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WO2020198506A1 - Systèmes et procédés destinés à recycler des bioplastiques à densité réduite - Google Patents

Systèmes et procédés destinés à recycler des bioplastiques à densité réduite Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2020198506A1
WO2020198506A1 PCT/US2020/025011 US2020025011W WO2020198506A1 WO 2020198506 A1 WO2020198506 A1 WO 2020198506A1 US 2020025011 W US2020025011 W US 2020025011W WO 2020198506 A1 WO2020198506 A1 WO 2020198506A1
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WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
specific gravity
mixed waste
biopolymer
waste feedstock
reduced density
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Ceased
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PCT/US2020/025011
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English (en)
Inventor
Mike WAGGONER
Gregory J. Tudryn
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Corumat Inc
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Corumat Inc
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Publication of WO2020198506A1 publication Critical patent/WO2020198506A1/fr
Priority to US17/480,672 priority Critical patent/US20220073956A1/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Ceased legal-status Critical Current

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    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C08—ORGANIC MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; THEIR PREPARATION OR CHEMICAL WORKING-UP; COMPOSITIONS BASED THEREON
    • C08J—WORKING-UP; GENERAL PROCESSES OF COMPOUNDING; AFTER-TREATMENT NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C08B, C08C, C08F, C08G or C08H
    • C08J11/00—Recovery or working-up of waste materials
    • C08J11/04—Recovery or working-up of waste materials of polymers
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
    • B29B—PREPARATION OR PRETREATMENT OF THE MATERIAL TO BE SHAPED; MAKING GRANULES OR PREFORMS; RECOVERY OF PLASTICS OR OTHER CONSTITUENTS OF WASTE MATERIAL CONTAINING PLASTICS
    • B29B17/00—Recovery of plastics or other constituents of waste material containing plastics
    • B29B17/02—Separating plastics from other materials
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C08—ORGANIC MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; THEIR PREPARATION OR CHEMICAL WORKING-UP; COMPOSITIONS BASED THEREON
    • C08J—WORKING-UP; GENERAL PROCESSES OF COMPOUNDING; AFTER-TREATMENT NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C08B, C08C, C08F, C08G or C08H
    • C08J11/00—Recovery or working-up of waste materials
    • C08J11/04—Recovery or working-up of waste materials of polymers
    • C08J11/10—Recovery or working-up of waste materials of polymers by chemically breaking down the molecular chains of polymers or breaking of crosslinks, e.g. devulcanisation
    • C08J11/105—Recovery or working-up of waste materials of polymers by chemically breaking down the molecular chains of polymers or breaking of crosslinks, e.g. devulcanisation by treatment with enzymes
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
    • B29B—PREPARATION OR PRETREATMENT OF THE MATERIAL TO BE SHAPED; MAKING GRANULES OR PREFORMS; RECOVERY OF PLASTICS OR OTHER CONSTITUENTS OF WASTE MATERIAL CONTAINING PLASTICS
    • B29B17/00—Recovery of plastics or other constituents of waste material containing plastics
    • B29B17/04—Disintegrating plastics, e.g. by milling
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
    • B29B—PREPARATION OR PRETREATMENT OF THE MATERIAL TO BE SHAPED; MAKING GRANULES OR PREFORMS; RECOVERY OF PLASTICS OR OTHER CONSTITUENTS OF WASTE MATERIAL CONTAINING PLASTICS
    • B29B17/00—Recovery of plastics or other constituents of waste material containing plastics
    • B29B17/02—Separating plastics from other materials
    • B29B2017/0213—Specific separating techniques
    • B29B2017/0217—Mechanical separating techniques; devices therefor
    • B29B2017/0231—Centrifugating, cyclones
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
    • B29B—PREPARATION OR PRETREATMENT OF THE MATERIAL TO BE SHAPED; MAKING GRANULES OR PREFORMS; RECOVERY OF PLASTICS OR OTHER CONSTITUENTS OF WASTE MATERIAL CONTAINING PLASTICS
    • B29B17/00—Recovery of plastics or other constituents of waste material containing plastics
    • B29B17/02—Separating plastics from other materials
    • B29B2017/0213—Specific separating techniques
    • B29B2017/0217—Mechanical separating techniques; devices therefor
    • B29B2017/0237—Mechanical separating techniques; devices therefor using density difference
    • B29B2017/0244—Mechanical separating techniques; devices therefor using density difference in liquids
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
    • B29B—PREPARATION OR PRETREATMENT OF THE MATERIAL TO BE SHAPED; MAKING GRANULES OR PREFORMS; RECOVERY OF PLASTICS OR OTHER CONSTITUENTS OF WASTE MATERIAL CONTAINING PLASTICS
    • B29B17/00—Recovery of plastics or other constituents of waste material containing plastics
    • B29B17/04—Disintegrating plastics, e.g. by milling
    • B29B2017/0424—Specific disintegrating techniques; devices therefor
    • B29B2017/0468—Crushing, i.e. disintegrating into small particles
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C08—ORGANIC MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; THEIR PREPARATION OR CHEMICAL WORKING-UP; COMPOSITIONS BASED THEREON
    • C08J—WORKING-UP; GENERAL PROCESSES OF COMPOUNDING; AFTER-TREATMENT NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C08B, C08C, C08F, C08G or C08H
    • C08J2300/00—Characterised by the use of unspecified polymers
    • C08J2300/16—Biodegradable polymers
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C08—ORGANIC MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; THEIR PREPARATION OR CHEMICAL WORKING-UP; COMPOSITIONS BASED THEREON
    • C08J—WORKING-UP; GENERAL PROCESSES OF COMPOUNDING; AFTER-TREATMENT NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C08B, C08C, C08F, C08G or C08H
    • C08J2367/00—Characterised by the use of polyesters obtained by reactions forming a carboxylic ester link in the main chain; Derivatives of such polymers
    • C08J2367/04—Polyesters derived from hydroxy carboxylic acids, e.g. lactones
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02P—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS
    • Y02P20/00—Technologies relating to chemical industry
    • Y02P20/141—Feedstock
    • Y02P20/143—Feedstock the feedstock being recycled material, e.g. plastics
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02W—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO WASTEWATER TREATMENT OR WASTE MANAGEMENT
    • Y02W30/00—Technologies for solid waste management
    • Y02W30/50—Reuse, recycling or recovery technologies
    • Y02W30/52—Mechanical processing of waste for the recovery of materials, e.g. crushing, shredding, separation or disassembly
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02W—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO WASTEWATER TREATMENT OR WASTE MANAGEMENT
    • Y02W30/00—Technologies for solid waste management
    • Y02W30/50—Reuse, recycling or recovery technologies
    • Y02W30/62—Plastics recycling; Rubber recycling

Definitions

  • Embodiments described herein relate generally to apparatus and methods for the recovery and re-use of biopolymers and, more particularly, to recovery of reduced density biopolymer products from multi -material amalgam via biopolymer recycling.
