Technology provider Sesotec is helping Re-Glass lift Hungary’s glass recycling rate to new heights.
The European Union has set ambitious recycling targets for all of its member countries, and, in some cases, gains will need to be made to reach those looming goals.
In Hungary, up until 2016 RE-Glass Kft., with a head office in Orosháza and other yards in Budapest and Mezoörs, Hungary, processed 7,000 to 8,000 tons of flat glass per year, while bottle glass—because of the lack of modern processing technology—was only 1 to 3 tons per year.
As Hungary has only flint glass production, there was only a market for flint-colored flat and packaging glass domestically. The collected and treated mixed packaging glass was exported as mixed glass.
In 2016, Mátyás Máthé became the new owner of RE-Glass, assisted by Ferenc Aszódi as the firm’s managing director.
Although Hungary had been lagging behind the EU-wide average and standards for collecting and recycling discarded glass, the government of Hungary plans to introduce a deposit fee system in 2023 for packaging glass, designed to help meet EU expectations.
Máthé and Aszódi say, “These two pieces of information have induced us to embark on a major development that is going to be able to process the heavily contaminated glass waste from the current collection system. It will also be able to process the larger amount of cleaner glass waste generated by the deposit fee collection system.”
In 2018, Máthé and Aszódi visited the IFAT exhibition in Munich. There, they met several suppliers of sorting technologies before choosing KRS GmbH, a subsidiary of Schönberg, Germany-based Sesotec GmbH. In cooperation with KRS, RE-Glass has now built what it calls the most modern plant in Hungary for sorting and processing bottle glass, capable of processing 8 to 10 tons per hour.
Foreign materials posed the biggest challenge to the new plant. Contaminants such as ceramics, stones and porcelain (CSP), metals, paper and plastics comprise as much as 15 to 20 percent of the total weight of all collected glass. To overcome this challenge, KRS supplied a sorting system that meets several requirements
Four Spektrum separation systems are connected in the line. They separate foreign materials such as magnetic and nonmagnetic metals, CSP, non-transparent plastics and special glass materials, and sort the mixed glass by color. The results are contaminant-free and color-pure streams of glass material, says Sesotec.
The plant was commissioned in October 2019. Less than a year later, an additional 600-square-meter (6,450-square-foot) hall was added to house new equipment. Surrounding the hall is an approximately 3,500-square-meter (37,600-square-foot) paved area with an 800-square-meter (8,600-square-foot) covered and 600-square-meter (6,450 square feet) open storage area.
Hungarian companies, in cooperation with KRS, built the supporting structure of the halls, manufactured and installed the conveyor belts and the electrical wiring, and also built the programmable logic controller (PLC) system for the plant.
A trial run took place in September 2020, during which KRS specialists set up the sorting units and installed the Sesotec Visudesk software. With Visudesk, it is possible to monitor the four Spektrum sorters remotely, make fine adjustments and track error messages. In this way, KRS can check settings and provide remote support if necessary, according to Sesotec.
The technology provided by KRS and Sesotec makes it possible to produce high-quality recycled glass the companies say is the perfect product for reuse in the glass industry. “Color sorting technology has helped us increase the amount of flint glass that we produce for the domestic market,” Máthé says.
“At the same time, our mixed glass exports now contain a smaller proportion of flint glass. The processing quality and quantity have also increased. We hope that our government will introduce a deposit system as announced. With a new deposit system in place, we can continue to successfully operate in three shifts, or even begin to operate continuously using the equipment supplied to us by KRS.”
Máthé continues, “However, our latest technology line selects all foreign materials (magnetizable and non-magnetizable metals, individual paper and plastic waste); four optical sorters are built one behind the other to ensure that ceramics and wire glass are also taken out of the glass waste. Therefore, a completely contamination-free glass product is obtained.”
Aszódi says, “Additionally, we sort mixed glass waste collected by us or our partners by color. Above all these, according to the demands of our customers, we are able to set the color selection rate with an accuracy of 1 to 2 percent. One of our Hungarian partners produces glass foam from zero to 6 millimeters and glass cullet. So, you can say that the glass waste we process continues its life as a 100 percent glass product. The circular economy is a reality, and RE-Glass is making a big contribution here.”
U.K.-based company explores RFID tracking application in plastic packaging reuse.
PragmatIC Semiconductor Ltd. is studying the use of radio frequency identification/near field communication (RFID/NFC) technology in plastic packaging reuse applications.
