The accumulation of information will be more conducive to improving the collection of digital production, and better achieve the production process and temperature control.
As a result, simulation and intensive feedback between production and R & D have become increasingly important. In general, many suppliers are working to meet growing production needs, strengthen IT and traditional production technology, close cooperation between, in order to improve the transparency of the production process.

The latest man-styrofoam recycling machine interface allows users to more intuitive operation, to achieve industrial control tasks.
Machine and software manufacturers will present the latest concepts and products on K 2016, such as how to speed up the production start-up process, increase the flexibility of the production process, and preventive maintenance service products, parts supply and quality management.
The new IT technology has also had a positive impact on modern plastics processing machinery control systems. Keyboards, buttons and switches have been gradually replaced by a more flexible and structured multi-touch tablet. These tablets typically come with a common central compression control element for modern cars.
The new classic man-machine interface will provide some more intuitive operation, with the smart phone operation similar to the iPad and Tablet PC can also be used for industrial control tasks.
Machine builders and plastic processors are very fond of this new approach. Easy-to-use control systems attract new employees for the company. These new systems will also help companies train new employees and tap new career opportunities in fast-growing and promising industries.

Trend 6: small batch of material by manufacturing
The concept of lean storage and zero inventory delivery have allowed small batch production to emerge. While small batches of materials are currently limited to amorphous thermoplastics and can not be used with fillers and reinforcements, it is still intriguing, especially as modern consumer tastes and fashion concepts are closely linked to weather changes. Plastic products Personalized production will bring new challenges and opportunities for the rubber industry.

Turn waste plastic bottles into useful household items

A student from the University of the West of England, Josh James, has developed a tool that can turn waste plastic bottles into useful household items. Today, Josh James received an award from the industry for his product, Melt, a tool that converts plastic into household items such as coasters, cups, chopping boards, plant pots and so on.

Made of waste plastic pen, chopping board and other products
The product won the first prize in the New Designers Awards 2016, which is now available in one of the polystyrene densifier industry's leading online malls. Melt contains a mold and a welding device, very easy to get started. As long as the HDPE plastic cut into small pieces, and in the oven after melting, you can make any desired thing. That is to say, once a plastic melts, it can be made by hand, other colorful supplies.
James developed the styrofoam recycling product at the age of 21 and was the last school year in college.

Waste EPS recycling industry

The village is not even a market, restaurants or equipment dealers are not. There were only shabby warehouses with bark fence piles of bunks of bunks, piles of plastic buckets, and a stack of plastic baskets.
The driver turned a corner in a warehouse at the corners of the warehouse, there is a graffiti phone number outside the warehouse, and then stopped in front of a small office building, next to a shiny black BMW car. Although we are on the way to see a variety of waste plastic recycling industry scene, but the village is very quiet, almost as quiet as the wild. Distant roar of the machine and the birds sound almost.

Out of the car, a man greeted me, I call him Mr. Hu., aged 50 years old, is the boss of this waste plastic processing factory that we visited. He wore a big Rolex watch and a gray overcoat. I noticed that the workers were wearing shorts. Most were naked, and only a few were wearing sweatshirts. Mr. Hu is handsome, red in the face; workers are skinny, prominent eyes.
Opposite the dusty streets, the workers started a small plastic shredder to cut the waste plastic basket that Mr. Hu imported from Thailand into pieces for recycling.
Mr. Hu told us that he has been engaged in waste EPS recycling industry has been more than 20 years, but this factory was established seven years ago. He owns 90% of the shares, other "investors" have 10%. He led us into an open-air yard where five workers (three of them naked teenagers) were sorting a pile of waste plastics imported from the United States. It was difficult to identify what the waste plastics were, And part of it has become fragmented. I asked Mr. Hu what the waste plastic was shredding. He shrugged: "It could be a plastic box, or some part of a car.
I saw the workers pouring the plastic pieces into the corrosive metal cistern and then using a rotating metal filter to clean the blended plastics and then dry them on a tarpaulin. When the workers finish the work, they collect the excess garbage and cleaning agents, either sell them to others or throw them in the rubbish pits on the edge of the village.
Perhaps not noticed, perhaps we come is not the time, anyway, there is no safety equipment, there is no protective masks, helmets and steel boots; in fact, including Mr. Hu, most people are wearing sandals.
I looked at Josh, he looked back at me: "This is really too bad.
"Today we have only one extruder," Mr. Hu told us, "here."
We walked into a relatively bright room, about 12 meters long, 6 meters wide. The room had a metallic and chemical odor. The middle of a very long styrofoam recycling machine, the length of about half the length of the room. A worker at one end of the machine to a box of plastic debris poured into a desktop-sized funnel-like objects, the plastic inside is slowly melting. I could see the hot air and the smoke from the plastic melted to the front of the worker. At the same time, the plastic solution flowed into the 3-meter-long tube, and the machine spit out the gray bars of the 15 pencil bars.
This machine works in much the same way as noodles. The only difference is that plastic "noodles" will be cut into 6 mm size pellets and then bagged to the manufacturer.

Waste plastic bottles

The US team will compete with the Serbian team gold medal in the current Olympic Games, as the world's top basketball teams, the US team not only has superior strength of the coach and player, behind the same level of technical support, which is reflected from the jersey , Waste plastic bottles as raw materials, combined with high-tech manufacturing process, so that the jersey for the US team defending help.

Plastic bottles after disinfection and other related processes, the steam technology to cut into thin slices, and then through the formation of the technology used in the manufacture of jersey yarn dissolving, which is the main process of plastic bottles change jerseys.

Of course, the US team jersey is not just plastic PET bottles second use of waste to treasure so simple, there are many subtle visible high-tech. "When we perform a major jersey manufacturing project, we first have to communicate with the athletes to understand their ideas," jersey manufacturer's representative Michel - Miller said.

A special research team to test and analysis, such as players in the game sweat situation is the focus of the study. "During the test, they sweat the players by raising the temperature, and then observing the distribution of sweat," Miller said. "Find out where the sweat is concentrated by the test results."

In addition, the player's lower body is also easy to sweat, manufacturers in the ball pants on the design of ventilation holes to enhance air flow. It is reported that the US Olympic team jersey and the 2008 Olympic Games, compared to 51% lighter, breathability increased by 35%.

Subtle tend to see the designer's intentions, jersey number using laser piercing technology, the ball behind the pants with a small velvet, this is easy to wipe the players, the players are always used to play the game sweat wipe In the ball pants, with this small piece of velvet, wipe on the convenience of more comfortable.

Plastic bottles have become the main raw material, accounting for jersey raw materials this year, the proportion of up to 96%, the EPS recycling machine manufacturer has reserves of 3 billion plastic bottles for jersey manufacturing. If the US team beat Serbia in the final win, it is plastic bottles into gold, which is the power of science and polystyrene recycling technology.

2015 Chinaplas Plastic Foam Recycling Machine | Greenmax

EPS recycling machine - Greenmax

ZEUS C200

Throughput: 200kg/h capacity
Screw Reduction Ratio: 50:1
Compressed EPS Density: 200-400kg/m3
Total Power Consumption: 26.05kw

Polyethylene Foam Recycling By Melting

MARS C100

Throughput 100kg/h
EPS Compression Ratio: 90:1
Compressed EPS Density: 600-800kg/m3
Motor Power: 37.5kw

GreenMax EPS Recycling System (EPS Waste Crushing,Washing,Drying,Silo an...

GreenMax EPS Styrofoam Compactor