  • Petroleum-derived plastics are widely used in both durable and nondurable (consumable) applications.
  • One use of nondurable petroleum-derived plastics is in the packaging of goods and food service items, often in a single use application. While the use of petroleum-derived plastics can be convenient and economical, the disposal of such plastic products results in vast amounts of waste.
  • many plastic products are made from recyclable or compostable materials. Recycling of plastics and/or other polymers has been commercial for many decades, and composting has been practiced relatively widely since the 1970’s. With worldwide recovery rates below 10 percent, however, neither of these methods has achieved a desired recovery rate.
  • Biopolymers and/or other alternatives to petroleum-derived polymers are intended to mitigate at least some these continuing environmental and/or health concerns. Some current biopolymers, however, are expensive relative to their petroleum-derived counterparts and/or have a limited ability to withstand the heat demands of some applications (e.g., such as some food service applications).
  • Biopolymers and/or other cellulose fiber composites are typically designed to degrade in composting environments and therefore, are not usually recycled. During composting, these compostable materials are generally mixed in with other organic and compostable materials such as food wastes, packaging, paper materials, and low-value organics, and then digested to produce biogas (methane), humus (a good soil additive), and/or the like. While the output from digestion is typically considered useful, it results in relatively low value products, especially when compared to the value of recycled plastics.
  • Some known methods of recycling biopolymers have included, for example, compaction, separation, or solvation followed by recovery of the biopolymer, which may ultimately disrupt the original structure and morphology of the biopolymer. Moreover, such methods of recycling may consume large amounts of energy and result in relatively high cost for purification. As such, recycling and/or composting biopolymers provides limited economic incentive for the recovery and re-use of such materials.
  • a method for deriving value from a mixed waste feedstock can include receiving a mixed waste feedstock including at least a reduced density biopolymer material and an organic feedstock. At least one of a fluid or a material that releases liquids during degradation is added to the mixed waste feedstock. The reduced density biopolymer material with a specific gravity below a specific gravity threshold is separated, via density separation, from the mixed waste feedstock. The method includes recovering the reduced density biopolymer material separated from the mixed waste feedstock as a result of the density separation.
  • FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a process of recycling a biopolymer material, according to an embodiment.
  • the systems and methods described herein are generally directed to facilities, materials, practices, and/or methods that may be used to recover and/or recycle materials such as polymers and/or biopolymers. While specific examples of recycling processes and/or methods are described herein, it should be understood that they have been provided by way of example only and not limitation. For example, in some instances, the systems and/or methods described herein can be used to recycle, recover, concentrate, repurpose, and then reuse biopolymers and/or biopolymer constituents such as oligomers, monomers, and/or the like derived from recycled biopolymers.
  • the systems and methods can create and/or increase value by recovering useful biopolymers and/or bio-based oligomers and monomers from a mixed waste feedstock.
  • the recovery of the biopolymers and/or bio-based oligomers and monomers can be achieved via any suitable combination of recycling and composting processes and/or steps.
  • any suitable combination of recycling and composting processes and/or steps can produce and/or can result in production of a biogas, which can be provided to heating and/or drying equipment, or turbines to generate electricity.
  • the generated electricity may be sufficient to power at least a portion of the equipment used in the recycling process, an entire facility, and/or may be sold and/or otherwise delivered to the grid or any suitable energy storage facility.
  • a method for deriving value from a mixed waste feedstock can include receiving a mixed waste feedstock including at least a reduced density biopolymer material and an organic feedstock. At least one of a fluid or a material that releases liquids during degradation is added to the mixed waste feedstock. The reduced density biopolymer material is separated, via density separation, from the mixed waste feedstock. The reduced density biopolymer material has a specific gravity below a specific gravity threshold. The reduced density biopolymer material separated from the mixed waste feedstock as a result of the separating is recovered.
  • the method can further include optionally fermenting a portion of the mixed waste feedstock including material that has a specific gravity greater than the specific gravity threshold.
  • biogas can be generated as a result of the fermenting and/or a biopolymer material can be generated from the fermented mixed waste feedstock via an organism.
  • a“biopolymer” refers generally to a polymer (a large molecule composed of many repeating units known as monomers) that is produced by or from a living organism.
  • Biopolymers produced from a living organism generally are produced by chemical processing the organism (e.g., plant) into a chemical that serves as the monomer for the biopolymer.
  • Biopolymers can be biodegradable or non-biodegradable.
  • Non-biodegradable biopolymers for example, can form polymers that are substantially the same as the corresponding petroleum-derived polymers.
  • Biodegradable biopolymers refer to a polymer that is produced by or from a living organism and that is configured to be consumed by bacteria, degrade in organic waste or compost, and/or naturally degrade over a given time.
  • Non-limiting examples of biodegradable biopolymers can include polylactic acid (PLA), polybutylene succinate (PBS), polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), polyhydroxlybutyrate (PHB), poly (3- hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyhexanoate) (PHBH), cellulose, starch, and/or the like.
  • a biopolymer product can be formed from and/or can include one or more biopolymer materials and/or a composite of multiple biopolymer materials (e.g., either biodegradable, non-biodegradable, or a combination thereof). While the embodiments and/or examples provided herein are described as being used to recover and/or otherwise recycle biodegradable biopolymers, it should be understood that the embodiments and/or examples can be used to recover and/or otherwise recycle biodegradable biopolymers, non-biodegradable biopolymers, and/or non-biopolymers.
  • the non-biopolymer may be polybutylene succinate (PBS), biodegradable aliphatic polyester, or PLA produced by a catalytic process (ethyl lactate extraction) rather than fermented plant starch.
