WO2023023830A1

WO2023023830A1 - Process for recycling co-extruded agrochemical packaging

Info

Publication number: WO2023023830A1
Application number: PCT/BR2022/050320
Authority: WO
Inventors: Rogerio Fernandes de SOUZA; Rodrigo Correa SANTOS
Original assignee: Instituto Nacional De Processamento De Embalagens Vazias - Inpev
Priority date: 2021-08-25
Filing date: 2022-08-17
Publication date: 2023-03-02
Also published as: BR102021016837A2; BR102021016837B1; AR126865A1

Abstract

The disclosed process can be used for co-extruded packages (E) and comprises the following steps: (a) the packages (E) pass through and are inspected in selection stations (1) and (2); (b) the packages (E) are carried on a rising conveyor belt (3) to the top of a shredder (4); (c) the pre-washed material is continuously conveyed; (d) the material is conveyed by screw conveyors (13a-13b) into threshing cylinders (14a-14b) mounted on an inclined floor/trough (15); (e) the flakes are dried; (f) the material is transformed into pellets; (g) the pellets are dehydrated; (h) the effluent is treated and recycled; and (i) the saturated effluent is treated through the treatment circuit (49).

Description

PACKAGING RECYCLING PROCESS

COEXTRUDES OF AGRICULTURAL PESTS.

Field of Invention

[01] The present invention refers to a process for recycling empty packaging specially used as containers for agricultural pesticides diluted in water. Notably blown packaging produced in conjunction with a traditional multi-material coextrusion process combined with a blowing process, where the packaging wall is defined by the final composition of two or more distinct layers of different polymers that generally do not have chemical compatibility with each other and, consequently, it requires adequate technology for recycling.

[02] On the other hand, the present invention is related to the patent BR102020009165-4B1, PROCESS FOR RECYCLING PACKAGING OF AGRICULTURAL GOODS PACKAGING, cited here in full, and in this case, despite the packaging also being produced by coextrusion and blowing process , presents its wall defined by only one layer, consequently, it is a monomaterial that is extremely simpler to be recycled. [03] As in the document above, this process integrates a reverse logistics system for empty pesticide containers, involving farmers, distribution channels, agricultural cooperatives and phytosanitary manufacturing industries, so that the processed packages can return to the production cycle as raw material for manufacturing other products, mainly new packaging.

Historic

[04] There are currently several studies related to "plastic waste in general", one of which was carried out by the World Wide Fund for Nature (wwf) and was widely publicized. It was found that Brazil produces 11 million tons of plastic waste per year, occupying the 4th ^place as the largest producer of plastic waste in the world, behind only the United States, China and India. The country is also one of the few that recycles this type of waste, only 1.2% is recycled, that is, 145,043 tons. Brazil produces 11,355,220 million tons of plastic waste per year. Each Brazilian produces 1 kg of plastic waste per week: only 145,043 tons are recycled; 2.4 million tons of plastic are discarded illegally; 7.7 million tons are in landfills; and more than 1 million tons are not collected in the country.

[05] The fact that Brazil ranks ^4th as a generator of plastic waste in the world and recycles only 1% is the result of the lack of adequate public policies that encourage recycling on a large scale. But also the adoption of joint work with industries to develop new technologies, such as single-use plastics or recyclable plastics, or to replace microplastics in various products. In addition to society itself as a consumer, because we can change the scenario according to our everyday attitudes.

[06] According to other studies already carried out, it has already been proven that plastic pollution affects the quality of air, soil and water supply systems, as the material absorbs various toxins and can take up to 100 years to decompose in nature.

[07] Among the possible solutions are the correct disposal, recycling and reduction of plastic waste production. The Brazilian produces, on average, 1 kg of plastic waste per week, one of the highest averages in the world. Solutions such as banning straws and disposables are good initiatives, but the work needs to go beyond the ban. It is important to recognize and value these bills, but it is necessary to work with commercial establishments so that they do not continue to offer plastic products and with the consumer to dispose of them correctly.

[08] In recent decades, the devastating influence of human actions aimed at innovation and economic development on the ecosystem has been noticed. And with this perception, organizations saw the need to control and reduce the impact of these actions, creating environmental legislation, awareness campaigns and programs that seek to keep our ecosystem as intact as possible, without reducing the progress of our civilization.

