New requirements on E-waste recycling technologies. VACUREMA - FDA approved process for HDPE bottle to bottle recycling

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1 Technology Newsletter High fleece-fabric quality from MANN +HUMMEL Protec Saving time and energy Recycling industry is going ballistic! The Stader Ballistic separator passes the test New requirements on E-waste recycling technologies Bill passed June 2011 VACUREMA - FDA approved process for HDPE bottle to bottle recycling Close the loop for milk containers Dear Reader, Welcome to our September Newsletter. We have had very positive feedback from readers for our recent newsletters, encouraging us to continue bringing you news and updates on new technologies. If you have any comments or interesting stories you would like to share, please let us know. I also would like to invite you to join us for a plant visit to the new Hazelmere Wood Waste Recycling Facility during the Waste & Recycle Conference in Perth see page 6 for details. Eric Paulsen Business Manager DKSH Australia Pty. Ltd. Environmental Technology Solutions Environmental Technology Solutions Australia

2 Consistently high fleece-fabric quality with dosing engineering from MANN+HUMMEL ProTec Process-stabilised dosing of all components directly during the manufacturing process that is one of MANN+HUMMEL ProTec s core competencies. The fleece manufacturer RKW Gronau in Germany relies on exactly this competence in its nonwoven fabric plant. The SOMOS Gramix S9 gravimetric dosing and mixing system, designed for up to nine formula components, is integrated in the plant. For reasons of cost effectiveness and to maintain flexibility during product changes, individually prepared manufacturing compounds are generally never or hardly ever used during nonwoven fabric manufacture. RKW Gronau always mixes the corresponding additive into the base material matched to the use in the product inline during the process. The SOMOS Gramix S9 series gravimetric dosing and mixing system put into operation there in the nonwoven fabric plant is designed for a total of six formula components and a total material throughput rate of 1,000 kg/h. The five dosing stations for the minor constituents consist of one hopper scale each plus a proportioning screw adapted to the mass flow rate the centrally conducted main component freely flows, after the hopper scale, to the material feed in the extruder. Any possible noncompliance from the target specifications in the material flow is corrected without any delay. The weighing cells work with a precision of ± %, ensuring high dosing and repetition accuracy. Specialised in manufacturing synthetic nonwoven fabrics, RKW Gronau is manufacturing mostly nonwovens based on polypropylene (PP). They can choose between two technologies for compacting the produced random orientation fleece after the spinneret, i.e. either by thermobonding (spunbonding) or now also with water jet compacting (spunlace method). During this, the filament layers are pressurised in several stages with wafer thin water jets with a pressure of 250 bar. Instead of welding the filament layers together point by point as is conventional, they entangle under the water jet treatment intensively with each other in all directions. Water jet compacted fleece is very much softer and more supple to handle than spunbond fleece. In addition to improved haptics, improved mechanical characteristic values result at the same time: especially the maximum lateral force increases by entangling the filaments. One of the decisive prerequisites to do that is created by the Gramix S9 dosing station; it supplies the extruder with a continuous, true-to formula and longitudinal homogeneous mass flow. In the system installed, the weighing container for the major component has a volume of 100 l, suitable for flow rates of 100 to 1,200 kg/h. For the minor components there are two smaller dosing units with 6 l tank volumes (for throughputs of 1 to 60 kg/h) and three 25 litre weighing units for throughputs of 12 to 300 kg/h. The infinitely variable servomotors driving the proportioning screw placed under the hopper scales continuously convey the minor components in the dead-spacefree mixing zone where it flows together with the incoming major component. For safety reasons, in the nonwoven fabric plant a metal separator follows to eject any possibly dragged-along, even smallest metal particles from being fed into the material in the extruder. The extruders are always run in the overfed state in order not to risk any break-off of individual filaments on the spinning beam due to insufficient material supply. If the material volumes in the weighing funnels sink to a preset minimum, material is refilled from the storage containers located above automatically. These containers are equipped with suction conveyor stations to immediately convey new material from the silo or the storage containers. A central vacuum generator (rotary piston compressor station) supplies the negative pressure required for vacuum conveying at the conveyor stations combined with a central filter to collect and eject dust particles carried along in the conveyor air. All functions and components for material conveyance and material dosing are continuously monitored with the powerful, user-friendly Simatic S7 microprocessor controller. Communication with the nonwoven fabric plant control takes place via a Profibus interface. However, the S7 controller can even additionally control the extruder and the subsequent trigger unit. DKSH has displayed a similar Dosing and Mixing unit at the recent Ausplas Exhibition in Melbourne and can provide more information about the equipment. For further details on Mann + Hummel ProTec SOMOS products, please contact Eric Paulsen, DKSH Australia. Jonathan Tan Sales Engineer Environmental Technology Solutions 2

