System and process for recycling contaminated polyolefins
AssigneeAlpla Werke Alwin Lehner GmbH & Co. KG
InventorsRobert Siegl, Andreas Weber
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention relates to a recycling process for contaminated polyolefins, in particular HDPE, wherein the contaminated polyolefin is swelled using a solvent such that contaminants in the polyolefin dissolve in the solvent, and the solvent as well as the contaminants dissolved from the solvent are removed from the polyolefin.
Claims22
A method of recycling contaminated polyolefins, including removal of contaminants from a contaminated polyolefin material, comprising:
- swelling a contaminated polyolefin material with a solvent causing contaminants in the polyolefin material to dissolve in the solvent;
- and
- removing the solvent and the contaminants in the solvent from the polyolefin material, whereby removing the contaminants dissolved in the solvent from the polyolefin material includes a compression of the swollen polyolefin material, through which a majority of the solvent is pressed out of the swollen polyolefin material.
A recycling system for recycling contaminated polyolefins, comprising:
- a swelling reactor containing a solvent, the solvent having a lower polarity than water, with the swelling reactor configured to swell a contaminated polyolefin material in the presence of the solvent and to dissolve contaminants present in the polyolefin material in the solvent;
- and
- a system component comprising a system to compress swollen polyolefin material placed downstream of the swelling reactor to remove the solvent and the contaminants dissolved in the solvent from the polyolefin material and to compress the swollen polyolefin material.
A purified polyolefin material manufactured by a method of recycling contaminated polyolefins, including removal of contaminants from a contaminated polyolefin material, the method comprising:
- swelling a contaminated polyolefin material with a solvent causing contaminants in the polyolefin material to dissolve in the solvent;
- and
- removing the solvent and the contaminants in the solvent from the polyolefin material to produce the purified polyolefin material, whereby removing the contaminants in the solvent from the polyolefin material includes compressing the swollen polyolefin material, through which a majority of the solvent is pressed out of the swollen polyolefin material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.