Roles and responsibilities

[09] Faced with such a scenario, Brazil began, many decades ago, to create adequate public policies to encourage large-scale recycling, starting with specific legislation:

[10] Law No. 9,974, of June 6, 2000 - amends the Law No. 7802, of July 11, 1989, which provides for research, experimentation, production, packaging and labeling, transport, storage, commercialization, commercial advertising, use, import, export, the final destination of residues and packages, registration, classification, control, inspection and inspection of pesticides, their components and the like, and makes other provisions.

[11] Federal Law No. 9,974/00 instituted the concept of shared responsibility among agents in the agricultural chain in the process of receiving and final disposal of empty pesticide containers and determined the specific roles of each one. The creation of intelligence centers for recycling systems made it possible to integrate the different links and guide the post-consumer packaging cycle from the field to the final destination.

[12] The recycling system connects farmers, distribution channels and cooperatives to a network of receiving units. The units respect technical norms and their operation depends on the licensing of the public authorities. Most of them are managed by associations of resellers, and there are some units that own the system that sends the material received at the units to its final destination for recycling or incineration.

[13] The public authorities, at the municipal, state and federal levels, supervise compliance with the legal attributions of each link in the chain and share with the distribution channels and the industry manufacturer the responsibility of acting in the periodic education and awareness of farmers about the importance of participating in reverse logistics.

Overview

[14] Evolution of the concept of reverse logistics from the approval of the National Solid Waste Policy (PNRS) and its application in the disposal of empty containers of agricultural pesticides. The concern with implementing reverse logistics in various industrial segments grew in Brazil from the 1980s, driven by the growth in waste generation, associated with changes in consumption habits and the popularization of packaging and disposable products. This moment also coincided with the awakening of awareness in Brazilian society regarding the need for environmental preservation, and was reflected in the definition of new government and business policies. Law No. 12,305 of August 2, 2010 - Institutes the National Solid Waste Policy; amends Law No. 9605, of February 12, 1998; and takes other measures. This Law institutes the National Solid Waste Policy, providing for its principles, objectives and instruments, as well as the guidelines relating to the integrated management and management of solid waste, including hazardous waste, the responsibilities of generators and public authorities and the instruments applicable economics.

[15] One of the most significant recent milestones on the subject was the approval of Federal Law No. 12,305, of August 2, 2010, which established the PNRS (Politica National Solid Waste) . The law distinguished waste (what can be reused or recycled) from rejects (not subject to reuse), considering the domestic, industrial, agrosilvopastoral, electronics, civil construction, production of lamps with mercury vapors, health segments and relating dangerous products. The legislation disciplines and guides companies and public authorities on their responsibilities for the destination of packaging and post-consumer products, and determines that manufacturers must be responsible for reverse logistics and environmentally correct final destination.

[16] Although the PNRS (national policy on solid waste) also applies to the agricultural sector, the reverse logistics of empty pesticide containers was already regulated (Federal Law No. 9,974/00) before the new legislation, with significant results. Sector representatives actively participated in the discussions that led to the approval of the PNRS and technically contributed to the debates.

Application field

[17] The present invention is a complement to a reverse logistics system for empty pesticide containers, as it is known that the number of such containers arriving, transiting and remaining in the field is considerable. To solve this issue, the present process is part of a reverse engineering system that works for the conservation of the environment and sustainability of agribusiness, representing the agricultural defensive manufacturing industry or carrying out the reverse packaging logistics . The system defines work that makes a difference and acts as an intelligence center that involves shared responsibility , because if everyone does their part in accordance with the aforementioned laws , especially with regard to farmers , who are responsible for wash, disable, store and return empty packages to distribution channels. Agricultural cooperatives and others are committed to identifying the place to return the invoice and receive the packages. The manufacturing industry is committed to removing the packages from the receiving units and giving them their final destination. It is up to the public authorities to finalize the process.

[ 18 ] The responsibility for educating and making farmers aware is shared by the other links in the chain . With hundreds of units receiving the system spread across the country. The itinerant receipt takes reverse logistics to small farmers in addition to the receiving units. Every year thousands of actions like these take place across the country. The area management of the information from the arrival of the empty packages to the centrals until reaching the correct environmental destination for recycling and incineration guarantees the traceability of the material until its final destination, where the life cycle of the packages enters the recycling process that it produces new packaging for crop protection products based on resin recycled from the system itself, finalizing the reverse logistics of empty packaging of agricultural protection products.

