UNIVERSITI TENAGA NASIONAL

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
RENEWABLE ENERGY UNIT

Characterisation Studies of Waste Plastics as a Feedstock for

Energy Recovery

Progress Report 2

NAME : Surenderan Logan

ID : ME093015

SUPERVISOR : Dr. Juniza Binti Md Saad

CO SUPERVISOR : Dr. Adlansyah Bin Abd Rahman

 CHAPTER I

1.1. INTRODUCTION

There are over 100 types of plastics but only 6 (six) types of plastics are the most common,
and these are identified with a number used to facilitate their classification for recycling in
Malaysia, given that the characteristics of the plastics often require that they be recycled
differently. As shown in Table 1, types of plastic resins and their respective symbol codes and
classification with a single digit ranging from 1 to 7 and surrounded by a triangle of arrows
were designed by The Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI) in 1988. The recycling numbers
and codes are so classified to allow consumers and recyclers to differentiate types of plastics
while providing a uniform coding system for manufacturers.

Resin Product
Name Properties
Codes/Symbol Applications
Drinks, water, juice,
Smooth surfaces for
Mouth wash.
Polyethylene oriented films and
Terephthalate bottles.
Food jars for peanut
(PET, PETE) is
butter, jam.
clear, tough and Excellent barrier to
has good gas oxygen, water and
Fibres for clothing
and moisture carbon dioxide.
and carpets.
barrier properties
Heat resistance and
Food containers.
microwave
transparency.
Strapping.
High impact
Engineering plastics
capability and
for precision-moulded
shatter resistance
parts.
Excellent barrier to Bottles for food and
High Density water and most non-food items.
Polyethylene solvents.
(HDPE) is a Bags for groceries
Thermoplastics made Higher tensile and retail purchases.
from ethylene. It is used strength compared
in many food packaging to other forms of Cereal box liners.
applications that do not polyethylene.
require oxygen or Reusable shipping
carbon dioxide barriers. containers.
 Injection moulding
applications,
extruded pipe and
conduit plastic wood
composites and wire
and cable covering.
Rigid packaging
Polyvinyl Chloride (V applications include
or Vinyl or PVC) has pipe and fittings,
excellent transparency, siding, carpet backing
Resistance to grease,
chemical resistance, and windows.
oil and chemicals.
long term stability, good
weather ability and Flexible packaging
High impact
stable electrical applications include
strength, brilliant
properties. wire and cable
clarity and excellent
sheathing, insulation,
processing
film and sheet, floor
performance.
coverings, synthetic
leather products,
coating, blood bags
and medical tubing.
Low Density Bags for household
Polyethylene (LDPE); garbage, dry cleaning,
Linear Low Density bread, frozen food.
Polyethylene (LLDPE)
is predominantly used Shrink film and
in film applications and stretch film.
also in wire and cable Toughness,
applications. It is flexibility and Coating for paper
versatile and suitable transparency. milk cartons, hot/cold
for a wide variety of beverage cups.
processing, be it Excellent resistance
rotomoulding, injection, to acids, bases and Container lids.
blowing, or extrusion. vegetable oils.
Squeezable bottles.

Injection moulding
applications, adhesive
and sealants; and wire
and cable coverings.
Polypropylene is known Excellence Containers for yogurt,
for its high melting resistance to margarine, takeout
point, which makes it chemical. meals, and deli foods.
ideal for holding hot
liquids that cool in the Excellent optical Medicine bottles.
bottles (for example, clarity in biaxially
ketchup and syrup). It oriented films and Bottle caps and
can be manufactured to stretch blow closures.
be flexible or rigid. moulded containers.
Fibres, appliances and
Low moisture consumer products
vapours including carpeting
transmission. and automotive.
Polystyrene (PS) can be
rigid or foamed. It has Excellent moisture
relatively low melting barrier for shortshelf
point. General Purpose life products. Food service items
Polystyrene (GPPS) such as plates, cups,
which is clear, hard and Excellent optical bowls, cutlery,
brittle is used in clarity in general containers.
medical and food purpose form.
packaging and Protective foam
laboratory ware. Stiffness in both packaging for
Expanded Polystyrene foamed and rigid furniture and
(EPS) is commonly forms. electronics items.
extruded into sheets for
making meat and fish Low density and Compact disc cases.
trays and egg crates. high stiffness in
High Impact foamed applications. Building insulation.
Polystyrene (HIPS) is
used for packaging and Low thermal Medical products.
durable applications. conductivity and
excellent insulation Toys.
properties in foamed
form

Other plastics including

Polycarbonate (PC),
Dependent on resin
Styrene Acrylonitrile
or combination of
(SAN), Acrylonitrile
resins.
Butadiene Styrene
(ABS), nylon or acrylic.

Table 1: Plastic resin coding and product details

 CHAPTER II

2.1 LITERATURE REVIEW

In general, there were four (4) categories of plastics recyclability in Malaysia which are:

a) Easy Plastics to Recycle

The easiest and most common plastics to recycle are made of polyethylene terephthalate
(PETE) and are assigned the number 1. Examples include soda and water bottles, medicine
containers, and many other common consumer product containers. Once it has been
processed by a recycling facility, PETE can become fiberfill for winter coats, sleeping bags
and life jackets. It can also be used to make bean bags, rope, car bumpers, tennis ball felt,
combs, cassette tapes, sails for boats, furniture and, of course, other plastic bottles.