The material supply with the dosing system along with the blower station and central filter for

3 To reliably ensure the fleece quality in the nonwoven fabric plant, RKW Gronau relies on the SOMOS Gramix S9 gravimetric dosing and mixing system from MANN+HUMMEL ProTec. The material supply with the dosing system along with the blower station and central filter for suction conveying the materials from the silo and storage tanks is positioned on a platform directly above the extruder feeder. 3

A real vote winner...you ll also love the price Save $15,000 CURRENTLY ON SALE FOR NORMALLY $44,900 The right choice at the right price DKSH currently have a demonstration HSM 1615 Baler for sale.

4 A real vote winner...you ll also love the price Save $15,000 CURRENTLY ON SALE FOR NORMALLY $44,900 The right choice at the right price DKSH currently have a demonstration HSM 1615 Baler for sale. The HSM 1615 brings together the right blend of technology and value. Compress waste material such as cardboard, car tyres, foam, stiff plastics and film. Even rigid paint cans simply and quickly. At DKSH we provide solutions, both big and small, for the recycling and waste management needs of government and business. The World s best brands are at DKSH. Take advantage of this special price contact DKSH today. For more information, call DKSH on (03) Market Expansion Services by DKSH Australia Pty. Ltd Dansu Court, Hallam VIC 3803, Australia Ph (03) , Fax (03)

The recycling industry is going ballistic! The Stadler BALLISTIC separator splits comingled waste streams into 3 streams, flat -2 dimensional material, cubic 3-D material and fines.

To demonstrate the capabilities Stadler Engineering and DKSH shipped a full size demo-machine into Australia, with which customers can trial the results on their own material streams.

5 The recycling industry is going ballistic! The Stadler BALLISTIC separator splits comingled waste streams into 3 streams, flat -2 dimensional material, cubic 3-D material and fines. Now, it seems to be striking some very good notes in the Australian recycling sector. To demonstrate the capabilities Stadler Engineering and DKSH shipped a full size demo-machine into Australia, with which customers can trial the results on their own material streams. After some initial delay in taking up the offer, the demonstration unit was now extensively tested in August in several Material Recycling Facilities in Victoria and New South Wales. In this specific application the purpose was to clean up paper from residual plastics, whilst also screening out glass. The results were so convincing that the trials resulted in the immediate placement of orders for double deck machines destined for different sites. Also, following the successful installation of four BALLISTIC separators at a newly refurbished material recovery facility in suburban Melbourne, now there is clear proof that the ballistic separator can be used in Australian comingled waste streams. The ballistic separator achieves a cleaner end product than alternate technologies such as disc screens. Further, it does the separation with considerable less down time, due to the protected shafts and no rotating parts in the material stream. This enhances the productivity and uptime significantly, whilst reducing wear and replacement costs. Machines are available in different configurations. The base models are the STT 5000, for heavy duty applications such as high glass content, C&I and C&D waste streams and the STT2000, for paper and container streams. The decks are modular and can be stacked on top of each other with different screen sizes on the paddles, allowing a split of the material stream into sizes for the different decks. This can significantly reduce the foot print. With the machine on tour at the moment, even Singapore s largest recycler is locking in a trial at one of their material recovery facilities, which are strategically placed throughout the island. David Gravell Sales Engineer Environmental Technology Solutions 5

Requirements on E-waste recycling technologies in the wake of the Product Stewardship Bill, passed in June 2011 The Product Stewardship Bill 2011 was passed by the Parliament on 22 June 2011.

