After three years of research, the European project Life Extruclean has been successfully completed and resulted in an innovative industry-wide process for the decontamination of plastic packaging waste that have contained dangerous substances and mixtures and their recycling.
The effectiveness of the new technology is 70% higher than that of conventional washing processes by achieving the disappearance of 86% of pollutants. In addition, a much more efficient process has been achieved in the consumption of water, cleaning agents and electricity during the recycling process. The new recycled material can be used in the manufacture of new containers for the transport of substances of moderate and low danger, as well as for the transport of non-dangerous substances.
The project, co-financed through the LIFE program of the European Union, is coordinated by AIMPLAS, Technological Institute of Plastic. Also participating are the AIDIMME technology center, the ARVET transformed exporters association, as well as the ACTECO and ENPLAST companies, specializing in the recycling of plastics and the manufacture of packaging, respectively.
Until now, to eliminate the danger accumulated by plastic containers that have contained dangerous substances and mixtures, the triple washing and drying method has been used. It is a treatment that involves the use of large amounts of water, detergents and energy, as well as the generation of wastewater that must receive a specific purification treatment. After this decontamination process, the plastic is usually processed by extrusion, and results in a recycled material for applications with little added value because this treatment affects its performance.
The Life Extruclean project has developed a decontamination process using sc-CO2 (supercritical carbon dioxide) in the extrusion process. The ACTECO company, in collaboration with AIMPLAS, has simplified the current washing and drying processes prior to the extrusion process by implementing the new technology, with the consequent energy and resource savings. The ENPLAST company has obtained different packaging formats with the new recycled material and, together with AIDIMME, has carried out their validation for the final applications. On the other hand, ARVET has coordinated the dissemination activities planned for the duration of the project.
