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Separations
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Investigation New Technology for Separation of Plastic Wastes
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Investigation New Technology for Separation of Plastic Wastes

A special issue of Separations (ISSN 2297-8739).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 February 2019) | Viewed by 10682

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Monica Moroni

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile Edile e Ambientale (DICEA), Sapienza University of Rome, Via Eudossiana 18, 00184 Rome, Italy
Interests: plastics separation; recycling plants; secondary raw materials; density processes; electrostatic separation; optical methods; wet technology; dry technology; thermal processes; chemical processes

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The environmental impact of post-consumer plastics is an important issue in waste management. In the hierarchy of sustainable waste management, when reduction and reuse of consumer goods cannot be carried out, recycling or energy recovery of materials must be preferred to landfilling. Therefore, plastic wastes can be considered as a resource, becoming the alternative to virgin materials or traditional fuels. The separation process within a recycling plant plays a major role in the contexts of production of high-quality secondary raw materials and reduction of extensive waste disposal in landfills. Nowadays, several promising technologies for plastic mixtures separation have undergone research, such as electrostatic separation, processes based on differential thermal behaviours, selective solvents and optical properties and, above all, separation by density.

This Special Issue of Separations invites papers addressing all aspects of the processes for plastics separations and impurities removal to reliably substitute virgin polymers reducing environmental impact and resource depletion.

Dr. Monica Moroni
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Separations is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Plastics separation
  • recycling plants
  • secondary raw materials
  • density processes
  • electrostatic separation
  • optical methods
  • wet technology
  • dry technology
  • thermal processes
  • chemical processes

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

8 pages, 742 KiB  
Communication
Gateway of Landfilled Plastic Waste Towards Circular Economy in Europe
by Juris Burlakovs, Mait Kriipsalu, Dmitry Porshnov, Yahya Jani, Viesturs Ozols, Kaur-Mikk Pehme, Vita Rudovica, Inga Grinfelde, Jovita Pilecka, Zane Vincevica-Gaile, Tsitsino Turkadze, William Hogland and Maris Klavins
Separations 2019, 6(2), 25; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations6020025 - 07 May 2019
Cited by 33 | Viewed by 6030
Abstract
For decades, significant work has been conducted regarding plastic waste by dealing with rejected materials in waste masses through their accumulation, sorting and recycling. Important political and technical challenges are involved, especially with respect to landfilled waste. Plastic is popular and, notwithstanding decrease [...] Read more.
For decades, significant work has been conducted regarding plastic waste by dealing with rejected materials in waste masses through their accumulation, sorting and recycling. Important political and technical challenges are involved, especially with respect to landfilled waste. Plastic is popular and, notwithstanding decrease policies, it will remain a material widely used in most economic sectors. However, questions of plastic waste recycling in the contemporary world cannot be solved without knowing the material, which can be achieved by careful sampling, analysis and quantification. Plastic is heterogeneous, but usually all plastic waste is jointly handled for recycling and incineration. Separation before processing waste through the analytical approach must be applied. Modern landfill mining and site clean-up projects in contemporary waste management systems require comprehensive material studies ranging from the macro-characterization of waste masses to a more detailed analysis of hazardous constituents and properties from an energy calorific standpoint—where, among other methods, thermogravimetric research coupled with life cycle assessment (LCA) and economic assessment is highly welcomed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Investigation New Technology for Separation of Plastic Wastes)
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18 pages, 15078 KiB  
Article
Experimental Investigation of the Productivity of a Wet Separation Process of Traditional and Bio-Plastics
by Monica Moroni, Emanuela Lupo, Valerio Della Pelle, Alessandra Pomponi and Floriana La Marca
Separations 2018, 5(2), 26; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations5020026 - 02 May 2018
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4038
Abstract
The separation process within a mechanical recycling plant plays a major role in the context of the production of high-quality secondary raw materials and the reduction of extensive waste disposal in landfills. Traditional plants for plastic separation employ dry or wet processes that [...] Read more.
The separation process within a mechanical recycling plant plays a major role in the context of the production of high-quality secondary raw materials and the reduction of extensive waste disposal in landfills. Traditional plants for plastic separation employ dry or wet processes that rely on the different physical properties among the polymers. The hydraulic separator is a device employing a wet technology for particle separation. It allows the separation of two-polymer mixtures into two products, one collected within the instrument and the other one expelled through its outlet ducts. Apparatus performance were analyzed as a function of fluid and solid flow rates, flow patterns developing within the apparatus, in addition to the density, shape, and size of the polymers. For the hydraulic configurations tested, a two-way coupling takes place where the fluid exerts an influence on the plastic particles and the opposite occurs too. The interaction between the solid and liquid phases determines whether a certain polymer settles within the device or is expelled from the apparatus. Tests carried out with samples of increasing volumes of solid particles demonstrate that there are no significant differences in the apparatus effectiveness as far as a two-way interaction takes place. Almost pure concentrates of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), and Polycarbonate (PC) can be obtained from a mixture of traditional polymers. Tests conducted on Polylactic Acid (PLA) and Mater-Bi® samples showed that the hydraulic separator can be effectively employed to separate bio-plastics from conventional plastics with remarkable grade and recovery. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Investigation New Technology for Separation of Plastic Wastes)
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