[ 19 ] Brazilian legislation determines that all Rigid packaging of crop protection products must be washed at the place of consumption of the crop protection product, logically with the objective of avoiding its contamination with residual product. In addition, the washing procedures, when carried out during the preparation of the mixture at the place of use, avoid wasting the product and reduce the risk of contamination of the environment. Washing is indispensable for the subsequent recycling of the product and must be done according to a specific standard (NBR 13.968) by ABNT (Brazilian Association of Technical Standards) . The standard provides for two types of washing: triple and under pressure. Triple wash - as the name implies, the triple wash consists of rinsing the empty packaging three times, according to the following steps: completely empty the packaging; fill the package with clean water up to 1/4 of its volume (25%); replace cover and close securely. Shake the container vigorously in all directions for about 30 seconds to dissolve any residue of the product that has adhered to the inner surface of the package. Pour the rinse water into the crop protection product application equipment tank. The package must remain over the opening of the tank for approximately another 30 seconds, so that all the contents drain. Repeat these procedures two more times. When applicable, disable the packaging. To do this, just pierce its bottom with a sharp object.

[20] After the packages are washed, they go to later stages of the recycling process, as they are inspected and separated from according to the type of raw material, color of the plastic resin and other characteristics inherent to the manufacture of each type of package and its components, mainly with regard to the lids.

[21] In the next step, the washed and selected packages, notably those shaped by the blowing process, are pressed and prepared in bales, so that they can have an extremely reduced volume for ease of transport to the recycling unit itself.

[22] The pressed packages go on to be crushed or ground, but again a quality control is carried out.

[23] After the milling stage, all material undergoes a flake washing process and, in this stage, other components or impurities are separated and removed, such as, for example: labels, seals, metallic parts, earth and other unwanted dirt.

[24] After the grinding and washing processes, the crushed material flakes undergo a drying stage and are then sent to a silo, where they remain or are bagged for storage.

[25] The flakes constitute the first phase of the recycled raw material for reuse, however, all crushed material then goes to an extruder, where it is melted at a temperature of 190°C to 300°C. The molten material passes through a matrix with circular holes and is immediately cut by a rotating knife and cooled by running water, the speed of the rotating knife determines the size of the granules according to a desired granulometry, later the granules are dried and stored in bags or big bags, thus finalizing the recycled raw material to be used in the manufacture of new packaging for the same industrial sector, however, in the process in question, the granules or raw material, undergo drying stages before entering the extrusion and blowing process, logically depending on the resulting RAW MATERIAL including the mixture of two polymers, one of them with a more pronounced hygroscopic capacity and, as a result, the process is substantially more efficient if the degree of moisture remains at a rate consistent with the extrusion and blowing steps.

STATE OF THE TECHNIQUE

[26] In chemistry and technology, plastics are synthetic polymeric organic materials, of macromolecular constitution, all of them with characteristics that allow RECYCLING, however, through specific processes for each of them, which mainly take into account the characteristics of the polymer, such as also of the contaminants involved.

[27] There are currently numerous documents, not only the one cited above, BR102020009165-4B1, but others that teach specific processes for recycling polymers, taking into account the polymeric material to be recycled and its contaminants. Just as an example, the following most relevant documents are cited: BR102014008094 published on 03/31/2015, BR0704541 published on 01/06/2009 and GB1411378 published on 10/22/1975. [28] BR102014008094 teaches a recycling system for plastic packaging with different contaminants, such as: lubricating oils, greases, fertilizers, etc) and considers reverse logistics and without generating effluents. This system comprises: milling device composed of a feeding conveyor connected to it, whose interior has mobile and fixed knives and, in the lower part, a sieve is defined; separator/decontamination device composed of a horizontal tank; dryer device; and separator/decontamination device. Additionally, it also teaches that recycling occurs with the reuse of water used in the process (closed circuit).

[29] Therefore, BR102014008094 was developed for recycling packages whose contaminants are residues of lubricating oils and similar ones, consequently. Such residues require the use of specific solvents in the washing process, after which the effluent can only be recovered through peculiar separation steps, not only from the solvent, but also from the contaminating product itself by means of a specific distiller.

6. PI0704541 teaches a non-complete process for recycling plastic materials from packaging and electrical wires. In this process, PI0704541, all material decanted and filtered during the process, due to its highly toxic origin, are separated, dried and packed in special barrels and are sent for incineration, and this procedure is controlled and informed to the organs competent .

