1. What is industrial rubber and plastic waste?
Industrial rubber and plastic waste refers to the waste of rubber and plastic products produced in the process of industrial production. These wastes mainly come from the manufacturing, processing and use stages of industrial production processes.
2. Industrial rubber and plastic waste classification
- Industrial rubber waste:
This includes rubber waste, surplus products or substandard products generated during industrial production. Industrial rubber waste can come from various industrial sectors such as tire manufacturing, rubber product manufacturing, rubber processing, etc. They may be unused rubber raw materials, leftover parts of rubber products, damaged or expired rubber products, etc.
- Industrial plastic waste:
This includes plastic waste, surplus products or substandard products generated during industrial production. Industrial plastic waste comes from the production, processing and use of various plastic products, such as plastic packaging materials, plastic containers, plastic pipes, plastic sheets, etc.
3. Related hazards
Improper handling and management of industrial rubber and plastic waste can lead to hazards related to:
- Environmental pollution:
Industrial rubber and plastic waste contains a large number of chemical substances and harmful substances. If these wastes are discarded or handled improperly, they may cause soil, water and air pollution. These chemicals can leach into soil and groundwater, causing harm to the environment and ecosystems. In addition, improperly disposed waste may be blown away by the wind or enter water bodies, resulting in plastic pollution in the environment.
- Biothreats:
Industrial rubber and plastic waste may pose a threat to wildlife and biodiversity. Wild animals can accidentally ingest plastic waste, leading to suffocation, intestinal blockage and even death. In addition, plastic particles may enter water bodies and have toxic effects on aquatic organisms, interfering with their living environment and life cycle.
- Waste of land and resources:
Unreasonable disposal of industrial rubber and plastic waste may lead to waste of land resources and energy. These wastes often require large amounts of land to landfill, as well as energy and resources to manufacture new plastic products. Waste of land and resources increases the pressure on the environment and wastes limited resources.
- Health risks:
Chemical substances and harmful substances in industrial rubber and plastic waste have potential risks to human health. For example, plasticizers and flame retardants in some plastic wastes may release harmful substances and have an impact on the human endocrine system and nervous system. In addition, improper incineration or disposal of industrial plastic waste may release toxic gases and pollutants, posing a threat to the air quality and health of surrounding communities.
4. Processing method
Industrial rubber and plastic waste can be treated in a number of ways to reduce environmental impact. The following are the ways to dispose of industrial rubber and plastic waste:
- Recycling and reuse:
Recycling and reuse is an important way to deal with industrial rubber and plastic waste. Through the recycling process, waste rubber and plastic products can be reprocessed and manufactured into new products. For example, plastic bottles, plastic containers, plastic packaging materials, etc. can be recycled into new plastic products.
- Melting and recycling:
Some plastic waste can be processed through the process of melting and recycling. This treatment usually involves heating discarded plastic substances to their melting point and then remolding them into new plastic products. This helps reduce the need for new plastic raw materials.
- Waste disposal sites:
Some industrial rubber and plastic waste that cannot be recycled or reused may need to be sent to specialized waste disposal sites for final disposal. This includes facilities such as waste incinerators and landfills. These sites dispose of waste appropriately to reduce potential harm to the environment.
- Pyrolysis vaporization transfer into green energy & Carbon management and transfer into carbon assets:
At present, Pulian is committed to the development of industrial rubber and plastic waste thermal cracking and forwarding systems, and strives to achieve effective use of resources, environmental protection and sustainable development.
The technology of pyrolysis is using the high heat to break down chemical bonds of compounds / polymers under anaerobic or low oxygen environment. After breaking down the materials, it produces molecule compounds (biomass) which is able to be scanned by chromatography. Moreover, when the biomass is heated up, bigger macromolecule will become smaller macromolecule which are coke, condensable liquid (tar oil), mixed gas and could be recycled as an important resource.
Different reactors’ temperature and heating up speed have different results, and there are four differences below:
1. Low temperature pyrolysis: reactor temperature around 350℃~650℃, the main purpose is for carbonization, and produce carbon and charcoal.
2. Warm temperature pyrolysis: reactor temperature around 650℃~850℃, the main purpose is for biodiesel, produces tar and carbon black.
3. High temperature pyrolysis: reactor temperature around 850℃~1200℃, the main purpose is for production of flammable gas, produces hydrogen, methane, CO and CO2.
4. Super high temperature pyrolysis: reactor temperature around 1200℃, the main purpose is for totally vaporizing, produces hydrogen, methane and CO.
Application:
The technology of pyrolysis could be widely applied in waste rubber, waste plastic, sludge, mineral oil, chemical oil, industry waste oil, resin, oil paint, sludge from city, domestic wastes, organic wastes, biomass, and etc.
How to transfer into green energy:
“The white pollution” which consists of the polymer compounds which are used to produce human daily consumables/products, such as polystyrene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride causing the pollution. “The black pollution” which is wasted tires or rubber-made products causing environment pollution.
The white pollution, black pollution, and hazardous wastes which are using incinerator to break down generate smog which produces Dioxins, causing secondary pollution. Therefore, pyrolysis is better than incinerating because it could takes care of economic and environment protection while solving the problem of secondary pollution.
There are three positive products after pyrolysis which are better green energy:
1. During the processing of pyrolysis, because of high temperature and hypoxia, the materials will break down into short-chain organic gas and low levels of hydrogen. After purifying, those materials could produce flammable gas which is able to generate and produce electric power.
2. After pyrolysis, the remaining material which is liquid tar and it could be fractionated into light oil.
3. The much pure carbon and inorganic soil are one of the best materials for building additives or clay.
According to above-mentioned, pyrolysis is a great benefit to the economy, better waste processing, and has a huge application value.