PragmatiC, based in the United Kingdom, says RFID/NFC is widespread in some supply chain management applications “but now it has become viable to leverage this technology for high-volume, low-cost consumer goods packaging, enabling item-level traceability and data analysis for sustainability reasons.”
The company says retailers and brand owners “have made public ESG [environmental, social and governance] commitments and are under pressure to turn words into action, so they are now looking closely at digital innovations. New smart reusable packaging programs could help reduce their environmental impact.”
The U.K. company says along with reuse programs, mechanical recycling would remain viable as “the last step in the process after each bottle has been reused for as long as it is safely possible to do so.”
PragmatIC adds that RFID/NFC tracking “gives retailers and packaging service providers the information to make the right decisions to ensure economic viability, operational efficiency and [the] least environmental impact for reuse at scale.”
Some reuse trials have taken place but they have struggled to scale economically and operationally while being environmentally beneficial, PragmatIC says. “Challenges include reverse logistics, packaging design, consumer resistance [and] safety,” it adds.
At the same time, the technology provider says, “Global brands like Coca-Cola and Pepsi have made commitments to reuse packaging. New technology could help make this possible at the scale needed.”
The company continues, “PragmatIC is working with partners and leading retailers to use novel flexible electronics and RFID/NFC to improve traceability within food and drink supply chains.”
Among the reuse opportunities with RFID/NFC, PragmatIC says, is digitalization that enables data generation to measure and optimize the system. Such measurements can include “material flow, item provenance, washing efficiencies, consumer engagement and data-driven packaging life cycle analysis.”
Pennsylvania-based company says its service can save on replacing costly stainless steel components.
Hanover, Pennsylvania-based Gerard Daniel Worldwide says recyclers and other users of vibratory separator machines have a bottom line-related reason to consider its screen refurbishment service.
“With Gerard Daniel’s rescreening program, users can recycle their screens and save money—in most cases more than 25 percent per screen,” the company says. Gerard Daniel says it developed the program in response to the increasing price of stainless steel, saying the cost of the metal has doubled since 2020.
Using what it calls a proprietary process designed to preserve the rings in as-new condition, Gerard Daniel’s rescreening program removes old worn screens from their frames. After removing the epoxy and mesh from the rings, the screens are replaced and the assemblies are returned to the customer, ready to use, according to the firm.
“The greater the number of screens shipped to Gerard Daniel at any given time, the greater the savings by virtue of amortizing the shipping costs over higher quantities,” the company adds.
Gerard Daniel says users who are not seeing optimal productivity from their machines can benefit from the knowledge of its application engineers—mesh “experts” who can recommend a mesh replacement to improve performance without having to purchase completely new assemblies. Gerard Daniel also can store customers’ screens as inventory in its warehouse.
The company says it has deep supply chain resources and multiple locations in the United States, as well as Canada and Ireland, to respond to customer needs quickly.
SteelMint event in Bangladesh will examine regional steelmaking supply and demand scenarios.
India-based metals information company SteelMint will host a Raw Material Conference-Emerging Bangladesh event in Chittagong, Bangladesh, from Sept. 20-21.
“Bangladesh is one of Asia’s key emerging and fastest growing economies,” SteelMint says. “Its galloping growth rate requires infrastructure development at an unprecedented scale, underscoring the demand for steel, cement, power etc. It is globally the second-largest destination for scrapped ships and one of the largest ferrous scrap consumers with imports touching 4 million tons currently.”
The nation’s steelmaking capacity could grow from 1 million metric tons in 2014 to 13 million by 2025 if announced projects come to fruition. Its scrap imports, likewise, have risen from 500,000 tons in 2014 to nearly 4 million last year.
Regarding its event at the Hotel Radisson Blu in Chittagong, SteelMint calls it a “unique platform to bring key industry leaders together with global suppliers to discuss technology, trends, fresh ideas and potential business opportunities.”
The conference has been designed to attract “major raw material and technology suppliers from all over the world with an objective to network with steel, scrap, sponge iron/direct reduced iron (DRI) producers, traders and indenters in Bangladesh.”
Speakers and panelists lined up for the event represent numerous companies, including steelmaker BSRM, the Ministry of Industries of Bangladesh, and scrap companies United Arab Emirates-based Indicaa Group, United Kingdom-based EMR Ltd. and Nathani Industrial Services of India.
More information about the event, including how to register, can be found here.
PureCycle says its Ironton, Ohio, site remains on track, with mechanical completion expected in the fourth quarter of 2022, followed by initial pellet production by year-end.
PureCycle Technologies Inc., Orlando, Florida, has released a corporate update on operations and company expansions for the second quarter ending June 30.