[30] GB1411378 was developed to recover thermoplastic scrap material in the form of films, sheets, foils and laminates in various shapes and without significant contaminants, therefore, it includes steps so that they are only transformed into a shredded product, suitable for food an extruder and, for this purpose, it has a granulator in which the material is reduced to fragmented form and then passes through drying and separation stages through a centrifuge, a ventilation unit, a heater and a cyclone. To avoid wasting excess water, it is pumped from a recirculation tank connected to receive the water and slag discharged from the centrifuge. Clean, dry, ground material discharged from the cyclone can be fed into a storage vessel or, alternatively, is fed directly into a feed hole at the top of the ground material feed hopper, to be fed from there to the extruder screw. which serves to pass the material to an appropriate matrix to be extruded through it and transformed into raw material for new plastic products.

[31] As can be seen, GB1411378 describes a specific process for recycling thermoplastic scrap monomaterial in the form of films, sheets, sheets and laminates in various forms and without significant contaminants, consequently, unlike the process in question, its stages of processing are specific for recycling plastics not contaminated with pesticides, as well as specific for single-material scrap.

Objectives of the Invention

A recycling process for packaging used as containers for crop protection products. These packages are manufactured by coextrusion and blowing process, having walls in multilayers of different polymers.

[32] Another objective of the invention is a process that does not use any type of solvent, that is, it uses only water.

[33] Another object of the invention is a closed water recirculation circuit which, in turn, includes a combined system for treating used or effluent water, so that it can return to the process.

[34] Another objective of the invention is to add to the process steps of drying the raw material obtained with the recycling steps, preparing it for extrusion or co-extrusion and subsequent blowing step.

[35] Description of drawings

[36] For a better understanding of the present invention, a detailed description of the same is given below, making reference to the attached drawings:

FIGURE 01 represents a perspective exemplifying a package to be recycled;

FIGURE 02 shows a basic scheme in a side view of equipment assembled in series so that the packaging to be recycled can pass through control quality, grinding, crushing, washing, separating, drying and storage;

FIGURE 03 shows the same scheme as the previous figure, however, it is a top view of the aforementioned equipment;

FIGURE 04 illustrates a schematic view of the pellet dehumidification process; and the

FIGURE 05 is a complete diagram of the "water cycle" - cycle of using water or effluent that is treated and returns to the process.

Detailed description of the invention

[37] According to these illustrations and in their details, more particularly figure 1, the present invention, PROCESS FOR RECYCLING COEXTRUSED PACKAGING OF AGRICULTURAL GOODS, is applied in different packages (E), also known as drums, containers, gallons and various containers, traditionally manufactured with multimaterial by a coextrusion process combined with blowing, having its wall defined by two or more distinct layers of different polymers and which generally do not have chemical compatibility with each other, as well as being widely used as containers for distribution and sale of agricultural defensives.

[38] These packages, for environmental reasons, return to the production cycle as raw material for the manufacture of new units and, therefore, the packages used undergo a first cleaning phase already at the place of consumption of the agricultural defensive, because, as known, such a product is normally diluted in water and, therefore, in this phase the packaging, after being exhausted, receives a certain amount of water and is then stirred and poured into the dilution tank itself, repeating this washing phase more than once, so that , then each package is made unusable by means of a suitable perforation (P) .

[39] After the packages are washed, they are inspected and separated according to the type of raw material, color of the plastic resin and other characteristics inherent to the manufacture of each type of package and its components, mainly with regard to the lids .

