Plastics recycling is growing, and so is the role of Eriez

Significant investments to expand plastics recycling capacity in the United States and beyond are continually being made. Magnetic separation equipment maker Eriez finds its role in the emerging sector growing in tandem.

At material recovery facilities (MRFs) around the world, Eriez magnetic drums and eddy current separator (ECS) units engage in the crucial sorting of metal from plastic containers. Later in the plastics reprocessing stages—shredding, flaking and extruding—powerful Eriez equipment comes into play to identify and separate contaminants.

“Eriez equipment has been an integral mainstay in the plastics recycling industry for several decades now,” says Chris Ramsdell, product manager-separation and recycling at Eriez.

“Eriez magnetic separators can be used to recover any ferrous contaminants that may be present and detrimental to [chemical recycling] processes.” –Chris Ramsdell, product manager, separation and recycling, Eriez

MRF investments increasingly focus on harvesting in-demand polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles and other types of plastic with growing end markets.

“At these facilities, the infeed is mixed [steel, aluminum, paper, plastic, etc.] and requires multiple stages of separation equipment to isolate these materials,” Ramsdell says. “At the MRF level, Eriez offers our large diameter magnetic drums and suspended electromagnets to recover ferrous objects and ECS units to recover aluminum used beverage cans, or UBCs.”

As recovered plastic is sent for size reduction and reprocessing, most of the metal has been removed, but the hunt for remaining contamination is far from over. “While modern MRFs can be extremely efficient, the equipment and processes in place still do not produce 100 percent material grades,” Ramsdell says. “Each of these materials streams exiting the MRF will have some level of cross contamination including metals present in the plastics stream.”

New sources of contamination also could creep in when the material is transported to the reprocessor in the form of rust and particles on the inside walls of train cars or truck trailers. “Processes such as shredding or granulation can also introduce metal into the plastic stream as shredder components or granulator blades may wear and break off,” Ramsdell says.

In the emerging chemical recycling sector, he adds, “Metals removal is vital for best results. Upstream of the pyrolysis or gasification processes, Eriez magnetic separators can be used to recover any ferrous contaminants that may be present and detrimental to those processes.

“Post-pyrolysis, Eriez is able to provide powerful rare earth magnetic traps for metals recovery from the synthetic crude oil that is generated.”

As MRF operators, plastics reprocessors and other investors in the plastics recycling space equip additional facilities and production lines, their need to work with Eriez will be a constant, Ramsdell says, adding, “As the industry continues to grow and evolve, the need to remove metals remains the same, and our business has reflected that growth.”