  • PBS polybutylene succinate
  • PLA polybutylene succinate
  • ethyl lactate extraction ethyl lactate extraction
  • any suitable biodegradable biopolymer any of the systems and/or methods described herein may be used with and/or maybe be modified for use with any suitable biopolymer, bio-based material, non-biopolymer, and/or non-bio-based material.
  • PLA Polylactic acids also referred to as polylactides or PLA are a lactic acid-based biopolymer.
  • PLA is a biodegradable aliphatic polyester that has a wide range of applications in various fields and the raw material - lactic acid (LA) or 2-hydroxypropionic acid - can be derived from renewable resources.
  • LA lactic acid
  • 2-hydroxypropionic acid - can be derived from renewable resources.
  • PLA can be produced either by ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of lactides or by condensation polymerization of the lactic acid monomers, which can be obtained from the fermentation of com, beet-sugar, cane-sugar, etc.
  • ROP ring-opening polymerization
  • PLA has high mechanical properties, thermal plasticity, fabricability, and biocompatibility, and can readily degrade in commercial composting environments. In some instances, these properties and/or characteristics can make PLA a suitable and/or preferred material for use in sustainable packaging. Moreover, PLA can be expanded and/or foamed to reduce a density of the constituent materials, which in turn, can be used to form low density or reduced density products (e.g., low density or reduced density packaging). In some instances, the low density or reduced density packaging can have increased flexibility, resilience, and/or heat tolerance that can be suitable for use in food packaging.
  • expanded and/or foamed PLA can be used in food packaging including takeout food containers, clamshell food packaging containers, meat trays, bowls, cups, lids, cutlery, and agricultural packaging such as berry containers, seed starters, fruit trays, egg cartons, mushroom tills among any number of other applications.
  • PLA is a biodegradable biopolymer
  • PLA food packaging products and more particularly, expanded PLA food packaging products can be disposed of alongside or in contact with waste organics without contaminating a compost or organic waste feedstock.
  • the systems and/or methods described herein can be used to recover reduced density biopolymer products (e.g., expanded PLA products) that have a density below a density threshold.
  • PLA can have a density of approximately 1.2 grams per cubic centimeter (g/cc) and expanded and/or foamed PLA can have a reduced density between about 0.06 g/cc to about 0.2 g/cc.
  • expanded and/or foamed PLA can have a specific gravity (e.g., a value representing a ratio between a density of the biopolymer and a density of water) below, for example, 0.9, which can enable the expanded and/or foamed PLA to float when in a volume of water or other fluids, a slurry, and/or the like.
  • a specific gravity e.g., a value representing a ratio between a density of the biopolymer and a density of water
  • 0.9 a specific gravity
  • the systems and/or methods described herein can use density separation and/or other suitable techniques to recover reduced density PLA and/or other biopolymer products.
  • Expanded and/or foamed polymers can be formed by introducing a blowing agent or an inert gas into a polymeric resin that is then allowed to cure into the expanded and/or foamed polymer.
  • systems and/or methods for expanding PLA to form low-density products can be similar to and/or substantially the same as any of those described in, for example, U.S. Patent No. 10,513,590 entitled,“Reduced Density Thermoplastics,” filed June 19, 2014 (referred to herein as“the‘590 patent”); and/or U.S. Patent Publication No.
  • expanded and/or foamed polymeric articles can be made from multi-layer cellular structures with or without an outer skin, as described in detail in the‘577 publication.
  • the multi-layer cellular structures can include, for example, non-laminated multi-layer polymer sheets forming two discrete outer layers that enclose, bound, and/or sandwich any number of inner foamed layers having one or more discrete cell sizes.
  • an expanded and/or foamed polymer article formed of a number of layered structures of expanded cells with at least two distinct cell sizes may provide weight reduction, while enabling the expanded and/or foamed polymer to retain desirable mechanical performance during use.
  • reduced density polymers can be expanded, foamed, and/or layered via any suitable technique and/or method.
  • a reduced density biopolymer can be formed to include a layered structure with relatively hard outer layers, which may enable the reduced density biopolymer to be used in a wide range of durable applications and/or in applications for which conventionally foamed polymers may not have been suitable.
  • such a layered biopolymer can have a hardness or durometer of 35 Shore A or greater.
  • a layered biopolymer can have a durometer that is less than 35 Shore A.
  • reduced density PLA can be formed via lamination and can include any number of layered structures that can be foamed via extrusion foaming and/or the like.
  • a reduced density PLA product used, for example, in food packaging and/or the like can include a dissolvable or otherwise water- soluble barrier layer configured to limit and/or substantially prevent saturation of the reduced density PLA product.
  • the reduced density PLA product can be such that the dissolvable and/or water-soluble barrier layer is released, degraded, and/or digested during recovery using the systems and/or methods described herein.
  • reduced density PLA material or product can include chain extenders and/or can have chain lengths of over 130,000, which may be separated during recovery (using the systems and/or methods described herein) due to differences in viscosity and/or different responses to reactions such as, for example, hydrolysis.
  • the expanded and/or foamed polymers recovered and/or recycled using the systems and methods described herein can be, for example, semi-crystalline biopolymers such as PLA, PHA, starch, cellulose, and/or the like, or blends thereof.
  • the resulting expanded and/or foamed biopolymer article can be suitable for use in food packaging (and/or other applications) based at least in part on the biopolymer being compostable.
  • the reduced density of the expanded and/or foamed biopolymer can enable the material to float on water and/or on other relatively low- density fluids or slurries, which in turn, can allow for recovery of the expanded and/or foamed biopolymer via one or more density separation processes (e.g., float separation).
  • one or more density separation processes e.g., float separation
  • the systems and/or methods described herein can enable expanded and/or foamed biopolymers (e.g., PLA or the like) to be incorporated and/or otherwise included in an organic waste stream and can be configured to separate and/or recover at least a portion of the expanded and/or foamed biopolymer, via density separation (e.g., float separation), either prior to or during fermentation, anaerobic digestion, and/or other modes of composting the organic waste stream.