[40] The washed and selected packages, notably those formed by the blowing process, are pressed and prepared in bales (F) , so that they can have an extremely reduced volume for easy storage and transport to the recycling unit itself , where the process in question actually starts and the following steps are performed, observing figures 2 and 3: a) the packages (E) in bales are positioned on a selection bench (1) , where they are manually pulled to the selection bench (2) , where the bales are dismantled and, at the same time, manual and visual quality control is carried out, separating materials not inherent to the process; b) the packages (E) that pass through the first quality control are captured and taken to an ascending conveyor belt (3) to the top of a crusher (4) , where they are filleted, in this step the packages are cut into intermediate sizes and, due to friction, the separation of the labels begins, the threaded material is dumped on another ascending conveyor belt (5) to the top of a bifurcated spout (6) that feeds the material into two mills (7a-7b) also supplying water supplied by at least one supply point (8), where the material is ground into flakes which, together with the water, pass through sieves (9) integrated into the lower parts of the mills (7a-7b), in this step, in addition to grinding into flakes, the first wash is also carried out - cleaning to remove dirt and separate labels, tags and other materials that are eventually attached to the flakes; c) continuous conduction of the pre-washed material into a separation tank (10), also fed with at least one water supply point (11) from the mills (7a-7b), as well as including next to its water level, a rotating set of blades (12) followed by two screw conveyors (13a-13b), so that, from said separation tank (10) the phase of removing the material from the surface where the flakes plastics are kept, due to their lower density than water, while the solid residues decant to the bottom of the separation tank (10), and the flakes in suspension are swept forward by the rotating blades (12) and directed to the screw conveyor (13a-13b), where the flakes are conveyed to the next stage; d) conveying the material on screw conveyors (13a-13b) into a first pair of beating cylinders (14a-14b), parallel and mounted on an inclined floor/gutter (15), where agitation carries out the water flow to said inclined floor/gutter (15) ) and from this returns to the separation tank (10) through a pipe (16a-16b) the friction generated inside the beating cylinders (14a-14b) also results in the removal of remaining parts of dirt, labels, tags and other materials that eventually are still attached to the flakes; e) drying the flakes in a second pair of beating cylinders (17a-17b), also positioned on the floor/gutter (15) and having the anterior ends interconnected with the first pair of beating cylinders (14a-14b), while its other end is attached to an outlet air conveyor pipe

(18) which, in addition to being sandwiched by a fan

(19), also has its opposite end coupled to the top of a silo (20) in whose lower unloading mouth a storage bag (B) is positioned which, in turn, remains supported on a scale (M); f) the material or flakes packed in the bags (B) constitute the recycled raw material for reuse, however, they are transformed into pellets in an extruder (21), where it is melted at a temperature of 190°C to 300°C, passing through a matrix with circular holes being immediately cut by a rotating knife and cooled by running water, the speed of the rotating knife determines the size of the granules according to a desired granulometry, subsequently the granules they go through a dehumidification stage (22) and are dried to be stored again in bags or big bags (B'), thus finalizing the recycled raw material to be used in blowers in the manufacture of new packages for the same industrial sector; g) dehumidification of the pellets (figure 4) in a dehumidifying station (22), where said pellets are sucked from the big bags (B') by means of a pneumatic feeder (23) and the respective fishing tube (24) that ends inside the upper part of a dehumidifier silo (25), inside which heated air circulates at a temperature between 50° and 90°C through a closed circulation circuit defined by a lower dehumidified hot air inlet duct (26) and an upper outlet duct of used and humidified air (27), in the latter the circulating air is treated and dried, initially passing through an inlet filter (28), fan (29) and directional valve (30), in the latter, the piping circuit is bifurcated in two air flows used and are conducted to the molecular sieves (31a-31b) composed of desiccant material, the molecular sieves alternate in the air dehumidification process, while one absorbs moisture from the air the other undergoes a regeneration, that is, the after being saturated with moisture, it needs a time between 30 and 120 minutes to be able to absorb moisture from the air again. After passing through the molecular sieves (31a-31b) the air flows pass through a first set of heaters (32a) and (32b), after which the circuit is unified again in the inlet duct (26) which, before to enter the dehumidifier silo (25), it includes another heater (33), after which said inlet duct (26) includes a directing nozzle (34) inside the dehumidifier silo (25), where the dehumidified air circulates in contact with the pellets and the used and saturated air leaves through the exit duct (27) returning to the dehumidification system. The dehumidified pellets exit through the funneled lower part of the dehumidifier silo (25) and through its material exit duct (35) are directed directly to the blowing machine (S) where the new packages will be manufactured; h) effluent treatment and reuse (figure 5) - concurrently with steps (b), (c), (d) and (e) , the effluent travels through a closed reuse circuit through pipelines with valves and pumps and returns to the same stages, and, for that, the outlet points of waste water (8) and (11), (16a-16b) respectively of the mills (7a-7b), first pair of beating cylinders (14a-14b ) and second pair of beating cylinders (17a-17b) flow into the collection tank (10) which, in turn, has three output ducts, an upper output duct for saturated effluent

