PVC Engineering Plastic Recycling

PVC engineering plastic is a widely used material in fields such as construction, electronics, and packaging, and is favored for its excellent corrosion resistance, insulation, and mechanical strength. However, with the increase in usage, the issue of disposing of waste PVC engineering plastics has gradually become apparent. How to effectively recycle PVC engineering plastics, reduce environmental pollution, and achieve resource reuse has become a topic worthy of attention at present.

Difficulties: 

PVC (polyvinyl chloride) is a thermoplastic that is polymerized from vinyl chloride monomer. It is often added with plasticizers, stabilizers and other additives in engineering applications to improve performance, but this also increases the complexity of recycling.

The difficulties in recycling mainly include the following points:

-Complex composition: PVC products may contain various additives, such as plasticizers, flame retardants, etc., which may release harmful gases or affect the performance of recycled materials during the recycling process.

-Difficulty in Separation: PVC is often mixed with other plastics, such as PE (polyethylene) in wires and cables, making physical separation difficult.

-Poor thermal stability: PVC is prone to decomposition at high temperatures, producing corrosive gases such as hydrogen chloride, which requires high requirements for recycling equipment.

PVC engineering plastics:

At present, the recycling of PVC engineering plastics is mainly divided into two methods: physical recycling and chemical recycling, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.

Physical recycling:

Physical recycling is the process of crushing, cleaning, and melting waste PVC through mechanical means, followed by re granulation to produce recycled plastic. This method has a lower cost and is suitable for PVC waste with higher purity.

Kitchen Waste: Vegetable leaves, roots, spoiled food, expired food, etc. generated in home kitchens.

Common steps: 

1. Sorting: Manually or mechanically screen out PVC waste that does not contain impurities such as metals and rubber.

2. Crushing: Crush large pieces of PVC into small particles for subsequent processing.

3. Cleaning: Remove surface oil stains, dust, and other pollutants.

4. Melting granulation: Heating and melting, extruding to form regenerated particles.

Advantages: Low energy consumption and simple process.

Disadvantage: The performance of recycled materials may decrease, making them unsuitable for high demand scenarios.

Chemical recycling:

Chemical recycling is the process of decomposing PVC into monomers or other chemical raw materials through pyrolysis, solvent dissolution, and other methods to achieve molecular level reuse.

Common methods:

-Pyrolysis: Heating PVC under anaerobic conditions decomposes it into vinyl chloride, hydrocarbons, etc., which can be reused for production.

-Solvent method: Dissolve PVC in a specific solvent to separate pure resin.

Advantages: It can handle mixed waste and the performance of recycled materials is similar to that of raw materials.

Disadvantages: Large equipment investment and high technical requirements.

Recycled PVC: 

Recycled PVC can be used in various fields, but the appropriate application needs to be selected based on its properties.

-Low end applications: such as garden guardrails, drainage pipes, and other scenarios that do not require high strength.

-Modified utilization: By adding new additives to enhance performance, it is used for automotive parts, electronic casings, etc.

-Energy recovery: PVC that cannot be reused can be incinerated for power generation, but strict control of waste gas treatment is required.

Despite the challenges of PVC recycling, the following measures can improve recycling efficiency:

1. Source classification: Clearly label PVC material during production and use to facilitate later sorting.

2. Technological innovation: Develop more efficient sorting techniques, such as near-infrared spectroscopy recognition, to improve separation accuracy.

3. Policy guidance: Encourage enterprises to adopt recycled materials and promote industrial chain synergy.

4. Public awareness: Promote knowledge of plastic recycling and reduce mixing and disposal.