  • expanded and/or foamed biopolymers e.g., PLA or the like
  • density separation e.g., float separation
  • the systems and/or methods described herein can be performed such that an output of the fermentation, anaerobic digestion, and/or other modes of composting the organic waste stream is at least one of lactic acid, which can then be polymerized to form PLA, one or more oligomers used for nucleating longer chains during polymerization, and/or a useable biogas (e.g., methane), which can then be used to power one or more electric turbines.
  • the expanded and/or foamed polymers recovered and/or recycled using the systems and methods described herein can be, for example, petroleum-based polymers such as polyethylene terephthalate.
  • FIG. 1 Examples of recovering and/or recycling a biopolymer such as PLA are provided below with reference to FIG. 1. While particular systems, devices, and/or methods are described below it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only and not limitation. Accordingly, other systems, devices, and/or methods that function to recover and/or recycle a biopolymer are contemplated. While events, processes, and/or steps are described in the examples below as being performed in a particular order, it should be understood that the order of such events, processes, and/or steps may be modified or changed. Moreover, any of the events, processes, and/or steps may be performed concurrently or at least partially concurrently in a combined process or in one or more parallel processes.
  • FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a process flow through a system 10 for recovering and/or recycling products formed of or from one or more biopolymers.
  • the biopolymer products can be reduced density biopolymer (RDB) products 5 such as, for example, products formed of or from expanded and/or foamed PLA.
  • RDB reduced density biopolymer
  • at least a portion of the reduced density biopolymer materials forming the RDB products 5 can have a known and/or predetermined density that is less than a density threshold.
  • the density threshold can be at least partially based on a density of water (e.g., at or substantially at sea level).
  • the reduced density biopolymer materials forming the RDB products 5 can have a density that is less than a density of water. Said another way, the reduced density biopolymer materials forming the RDB products 5 can have a specific gravity that is less than, for example, 1.0 (e.g., a specific gravity threshold). In some embodiments, specific gravity threshold can be equal to about 0.9. In other embodiments, a specific gravity threshold can be less than 0.9 or can be greater than 0.9.
  • the system 10 can be configured to separate materials (e.g., biopolymers such as reduced density PLA) in a waste stream and/or feedstock that have a density below a density threshold and/or a specific gravity below a specific gravity threshold from other materials in the waste stream and/or feedstock that have a density above the density threshold and/or a specific gravity above the specific gravity threshold.
  • materials e.g., biopolymers such as reduced density PLA
  • the RDB products 5 can be used (e.g., by a consumer) and can be discarded as RDB waste 15.
  • the RDB products 5 can be disposable and/or single use food service products formed of or from, for example, reduced density PLA.
  • the RDB products 5 can be formed of or from any suitable biopolymer and used in any suitable manner.
  • the system 10 can enable the RDB waste 15 to be mixed into and/or otherwise included in a mixed waste feedstock 11 that is received at a recycling facility and/or the like.
  • the mixed waste feedstock 11 can be an organic feedstock that can include, for example, food waste 12, agricultural waste 13, mixed waste 14, and the RDB waste 15 (e.g., reduced density PLA).
  • the mixed waste feedstock 11 can be received from a source that limits the use of non-biopolymers having a specific gravity that is below the specific gravity threshold (e.g., a specific gravity below 0.9). In other instances, the mixed waste feedstock 11 can be received from a source that limits the use of any or all non-biopolymers. In some instances, the mixed waste feedstock 11 can be received from a location and/or a source where at least 10% of food service items are made from reduced density biopolymers such as, for example, the reduced density PLA.
  • the mixed waste feedstock 11 can be source separated to remove undesirable materials from the mixed waste feedstock 11.
  • source separation can include a grouping or separating of organic waste material from inorganic waste material.
  • the source separation can limit an amount of non-biopolymer material, metal material, and/or the like that is included in the mixed waste feedstock 11.
  • source separation can include grouping recyclable material and compostable material into a first group, and grouping non-recyclable and non-compostable material into a second group that is separated from the first group.
  • the system 10 can be configured such that the facility or a portion of the facility receives the mixed waste feedstock 11 that has been pre-mixed and/or otherwise comingled prior to reaching the facility (e.g., at the waste source and/or during source separation).
  • the system 10 can be configured such that the facility or a portion of the facility receives separate waste streams including, for example, a waste stream of the food waste 12, a waste stream of the agricultural waste 13, a waste stream of the mixed waste 14, and a waste stream of the RDB waste PLA 15, which are then combined at the facility to collectively form the mixed waste feedstock 11.
  • the food waste 12, the agricultural waste 13, and the mixed waste 14 can be combined prior to reaching the facility and/or combined at the facility prior adding the RDB waste 15 to the mixed waste feedstock 11.
  • the RDB waste 15 can be received at the facility independent of other waste streams.
  • it may be desirable to financially incentivize the delivery of RDB waste PLA 15 to the facility e.g., providing payment for a given quantity reduced density PLA received).
  • the system 10 can be configured to perform one or more processes associated with pretreatment 16.
  • the pretreatment 16 can include, for example, any suitable shredding process, separating process, sterilization process, and/or the like.
  • the mixed waste feedstock 11 can be conveyed into a shredder configured to reduce the size of the constituents of the mixed waste feedstock 11 to a suitable size.
  • a shredder can be configured to reduce a size of the constituent material to a size between 1.0 inch (in.) and about 12.0 in., between about 2.0 in. and about 11.0 in., between about 3.0 in. and about 10.0 in., between about 4.0 in.
  • the shredder can reduce the size of the constituent materials to a size that is less than 1.0 in. or that is greater than 12.0 in.
  • the shredder can be configured to reduce the size of the constituent materials in the mixed waste feedstock 11 to a size that is suitable and/or desirable for one or more subsequent separation processes.
  • some very low density materials e.g., with a specific gravity below 0.06 may not be suitable for shredding, which can enable such materials to be removed from the mixed waste feedstock 11.
  • the pretreatment 16 can include separating from the mixed waste feedstock 1 1 constituent material with a size greater than a threshold size prior to shredding (e.g., between about 0.375 in. to about 1.0 in., or any other suitable size).
  • a threshold size e.g., between about 0.375 in. to about 1.0 in., or any other suitable size.
  • the mixed waste feedstock 11 can be conveyed to or along one or more screens, grates, filters, skimmers, rakes, and/or the like configured to remove constituent materials (e.g., biopolymer material or any other material) having a size above the threshold size.
