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With China Plastic Machinery
With China Plastic Machinery
As the consumption of plastic products continues to increase, the amount of waste plastics is also increasing. At present, China's waste plastics mainly include plastic films, plastic threads and woven products, foam plastics, plastic packaging boxes and containers, daily plastic products, plastic bags and agricultural mulch films. In addition, China's annual consumption of plastics for automobiles has reached 400,000 tons, and the annual consumption of plastics for electronic appliances and home appliances has reached more than 1 million tons. These products have become one of the important sources of waste plastics after being scrapped.
It is understood that in 2011, China's waste plastic production was about 28 million tons, and in 2012 it was 34.13 million tons. If the storage, transportation, processing, application and post-processing of these waste plastics are not appropriate, it will inevitably damage the environment and endanger the health of the people.
With the rise in global crude oil prices, the price of plastic products, as one of the petroleum derivatives, has naturally risen, and the recycling of waste plastics has also been mentioned in the first place. The recycling and reuse of waste plastics has been widely adopted by modern chemical companies. After manual screening and classification, waste plastics must go through processes such as crushing, granulation, and modification to become various transparent and opaque plastic particles, which are then classified according to their appearance and finally become recycled materials that can be reused.
Initially, plastic recycling was largely landfilled or incinerated, resulting in a huge waste of resources. Therefore, waste plastics are used in foreign countries for blast furnace injection instead of coal, oil and coke, cement rotary kilns instead of coal to burn cement, and made into refuse solid fuel (RDF) for power generation, with ideal results.
RDF technology was originally developed by the United States. In recent years, Japan has taken into account the shortage of landfills, the serious corrosion of HCI to boilers when incinerators treat chlorine-containing waste plastics, and the generation of dioxins during combustion that pollute the environment. The high calorific value of waste plastics is used to mix various combustible garbage to make RDF with a calorific value of 20933kJ/kg and uniform particle size. Even if the chlorine is diluted, it is also convenient for storage, transportation and coal burning for other boilers and industrial kilns.
Blast furnace waste plastic injection technology is also a new method for treating waste plastics by using the high calorific value of waste plastics as raw materials to make suitable particles and spray them into blast furnaces to replace coke or coal powder. The application of waste plastic injection in foreign blast furnaces shows that the utilization rate of waste plastics is 80%, the emission is 0.1%-1.0% of the incineration amount, the harmful gas produced is small, and the treatment cost is low. The blast furnace waste plastic injection technology has opened up a new way for the comprehensive utilization of waste plastics and the control of "white pollution", and also provides a new means for metallurgical enterprises to save energy and increase efficiency. Germany and Japan have successfully applied it since 1995.
Waste solid fuel power generation was first applied in the United States, and there are 37 RDF power stations, accounting for 21.6% of waste power stations. Japan has realized the huge potential of waste plastic power generation. In conjunction with the overhaul, Japan has converted some small waste incineration stations into RDF production stations so that they can be concentrated and continuously and efficiently generate electricity on a large scale, increasing the steam parameters of the waste power plant from 30012 to about 45012, and the power generation efficiency from the original 15% to 20%-25%.
Degradable plastics can be decomposed in the sun. Starch is also added to plastics to make them more biodegradable, but the decomposition is still incomplete. Some people even use genetically modified bacteria to produce completely biodegradable plastics, but the cost is still high. BASF of Germany has developed a biodegradable plastic called Ecoflex for food packaging. The above degradable plastics are rarely used due to cost issues. This plastic must be exposed to air to decompose, so if it is buried, it will still cause solid waste problems.
To facilitate the recycling of plastics, the American Plastics Industry Association proposed a labeling system that uses plastic types to classify: "Synthetic Resin Identification Code". Recyclable plastic containers are labeled with a triangle surrounded by three arrows, which indicates the type of plastic.
China's national standard (GB18455-2001) stipulates that plastic packaging products or plastic containers with a volume/capacity of more than 100 ml must be visually labeled with plastic recycling symbols:
Abbreviation Name Use
PET Polyethylene terephthalate, also commonly known as polyester, is commonly found in PET bottles.
HDPE High-density polyethylene is commonly found in lotion containers, milk bottles, and supermarket plastic bags.
PVC Polyvinyl chloride is commonly found in pipes, outdoor furniture, and raincoats.
LDPE Low-density polyethylene is commonly found in tube packaging for toothpaste or facial cleansers.
PP Polypropylene is commonly found in bottle caps, straws, and microwave food containers.
