RECYCLING OF THERMPOPLASTIC WASTE BOTTLES

Abstract

Plastics are widely used these days for multiple purposes. They offer a variety of benefits. It is price competitive with other materials that offer similar advantages in industrial applications. But there are some problems associated with the disposal of plastics. Every year, nearly 8 million metric tons of waste plastic enter the oceans. So, plastic recycling is one of those methods that can be adopted at higher level to reduce the high rates of plastic pollution. Majority of plastics can be recycled and made into useful products. The most commonly available plastics in the society are High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) and the Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), so we have gone through the properties of these two types of plastics and their ability to recycle. The major components of the machine used for the said purpose are shredder and compression molding setup .Initially plastic bottles (shampoo bottles etc.) are cut down into small flakes with the help of the shredder. The flakes are then placed in a compression mold to make the desired product (plastic pot). This mold is heated with the help of an Electric collar heater with constant temperature monitoring using thermocouple. After suitable heating and pressure being applied through the mold itself, the collars are removed and the setup is cooled. After a while, the re-opening of the mold delivers the final product in the form of a plastic pot.