  • such separation can be performed, at least in part, via visual inspection and manual removal (e.g., by a human) of relatively large pieces of the RDB waste 15 prior to shredding.
  • any amount of the RDB waste 15 that is separated can be recovered and provided to one or more subsequent processes, as described in further detail herein.
  • relatively large pieces of non-recyclable material, non-compostable material, inorganic material, and/or any other undesirable material can be removed from the mixed waste feedstock 11 to limit an amount of undesirable material provided to one or more subsequent processes.
  • the pretreatment 16 need not include such size separation.
  • the pretreatment 16 can include separating and/or sorting the mixed waste feedstock 11, for example, based on density, relative density, and/or specific gravity.
  • the system 10 can convey the mixed waste feedstock 11 to or through one or more centrifugal separators and/or centripetal force separators configured to sort and/or otherwise arrange the mixed waste feedstock 11 in a desired density gradient and/or the like.
  • the system 10 can convey the mixed waste feedstock 11 to or through one or more fluid bed separators and/or cyclonic separators having a flow rate configured to entrain, separate, and/or remove constituent materials having a specific gravity or a relative density (e.g., a ratio of the density of the material relative to, for example, a fluid in a fluid bed separator and/or the like) below a specific gravity or a relative density threshold.
  • a specific gravity or a relative density e.g., a ratio of the density of the material relative to, for example, a fluid in a fluid bed separator and/or the like
  • any amount of the RDB waste 15 that is separated can be recovered and provided to one or more subsequent processes, as described in further detail herein.
  • the mixed waste feedstock 11 may include undesirable constituent materials.
  • the pretreatment 16 can include separating and/or removing the undesirable constituent materials from the mixed waste feedstock 11.
  • the system 10 can convey the mixed waste feedstock 11 to or through a magnetic separator configured to remove magnetic materials such as ferrous metals.
  • the system 10 can convey the mixed waste feedstock 11 to or through an eddy current separator configured to remove nonferrous metals.
  • the system 10 can convey the mixed waste feedstock 11 to or through one or more glass separators, optical separators, disc separators, and/or the like to remove any other undesirable material. Moreover, any such separation or the like can be performed before, during, or after shredding the mixed waste feedstock 11. As such, the system 10 can be configured to use any suitable processes and/or steps to limit undesirable materials in the mixed waste feedstock 11.
  • the pretreatment 16 can include sterilizing the mixed waste feedstock 11.
  • the system 10 can convey the mixed waste feedstock 11 into a chamber of an autoclave tumbler or the like.
  • a volume of air e.g., substantially all the air
  • a volume of hot pressurized steam can be conveyed into the chamber.
  • the evacuation of the air and the filling of the chamber with pressurized steam can be performed sequentially or in substantially parallel processes.
  • a sterilization function as described with reference to the autoclave tumbler can be included in and/or otherwise integrated into any other suitable device such as, for example, a shredder, a pyrolizer, a separator, a fermenter, a digester, and/or the like.
  • the system 10 can convey the mixed waste feedstock 11 to or through one or more separators (represented in FIG. 1 as “Separation 17”) configured to separate constituent materials of the mixed waste feedstock 11.
  • the separation 17 can include float separation in which a desired specific gravity threshold can be defined, set, and/or predetermined such that constituent materials having a specific gravity below the threshold (e.g., the RDB waste 15 and/or any other waste materials) float on a surface of a fluid in the float separator and constituent materials having a specific gravity above the threshold do not float (e.g., such materials can sink or substantially sink in the fluid).
  • the specific gravity threshold can be, for example, about 0.9.
  • the specific gravity threshold can be less than 0.9 or greater than 0.9.
  • the system 10 can convey the mixed waste feedstock 11 into a chamber, volume, tank, vat, etc. and can add a volume of a fluid, liquid, and/or slurry into the chamber, volume, tank, vat, etc.
  • the fluid, liquid, and/or slurry can be selected based on and/or can otherwise have a desired density at least partially associated with the specific gravity threshold.
  • constituent material having a specific gravity below the specific gravity threshold can float on a surface of the fluid (e.g., water), liquid, and/or slurry and can be recovered via a skimmer, rake, screen, and/or any other recovering device or mechanism.
  • the fluid e.g., water
  • the separation 17 can include and/or perform separation of any suitable kind.
  • the separation 17 can include density separation via one or more methods in addition to or instead of float separation.
  • the separation 17 can include other modes of separation as in addition to or instead of density separation such as, for example, any of those described above with reference to the pretreatment 16.
  • the separation 17 is described above as being performed after the pretreatment 16, in other embodiments, the separation 17 can be included in the pretreatment 16 (e.g., as a final step) or can be performed in combination with one or more subsequent processes, as described in further detail herein.
  • limiting and/or pre-separating an amount of constituent materials in and/or from the mixed waste stream 11 that are not bio-based and/or organic waste can allow for recovery of constituent material that is substantially all reduced density biopolymers during the separation 17 (e.g., density separation and more specifically, float separation).
  • non-biopolymers, biopolymers with coatings, barrier layers, and/or impurities can be included in the mixed waste feedstock during the separation 17.
  • the separation 17 can include float separating the mixed waste feedstock 11 and a surfactant and/or any other suitable additive, enzyme, and/or the like can be conveyed into the volume of fluid during the float separation to facilitate and/or enhance separation of hydrophobic materials from hydrophilic materials and/or to increase or decrease an amount of adsorption between the constituent materials in the mixed waste feedstock 11 and the fluid, liquid, and/or slurry.
  • the surfactant (or other additive) can be any suitable material, chemical, formula, etc.
  • a surfactant can be and/or can include a detergent or solvent configured to wash particulates from a constituent material that would otherwise have a specific gravity below the specific gravity threshold.
  • a detergent or solvent may be operable to remove from a piece of reduced density PLA food residue that may prevent the reduced density PLA from floating during the float separation (or any other mode of separation performed during the separation 17).
  • air can be introduced into the fluid, liquid, and/or slurry to facilitate separation during the float separation.
  • the air can facilitate separation of constituent materials by reducing an effective density of the fluid, liquid, and/or slurry.
