No.2（1999）22.Electrostatic separation system of a PET bottle in the form of flakes

Yasuo TONOYA, Kastumi YAMAMOTO, Kinya HASHIMOTO, Akihiro MAKINO and Masaru KIZAKI

Waste PET bottles are converted into PET flakes as recycling materials in processing industry. Waste PVC bottle flakes are generally mixed into waste PET bottle flakes as an impure ingredient. It is indispensable for recycling PET bottles flakes to remove PVC bottles flakes from the mixed plastic waste. The authors describe some successful experiments for electrostatic separation of two-component mixtures of waste plastics obtained from processing industries in the form of PET and PVC flakes. The experiments were carried out with an electrostatic separation system comprised of feeding equipment, triboelectrical charging equipment, a pair of high voltage electrodes and five collecting trays. The experimental result is as follows. From a mixture of 98/2PET flakes and PVC flakes, it has been possible to separate 76.5% of the PET material with an extract content of 99.995%.

Keywords
static electricity, plastics, PET bottle, electrostatic separation, recycling materials

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