Recycling
Traditionally, it takes vast amounts of water to recycle plastics, but a company from Mexico has developed a new technology that makes what is a green process even more eco-friendly because it doesn't require liberal H2O sloshing.
Ak Inovex's recycling technology has the capability to process plastic materials commonly used in consumer products including ABS, polystyrene and Styrofoam by simply customising existing machinery.
The plastics recycling process breaks down waste plastics into pellets, which are washed thoroughly before being ground down, but according to Ak Inovex founder Marco Adame, this new system can process more than 90 per cent of any kind of plastic without wasting water or diminishing the quality of the recycled pellet.
Adame explained that traditionally-recycled plastics have the distinction of being hygroscopic, which means it retains moisture at a molecular level. The material has to be dehydrated in order for it to be crystallised, which means the material has to be subjected to 180 degree celcius temperatures and then cooled in water. AK Inovex performs this process without any water, slashing energy usage by 50 per cent and reducing the space plastic processors need for recycling machinery because the system is much smaller, as it performs all the traditional processes without water thus making the patent-pending system more profitable.
In addition to being more efficient on every level, the advantage of AK Inovex's technology is that it claims to be capable of processing any type of plastic and while current prototypes can process two tonnes of pellets, the team is working on upping this capacity to 10 tonnes.
"Ak Inovex has a pending patent registration of the three technologies that integrate the development, which are responsible for cooling the plastic through contact with special walls and form the plastic beads," said Adame.
But the team is not stopping here. This year AK Inovex will be altering its business strategy by adding an ecological washing machine for plastics using a special biodetergent, which could help plastic processors reduce their overheads even more.
The company is working with the ALINSA Group, which is established in the field of manufacturing environmentally friendly cleaning products using biodegradable chemicals. The two organisations made contact as a result of their participation in the Cleantech Challenge, Mexico - a content which promotes the development of green companies. After the competition, both businesses began sharing ideas and joined forces with the aim to integrate ecological washing systems using degradable plastic substances without affecting the environment.
Editor's note: Original article published in Investigacion y Desarrollo.