Process Plant Design

Plant Design for multilayer plastic packaging recycling plant in Pakistan

Submitted to:
Dr. Yasir Qayyum Gill

Submitted by: Group # 09

Nakhal Shahid 2020-PE-30
Tayyab Butt 2020-PE-01
Ahsan Saeed 2020-PE-21

Polymer and Process Engineering

University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore.

1
Table of Contents
1 Plant Design for multilayer plastic packaging recycling plant in Pakistan.............................3
1.1 Abstract................................................................................................................................3
1.2 Introduction.........................................................................................................................3
1.3 Literature Review................................................................................................................3

2
 1 Plant Design for multilayer plastic packaging recycling plant in
Pakistan
1.1 Abstract

The following report was written to show progress in designing a plant for recycling of
multilayer plastic packaging. A literature review was conducted to study the establishment of
recycling plants all around the world. The estimation of annual waste from multilayer
packaging in Pakistan was analyzed. A feasibility study was also conducted to assess how
this plant would succeed as a business, and finally, Aspen+ was used to simulate the working
of the chemical plant.

1.2 Introduction

Policymakers, the media, and consumers have all placed a great deal more emphasis on
packaging's "end-of-life" consequences in recent years. This has been motivated by worries
about pollution from single-use items that are thrown away (particularly the pollution that
waste plastics contribute to the marine environment) and a growing acknowledgement that
reducing the impact of climate change can be achieved through the efficient use of material
resources. In EU level, which has resulted in recent legislation that has greatly raised the
required packaging and recycling of municipal waste, significantly changed the regulations
pertaining to extended producer responsibility (EPR), and presented a new recycling
computation approach for the entire EU. As a result of this policy framework, the idea of
"recyclability" has received a lot of attention. It will be mandatory for all EU members to
implement packaging EPR programs that "modulate" producer fees according to
environmental standards. Eco-design will be financially encouraged as a result, with a focus
on how much which kind of packing is regarded as recyclable. In the end, the degree to
which a material or packaging format is recycled will demonstrate its recyclable nature with
recycling being measured using the quantity that is actually recycled rather than the amount
that is collected for recycling revived.
The phrases "recyclable" and "recyclability" are still somewhat ambiguous, but upcoming
changes to the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive should provide a clearer definition
for them. It is evident that certain package formats are easier to recycle than others because of
things like the complexity of the design and the materials employed. Formats wherein various
elements are bound together to form layers or Particular emphasis has been paid to polymers
that pose difficulties for recycling, such as beverage cartons serving as a prime illustration of
a somewhat intricate package made up of several elements.

1.3 Literature Review

The end-of-life treatment of postconsumer packaging waste comprises three steps:

1. Collection
2. Sorting

3
 3. Reprocessing
A proper collection is a prerequisite for an effective sorting and collection. However, since it
is a question of logistics and not a technical problem, it does not lie within the scope of this
review. Dimensionally stable plastics can be sorted by an NIR separator. Stable multilayer
packaging should be sorted into the rigid mixed plastics or remain in the residue. Following
sorting, the presorted polymers have to be recycled. This reprocessing of the sorted polymers
can be done in three ways:
1. Energetic utilization is the recovery process of energy contained in the polymers by
converting it into thermal or electrical energy by incineration. Since this type of
recycling does not deliver a material product, it will not be considered as recycling.
2. Mechanical recycling, which describes the production of new products while the
polymer chains stay preserved. This is done by processing the polymer waste with
physical methods like shredding, solving, or melting.
3. Chemical recycling, whereby polymer waste is turned back into its oil/hydrocarbon
component in the cases of polyolefin and into monomers in the case of polyesters and
polyamides. These can be used as raw materials for the production of new polymers.
[1]
The fractions containing multilayer packaging are partially incinerated and partially recycled
mechanically.
Methods of recycling are generally divided into four categories: primary, secondary, tertiary,
and quaternary. Primary recycling is considered when the materials after recycling present
equal or improved properties compared to the initial or virgin materials. On the other hand,
when the recycled material obtained presents worsened properties than the virgin material,
the method is called secondary recycling or down-cycling method. In the tertiary (also known
as chemical or feedstock) recycling method, the waste stream is converted into monomers or
chemicals that could be advantageously used in the chemical industries. Finally, the
quaternary (also known as thermal recycling, energy recovery, and energy from waste)
recycling method correspond to the recovery of plastic as energy and is not considered as
recycling in a true circular economy. It is important to note that there is a hierarchy in these
four recycling methods, where the mechanical recycling is to be implemented first [2].
The presorted aluminum fraction, in which aluminum-containing multilayer packaging can
also be contained, usually undergoes a pyrolysis step that removes the plastic components as
well as the lacquers or residual contents, before the aluminum is re-melted. In the case of a
packaging in which the aluminum foil constitutes 19% and the plastic components make up
the remaining 81%, the overall recycling rate is 17%, whereby the loss of aluminum can be
attributed to the formation of aluminum oxide.
In general, it can be said that there are two ways to recycle multilayered packaging items:
1. The first option is to separate the different components and make them available for
recycling in separated recycling streams
2. The second option is to process the used components together in one
compatibilization step.
For the separation of the different components, two methods are applied: a separation can be
performed either by delamination of the system or by selective dissolution–precipitation of

4
the different components. While the delamination methods can be based on the chemical
decomposition of inter- or adhesive layer, methods based on selective dissolution and
methods based on the combined processing of the different constituents can be described by
the thermodynamics of polymer solutions [3].
A computationally guided platform strategy to deconstruct multilayer films of realistic
complexity (three or more layers) into their constituent resins via a series of solvent washes
in an approach that we call solvent-targeted recovery and precipitation (STRAP). The key to
successful implementation of the STRAP process is the ability to preselect solvent systems
and temperatures capable of selectively dissolving a single polymer layer from among all of
the components present in a multilayer film. Given the complexity of multilayer films, which
are often composed of more than 10 layers, and the large number of industrial solvents and
solvent mixtures available, solvent selection is challenging using experimental screening
alone. The aforementioned tie layers and additives present in actual multilayer films further
complicate the problem of identifying an appropriate series of solvent-mediated steps to
deconstruct the bulk material into a manageable series of segregated streams, as they are
present in dilute quantities (<1 wt %) and are often ill-defined. Here, we prescribe a guided
approach to rationally select solvents using calculations of Hansen solubility parameters
(HSPs), molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, and a combined quantum chemical and
statistical mechanical approach called the conductor-like screening model for realistic
solvents (COSMO-RS) [4].

2 Reference
1. Hopewell, J., Dvorak, R., & Kosior, E. (2009). Plastics recycling: challenges and
opportunities. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological
Sciences, 364(1526), 2115-2126.
2. Cabrera, G., Li, J., Maazouz, A., & Lamnawar, K. (2022). A journey from processing
to recycling of multilayer waste films: a review of main challenges and
prospects. Polymers, 14(12), 2319.
3. Liu, N. C., & Baker, W. E. (1992). Reactive polymers for blend
compatibilization. Advances in Polymer Technology: Journal of the Polymer
Processing Institute, 11(4), 249-262.
4. Walker, T. W., Frelka, N., Shen, Z., Chew, A. K., Banick, J., Grey, S., ... & Huber, G.
W. (2020). Recycling of multilayer plastic packaging materials by solvent-targeted
recovery and precipitation. Science advances, 6(47), eaba7599.