PS Polystyrene is classified as unfoamed or foamed. Unfoamed plastic is styrofoam, which is commonly found in some beverage containers (such as Yakult); foamed plastic is commonly known as styrofoam, which is commonly found in packaging plastic pellets, disposable insulation plastic cups, frozen meat containers, and lunch boxes.
Other recyclable plastic products include polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polycarbonate (PC), polylactic acid (PLA), nylon, fiberglass reinforced plastic (FRP), biaxially oriented polylactic acid film (BOPLA), etc.
At present, waste plastic trading places have spread all over the country, forming a number of large-scale waste plastic recycling trading distribution centers and processing clusters. They are mainly distributed in provinces with relatively developed plastic processing industries such as Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong, Hebei, and Liaoning. Among them, the waste plastic recycling, processing and operation market scale in Taizhou, Dongyang and Cixi in Zhejiang, Nanhai, Dongfan and Shantou in Guangdong, Lianyungang, Xuzhou and Xinghua in Jiangsu, Wen'an, Wangdu and Bazhou in Hebei, Linyi, Laizhou, Zibo and Dongying in Shandong, Anyang, Changge and Jiehe in Henan, Wuhe in Anhui, etc. is getting bigger and bigger, and the annual transaction volume is mostly from several hundred million to more than ten billion yuan.
As an emerging industry, the scale of waste plastic processing is constantly growing and expanding, and the variety and output are constantly increasing. At present, there are also a large number of similar processing sites and trading places around major central cities across the country, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Nanjing, Xi'an, Taiyuan, Chengdu, Shenyang and other surrounding areas. Overall, there are more and more companies engaged in waste plastic recycling and processing in China, but they are still dominated by individual enterprises.
At present, the market value of waste plastic applications in China is more than 100 billion yuan. In recent years, the price increase of plastic raw materials has greatly promoted the market, and the price of waste plastics has also risen sharply. Among them, the price of relatively pure polyethylene and polypropylene recycled materials has reached more than 6,000 yuan/ton (November 2005), which is close to the price of raw materials before the increase. In addition to disposable plastic bags and fast food boxes, there is almost no trace of waste plastic products in the garbage of big cities, indicating that the recycling level of waste plastics has been significantly improved. However, China is still far behind the advanced level of foreign countries in recycling technology. Therefore, the sustainable development of China's plastics industry should revolve around the center of plastics and the environment.
With the large-scale application of plastics, China's plastic recycling industry market has gradually prospered since the beginning of the 21st century, small and medium-sized enterprises have emerged like springs, and investment has been active. It has transformed from the previous family workshop-style recycling and recycled plastics model to a pure business model driven by market demand, and is developing into an environmentally friendly industrial economy with clustered recycling and processing, intensive market transactions, and completely driven by market demand and prices.
At present, there are tens of thousands of plastic recycling enterprises in China, and recycling outlets are spread all over the country. A number of large-scale recycled plastic recycling trading markets and processing distribution centers have been formed, mainly distributed in provinces with developed plastic processing industries such as Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Fujian, Shandong, Hebei, Henan, Anhui, and Liaoning. Among them, Yuyao, Ningbo, Dongyang, Cixi, and Taizhou in Zhejiang; Nanhai, Dongguan, Shunde, and Shantou in Guangdong; Xinghua, Changzhou, Taicang, Lianyungang, and Xuzhou in Jiangsu; Wen'an, Baoding, Xiongxian, and Yutian in Hebei; Laizhou, Zhangqiu, and Linyi in Shandong; Anyang, Changge, and Luohe in Henan; and Wuhe in Anhui. The scale of the recycled plastic recycling, processing, and business market is getting bigger and bigger, and the annual transaction volume is mostly in the hundreds of millions to tens of billions of yuan, showing a booming development trend. There are also a large number of similar processing and trading gathering places around major central cities across the country, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Nanjing, Hefei, Xi'an, Taiyuan, Kunming, Chengdu, Shenyang, and Urumqi.
The number of enterprises and personnel engaged in the recycling and processing of recycled plastics is huge and growing steadily, mainly self-employed households and farmers, and there are also some investors from other industries. The plastic recycling industry provides channels for rural economic growth, employment of surplus rural labor, and increased income, and has made great contributions to resource recycling and environmental protection. It is an important part of the environmental protection industry.
