USCAR VRP to Explore ECO2 “Rinse and Recycle” Technology for ELV Recycling
26 June 2007
The United States Council for Automotive Research’s (USCAR) Vehicle Recycling Partnership (VRP) will evaluate ECO2 Plastics’ proprietary polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic recycling technology.
The ECO2 technology removes “substances of concern” (SOCs) from plastics recovered from shredder residue—the material left when end-of-life vehicles (ELV), household appliances and other large items are shredded by a large, grinding hammer-mill, or shredder, as part of their recycling process.
While automakers have worked to eliminate substances of concern from general vehicle content, some SOCs can still be found in shredder residue, which contains materials from a combination of automotive and non-automotive sources such as appliances, building demolition materials and commercial and industrial waste.
ECO2 Plastics (formerly ITEC Environmental Group) is one of several companies working with the VRP and its partners to develop shredder residue recycling solutions. The shredder residue plastics are cleaned in a process which uses no water and deploys a biodegradable solvent and liquid carbon dioxide to remove the substances of concern so that the plastic can be more readily reused.
Currently, more than 84% by weight of materials of each ELV in the United States is recycled, with 95% of all vehicles going through the existing infrastructure. ECO2’s proprietary recycling process addresses the plastics found in the unrecycled portion. If successful, such a system will enable recovered plastics to be more easily reused.
The USCAR VRP currently is engaged in a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the US Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory and the Plastics Division of the American Chemistry Council to address the sustainable recycling of current and future materials from ELVs. This is the third CRADA established among the participants since the inception of the VRP in 1991.
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Posted by: Sean Rana | 26 June 2007 at 02:14 PM