(36) and two less saturated effluent outlet ducts

(37) and (38), in which the first (36) flows directly into an intermediate tank (39) in situations of total drainage, while the other two less saturated effluent outlet ducts (37) and (38) conducts the effluent to two solids separators (40) and (41) which, in turn, also have lower solids outlet ducts (42) and (43) and upper solids ducts. effluent outlet (44) and (45), in which the first ones (42) and (43) remove solid residues larger than 0.5 mm and mainly plastic residues that are discarded, after this the effluent, through the output (44) and (45), is conducted to the intermediate tank (39) with three output ducts (46), (47) and (48), maneuverable and, depending on the saturation of the effluent, it is conducted through the pipe output (46) to the treatment circuit (49) or, under other conditions, to the output (47) which leads to a centrifugal decanter (50), where the effluent undergoes fine filtration, separating solid waste smaller than 0 .5 mm that are conducted to the outlet (51) and subsequent disposal, while the cleaner effluent is conducted through the outlet conduit (52) which returns to the intermediate tank (39), and through the outlet conduit (48) the effluent is A little cleaner is taken to another solids separator (53) where the effluent undergoes filtering of solid particles larger than 0.5 mm in constant cycle that are conducted to the outlet (54) and subsequent disposal, while the cleaner effluent is conducted through another outlet duct (55) that returns to the intermediate tank (39) which, in turn, has an outlet duct (56) interconnected with the water supply points (8) of the mills (7a-7b), so that the effluent can be reused in stages (b), (c), (d), and (e); and i) treatment of the saturated effluent through the treatment circuit (49) which, for that purpose, includes a treatment tank (57) having two outlet ducts, one lower (58) and an upper one (59), both are operated by a valve after evaluating the effluent and, depending on the evaluation, the first outlet (58) leads the effluent to a press filter (60) with a solids outlet (61) and a liquid output duct (62), the latter discharges into a treated water reservoir (63), while the effluent that leaves the upper pipe (59) passes through a carbon filter (64) and a zeolite filter ( 65) and, in the latter, the filtered effluent is conducted by an outlet duct (66) to the reservoir (63), where it finally has an outlet duct (67) that leads the substantially cleaner effluent to the intermediate tank (39) and from there, the effluent returns through the outlet duct (56) to the different process water supply points.

[41] The process in question is continuous and, in certain periods, different quality controls are carried out, not only with regard to the operation of the equipment, but also with regard to the different materials involved in it, including with emphasis on the effluent that, in certain periods, is monitored, collecting samples in transparent bottles that are left resting for a certain time and then are analyzed for observation of its transparency, amount of solids decanted and those that are in suspension. In this condition, depending on the observed percentage, if it is above the pre-established standard, it is defined that the system water must be changed.

Thus, valves and pumps are activated so that all or part of the system's effluent is drained and diverted to the treatment station (49), where it undergoes a treatment based on flocculation, decantation, filtering through a press filter and other care. After this treatment, the water passes through a carbon filter (64) and a zeolite filter (65) connected in series and is then stored in the reservoir (63) to return to the process.

[42] As already mentioned, the present invention is a process that integrates a reverse logistics system for empty pesticide containers, such as the one exemplified in figure 1, manufactured by the coextrusion and blowing process, involving farmers, distribution channels, cooperatives agricultural industries and phytosanitary manufacturing industries, so that the processed packaging can return to the production cycle as raw material for the manufacture of other products, mainly new packaging.

[43] All rigid containers of crop protection products are washed at the point of consumption of the crop protection product, logically with the aim of avoiding contamination with residual product. In addition, the washing procedures, when carried out during the preparation of the mixture at the place of use, avoid wasting the product and reduce the risk of contamination of the environment. Washing is essential for the subsequent recycling of the product and must be carried out in accordance with the specified standard. The standard provides for two types of washing: triple and under pressure. Triple wash - as the name says, the triple wash consists of rinse the empty package three times, according to the following steps: completely empty the package; fill the package with clean water up to 1/4 of its volume (25%); replace cover and close securely. Shake the container vigorously in all directions for about 30 seconds to dissolve any residue of the product that has adhered to the inner surface of the package. Pour the rinse water into the tank of the pesticide application equipment. The package must remain over the opening of the tank for approximately another 30 seconds, so that all the contents drain. Repeat these procedures two more times. When applicable, disable the packaging. To do this, just pierce (P) its bottom with a pointed object .

[44] After the packages are washed, they go to later stages of the recycling process, as they are inspected and separated according to the type of raw material, color of the plastic resin and other characteristics inherent to the manufacture of each type of product. packaging and its components, especially with regard to lids.

[45] In the next step, the washed and selected packages, notably those shaped by the blowing process, are pressed and prepared in bales (F), so that they can have an extremely reduced volume for ease of transport to the recycling unit proper.

