Advanced Methods in Plastic Manufacturing

Colour Process Automation Technology:

Plastics manufacturing is a complex, multi-step process that moves at rapid speeds to create high product yields. Maintaining colour quality and consistency throughout the manufacturing processes can be difficult, but advancements in colour process automation technology offer continual monitoring for real-time identification of colour changes. Continual monitoring, from pellet colours and extruded plastics to pre-formed products, allows for automatic adjustments to be set, creating a more efficient and cost-effective process stream. New technology provides affordable options for colour process measurement using smaller self-contained instrumentation that can easily adapt to any production line.

colour Process Automation Technology (cPAT) with ACLCC by Plastore and  Hunter Lab for plastics manufacturing is a fully integrated, online color measurement and color control solution tailored to meet the needs of plastics manufacturers. From plastic sheet manufacturing, to window profile, vinyl siding, custom profile and compounding, cPAT offers best practices and automated solution tools to improve manufacturing efficiencies, ensure product quality, and reduce overall costs.

Today’s plastic extrusion color control process relies a bit on ‘black magic’ to be successful. Time-interval based color monitoring is insufficient in providing information on baseline, variation or improvement opportunities. The process is not very controllable, predictable or often times even understandable. cPAT eliminates the ‘black magic’, making the process something that operators can control, predict and troubleshoot.

Improving costs and efficiency

Today’s colour process measurement systems are fully integrated, allowing for precise workflow monitoring and improved quality control (QC). The ability to provide real-time, quantifiable results allows manufacturers to set defined parameters and predict potential variations and changes in final color outcomes. According to the online article “Best Practices and Solution Tools to Automate Colour Quality Control in Plastic Extrusion Processing”, “Colour Process Automation Technology (cPAT) introduces best practices and solution tools to help plastics manufacturers achieve greater performance by moving from a philosophy of time-interval based colour QC to a more dynamic approach to continuous monitoring, closed-loop colour control, and automated defect containment. Colour process automation technology allows organizations to measure, analyze, control and document the colour of extruded plastic in real-time through the measurement of Critical Colour Process Parameters (CCPP) which affect Critical Colour Quality Attributes (CCQA).”

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Advantages of Recycling Plastics

Plastics should be recycled because of a number of reasons as can be seen below:

Provision of a Sustainable Source of Raw Materials

Recycling plastics provides a sustainable source of raw materials to the manufacturing industry. Once the plastics are recycled, they are sent to manufacturing industries to be redesigned and converted into new shapes and used in different appliances.

Reduces Environmental Problems

Since plastics are non-biodegradable, they pose a high risk to the people and the environment as a whole. They can block sewer lines, drainages and other waterways leading to blockages and unwanted pileups. When plastics are eliminated through recycling, the environment looks clean and inhabitable.

Reduces Landfill Problems

Recycling plastics minimizes the amount of plastic being taken to the ever-diminishing landfill sites. Most countries have designated areas specifically meant for burying plastics. When they are recycled, these sites will receive little plastic garbage. The remaining areas can be used for other purposes instead of dumping plastics that do not rot. These areas can be used for agriculture or for human settlement. It should be understood that human population is growing each day and land is becoming a problem. Instead of misusing the land for garbage disposal it can be used for settlement and other important economic activities.

Consumes Less Energy

Recycling of materials including plastics requires less energy as compared to making the plastic from scratch. This saves energy and that energy can be diverted to other important things in the economy. It is therefore important to encourage plastic recycling in the manufacturing industry as it will save the economy billions of money. The process of manufacturing plastic using natural raw materials is expensive and time consuming compared to the recycling process.

Encourages a Sustainable Lifestyle among People

Individuals who have ventured into plastic collection and recycling business will experience improved lifestyles as they will get their daily income from the business. This will, in the long run, improve the economy and boost the living standards of the people. So do not just sit there doing nothing, embrace plastic recycling activities and improve your economic standards.

In summary, any sort of effort aimed at saving the environment is very important and matters a lot. Since its inception during the environmental revolution in the late 1960s, plastic recycling is one of the most encouraged solid waste management programs in the world. Prior to the push to use of plastic containers by manufacturers, products were packaged in glass, metal and paper. Therefore, in order to keep our environment clean, reduce landfills, provide a sustainable supply of plastics to manufacturers, it is important to recycle plastics.

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Common Recycled Plastics

What are the Common Recycled Plastics?

There are numerous and common types of recycled plastics as can be seen below:

Polyethylene Terephthalate

This type of recycled plastic is tough, has excellent clarity, is strong and has a barrier to moisture and gas. It is used in the manufacture of water, soft drinks, peanut butter and salad dressing bottles and jars.

High-Density Polyethylene

This recycled plastic is known for its excellent stiffness, resistance to moisture, strength, versatility, toughness and reduced permeability to gas. It is used in the manufacture of water, juice and milk bottles. It is also used to make retail and trash bags for households and business people.

Polyvinyl Chloride

Abbreviated as PVC, polyvinyl chloride has a number of applications. It is versatile, can be bent easily, it is tough and strong. This recycled plastic is commonly used in the manufacture of juice bottles, PVC piping and cling films.