6 Requirements on E-waste recycling technologies in the wake of the Product Stewardship Bill, passed in June 2011 The Product Stewardship Bill 2011 was passed by the Parliament on 22 June This legislation provides the framework to effectively manage the environmental, health and safety impacts of products, and in particular those impacts associated with the disposal of products. It was decided that televisions and computers would be the first products regulated under the proposed product stewardship legislation. Once the framework for collection is in place, the next question will be how to effectively recycle the in general quite valuable material stream. As E-waste is made up out of a range of composites and different materials, there is a high demand on technologies to effectively separate the different materials to allow feeding into existing recycling facilities, or to facilitate trade of the commodities. Consequently this creates a challenge for effective technologies for size reduction, screening, density separation and sensor based sorting technologies. European technologies have significantly improved in this sector in the recent few years and DKSH Australia has technologies on offer from shredding, screening, windsifting, metal separation, to fully automatic sensor based sorting technologies, such as NIR, metal detection, X-ray and others. Titech, as the leading supplier for sensor based sorting machines, has gathered extensive experience in sorting of E-waste. If you are interested in building a sorting facility, to achieve a high output quality sorting result, five key factors should be considered: Get the input and output composition right. It is very important to have a good understanding of the feed stock bulk weight and material composition. In order to properly design a process, of course we need to know the output specifications. Classifying the material according to grain size and density. For proper automatic sorting, the size range needs to be within certain limits as well as densities should be controlled. Material that cannot be recycled and impurities should be taken out of the process as early as possible. A reliable manual elimination of pollutants after pre-crushing allows for better fractions such as electric motors, motherboards, circuit boards, copper, iron, cables and aluminium. To achieve high purities, sensor based sorting such as metal detection, NIR (Near Infra Red), optical, X-ray and X-ray fluorescence can be used to treat individual streams. Sales Engineer Position Vacant Be at the forefront of recycling technology Due to the ongoing growth at DKSH Environmental Technology Solutions, we are seeking a passionate Sales Engineer with focus on Recycling Machinery Sales. Offering high-end technologies for the recycling and resource recovery sector, DKSH represents world leading manufacturers in Australia and New Zealand. Technologies range from sensor based sorting machines, screening equipment, metal recycling, plastics recycling to baling, briquetting and shredding solutions for the Australian market. DKSH is the No. 1 Market Expansion Services Group with focus on Asia/Pacific. DKSH enables and supports companies in expanding their businesses in existing markets and launching into new ones. We offer sourcing, marketing, sales, distribution and after-sales services. DKSH provides expertise and on-the-ground logistics covering Asia-Pacific, Europe and the Americas, with a comprehensive network of 610 business locations in 35 countries, and more than 23,000 specialised staff. For more information, please contact our HR Manager Emma Cullen at emma. cullen@dksh.com. 6

Depending on tonnages available an inline or a batch process can be considered. Sorters can be programmed for multiple tasks, such as picking a product and in the next run cleaning it up.

7 Depending on tonnages available an inline or a batch process can be considered. Sorters can be programmed for multiple tasks, such as picking a product and in the next run cleaning it up. The core components of a E-scrap sorting line consists of shredders, screens, air-classifiers or wind-sifters, magnets, eddy current separators, Titech finders and Titech Autosorts, in some applications also the Titech X-tract X-ray. Below is an exemplary flow chart for a completely automated E-waste sorting facility. Eric Paulsen Business Manager Environmental Technology Solutions Dry Mechanical Sorting of WEE categories 2,3,4,6,7 and 8 Standard size ranges vary from 8-80 mm. But the capabilities of the Titech machines covers from EP 25/08/11 7