[46] The pressed packages are processed according to the process in question, where, initially, they are crushed or ground, but again a quality control is carried out.

[47] After the milling step, all material goes through a flake washing process and, in this step, other components or impurities are separated and removed, such as, for example: labels, seals, metallic parts, earth and other unwanted dirt .

[48] After the grinding and washing processes, the crushed material flakes undergo a drying stage and are then sent to a silo, where they remain or are bagged for storage.

[49] Concomitantly with the production of flakes (raw material) all effluent from the process receives the same care for reuse of water by the process.

[50] The flakes constitute the first phase of the recycled raw material for reuse, however, all crushed material then goes to an extruder, where it is melted at a temperature of 150°C to 270°C. The melted material passes through a matrix with circular holes and is immediately cut by a rotating knife and cooled by running water, the speed of the rotating knife determines the size of the granules according to a desired granulometry, later the pellet granules are dried and stored in bags or big bags, thus finalizing the recycled raw material to be used in the manufacture of new packaging for the same industrial sector, however, before being taken to extrusion and blowing, they undergo a drying process and humidity control.

Claims

25

CLAIM

1) PROCESS FOR RECYCLING CO-EXTRUED PACKAGING OF AGRICULTURAL PESTS, applicable in different packages (E), also known as drums, containers, gallons and various containers, traditionally manufactured with multimaterial by a coextrusion process combined with blowing, having its wall defined by two or more distinct layers of different polymers that generally do not have chemical compatibility with each other; such packaging undergoes a first cleaning phase with water, which is then shaken and poured into the dilution tank itself, repeating this washing phase more than once, so that each packaging is subsequently rendered unusable by adequate perforation (P); after the packages are washed, they are inspected and separated according to the type of raw material, color of the plastic resin and other characteristics inherent to the manufacture of each type of package and its components, mainly with regard to the lids; the packages, washed and selected, are pressed and prepared in bales (F) and then processed; characterized by comprising the following steps: a) the packages (E) in bales are positioned on a first selection bench (1), where they are manually pulled to the second selection bench (2) and, in this, the bales are dismantled and, at the same time, manual and visual quality control is carried out, separating materials not inherent to the process; b) packages (E) that pass through the first control of quality are captured and taken to an ascending conveyor belt (3) to the top of a crusher (4), where they are filleted, in this stage the packages are chopped in intermediate size and, due to friction, the separation of the labels begins , the threaded material is dumped on another ascending conveyor belt (5) to the top of a bifurcated spout (6) that feeds the material into two mills (7a-7b) with water supply also provided by at least one supply point (8) , where the material is crushed and transformed into flakes which, together with the water, pass through sieves (9) integrated into the lower parts of the mills (7a-7b), in this stage, in addition to grinding into flakes, it is also carried out the first wash - cleaning to remove dirt and separate labels, tags and other remaining materials that are eventually attached to the flakes; c) continuous conduction of the pre-washed material into a separation tank (10), also fed with at least one water supply point (11) from the mills (7a-7b), as well as including, next to the its water level, a rotating set of blades (12) followed by two screw conveyors (13a-13b), and, in said separation tank (10), the phase of removing the material from the surface where the flakes plastics are kept, due to their lower density than water, while the solid residues settle to the bottom of the mentioned separation tank (10) and, still, the flakes in suspension are swept forward by the rotating blades (12) and directed to the screw conveyor (13a-13b), where the flakes are led to the next stage; d) conduction of the material in the screw conveyors (13a-13b) into a first pair of beating cylinders (14a-14b), parallel and mounted on an inclined floor/gutter (15), where the agitation performs the water flow to said inclined floor/gutter (15) and from it returns to the separation tank (10) through pipe (16a-16b) and the friction generated inside the beating cylinders (14a-14b) also removes remaining parts of dirt, labels, tags and other materials that are eventually still attached to the flakes; e) drying the flakes in a second pair of beating cylinders (17a-17b), also positioned on the floor/gutter (15) and having the anterior ends interconnected with the first pair of beating cylinders (14a-14b), while its other end is attached to an outlet air conveyor pipe

