Plastic waste separation

The separation and treatment of plastic waste It is the first phase of the recycling process. Plastics require different treatments depending on their nature.

We can classify plastics, according to their origin or previous use, into three large groups: post-consumer, industrial waste and agricultural waste.

The first step of classification and plastic waste separation It is the one that is made from the RIC (Resin Identification Code), an identification code that serves to differentiate the types of plastic according to the resin used in its production.

Plastic separation process

At Promak and thanks to our partners, we have the most advanced technology on the market in the plastic recycling sector. In this initial phase of separation and treatment of plastics, we use different types of machinery that we adapt to the requirements of each project.

  1. The acceleration belt feeds the optical separator with the plastic material to be recycled. The tape is sized to suit our customer's needs.
  2. An optical system with artificial vision technology recognizes the types, colors and/or shapes of plastics.
  3. Once recognized, a system of valves separates the waste with compressed air following the criteria of the optical system. And so we can obtain the separation of the plastic that we want to classify from the rest.
  4. The material outlet of this equipment will be connected to other belt(s) and the plastic will continue its recycling process with the "crushing" phase.. // LINK

Plastic waste separation techniques

Optical separators can use different sorting technologies:

  • NIR technology, for separation by composition
  • RGB technology, for color separation
  • Artificial intelligence (Deep Learning) for separation according to physical characteristics or shape.

Optical separators are versatile equipment that can be configured using a touch screen to be able to process different materials with the same machine, simply by adjusting the classification program according to the type of plastic to be processed.

Artificial Intelligence and Artificial Vision in the separation of plastics

In the identification task plastic separation, artificial intelligence and computer vision play a fundamental role. These cutting-edge technologies applied to the industrial and recycling context help us to optimize and automate processes.

Artificial vision is the technology responsible for identifying a material through optical systems. Artificial Intelligence (Deep Learning) is a combination of algorithms that allows machines to have intelligent behavior to act appropriately for different situations. The machine is trained through machine learning to be able to recognize the different patterns.

What plastic waste can we recycle?

We are specialized in the following materials:

PET

Separation of Bottles vs. Trays or others

HDPE

Separation of HDPE Bottles vs Silicone Tubes vs Films or others

BRICK

Separation of Briks vs others

FILM

Separation of Film vs Bottles or others

CSR

Separation of PVC and other impurities

OTHER PLASTICS

Separation of polystyrene PVC vs others

Although we have extensive knowledge of the plastic recycling sector. For other applications, our technical team can study the best solution.

Plastic waste separation techniques

At Promak we help our clients to efficiently develop plastic recycling and its corresponding separation process in each phase.

In the qualifying phase, PICVISA offers us its innovative technology in plastic separation machinery, such as the ECOPACK optical separator in its different configurations to adapt to the specific needs of each client.

With more than 20 years of experience in the recycling sector and specialization in plastic recycling, Promak's advice allows you to create, optimize or extend the recycling chain, simplifying and customizing the entire process.