Free plant tour to the newest Waste Wood Recycling facility at the EMRC, WA Join us in a free plant tour to the newest Waste Wood Recycling facility at the EMRC, WA, built by HAAS Recycling and DKSH

30 am During the Waste & Recycle Conference in WA from 14-16 September, DKSH are offering a free plant tour to the state-ofthe-art HAAS wood shredding facility at the EMRC Hazelwood Recycling

8 Free plant tour to the newest Waste Wood Recycling facility at the EMRC, WA Join us in a free plant tour to the newest Waste Wood Recycling facility at the EMRC, WA, built by HAAS Recycling and DKSH Australia. When: Where: 16th of September Carpark opposite the Esplanade Hotel, Fremantle at 8.00 am Returning to Fremantle around am During the Waste & Recycle Conference in WA from September, DKSH are offering a free plant tour to the state-ofthe-art HAAS wood shredding facility at the EMRC Hazelwood Recycling facility. With a design capacity of 20 t/hr, this plant was commissioned in April 2011 by HAAS Recycling and DKSH Australia. The plant s main purpose is to turn waste wood into useable products, diverting the material away from landfill. The waste wood is fed via an existing loader directly into a Pre-Crusher (HDWV-E 700x2000) to break up the input material into a more consistent size ( mm). This is a slow speed, twin shaft design, capable of independent shaft rotation which helps reduce noise and provide a more consistent product. The tilt hopper of the Precrusher is controlled by the loader operator by remote control which has an in-built emergency stop. The material is then conveyed to a Hammermill (HSZ-V 1600) or secondary high speed crusher, which breaks the material down further (< 75mm). After passing a series of metal separators (both ferrous and non-ferrous) supplied by DKSH through our partner Wagner (Germany), the material is then fed through a rotating screen (HPS 100). This is a rotating flat screen which is specifically designed by HAAS to separate the input material into two sizes or fines (0-12mm and 12-75mm) in one operation and requires very little maintenance. The material then goes through a Light Weight Material Separator or Wind- Sifter, which removes lightweight material such as plastic and paper to produce a more consistent product virtually free of any contaminates. The two fines are conveyed to separate locations ready for customer pick up. If you are interested in visiting the latest wood recycling facility in the country, please your interest and details to: sales.ets@dksh.com by 7th of September, or call Leanne Lumber on Eric Paulsen Business Manager Environmental Technology Solutions 8

9 CRUSH IT! DOMESTIC WASTE GREEN WASTE COMMERCIAL WASTE CURRENTLY IN AUSTRALIA FOR DEMONSTRATION AND IMMEDIATE DELIVERY HAAS HDWV-D 700 X 2000 Twin Shaft Precrusher Diesel Powered (242kW CAT) Foldable Discharge Conveyor Track Mounted with variable speed control Adjustable Magnetic Metal Separator Hydraulic Hopper Loader Central Lubrication 3-off Pre determined programs for specific material 1-off special program capability Independent shaft speed rotation capability (in both forward and reverse) Remote pendant controller Easy menu function control CAT powered with Bosch/ Rexroth hydraulics WOOD WASTE For more information, contact Eric Paulsen on DKSH Australia Pty Ltd Dansu Court Hallam, VIC 3803 Australia Tel: , Fax:

