PVC scrap has gone

The European Union made a regulation a few years ago: From March 2000 until 2010, all companies in Europe that produce PVC (polyvinyl chloride) are obliged to recycle 300,000 tons of PVC scrap every year and treat it as raw material or again. use.

However, writing in black and white is easy and it is not so simple to implement. After two years have passed, only a small part of the used window frames, PVC tubes, and floor leathers have been disposed of. The vast majority still use the simple landfill method to perform the so-called treatment. In particular, PVC composite wastes, such as cables, floor leathers, and automotive parts, have so far failed to find effective treatment methods.

Today, P VC scrap has finally gone. The Salvay Group of Belgium invented a new method of processing PVC waste materials, namely "ethylene recycle" technology. This technology can not only process composite PVC waste materials, but also produce high-value recycled PVC. The "ethylene recycle" technology utilizes the PVC feature (selective solubility) to separate the PVC from other materials to produce recycled materials that rival the new PVC. Recently, the group has cooperated with Italy’s Volla to build the first “Ethylene Circulation” plant. This 12 million Euro facility will have an annual capacity of 15,000 tons of waste cables and will receive 10,000 tons of recycled materials. P VC. "Ethylene recycle" technology is divided into three processes. First, about 2 tons of used cables were crushed into granules of 3 to 4 mm in size. These small pieces were then added to a sealed container, heated to 130 degrees Celsius, and treated under a pressure of 3 bar for 20 minutes. About 99% of the cables were separated at this time, and metal, rubber, and other materials were sent to the sump. The key to handling the cable is the proportion of the solution: 85% potassium peroxide (M EK), an organic, chlorine-free, biodegradable liquid and a small amount of other solvents. The second step is to filter the dissolved mixture and filter out the impurities in the mixture. The third step is to inject the filtered mixture into two reaction tanks and inject the steam into the liquid. Steam can precipitate the PVC. Because the plastic does not dissolve in water, it forms azeotropes with M EK but cools and separates again. The precipitated PVC has been dried to produce 300-500 mm particles. The quality is not different from the new P VC material, but the price is only one third of the new material. In addition, M EK solvents can be reused for more than one year. The price per one ton of P VC is between 250 and 450 Euros.

It is far more cost-effective to use equipment from Italy's Volla. If the additional electronic separation device to be put into operation next month is successful, the processing cost can be further reduced. Of course, if you have a ready-made steam source and you don't have to burn steam yourself, it will be more cost-effective to handle it. According to reports, Germany will build 2 sets of such processing equipment in the Bayer and Reinburg districts since 2004, mainly dealing with waste PVCs such as cables, floor leather, and window frames. In addition, countries such as France, the United States, Japan, and Canada are also interested in this equipment.

From the policy point of view, PVC production companies should earnestly fulfill their commitment to waste PVC processing volume. However, if politicians only stipulate in law and do not support it in action, it is also a headache for PVC manufacturers.