Recycled plastics are plastics in different forms that still have recycling value after their service life ends. Almost all thermoplastics have recycling value. Recycled plastics are produced in the production process of synthetic resins, in the production and processing of plastic products and semi-finished products, in the plastic logistics process, and after consumers use them. Generally, those produced during synthesis and processing are called pre-consumer plastics; those produced after circulation, consumption, and use are called post-consumer plastics. Pre-consumer plastics have a small amount of production, stable quality, and high recycling value. They are generally properly handled during the production process and can be fully reused. What we call recycled plastics generally refers to recyclable plastic products that lose their use value after consumption and can be recycled. Plastics can obtain recycling value and achieve recycling after recycling, concentration, classification, and scientific and reasonable disposal. Some of the imported waste plastics are pre-consumer plastics from abroad, which are of good quality and high value. They can be used as recycled raw materials and should be imported in large quantities.
The major categories of recycled plastic sources include plastic films (including plastic packaging bags and agricultural films), plastic filaments and woven products, foam plastic products, plastic packaging boxes and containers, cable coating materials, and various daily-use plastic products such as daily sundries, cultural and sports entertainment, and health care. Among them, plastic products such as films, foams, packaging boxes and containers, woven, and sheets are mainly used for plastic packaging. In addition, there are some other plastic packaging products (such as plastic pallets), agricultural plastic products (such as agricultural plastic water-saving equipment), and decorative plastic products with high scrap rates.
The consumption of plastic packaging was 6.344 million tons in 2004 and exceeded 7 million tons in 2005. It is estimated that at least 80% was discarded within a year, which is the main source of recycled plastics. This is similar to foreign countries. For example, in 2001, the recycling of plastic packaging in the UK accounted for 91.2% of the total recycling of plastics. In addition, the environmental impact of some materials that have low recycling value or high recycling cost and are difficult to dispose of, such as plastic composites, ultra-thin packaging materials, ground films, and disposable plastic products, cannot be ignored.
However, the use of structural plastic building materials such as plastic pipes and fittings, special-shaped materials, and reinforced anti-leakage geotechnical materials (including waterproof rolls) has increased significantly in recent years, and their actual service life is relatively long. They are not yet at the stage of large-scale scrapping, so the amount of waste in this part is not large.
According to the normal service life of household appliances of 10 to 15 years, an average of more than 5 million televisions, 5 million washing machines, and about 4 million refrigerators are scrapped each year. In this way, China will eliminate more than 15 million waste household appliances each year. In recent years, the replacement speed of electronic communication equipment such as computers, mobile phones, VCDs, DVDs, records, and CDs has accelerated, and the number of scrapped appliances has increased sharply each year, bringing more serious environmental problems.
Plastics are an important component of household appliances. According to the proportion in Table 4, the amount of renewable plastics produced each year is at least 150,000 tons. If the amount of renewable plastics from scrapped electronic communication equipment is taken into account, the number is about 200,000 tons. The main components of these recycled plastics are polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), ABS, etc., which have great recycling value; while some thermosetting plastics, foamed polyurethane, and glass fiber reinforced plastics are relatively difficult to recycle.
The reasonable disposal of recycled plastics in the recycling process of waste household appliances is one of the important links. The types of plastics used in different household appliances are different. The types of plastics used in the same product are also different due to different manufacturers. Sometimes the same type of plastics but different additives, functional masterbatches or formulas are used. This makes it difficult to recycle household appliance plastics. We must take it seriously and strive to achieve effective recycling to minimize environmental pressure and energy waste.
The amount of plastic accessories for electronic appliances has reached more than 1 million tons. They are widely used in industrial supporting, information, transportation, aerospace and other fields, and the products are updated very quickly. As these products gradually enter the period of mass scrapping, they become an important source of waste plastics.
The biggest advantage of using plastics to make auto parts is that it reduces the weight of the car, saves costs and processes, and improves certain performance of the car. The average amount of plastics used in cars in developed countries has exceeded 100kg. The scrapping of cars will bring about the recycling of car plastic resources and the reasonable treatment of the environment.
According to authoritative experts in the automotive industry, China's automobile production reached 5.7 million vehicles in 2005, and the total demand for cars reached 6.5 million vehicles in 2006. The average use of automotive plastics in China reached 70,000, with an annual consumption of more than 400,000 tons. The types of plastics used in cars include: PVC, PP, PE, PU, ABS, PA, POM, etc. As the number of scrapped cars increases year by year, the amount of automotive plastics has steadily increased like that of home appliances and electronic appliances. Their recycling and reuse have also become the focus of waste plastic sources, and the treatment principles are similar. By 2012, China's demand for automotive plastics will reach about 800,000 tons. Therefore, the task of recycling and reusing scrapped automotive plastic parts will become increasingly arduous.
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