  • constituent materials that otherwise have a density close to that of the fluid, liquid, and/or slurry can sink while, for example, the RDB waste 15 continue to float on a surface of the fluid, liquid, and/or slurry.
  • Constituent materials that are separated and recovered during the pretreatment 16 and/or the separation 17 can be recycled via any suitable process.
  • the system 10 can be configured to process the separated materials (e.g., materials such as the RDB waste 15 and/or any other material having a specific gravity below the specific gravity threshold) via hydrolyzation and/or mechanical or chemical (“Mech/Chem”) recycling 18 (also referred to herein as“the recycling 18”). More particularly, in some instances, the system 10 can be configured to process via the recycling 18 relatively high quality RDB waste 15 that was recovered via the pretreatment 16 and/or the separation 17 (e.g., float separation).
  • Mechanism/Chem mechanical or chemical
  • the system 10 can be configured to limit an amount of non-biopolymer materials in the waste stream conveyed to the recycling 18.
  • the limiting of the non-biopolymer material can be a function of the pretreatment 16 and/or the separation 17.
  • the system 10 can perform one or more processes to remove recovered, non-biopolymer materials included in the recovered waste stream.
  • recycling 18 the high quality RDB waste 15 can result in a higher efficiency of the recycling 18 and/or can result in a higher quality output of the recycling 18.
  • the hydrolyzation and/or mechanical or chemical recycling 18 can include any number of processes intended to break down the separated materials into the constituent components of that material.
  • mechanical recycling can include further separation of the separated materials such that each material is processed individually.
  • Mechanical recycling can further include using mechanical means to wash, shred, granulate, degrade, and/or otherwise breakdown the material and melting down the material into a resin that can be used to create new products.
  • the RDB waste 15 can include, for example, reduced density PLA that has a barrier layer or the like (as described above), which can be separated, dissolved, and/or otherwise removed from the reduced density PLA during one or more mechanical recycling processes.
  • chemical recycling can include any suitable thermochemical reaction configured to reduce a molecular weight of a material and/or to breakdown the material into its chemical components or building blocks such as monomers and/or oligomers.
  • chemical recycling of a biopolymer can include, for example, dissolving the biopolymer in a solvent and heating the mixture to a desired temperature to produce, generate, and/or otherwise form monomers and/or oligomers associated with that biopolymer and/or a form of the biopolymer having a reduced molecular weight.
  • the monomers, oligomers, and/or the reduced molecular weight biopolymer can then be polymerized (or repolymerized) to form or reform that biopolymer (represented in FIG. 1 as“Biopolymer 20”).
  • chemical recycling of reduced density PLA can include, for example, performing a degradation process or reaction (e.g., a hydrolysis process or reaction, and/or the like).
  • a hydrolysis process or reaction can be performed in which a water molecule is consumed to separate the PLA molecule into its chemical components.
  • the hydrolyzation of the reduced density PLA can result in oligomeric PLA and/or the formation of lactic acid monomers or lactide, which can then be polymerized to form PLA.
  • the PLA (e.g., the biopolymer 20) can be, for example, high density and/or high molecular weight PLA. Said another way, the biopolymer 20 (e.g., the PLA and/or any other biopolymer) is a non-expanded and/or a non-foamed biopolymer.
  • the recycling 18 can include hydrolyzation of PLA (e.g., reduced density PLA and/or non-reduced density PLA).
  • the hydrolyzation can include, for example, dissolving the PLA in response to being exposed to one or more of water, alcohol, glycerin, glycol, sodium hydroxide, propanol, butanol, methyl acetate, trimethylamine, methyl ethyl ketone, and/or any other solvents, enzymes, and/or the like.
  • the solution can then be heated, for example, to a temperature of about 80°C at atmospheric or at substantially atmospheric pressures.
  • hydrolyzation can be performed at a temperature of about 95°C, at about atmospheric pressure, and for a time of about 12-24 hrs. In other instances, hydrolyzation can be performed at a temperature of about 130°C, at a pressure of at least 20.0 pounds per square inch gauge (psig), and for a time of about 2 hrs. In still other instances, hydrolyzation can be performed at any suitable temperature (e.g., less than 80°C or greater than 80°C), at a pressure less than atmospheric pressure or greater than atmospheric pressure, and/or for any suitable time.
  • any suitable temperature e.g., less than 80°C or greater than 80°C
  • the hydrolysis reaction of PLA can be different than a reaction of other biopolymers and/or non biopolymers and thus, the hydrolyzation can allow for further separation and/or purification of the separated materials (e.g., polystyrene and/or PET, for example, are not broken down during hydrolysis of PLA).
  • the hydrolyzation can allow for further separation and/or purification of the separated materials (e.g., polystyrene and/or PET, for example, are not broken down during hydrolysis of PLA).
  • the PLA can include, for example, a barrier layer (as described above), which can be separated, dissolved, solubilized, and/or otherwise removed from the PLA during one or more chemical recycling processes.
  • a barrier layer as described above
  • the hydrolyzation of the PLA can be operable to separate the barrier layer from the PLA.
  • the barrier layer can be solubilized prior to, during, and/or after the hydrolyzation of the PLA.
  • removing the barrier layer from the PLA substrate or material can, for example, increase a purity of the lactide oligomers and/or monomers resulting from the recycling 18.
  • the system 10 can be configured to process the mixed waste feedstock 11 (e.g., at least a portion of the mixed waste feedstock 11 not previously separated and/or recovered) via fermentation and/or digestion 19.
  • the system 10 can be configured to convey the mixed waste feedstock 11 into a fermenter and/or a digester (e.g., an aerobic digester or an anaerobic digester).
  • the system 10 can be configured to convey a fluid, a liquid, a slurry, a culture medium, and/or any suitable organic material that releases liquid during degradation.
  • the fermentation and/or digestion 19 can include, for example, one or more sterilization processes after the mixed waste feedstock 11 is conveyed into the fermenter and/or digester.
  • the sterilization can be substantially similar to the sterilization described above with reference to the pretreatment 16 and can be performed, for example, prior to fermentation and/or digestion.
  • the fermenter and/or digester can further be configured to perform separation (e.g., float separation and/or the like) prior to, during, and/or after one or more fermentation and/or digestion processes.
