The process of plastic grinding and shredding basically describes the process of recovering plastic waste and resins from any manufacturing process. These processes occur, for example, when bottle caps and plastic containers are made. This can include product waste, runners, and flushings that result from plastic molding and extrusion processes that naturally produce waste. Imagine this kind of waste being produced in plastic factories all over the world and you can see the magnitude of the problem. But by re-shredding the plastic, this waste product is simply ground up and added back into the process. Since the plastic open mill material has already been heated and molded once, it is not the same as the raw material. This means that their physical, flow, and chemical properties are slightly different, and as a result, they cannot be completely used to make new parts or bottles. But their value is significant, because they reduce the amount of plastic waste.
Where does plastic waste come from?
There are usually two main sources of material. The first is related to rejected parts, such as those rejected by QC due to inability to meet production requirements. An example would be a bottle cap that has leaked. While these parts are usually considered defective and thrown out as waste from the manufacturing process, they can now enter the plastic recycling loop, where they are ground up in a plastic grinder and shredder and re-used. They are added to the food.
A second source of regrind material comes from the extrusion process, where the scraps of molded plastics are left over from the blow molding machine. When the mold is released, they can be removed and then sent to the mill to be used once more.
Plastic grinder and shredder
High speed plastic crusher is suitable for recycling industry, plastic injection molding and environment. It is very important for granulation of various objects such as plastic, plastic injection molding, extrusion molding, blow molding scraps or runners.
Once the plastic material has been processed, it can be recycled using the regrind process. Used plastic, waste, chips, etc. are fed into the granulator and ground again. Therefore, plastic recycling is an important and useful process. This process plays a significant role in the efficiency of the plastic processing industry. Plastic milling seems like a simple process, however, it has a significant impact on the economic and production aspects of the plastics manufacturing industry.
Plastic regrind
When plastic is used, it becomes waste after a certain period of use. Instead of throwing away plastic waste, it is recycled in the form of granules or pallets to be used again in the production process.
Plastic mills of plastic materials such as ABS, Stal, PE, PET, PP, etc. are used in various industries. If the plastic materials are in good condition before palletizing or granulation, the scope of re-grinding plastic is very large. Let’s discuss why plastic reuse is important in plastic manufacturing industries.
The importance of plastic grinders and shredders
Plastic regrind offers the following benefits to plastic manufacturers and their customers.
Plastic mill saves raw materials. Material recycling increases the use of materials. As virgin resins are produced by burning fossil fuels. Regrind plastic reduces the need to produce virgin resin, which ultimately increases access to fossil fuels.
Recycled and reused plastic costs less than virgin resins. During reuse, plastic waste is mixed with a small portion of virgin resin to restore its properties. The cost of re-grinding is lower than the production of virgin resins. Roughly, using 30% more plastic mill material provides approximately 15% cost savings.
Recycling and reuse of plastic waste reduces non-biodegradable waste.
Reducing the burning of fossil fuels helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
All these advantages of using plastic mill can only be reaped if high quality plastic regrind is used, let’s talk about how to choose high quality plastic for regrind.
Factors to consider when buying a Regrind plastic mill
Buying a high quality plastic grinder can be challenging. The following steps will help you make the right choice.
Degradation Level: Plastic loses its molecular bonding force due to the decrease in molecular weight. This degradation causes further damage to the plastic. Therefore, the amount of grinding should be tested.
During regrinding, the degraded plastic waste is mixed with a calculated amount of virgin resins to obtain the properties of the plastic. Based on degradation, the amount and intensity of virgin resin varies during regeneration. Generally, 15-30% of virgin resin is used for regrinding. During the process, the level of initial degradation and the regenerated capabilities of the plastic must be tested.
Granule size: Granule size is important to consider because during melting, pellet size affects thermal requirements and duration of melting.
External contamination: During regrind, external contamination is a problem. Often, pollutants such as soil, dust, oil, etc. interfere in the granulation process. This leads to a decrease in the quality of the open mill material. Humidity is another factor that causes air bubbles in the product. To ensure quality again, external contamination should be as low as possible.