Sustainable Plastics - March/April 2023 - 22

recycling
Filtration technology
that does the job
As demand for recycled PET rises, brands are turning to waste sources that would
previously not have been considered. To keep pace with this development, Fimic
has steadily worked to create new filter solutions that can handle the challenges
posed by these more contaminated PET waste streams.
result has been an increasingly
heated competition for available
rPET.
Fimic's RAS technology
A filter that is up to the task
P
olyethylene terephthalate,
more
commonly simply
called PET, is widely
used worldwide in many different
applications. Light, strong,
durable, and safe, PET offers a
number of advantages over other
commonly used plastics. Its
performance and recyclability
make it one of the more sustainable
choices among packaging
materials. PET, both virgin and
recycled, is food-contact-approved
throughout the EU, as
well as many other countries,
although its applications go far
beyond food packaging alone.
PET is a popular choice in
sectors that run the gamut from
the beverage, pharmaceutical,
and medical industries to clothing
and the automotive branch.
70% of carbonated soft drinks,
fruit juices, dilutable drinks and
bottled water containers are
made from PET.
PET can be recycled nearly
infinitely, and because it
can be reprocessed into new,
high-quality products, it also
lowers the need for virgin PET.
The carbon footprint of recycled
PET products is up to 90%
smaller than conventionally
produced products from virgin
PET. PET, therefore, is an import
enabler of the circular economy.
22
March/April 2023
New capacity
Rising rPET demand and prices
are incentivising investments in
new recycling capacity. Europe
has seen a 21% increase in the
installed capacity for PET recycling,
according to a report
by Plastics Recyclers Europe,
Petcore Europe, Natural Mineral
Water Europe, and UNESDA
Soft Drinks Europe. At the same
time, global rPET capacity is
forecast to boom over the next
five years.
This 'run' on rPET has led
Handles even the most
contaminated material
Feedstock competition
There is, however, another side
to PET's success story. Over
the past few years, increasingly,
major brands - traditionally
heavy users of PET packaging
- are being held accountable
for the carbon footprints of their
products and operations. Mitigating
actions, like packaging
redesign and lightweighting,
have been implemented by
many, aimed at driving down
their virgin plastics consumption
and increasing reusability.
Minimum targets for the use of
recycled content have been set.
The implementation of these
and other measures has been
fuelled by the looming new regulations
and taxes on packaging,
single-use and otherwise,
in the EU and elsewhere. The
producers of PET packaging
products - both food-contact
and non-food-contact applications
- to look for new feedstock
sources instead of relying
on hot-washed bottle flakes
only. This has, inevitably, led to
the use of more contaminated
PET waste streams.
It is a development that Italy-based
melt filter expert Fimic
has to some extent anticipated.
The company's melt filters
are recognized as among the
best for use with contaminated
post-consumer plastics. To
achieve high-quality recycled
plastics from more contaminated
waste streams, automatic
technologies are needed to
filter out impurities and contaminations
from the melt flow.
Fimic has been working many
years to improve its filtration
technologies in order to be
able to continue to meet and
satisfy the needs - in terms
of quality, different materials -
of recyclers and to expand its
technology to applications that
previously did not require the
use of continuous scraping melt
filters 'such as, precisely, PET',
the company pointed out.
Continuous scraping
filters prove their worth
Fimic has already installed two
RAS-type scraping filters on
PET recycling lines designed to
handle more contaminated PET
waste streams - PET lumps
from petrochemical waste, or
strapping production waste,
which can consist of both fibers
and PET straps. In such cases,
the contamination level of the
input material is way higher
than the typical 'ppm' contaminations
used for food-grade applications,
even reaching levels
as high as 5%.
The benefits and advantages
of a continuous scraping filtration
were significant. In the first project,
the RAS filter was installed
as a pre-filter (applied filtration
was 150 or 120 microns on laser
screen); in the second project, it
was the only filtration step (applied
filtration was 80 microns on
laser screen). The output performances
were excellent: respectively
2,000 kg/h and 700 kg/h,
at very different and sometimes
inconsistent iV levels.
Not just PET
Fimic has also seen an uptick
in the number of units installed
for the recycling of soft PVC . Its
melt filters have been found to
be 'a winning choice' for PVC,
the company said. The sensitivity
of PVC during the recycling
process means care is needed:
these filters allow the material
to flow without stagnating and
therefore without degrading.
The company is also continuing
to work on developments for recycling
this material. Fimic also
is currently testing an alternative
solution for hard PVC - one of
the most degradation-sensitive
as well as the stiffest material in
the recycling market.
Sustainable Plastics - March/April 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Sustainable Plastics - March/April 2023