  • the separation can be substantially similar to the separation 17 described above.
  • float separation can be performed in the fermenter and/or digester and can be based on and/or can use a specific gravity threshold that is less than the specific gravity threshold described above with reference to the float separation (e.g., the separation 17), substantially equal to the specific gravity threshold described above with reference to the float separation, or greater than the specific gravity threshold described above with reference to the float separation.
  • the float separation can be performed in the fermenter and/or digester prior to, during, and/or after fermentation and/or digestion. Said another way, the separation 17 (e.g., float separation) and the fermentation and/or digestion 19 can be combined into a single process and/or can be multiple processes performed in or using the same equipment.
  • the system 10 can be configured to recover constituent materials with a specific gravity below a specific gravity threshold and/or that are otherwise floating on a surface of a fluid, liquid, and/or slurry included in the fermenter and/or digester, as described in detail above.
  • a surfactant can be added to the mixture and/or a volume of air or gas can be injected into the fluid, liquid, and/or slurry contained in the fermenter and/or digester.
  • steam injected into the fermenter and/or digester can further facilitate and/or enhance the float separation and/or any other suitable density separation.
  • the system 10 can be configured to recover the separated material (e.g., the RDB waste 15 such as reduced density PLA) and to convey the separated material into the waste stream processed via the recycling 18.
  • the fermentation and/or digestion 19 need not include the separation 17.
  • the fermentation and/or digestion 19 can include any suitable fermentation and/or digestion process configured to ferment and/or digest organic waste material in the mixed waste feedstock 11 into desirable chemical compounds such as monomers and/or oligomers. More specifically, in the example shown in FIG. 1, the constituent material having a specific gravity greater than the specific gravity threshold and/or otherwise not previously separated or recovered (e.g., the organic waste material) can be fermented and/or digested to generate, produce, and/or otherwise result in reduced molecular weight form of the biopolymer and/or one or more desired monomers, oligomers, and/or the like based on the desired biopolymer to be produced (represented in FIG. 1 as“Oligomer/Monomer 21”).
  • the desired biopolymer to be produced is PLA.
  • the fermentation and/or digestion 19 can be configured to generate lactic acid monomers and/or lactide.
  • the system 10 can be configured to use any suitable culture or microorganism and/or any suitable process to ferment and/or digest the organic waste material to generate the lactic acid monomers and/or lactide.
  • the organic waste material can be fermented and/or digested using a culture of Lactobacillus rhamnosus (ATCC® 10863).
  • using the Lactobacillus rhamnosus (L. rhamnosus) microorganism can include saccharification of the carbon source prior to fermentation.
  • the inoculated culture can be added and/or conveyed into the fermenter and/or digester.
  • fermentation and/or digestion can be when the pH of the mixture substantially equalizes and/or rate of delivering NaOH into the mixture falls below a predetermined threshold rate. Accordingly, the fermentation of the constituent material having a specific gravity above the specific gravity threshold can generate, produce, yield, and/or otherwise result in a quantity of lactic acid.
  • the system 10 can be configured to repolymerize oligomers/monomers 21 generated during the fermentation and/or digestion into the desired biopolymer 20.
  • lactic acid generated during the fermentation can be repolymerized (or used as a nucleating agent) in the same process as or in a process parallel to the repolymerization of the lactic acid produced during the recycling 18 (e.g., hydrolysis), thereby generating the PLA.
  • the repolymerization of the lactic acid into PLA can include, for example, dehydrating the lactic acid and/or a solution including the lactic acid.
  • the dehydrated lactic acid or lactic acid solution can then be used to form lactic acid (lactide) oligomers and/or lactide monomers.
  • the dehydrated lactic acid can be further processed and/or otherwise used to form any other suitable oligomers or monomers associated with, for example, any suitable polymer and/or biopolymer.
  • the lactide oligomers and/or lactide monomers can be polymerized into a resin using one or more catalysts (e.g., a metal catalyst) and thermal energy (e.g., heat).
  • the resulting PLA can be, for example, high density and/or high molecular weight PLA (i.e., non-expanded and/or non-foamed PLA).
  • the system 10 can be configured to use the recovered reduced density PLA as a nucleator or an initiator in the production of one or more other biopolymers.
  • the recovered reduced density PLA can be used to form a nucleus and/or otherwise used to initiate a polymerization of one or more biopolymers (e.g., a biopolymer other than PLA).
  • the system 10 can be configured to dry the biopolymer (represented in FIG. 1 as“Dry Biopolymer 22”).
  • the dried, higher density or non-expanded biopolymer e.g., PLA
  • the RDB products 5 can be recovered, recycled, and manufactured into non-reduced density or higher density biopolymer products.
  • these biopolymer products can be used and discarded.
  • the biopolymer waste can be included in the mixed waste feedstock 11, as described in detail above.
  • the system 10 can be configured to recover and recycle the RDB products 5 into the same or different reduced density biopolymer products 15.
  • the system 10 can be configured to extrude the biopolymer into one or more sheets and/or the like (represented in FIG. 1 as“Extruded Biopolymer 23”).
  • the system 10 can then be configured to expand the biopolymer and/or otherwise reduce the density of the biopolymer using any of the processes and/or methods described herein (represented in FIG. 1 as“Expanded Biopolymer 24”).
  • the RDB products 5 can be received by the system 10 as RDB waste 15, which can be recovered, recycled, and manufactured into the same or different RDB products 5.
  • the system 10 can be configured to receive the RDB waste 15 that includes reduced density PLA.
  • the system 10 can recover the reduced density PLA, can generate a PLA resin, can dry the PLA resin, can extrude the PLA resin, and then can expand the PLA via one or more process described in the‘590 patent and/or the‘577 publication incorporated by reference herein.
  • the expanded PLA can, in turn, be manufactured into any suitable reduced density PLA product.
  • the recycled and subsequently expanded PLA can be used to form any suitable food service product such as those described above.
  • the expanded PLA used to form the food service products can be relatively high quality PLA.
  • the expanded PLA used to form the food service products can be substantially free of contaminants or can contain an amount of contaminants that is below a predetermined and/or desired threshold.
  • contaminants can refer to any non-biopolymer and/or any non-PLA material that may otherwise alter and/or affect one or more desired characteristics of a pure PLA material.
