CreaCycle GmbH
Auf der Artwick 74
41515 Grevenbroich
Germany
Telephone:
+49 (0) 2181-288806-0
Telefax:
+49 (0) 2181-288806-9
E-Mail:
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Electro(nic) Waste Recycling
The volumes of “electro(nic)” waste increase steadily. This waste contains approximately 20% plastics, mainly high impact polystyrene (HIPS) and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS).
The addition of flame retardants (mainly brominated organic compounds, which can decompose through thermal treatment - also when being extruded - to highly toxic reaction products) prohibits the classical plastic recycling through a melt process (re-granulation), because it would increase the decomposition reactions.
This is why approximately 70% of the electronic waste of Europe and the USA is exported to China, because there "High-Tech" recycling and energy recovery is possible without any regulation from authorities.
In a worldwide comparison study of the British non-profit-organisation WRAP (The Waste and Resources Action Programme), that lasted from 1 October 2004 until 31 May 2006, the CreaSolv® Process performed ecologically and economically as the best one. This finding was supported by a comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment according ISO 14040 (Appendix 5 of WRAP Final Report).
In a project with the Austrian Center of Excellence Electronics & Environment KERP in Vienna the Fraunhofer IVV has proven that heavily polluted light shredder fractions can be recycled. With the CreaSolv®-Process the Electro- and waste-handling industry can produce plastics, which meet the European "RoHS-Guideline": Since 1 July 2006 dangerous Substances like lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chrome, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) or polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDE) are banned in new electro or electronic appliances.
After the CreaSolv® Process demonstrated its suitability for the recycling of various plastics in earlier projects, in September 2010 the “Poly-Ressource” Project was started in line with the “SME-innovative” Program of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). This joint research project was aimed at the collection and processing of contaminated waste plastics from shredder residues from the processing of waste electro(nic) equipment (WEEE) and end-of-live cars (ELV) in Europe and the production of recyceled plastics conforming to the regulations.
Recycling of Metal-Plastic Compounds Hybrid Materials
By financing the project-network “ForCycle” with € 3 million the Bavarian state government
supports the development of innovative recycling processes with a main interest on metals, composites, building materials and biogenic polymers over a period of 3 years (2014 – 2016).
In a subproject the CreaSolv® Process is explored as gentle separation of metal-plastic compounds and their individual recovery is studied.
Read more: Forcycle (2014)
Recycling of hazardous Plastic Waste (WEEE, ELV & CDW)
The NONTOX project applies multiple recycling technologies to recycle hazardous plastic waste generated from Waste Electrical and Electronics Equipment (WEEE), End of Life Vehicles (ELV) and Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW). The overall objective is to increase recycling rates of plastics waste containing hazardous substances by developing two recycling technologies “CreaSolv® Process and Extruclean” to produce safe and high-quality secondary plastic materials and by optimizing the overall process economics by integration because increasing recycling rates are crucial for a circular economy as stated in the EU Plastic Strategy1).