A s more municipalities expand and modify their collection programs to

include single-, two- or three-stream col- lection systems, interest in automated sort- ing of the container stream is increasing. In January 2002, the Environment and Plastics Industry Council (Mississauga, Ontario) and Corporations Supporting Recycling (Toron- to) contracted with Entec Consulting Ltd. (Pickering, Ontario) to review new devel- opments in plastic sorting technologies. The report, A Review of Automated Technology to Sort Plastic & Other Containers, presents the findings of that review and part of a broader study on State-of-the-Art Single Stream Recycling in Various North Ameri- can Jurisdictions that recently has been completed.

The report focuses on the two general tech- nologies used to feed and sort plastics: sin- gulated-feed systems and mass-feed systems. Although both types of sorting systems are used on commingled plastics and paperboard (aseptic, polycoat) streams, each particular system has its own benefits and drawbacks. Singulated-feed systems require that objects be fed one-by-one to the sensor, which then identifies and ejects each bottle into the appro- priate stream. A single line is capable of sort- ing multiple types of plastics, but throughput is limited to the capabilities of each sorting line. However, adding multiple lines can increase throughput capacity. The real advan- tage to singulated-feed systems, though, is

the high sort purity rate, which generally reaches 98 to 99 percent.

Mass-feed systems require the recycling stream to be spread out in a single layer over the width of a wide belt. Such systems sport higher throughputs and fewer mechanical sys- tems to maintain, but also require a separate sensor for each type of plastic to be sorted. Mass feed systems also generate a purity rate in the 90 to 95 percent range depending on

c o n - ' taminar level of the infeed. The addition of a second sensor in a series can increase the sorting purity or can be used to sort another recycling stream. Without the addition of a second sensor though, manual quality con- trol must be administered as a final sten

The report identifies three primary manu- facturers of mass sorting equipment - Mag- netic Separation Systems (Nashville, Ten- nessee), National Recovery Technologies, Inc. (Nashville, Tennessee) and TiTech (Oslo,

Norway) - and one singulated sorting equip- ment manufacturer - Rofin Australia Pty Ltd. (Dingley, Victoria, Australia) - that are mak- ing inroads into materials recovery facility (MRF) processing. The EPIC study com- pares and contrasts the new sorting and sen- sor equipment available from these manu- facturers, the associated costs and technical specifications, and the general economics of automated versus manual sorting.

Sapphire and Aladdin systems MSS, Inc. produces both the Aladdin and Sap- phire mass-feed systems for plastic sorting. Both of these machines sort plastic resins, aseptic cartons, paper or mixed plastics from a commingled stream using near-infrared detectors, high-speed microprocessors and air jets. Both models are suitable for high- capacity, mass-feed applications while pro- ducing product purity levels upward of 90 percent.

While the Sapphire unit cannot distin- guish a clear PET bottle from a colored PET bottle, nor can it distinguish any colored PET bottle from a PET bakery tray, the Aladdin system features an integrated color sensor that allows it to differentiate between a clear and green PET bottle, or a transparent PET

Cathy Cirko is the Director General of the Environment and Plastics Industry Council (EPIC), which is a council of the Canadian Plastics Industry Association (Mississauga, Ontario). She may be reached at (905) 678-7748 or ccirko@cpia.ca. Bob Graham is the president of Entec Consulting Ltd. (Pickering, Ontario). He may be reached at (905) 839-8038 or entec@sympatico.ca.

~ e s o u r c e Recycling June 2003

pulp and paper markets had nothing to do with its bankruutcv. the lessons learned from the Enron dedacie are applicable to both trading and general business practices. Credit exposure is very serious, regardless of whether it applies to a physical or finan- cial transaction. In a contract using only the prevailing market price, recei ically the only value at risk tion. In a fixed-price long-term

those risks are assumed in financial trans- actions. Before entering into a medium- to long-term fixed-price transaction, regard- less of whether it is physical or financial, closely examining the credit rating and oper- ating history of your counterparty is pru- dent and should be considered a fiduciary responsibility.

Almost any company or municipality can enter into a financial hedge today. Sometimes

tionsumer - uNr pnyslcal purcnase ana man- cia1 swap transactions

Transaction 2 --..-..... ----

companies with low credirt-ratings are required to post collateral before they begin trading, but companies and municipalities still should be very selective when choosing the financial institutions they select as trading partners.

Summary This article can be distilled into a few basic precepts. First, fixed-for-floating swaps uti- lizing independent indices are used by

pendent of physical transactions and can be modified or cancelled at any time for the pre- vailing market price. Finally, counterparty credit is very important and should be seri- ously considered before entering into a medi- um- to long-term fixed-price transaction.

RR

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I

The Aladdin f i m MSS, Inc. sorts all resins and all colors in one machine.

bottle and an opaque PET container. Addi- HDPE, clear PET from colored PET, or nat- tionally, the Aladdin can separate a colored ural from colored HDPE). The MultiSort HDPE bottle from a natural one. The ES sports throughput rates up to 3,630 kilo- Aladdin also features a user-friendly color grams per hour and allows for two or more touch-screen interface and a modem con- machines to be joined together for multiple nection for factory upgrades and diagnos- sorts. When performing multiple sorts, how- tics. ever, the identification and separation steps

The Sapphire can prepare one split at a on each machine remain independent of each time, generating two output streams from one other. input stream, while separating multiple resins Back in 199 1, NRT set out to deal with the from a mixed plastics and paperboard stream, problem of PVC contaminating PET, of which The throughput rates of the five Sapphire even small traces can cause problems in the models vary from 1,500 to 3,000 kilograms recycling process. To that end, NRT devel- per hour. The Aladdin, on the other hand, can oped the Vinylcycle, a system that still identify and separate two streams on one pass, remains in commercial operation today. The effectively generating three output streams Vinylcycle separates PVC from a mixed from one input stream, while handling up to stream of whole or crushed plastic bottles, 4,000 kilograms per hour. Additionally, the thus ensuring a clean batch of PET. Featur- Aladdin counts bottles separated by type and ing two throughput sizes (at a rate of either size. The Aladdin has been in operation at six bottles per second or 10 bottles per sec- the Todd Heller Materials Recovery Facility ond), the Vinylcycle has found acceptance (MRF) in Pennsylvania for over a year. The among various plastic processors and waste system positively sorts PET and natural HDPE companies. from colored HDPE.