  • the system 10 can output and/or can generate PLA that has an amount of contaminants above the predetermined and/or desired threshold associated with food-grade products.
  • the non-food grade PLA material can be used to generate and/or form, for example, non-food grade products.
  • non-food grade PLA can be used as a coating for one or more paper products.
  • the paper can be, for example, paper recovered and recycled by the system 10.
  • the non-food grade PLA can be used to generate and/or form one or more construction-grade products such as carpet fibers, plastic lumber, and/or the like.
  • the non-food grade PLA can be used to generate and/or form one or more potting materials or growth mediums for plants.
  • the fermentation and/or digestion 19 can be configured to generate, co-generate, and/or output a biogas 25 in addition to or instead of the oligomers and/or monomers 21.
  • the mixed waste feedstock 11 can be fermented as described above and a waste stream of the fermentation process (e.g., a portion of the mixed waste feedstock 11 not converted into the desired oligomers and/or monomers 21 during fermentation) can be further processed via one or more anaerobic digestion processes to produce the biogas 25.
  • the biogas 25 can be, for example, methane.
  • the methane can be produced and/or co-produced using the L. rhamnosus microorganism.
  • the methane can be produced and/or co-produced using one or more methanothropes that release methane in response to digesting organic material.
  • the system 10 can be configured to convey the biogas 25 to an electric turbine 26, as shown in FIG. 1.
  • the electric turbine 26 can consume and/or otherwise use the methane to generate electric energy (e.g., electricity), which in turn, can be used to power equipment in the facility, stored in an energy storage facility, sold to one or more power companies and provided to the grid, and/or the like.
  • waste heat 27 generated from the operation of the turbine 26 can be used to facilitate one or more of the pretreatment processes (e.g., Pretreatment 16, in FIG. 1), drying of the biopolymer (e.g., Dry Biopolymer 22, in FIG.
  • the system 10 can be configured to separate the biogas 25 (e.g., methane) from carbon dioxide (CO2) that may be co-generated with, for example, methane.
  • CO2 carbon dioxide
  • the turbine 26 can be used to compress the CO2, which in turn, can be used to expand the biopolymer and/or any other polymer (e.g., Expanded Biopolymer 24, in FIG. 1).
  • the biogas 25 can be conveyed directly to one or more machines and/or pieces of equipment included in the pretreatment 16 and/or one or more machines and/or pieces of equipment configured to dry the biopolymer, as shown in FIG. 1.
  • the biogas 25 can be used, for example, as a fuel source for the one or more machines and/or pieces of equipment or can be used in one or more process performed by the machines or equipment.
  • system 10 is described above as generating and/or co-generating methane and/or any other biogas that can be used in one or more processes performed by the system 10 or converted into electric power via the turbine 26, in other instances, one or more organisms can be configured to generate a biopolymer from the methane and/or any other byproduct of the anaerobic digestion and/or fermentation.
  • microorganisms such as, for example, methanothropes can be used to consume at least a portion the organic material and/or at least a portion of a methane byproduct and, in turn, can perform one or more processes and/or can generate one or more oligomers or monomers associated with a biopolymer such as, for example, PLA, PHA, PHB, and/or the like.
  • the system 10 can be configured to treat the high specific gravity material via any suitable process.
  • the system 10 can treat the high density material via hydrolysis before fermentation, during fermentation, or after fermentation.
  • performing hydrolysis on the high specific gravity material prior to fermentation may, for example, result in better separation of a biopolymer (e.g., PLA) from the mixed waste feedstock 11 and/or result in better or increased recovery of the biopolymer.
  • a biopolymer e.g., PLA
  • a higher density PLA e.g., non-expanded PLA
  • a reduced density PLA can be treated and/or further processed prior to being manufactured into a PLA product.
  • the recycled PLA can be treated and/or processed with neat PLA (e.g., pure or virgin PLA), expanded PLA, one or more other biodegradable biopolymers or bioplastics, non-degraded or higher molecular weight polymers, pigments, chain extenders, crystal nucleators, fibers, fillers, and/or the like.
  • the system 10 can further process and/or treat the recycled PLA by heating, compressing, compacting, chilling, electrolyzing, dehydrating, drying, etc., the recycled PLA.
  • the system 10 can be configured to separate additional materials in one or more parallel and/or corresponding processes.
  • the system 10 can be configured to separate cellulose and/or other similar organic materials during any one of the pretreatment 16, the separation 17 (e.g., float separation and/or any other suitable form of separation), the recycling 18, and/or the fermentation and/or digestion 19.
  • the separated and/or recovered cellulose can be processed into lactic acid, lactide, and/or ethyl lactate and/or can facilitate the processing of the recovered PLA into lactic acid and/or lactide oligomers and/or monomers.
  • ethyl lactate can be used to facilitate and/or enhance fermentation and/or anaerobic digestion of organic material and/or PLA.
  • the size, shape, and/or arrangement of the various components can be specifically selected for a desired or intended usage such as, for example, separating specific and/or desired materials from a mixed waste feedstock.
  • a desired or intended usage such as, for example, separating specific and/or desired materials from a mixed waste feedstock.
  • the size, shape, and/or arrangement of the embodiments and/or components thereof can be adapted for a given use unless the context explicitly states otherwise.

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Abstract

L'invention concerne un procédé destiné à mettre en valeur des matières premières de déchets mixtes qui peut consister à recevoir une matière première de déchets mixtes incluant au moins un matériau biopolymère à densité réduite et une matière première organique. Au moins un élément parmi un fluide ou un matériau qui libère des liquides durant la dégradation est ajouté à la matière première de déchets mixtes. Le matériau biopolymère à densité réduite est séparé, par séparation de densités, de la matière première de déchets mixtes. Le matériau biopolymère à densité réduite a une masse volumique inférieure à un seuil de masse volumique. Le matériau biopolymère à densité réduite séparé de la matière première de déchets mixtes suite à la séparation est récupéré.
PCT/US2020/025011 2019-03-27 2020-03-26 Systèmes et procédés destinés à recycler des bioplastiques à densité réduite Ceased WO2020198506A1 (fr)

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US11827003B2 (en) 2014-10-31 2023-11-28 Corumat, Inc. Rapid solid-state foaming
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