EPS Recycling plants
also for material flows with impurities
and hazardous substances (such as HBCD)
EPS
Recycling-
plants
EPC’s recycling plants for expanded polystyrene (EPS) not only work highly efficiently, but also offer profitable and environmentally friendly material recycling for various PS (polystyrene) and EPS waste. The process was developed in cooperation with the renowned Fraunhofer Institute (IVV Freising) and CreaCycle GmbH. The resulting CreaSolv® process produces a high-purity PS recyclate as an end product from PS and EPS waste.
Various, coordinated cleaning steps, the use of selected CreaSolv® formulations and specially tailored separation and filtration steps,
efficiently remove a wide variety of contaminants. This also includes EPS additives such as HBCD (hexabromocyclododecane), which can be reduced below the permissible limit values. The end product is a highly pure and odorless PS granulate. Compared to conventional mechanical recycling processes, which cannot remove the pollutants and hazardous substances contained in the polystyrene, EPS recycling systems from EPC use the CreaSolv® process to produce polystyrene with a high degree of purity. This process also offers great ecological advantages compared to the disposal methods used up to now for waste containing EPS/PS.
EPS recycling plants – also for material flows with
Contaminants and hazardous substances (such as HBCD)
EPS is not only a common packaging material, but has been used as an insulating material for more than 50 years and has taken over 80% of exterior walls in Germany, for example. Until 2015, this EPS insulation was equipped with HBCD, the production and use of which is now banned worldwide. HBCD is on the so-called POP list (persistent organic pollutant) and waste containing this substance must be destroyed without leaving any residue, which means that mechanical recycling is no longer possible in the future and only waste incineration, which is subject to a fee, remains.
However, with its high calorific value, EPS is a challenge for waste incineration plants and can only be incinerated together with other waste in low concentrations. In addition to the incineration or landfilling of hazardous and pollutant-containing EPS/PS waste, the EPC system technology for recycling EPS according to the CreaSolv® process is now available for the first time for the first time a closed economic and economic recyclable material cycle for PS-containing waste streams, which the “Circular Economy” concept of the European Union.
In contrast to established mechanical cleaning processes, EPS recycling with CreaSolv® Technology can process material flows with impurities and hazardous substances. Buildup, embedded contaminants, embedded hazardous substances and odorous substances are reliably removed or depleted from the input flow with CreaSolv® Technology (e.g. compliance with current POP regulations). Based on our standard designs of the EPS CreaSolv® recycling systems, individual adjustments to the respective customer needs are possible at any time. We also offer our customers production-related R&D services as part of our after-sales service. This flexibility offers our customers and the environment significant added value compared to the well-known and established processes.
CreaSolv®-Technology for EPS recycling
Step 1: Mechanical crushing
The collected EPS/PS waste is shredded into small pieces. This process step is always tailored to the composition of the waste.
Step 2: Dissolve EPS
The EPS/PS pieces are dissolved with the special formula CreaSolv®. This ensures that only polystyrene is included. All impurities remain in the slurry.
Step 3: Sludge Filtration
To separate solid contaminants from the liquid, it is transferred to EPC’s unique separation tank. This step is followed by a multi-stage filtration. Only the dissolved polystyrene reaches the next stage of the process.
Step 4: Polystyrene precipitation
The PS gel is separated from the solvent. Both are recovered and returned to the process. At this stage, dissolved impurities such as HBCD (brominated flame retardant) are extracted from the PS in compliance with current European limit values (POP regulation).
Step 5: Final Product
The melt extrusion, optional filtration and granulation ends in high quality recycled PS chips with high purity. HBCD additives are reduced to below 100 ppm during the recycling process.
Our cooperations
for EPS recycling
Polycarbonatanlage in Ningbo, China
Polycarbonatanlage in Ningbo, China
• Process Technology
• Engineering Package
• Key Equipment delivery
• FAT Quality Control
• Supervision of Installation, Pre-Commissioning and
Commissioning
• Recipe Development
• Product Optimization
EPS Recycling
ADVISORY
EPC Engineering & Technologies GmbH
Dr.-Bonnet-Weg 1
99310 Arnstadt
Germany
Phone + 49 3628 / 66048-2900
mail@epc.com