10 Bottle to bottle recycling for milk containers VACUREMA is the FDA approved process HDPE absorbs more volatiles as compared to PET and is processed at lower temperatures than PET. Hence it is more difficult to remove volatiles from HDPE as compared to PET to meet US FDA and EU standards for reuse in food bottles. Recycling HDPE homopolymer from milk and water bottles back into food-grade bottles is a new achievement. The first commercially available process to recycle food-grade HDPE bottles was developed in the UK over the last 4 years with funding from WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme), a government initiative to reduce waste. The process was developed by a consortium of Nampak Plastics, a South African blow molder of milk bottles, and several large dairies and supermarket chains. The Fraunhofer Institute in Germany tested and qualified the process. The critical decontamination unit in the WRAP process is a modified Vacurema system. It s similar to Vacurema machine used in PET recycling to maintain high IV, but is modified for devolatilizing HDPE at a lower temperature and longer time in the vacuum chamber. The middle of April 2008 saw the world's first Vacurema Advanced system go into operation in the northeast of England. The system was designed by Erema, the Austrian-based recycling plant manufacturer, for the recycling of HDPE post-consumer waste to make foodcontact grade pellets. Having extended their premises at Wilton International Technology Park, Teesside, especially for bottle-to-bottle recycling, Waste Exchange Services Ltd. (WES), a Greenstar Group company, now uses the system to recycle used HDPE milk bottles collected in the recycling chain. The Erema system uses the shredded and washed flakes to produce up to 10,000 tonnes of high quality recycled material on a yearly basis, which then go back into making milk bottles. This marks the launch of bottle-to-bottle recycling for the many millions of HDPE milk bottles that cross the counters in Great Britain. The basic concept of the Vacurema Advanced 1716 TE-VSV at WES corresponds to the Vacurema plant concept which has, in the meantime, proven itself many times in the bottleto- bottle recycling of PET drinks bottles. Modifications were, however, necessary for the processing of polyethylene. Besides the adaptation of the process parameters to the processing temperature which is considerably lower than the temperature for PET the profile of the extruder screw in particular was reconfigured. In line with the Vacurema Advanced concept, the WES system also has an evacuable pre-treatment unit upstream of the vacuum reactor to intensify the decontamination of the HDPE flakes. The extruder is a degassing extruder with a downstream, self-cleaning fine filter with 100 microns screen mesh and an Erema HG 342 P hot die face water ring pelletiser connected directly to it. The plant has a production capacity of up to 1,500 kg of recycled, food-contact grade HDPE per hour. "In England, freedom from contamination and no physiological objections are key factors in making it possible to process HDPE recyclate to make milk bottles again. But there is no washing process that would be intensive enough to prepare the bottle flakes satisfactorily for recycling," reports James Donaldson, founder and Managing Director of WES. "With the Vacurema technology, however, we can rest assured that, as a rule, all contaminants and also all toxic substances that adhere to post- 10

11 consumer waste are removed effectively and reliably. This was demonstrated in thorough tests beforehand. Despite these results we still subjected our new Erema system to a challenge test of our own which again confirmed that we had made the right choice," says Donaldson. Besides their own trials with customers, Erema also took part in a large-scale programme in Great Britain to set up a recycling chain especially for HDPE milk bottles. With the backing of the British government and under the guidance of WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme), Banbury, Oxfordshire, all the partners involved in the lifecycle of a milk bottle joined forces in this project: from retailers, dairies and milk bottle manufacturers to recycling companies and the machinery and plant manufacturers involved in this process stage. The aim of this project is to return up to 30 per cent of recycled material to the milk bottle cycle in future; Great Britain processes around 130,000 tonnes of HDPE for the production of milk bottles alone. When it came to testing the processing technologies it became evident that out of all the systems examined, only the Vacurema system fulfilled the requirements and was able to turn HDPE flakes from the used post-consumer milk bottles into reusable, food-contact grade material. This was put to the test and confirmed in what are known as challenge tests. In these tests the starting material is contaminated with a defined mixture of chemicals and the recyclate then undergoes extensive chemical tests to analyse any residual contamination there may still be, including practical tests with the products produced from it. In the meantime the HDPE recycling process initiated by WRAP has also been awarded non-objection status by the North American Food and Drug Administration (FDA). For further information on EREMA or VACUREMA systems, please contact Eric Paulsen, DKSH Australia. Jonathan Tan Sales Engineer Environmental Technology Solutions 11

12 DKSH Australia Pty. Ltd Dansu Court, Hallam VIC 3803, Australia

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