Number 2 is reserved for high-density polyethylene plastics. These include heavier containers
that hold laundry detergents and bleaches as well as milk, shampoo and motor oil. Plastics
labelled with the number 2 are often recycled into toys, piping, plastic lumber and rope. Like
plastic designated number 1, it is widely accepted at recycling centers.

b) Plastics Less Commonly Recycled

Polyvinyl chloride, commonly used in plastic pipes, shower curtains, medical tubing, vinyl
dashboards, and even some baby bottle nipples, gets number 3. Like numbers 4 (wrapping
films, grocery and sandwich bags, and other containers made of low-density polyethylene)
and 5 (polypropylene containers used in tupperware, among other products), few municipal
recycling centers will accept it due to its very low rate of recyclability.

c) Useful Plastics to Recycle

 Number 6 goes on polystyrene (Styrofoam) items such as coffee cups, disposable cutlery,
meat trays, packing peanuts and insulation. It is widely accepted because it can be
reprocessed into many items, including cassette tapes and rigid foam insulation.

d) Hardest Plastics to Recycle

Last, but far from least, are items crafted from various combinations of the aforementioned
plastics or from unique plastic formulations not commonly used. Usually imprinted with a
number 7 or nothing at all, these plastics are the most difficult to recycle and, as such, are
seldom collected or recycled. More ambitious consumers can feel free to return such items to
the product manufacturers to avoid contributing to the local waste stream, and instead put the
burden on the makers to recycle or dispose of the items properly.

CHAPTER III

3.1 METHOADOLOGY

Chapter 3 is the methodology of the research and it is divided into two main sections.
The first section of this chapter is the research area and the second section of this
chapter is the flowchart of the methodology. The research area section of this chapter is
the flowchart of the methodology. The research area section gives data and information
for this study will be acquired. The second portion of this chapter is the flowchart which
indicates the sequences of techniques that will be done in this research and the sub-part
of the flowchart area gives a brief depiction of each section.

3.2 FLOW CHART OF THE RESEARCH METHOADOLOGY

Literature review

Site visit

Sample Collections

Sample Preparation
 Ultimate & Proximate TGA analysis
analysis

Result analysis

3.2.1 SITE VISIT

Documentation
There are three (3) main methods or options in the plastics waste recovery; which is
mechanical recycling, feedstock recycling and energy recovery. Currently mechanical
recycling is the most common method and successfully practiced by recycling companies
which collect industrial scraps and reprocess then through activities of sorting, cleaning and
repelletising using an extruder to produce uniform pellets before being sold to plastics
industries for production of new products. Mechanical recycling involves physical activities.
This is the mechanical grinding down and sorting of used plastics directly back into re-
processable granules. The chemical structure remains almost unchanged. The small ground-
down plastic pieces are cleaned and separated into different grades. Mechanical recycling
makes sense when the plastics recovered is clean and of a single type. Good examples of this
type of recycling are used PET bottles refer Figure 1 and Appendix, industrial films made
from polyolefin or PVC window frames. Large quantities of good quality material, which has
not suffered any form of degradation during use, can be collected using appropriately
organized collection systems so that mechanical recycling is an economically viable option.
 Figure 1: Typical process for mechanical recycling of PET bottles[ref?]

3.2.2 SAMPLE COLLECTION

Sample that needed in this experiment is different type plastic with resin code labelled form
Number 1 to 5. In order to get this different type plastic which is mostly can be get it from
our daily house hold plastic waste.

3.2.3 SAMPLE PREPARATION

The mass and top sizes of the gross sample collected by using the methods described above
are usually too large for chemical or physical testing. Most often, samples are reduced and
divided to provide a sample for analysis. The objective of sample preparation is to prepare
one or more test samples from the primary increments for subsequent analysis. The sample
preparation process may involve some or all of the following: constitution of samples,
reduction (crushing), division, mixing and drying. The preparation helps to increase the
sample surface area which enhances the efficiency of chemical reaction, and also aids in the
homogenization of the sample to ensure that the test sample analysed is representative of the
 entire sample (obtaining an unbiased analysis sample). The required mass and particle size of
the test sample depend on the analysis to be carried out.

3.2.4 SAFETY PROCEDURES

Safety goggles, hand gloves, ear protection, a laboratory coat, and an air-filter mask should
be used at all times while crushing and grinding the samples and also during conducting the
experiments.

3.2.5 EQUIPMENT AND MATERIALS

Task 1: Sample preparation of different types of plastic resin code Number 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.

Objective:

To prepare standard procedures for collecting the different types of plastic resin

Equipment:

Cryogenic gloves, Liquid Nitrogen, safety goggles, face mask, sieves (gradation analysis),
Mortar and pestle, containers, and scissors.

Procedure:

1. The different type of plastic resin Numbered 1 to 5 is collected from household waste.
2. Take plastic resin Numbered 1 which is PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) common
mineral drinking bottle is cleaned and cut into small pieces using scissors.
3. The small pieces of sample are placed into container.
4. Liquid nitrogen is poured into the container and left until the liquid nitrogen stopped
bubbling.
5. Take the sample and put into the mortar and pestle, crush and grind the sample until
fine powder.
6. The sample undergoes to gradation analysis using sieves to obtain homogenous
powder form.
7. Repeat the procedure for plastic resin Number 2 to 5.

Task 2: Ultimate and proximate analysis