Eriez announces a groundbreaking new development in plastics separation by way of the company’s innovative, new PolyMag™ Process. With Eriez’ PolyMag™ Process, hand sorting and other common, costly and labor intensive procedures for plastics recovery are a thing of the past.
The PolyMag™ Process goes to the core of the problem by creating a material that incorporates separation characteristics into the design. By including one percent of the PolyMag™ Additive, similar to a colorant loading, the resin becomes a candidate for magnetic separation.
Sequential three-dimension blow molding, two-shot injection, co-extrusion and overmolding processes frequently produce scrap. This scrap is often made up of dissimilar plastics that need to be separated for maximum recovery efficiency and cost savings.
The standard method for scrap recovery in multi-material moldings, utilized by companies worldwide, requires a band saw and extensive manual labor. This costly and contaminant prone method not only takes up a great deal of employees’ time, but also puts them at risk for serious injuries.
Eriez’ cutting edge PolyMag™ Process utilizes the time-tested method of magnetic separation to reclaim valuable plastics. After being subjected to the PolyMag™ Process, the desired material is separated from other materials by the extremely powerful Erium powered Rare Earth magnet used in Eriez’ new PolyMag™ Separator.
In the PolyMag™ Process, the first step is to blend the PolyMag™ Additive into one of the co-molded materials with a standard color auger. Then to recover the scrap that occurs from start-up, process swings or design changes, simply granulate the moldings via a standard grinder. The material is now ready to be run through the PolyMag™ Separator. The end result is a high percentage of resin separation, in less time and with greater safety than ever before possible.
Diverse products and processes have different results, but if the part regrind has distinct particles of each resin, it can be reused. When chemically bonded materials with a high percentage of surface contact are used, it may be necessary to do additional granulating and separating.
All plastic products, including thermoset, gaskets and thermoplastic are candidates for the PolyMag™ Process. As long as the multi-material part can be ground, PolyMag™ can help separate it.
Eriez is recognized as world authority in advanced technology for magnetic, vibratory and metal detection applications. The company’s magnetic lift and separation, metal detection, materials feeding, screening, conveying and controlling equipment have application in the process, metalworking, packaging, recycling, mining, aggregate, and textile industries. Eriez manufactures and markets these products through nine international facilities located on five continents.