Low-Density Polyethylene

This is the most common type of recycled plastic. It has exceptional ease of processing; it is strong, flexible, tough, and resistant to moisture and it’s easy to seal. This plastic is usually used in making frozen food bags, flexible container lids, freezable bottles just to mention but a few.

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Idea about Plastic Recycling

What is Plastic Recycling?

Plastic recycling is the process of recovering different types of plastic material in order to reprocess them into varied other products, unlike their original form. An item made out of plastic is recycled into a different product, which usually cannot be recycled again.

Process of Plastic Recycling

The following is a step by step process of plastic recycling:

1. Collection

Plastics are available in a number of forms for example plastic containers, jars, bottles, plastic bags, packaging plastic, big industrial plastics just to mention but a few. Due to their nature and availability, there are plastic collection centres and some business people have ventured into plastic collecting business as a source of income. Tons and tons of scrap plastic are collected and sent to a collecting yard where they are then packed and transported to plastic processing plants. Unfortunately, not all countries have the capacity to recycle plastic. Very few developing countries can actually recycle plastic. This means that plastic waste is still a major problem in some countries in the world.

2. Sorting

The actual plastic recycling process starts with the sorting of the different plastic items by their resin content and colour. This process is also done to ensure all contaminants are eliminated. There are specially designed machines that help in the sorting of the plastics according to their resin content. Then the recycling mill sorts the scrap plastic by symbols at the bottom of the plastics.

3. Shredding

After sorting the plastics, the next step is to cut the plastics into tiny chunks or pieces. The plastic bottles and containers are then ground and cut into tiny pieces or flakes. The heavier and lighter plastic flakes are separated using a specially designed machine. The separation process helps in ensuring that the different plastics are not put together or mixed up in the final product. Remember that different plastics are used to make different items.

4. Cleaning

After a complete separation, the flakes or chunks are then washed with detergents to remove the remaining contamination. Once the cleaning process is complete, the clean flakes are passed through specialized equipment that further separates the plastic resin types. The plastic flakes are then subjected to moderate heat to dry.

5. Melting

The dry flakes are melted down. They can be melted down and moulded into a new shape or they are melted down and processed into granules. The melting process is done under-regulated temperatures. There is specialized equipment designed to melt down plastic without destroying them.

6. Making of pellets

After the melting process, the plastic pieces are then compressed into tiny pellets known as nurdles. In this state, the plastic pellets are ready for reuse or are redesigned into new plastic products. It is important to point out that recycled plastic is hardly used to make the identical plastic item or its previous form. It is in this pellet form that plastics are transported to plastic manufacturing companies to be redesigned and be used in making other useful plastic products.

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Plastics for Food Packaging

Use of plastics for food packaging applications is increasing both in quantum as well as in variety. Plastics are available in various forms such as monofilms, co-extruded films, laminates, sachets, jars, bottles, jerry cans, trays, cups and containers of all shapes and sizes. Realising the versatility of plastic packaging which has prompted its wide usage in food packaging in the country, it was considered expedient by the BIS to formulate standard on this subject – IS: 10171-1982, Guide on Suitability of Plastics for Food Packaging.

This standard is expected to provide general guidance to the food packer in selecting the specific thermoplastic material or its combination to design an acceptable food packaging system. The standard, however, does not provide guidance on the actual design of the food packaging system or cover the shelf-life requirements for various food products. The standard also states that the plastics used shall be of food grade material and should be safe for food contact and conform to the relevant Indian Standards and used in conjunction with the following series of standards on food contact plastics of which it forms a part.

Standards and Specifications of Plastic Recycling

The Indian plastic industry has helped formulate standards and specifications for plastics recycling in the country. There are two BIS standards introducing the coding system recycling practices and standards for the manufacture & usage of recycled plastics.

• Recycled Plastics for Manufacturing of Products Designation IS: 14535

Scope:

1. This standard is intended to be used for the identification of the recycled plastic material on the basis of its basic properties and applications.

2. This standard applies to recycled plastics material ready for normal use without any further modifications.

3. Though some modification and test methods have been provided in the standard, any specific modification and the relevant test method, which may be necessary for some specific applications, shall have to be agreed between the purchaser and the supplier.

4. Though this designation system is only indicative of a broad classification of the recycled material, the absolute value of the low results may be provided which shall be agreed to, between the purchaser and the supplier.

• Guidelines for Recycling of Plastics

This standard prescribes guidelines to the manufacturers of plastic products with regard to the marking to be used on the finished product in order to facilitate identification of the basic raw material. It will also help in identifying whether the material used on the end product is recyclate or a blend of virgin and recyclate.

Terminology:

1. End Products: Products made out of the virgin, recycled/reprocessed plastics. Typical suggested end products along with the use of appropriate types of plastic waste/scrap are given. A process by which plastic waste is collected, segregated, processed and returned for use.

2. Classification of Recycling: Plastics recycling technologies have been historically divided into four general types – primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary

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