(18) which, in addition to being sandwiched by a fan

(19), also has its opposite end coupled to the top of a silo (20) with the lower unloading mouth positioned in a storage bag (B) which, in turn, remains supported on a scale (M); f) the material or flakes packed in the bags (B) are transformed into pellets in a usual extruder (21), where it is melted at a temperature of 190°C to 300°C, passing through a die with circular holes and being immediately cut by a rotary knife and cooled 28 by running water, the speed of the rotating knife determines the size of the pellets according to the desired granulometry; g) dehumidification of the pellets in a dehumidifying station (22), where said pellets are sucked from the big bags (B') by means of a pneumatic feeder (23) and the respective fishing tube (24) that ends inside the upper part of a dehumidifier silo (25), where heated air circulates at a temperature between 50° and 90°C through a closed circulation circuit defined by a lower inlet duct for hot dehumidified air (26) and an upper outlet duct for used and humidified air ( 27), in the latter the circulating air is treated and dried, initially passing through an inlet filter (28), fan (29) and directional valve (30), in the latter, the piping circuit is bifurcated into two air flows and are conducted to the molecular sieves (31a-31b) composed of desiccant material, the molecular sieves alternate in the process of dehumidifying the air, while one absorbs moisture from the air the other undergoes regeneration after being saturated with moisture and needs a time between 30 and 120 minutes to be ready again to absorb moisture from the air; after passing through the molecular sieves (31a-31b) the air flows pass through a first set of heaters (32a) and (32b), after which the circuit is unified again in the inlet duct (26) which, before entering the dehumidifier silo (25), includes another heater (33), after which said inlet duct (26) 29 includes a directing nozzle (34) inside the dehumidifier silo (25), where the dehumidified air circulates in contact with the pellets and the used and saturated air leaves through the outlet duct (27) returning to the dehumidification system; the dehumidified pellets exit through the funneled lower part of the dehumidifier silo (25) and through its material exit duct (35) are directed directly to the usual blowing machine (S) where the new packages will be manufactured; h) treatment and reuse of the effluent concurrently with steps (b), (c), (d), and (e), the effluent travels through a closed reuse circuit through pipelines with valves and pumps and returns to the same stages , and for this purpose, the outlet points for wastewater (8) and (11), (16a-

16b), respectively, from the mills (7a-7b), the first pair of beating cylinders (14a-14b) and the second pair of beating cylinders (17a-17b) flow into the collection tank (10) which, in turn, It has three output ducts, an upper saturated effluent output duct (36) and two less saturated effluent output ducts (37) and (38), in which the first (36) flows directly into an intermediate tank ( 39) in situations of total drainage, while the other two less saturated effluent output ducts (37) and (38) lead the effluent to two solid separators (40) and (41) which, in turn, also have ducts lower solids output ducts (42) and (43) and upper effluent output ducts (44) and (45), in which the first ones (42) and (43) remove the 30 solid residues larger than 0.5 mm and, mainly, plastic residues that are discarded, after that the effluent, through the outlet ducts (44) and (45), is conducted to the intermediate tank (39) with three outputs (46), (47) and (48), maneuverable and, depending on the saturation of the effluent, it is conducted through the output piping (46) to the treatment circuit (49) or, under other conditions, to the output (47) which leads it to a centrifugal decanter (50), where the effluent undergoes a fine filtering, separating solid waste smaller than 0.5 mm which is conducted to the outlet (51) and later discarded, while the cleaner effluent is conducted through an outlet conduit (52) that returns to the intermediate tank (39), and through the outlet conduit (48) the slightly cleaner effluent is conducted to another solid separator (53) for filtering solid particles greater than 0, 5 mm in a constant cycle that are conducted to the outlet (54) and subsequent disposal, while the effluent cleaner is conducted by another output duct (55) that returns to the intermediate tank (39) which, in turn, has an output duct (56) interconnected with the water supply points (8) of the mills (7a -7b), so that the effluent can be reused in steps (b), (c), (d), and (e); and i) treatment of the saturated effluent through the treatment circuit (49) starting with a treatment tank (57) having two outlet ducts, a lower one (58) and an upper one (59), both are operated by a valve after evaluating the effluent and, depending on the evaluation, the The first outlet (58) leads the effluent to a filter press (60) with a solids outlet (61) and a liquid outlet duct (62), the latter flowing into a treated water reservoir (63), while the effluent leaving the upper pipe (59) passes through a carbon filter (64) and a zeolite filter (65) and, in the latter, the filtered effluent is conducted through an outlet duct (66) to the reservoir (63), where finally there is an outlet duct (67) that leads the effluent substantially cleaner to the intermediate tank (39) and from there, the effluent returns through the outlet duct (56) to the different points of water supply of the process.