"PureCycle continued to build on its operational momentum during the second quarter of 2022 and execute against its strategic growth plan,” says Dustin Olson, PureCycle CEO. “PureCycle aims to mitigate its environmental footprint through proactive evaluation of operational impacts from preprocessing through pellet production. We look forward to updating the market with a more in-depth evaluation once our Ironton facility becomes fully operational."
PureCycle says its flagship purification facility in Ironton, Ohio, remains on track with mechanical completion expected in the fourth quarter of 2022, followed by initial pellet production by year-end. The company is in the final phases of construction with 14 of the 26 modules delivered and lifted into place. Additionally, the company is nearing completion of its feed preprocessing build and full commissioning is underway. The Ironton purification facility will have an annual capacity of 107 million pounds annually of ultrapure recycled resin.
“The operational startup of our flagship facility in Ironton remains on track and marks a significant milestone in PureCycle's commercial path to addressing the global plastic waste crisis.,” Olson says.
During the second quarter, the company's engineering, procurement and construction activities at its first multiline purification facility in Augusta, Georgia, continued to progress. In light of the current economic climate, projections anticipate mechanical completion, startup and full commissioning in 2024. The PureCycle team is integrating lessons learned and improvements from the Ironton construction into the Augusta development, which is expected to improve installation efficiency.
PureCycle says it will receive an agency opinion letter for the use of food-grade postindustrial recycled materials for all food types under Conditions of Use A-H. It also received a letter of no objection (LNO) for all food types under Conditions of Use E-G for food-grade postconsumer recycled feedstock. The company says it plans for additional testing and intends to make further LNO submissions for additional postconsumer recycled sources and expanded conditions of use.
The company recently announced three leadership changes effective Aug. 5. Mike Otworth, chairperson of the board of directors and CEO of PureCycle, resigned. Dustin Olson, PureCycle chief officer and chief manufacturing officer, was promoted to the role of CEO and joined the company's board of directors. Olson has been with PureCycle since 2021, leading technical, manufacturing and project operations. Dan Coombs, a current member of PureCycle's board of directors, was appointed to the newly created position of executive chairperson of the board of directors.
PureCycle says it continues to advance its feedstock procurement pipeline, with about 329 million pounds of polypropylene under a letter of intent, to fully supply the first two lines of PureCycle's Augusta purification facility. PureCycle says its current feedstock supply pipeline is made of three waste streams: postconsumer noncurbside, postconsumer curbside and postindustrial. During the second quarter, PureCycle's PureZero program expanded its recycling partnerships to include the Jacksonville Jaguars. PureCycle is also continuing with an expanded list of targets outside of stadium venues to advance PureZero concepts.
Augusta's purification lines one and two are currently at 70 percent, allocated through multiyear offtake contractual agreements and commitments, with volume from packaging converters. PureCycle says it continues to progress on negotiations for the remaining 30 percent of available offtake. The company says the market's continuing interest in its UPR resin is demonstrated through the offtake allocation of the Ironton facility and the acceptance of its Feedstock+ pricing model being implemented at Augusta.
The company says it continues to develop three regional feedstock preprocessing facilities along the East Coast. The aim is to enhance feedstock supply for the Augusta multiline purification facility and maximize transportation efficiencies. PureCycle anticipates its first regional preprocessing facility in central Florida to be operational during the fourth quarter of 2022, with an annual sorting capacity of 115 million pounds of mixed plastic.
During the second quarter, PureCycle selected two new locations to supply the Augusta multiline purification facility: Denver, Pennsylvania. The facility will also be supplied on-site. Additionally, the company says it anticipates preprocessing facilities in Denver, Pennsylvania and Augusta to be operational in the second half of 2023. The Denver, Pennsylvania preprocessing facility is expected to have a sorting capacity of 175 million pounds annually. The Augusta preprocessing facility is expected to have a sorting capacity of 263 million pounds and a wash capacity of 331 million pounds annually.
As of June 30, the company is reporting total liquidity of $516.4 million, including $349.8 million of cash, cash equivalents and debt securities available for sale and $166.6 million in restricted cash. PureCycle had $249.6 million in debt and accrued interest, less than $16.6 million of discount and issuance costs. PureCycle's Ironton flagship purification facility's budget estimate is about $300 million, primarily funded through bond financing.
"We are pleased that project debt financing is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2022,” says Larry Somma, PureCycle's chief financial officer. “Upon the anticipated closing of this transaction, we expect to have sufficient capital to fund Augusta's first two purification lines and three East Coast preprocessing facilities."