AutoSort beverage- NRT's triad of sorters carton sorter The MultiSort IR system from National TiTech developed the TiTech AutoSort bev- Recovery Technologies, Inc. (NRT) is a mass erage-carton sorter in 1993, when no exist- sorting system that uses near-infrared sens- ing technology could extract plastic-laminat- ing technology to sort one designated plastic ed paperboard. The system relies on a fast- polymer type from a commingled stream of scanning spectrometer using near infrared mixed plastics and paperboard. Unlike the (NIR) technology, particle detection and selec- MSS Aladdin system, the MultiSort IR does tive impulses of compressed air to recognize not sort by color, only by polymer type, but and identify the unique molecular structure it does achieve throughput rates in excess of of commonly used materials. After identify- 4,500 kilograms per hour. In addition, the ing the materials, the detectors generate a two- MultiSort IR features a modem connection dimensional image of the materials, which to receive diagnostics checkups and adjust- the software analyzes to determine the posi- ments from NRT's factory. tion of the selected materials and the size and

Designed to sort plastic bottles over a shape of the objects. wide range of colors, tints and transparen- The analyses takes place contiuously over cies, NRT's MultiSort ES system is a mass- the entire conveyor width at a rate of up to feed system that performs only one sort at a 6,000 kilograms per hour, but the system still time. Colors, however, can be grouped is not well suited to multiple sorts. Each together and sorted (e.g., sort PET from AutoSort machine is calibrated to separate a

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Resource Recycling June 2003

particular resin type according to its physical andlor chemical properties, thus sorting mul- tiple resin types requires multiple machines in a series.

TiTech also recently acquired Real Vision Systems (Koblenz, Germany) - a develop- er of computer-driven separation devices - to complement their AutoSort system with Real Vision's advanced color-image analy- sis and near-infrared spectroscopy. The com- panies intend to combine their technologies into their first joint product: a system for automatic classification and sorting of recy- clable paper.

RapidSort system In 1978, Rofin Australia Pty. Ltd. was estab- lished as a scientific instrument marketing company that develops systems and analyt- ical instruments based on optical technolo- gy. In association with the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and Curtin Univer- sity in Perth, Rofin developed the RapidSort. The RapidSort provides the recycling indus- try a high-speed plastic bottle sorting sys- tem that sorts both commingled and con- taminated polymer streams to a very low contamination level by polymer type and color.

The RapidSort system uses a three-stage system comprised of feed, singulation, and identification and sorting. After the feed-

NRT's M~~ltiSort IR detects the unique "signatnre" ofpolymers with inJLrrred sensors and computer algorithms.

er generates an even stream, the bottles are then singulated and presented to a single- stage sensor. The identification unit uses a high-resolution, high-speed NIR and vis- ible spectrometer-based system to identi- fy plastic bottles and containers by poly- mer type and color. After identification,

each bottle continues to the appropriate ejection port, while non-plastic contami- nants and unidentified items continue to the end of the sorter where they can either be sent to a waste bin or re-routed to the in-feed.

A RapidSort line sports throughput

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~esource Recycling June 2003

Reader service # 107

speeds of up to 900 kilograms per hour, but multiple lines can be used to increase throughput capacities. Moreover, because each line and its detector sorts into as many plastic categories as required, additional lines can be added as modules to match

entiation within the same resin type; how- ever, one unit would be required for each plastic grade to be sorted. For larger vol- umes, the MSS Aladdin and NRT MultiSort IR units may be justifiable. However, note that two TiTech units would be required to

throughput requirements. I sort two grades of plastic at an equivalent

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Conclusion Selection of an opti- cal sorting system to be used in any MRF is a function of the throughput of the materials to be sort- ed, the market value of the product and the economic trade- offs between manu- al-versus-mechanical sorting.

The Rofin system I Winner ofthe 1999 PACIA Plastics Innovation is not yet commer- Award, Rojn 's RapidSott is poised to make inroads cially available in

Vibrating Equipment, Inc.

North America. The company plans to break into the market in 2003, but the cap- ital cost is not yet known. The TiTech AutoSort, NRT Vinylcycle and MSS Sap- phire units appear best suited for MRF appli- cation, primarily because of their lower cap- ital cost. The AutoSort and MultiSort ES units are smaller physical units than the Sap- phire and are also capable of color differ-

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I I Reader service # 134

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or higher cost than the Aladdin. Decisions regarding the use of available

automated plastic sorting technologies are very much ones of economics, based on equipment capi t a1 and financing costs, material throughput volumes, the cost of manual sorting and revenues associated with the final products. Ultimately, the sorting equipment configuration at each

MRF should be designed based on those factors in each case. RR

A Review of Automated Technology to Sort Plas- tic & Other is available free of charge ,d may bedownloaded dYect,y from the IIPubli- cationsn section of the EPIC Web site (www.plas tics.ca/epic) or from the CSR Web site (www. csr.org).