[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/5830\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EThe magnetic attraction of recycling plastics\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EImproving the automated sorting of plastic thrown out by consumers could ensure a lot more is recovered and recycled, reducing the amount that ends up in incinerators or simply in landfill.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMagnetic density separator technology holds out the prospect of sharply reducing the cost of sorting plastic packaging, particularly in household waste such as drinks bottles, yoghurt pots, and soap dispensers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe breakthrough technology works by mixing confetti-like flakes of shredded plastic waste into a magnetic liquid and running the fluid past a magnet to sort it into polymers of different densities. These can then all be recovered separately.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018This process is so special because you throw in the mix, and in one go it is separated into five different materials,\u2019 said Prof. Peter Rem of the Technical University of Delft in the Netherlands.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProf. Rem is the scientific coordinator of the W2Plastics project, a 12-member EU-funded consortium of research institutes and industry partners set up to find a commercially viable technology for separating polyolefins. Also known as polyalkenes, these are the waxy or oily-feeling plastics often used in packaging and represent nearly half of the plastics made in Europe. They are not biodegradable and must be pure to be recycled.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile industrial leftovers from plastics manufacturing has been recycled for decades, the goal of W2Plastics is to unlock post-consumer waste \u2013 a source of recyclable material that is up to 10 times bigger and includes household rubbish, scrapped cars, and electronic goods such as old mobile phones and computers.\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018This process is so special because you throw in the mix, and in one go it is separated into five different materials.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EProf. Peter Rem of the Technical University of Delft in the Netherlands\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENew plastic from old\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn mixed form, the waste has little use. However, once it is separated, it can be reused as a cost-effective raw material for new plastics, potentially saving billions of euros spent each year on the oil imports used to make about 50 million tonnes of synthetic polymers in Europe. Some two kilograms of oil is needed to make each one kilogram of plastic.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut there are many different kinds of synthetic polymers, some differing only very slightly, and most methods used for recycling them are slow, complicated, and costly.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EW2Plastics has shown the viability of magnetic density separation, where flakes of shredded plastic such as polyethylene or polypropylene are mixed into a magnetic fluid made by adding iron oxide to water.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe iron oxide particles are so small \u2013 about five nanometres across \u2013 that they are suspended in the liquid and do not simply fall to the bottom of the container.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo separate plastics denser than water, the mixture of flakes and fluid is then passed over a magnet, which gently attracts the iron oxide, increasing the weight of the nearby liquid. The flakes passing through the container flow into distinct layers that match the densities of the different types of polymer. They can then be sucked away with pumps at different heights. The process is similar for plastics less dense than water, but the magnet is placed on top, reducing the weight of the nearby liquid.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018In a magnetic field and a magnetic liquid, the plastic particle will get to a certain equilibrium distance from the magnet \u2013 precisely that distance where the combination of gravity and the magnetic force on the liquid just balance the weight of the particle,\u2019 Prof. Rem said. \u2018It\u2019s strange to see, actually.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E800 euros per tonne \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe W2Plastics consortium has demonstrated the profitability of the scheme. It costs about EUR\u0026nbsp;2 million for the sorting unit, while the cost of the separation process is less than EUR\u0026nbsp;100 per tonne, way below the market price for a tonne of recovered polymer of about EUR\u0026nbsp;800.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne of the partners, Urban SA, is implementing the technology in Romania, while other potential users are assessing its efficiency and economic viability.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch is also under way into using magnetic density sorting for heavy plastics, such as polystyrene and PET mixtures, and even for shredded metals from electronic waste.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe W2Plastics consortium is awaiting an assessment by the European plastics recyclers\u2019 industry later this year under the separate EU-supported REMIX project to evaluate various available polymer treatment technologies.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022img_legend\u0022 style=\u0022float: left;\u0022\u003E\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cimg alt=\u0022Prof. Peter Rem of the Technical University of Delft in the Netherlands. Image courtesy of W2Plastics.\u0022 height=\u0022133\u0022 src=\u0022\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/HO-W2-PeterRem_5315_contact.jpg\u0022 title=\u0022Prof. Peter Rem of the Technical University of Delft in the Netherlands. Image courtesy of W2Plastics.\u0022 width=\u0022200\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022tw-italic tw-mb-4\u0022\u003EProf. Peter Rem of the Technical University of Delft in the Netherlands. Image courtesy of W2Plastics.\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003Cem\u003EProf. Peter Rem of the Technical University of Delft in the Netherlands. Image courtesy of W2Plastics.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOther research has been done to reduce the cost of cleaning plastic waste before sorting, to remove dairy slime, or old shampoo or paper labels, using a minimum of water and energy. Processes to convert sorted flakes into useful polymer beads have also made good progress.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut post-consumer plastic processing still faces major logistical challenges in ensuring waste is collected efficiently and recycling facilities are in the right places.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt present, Europe only makes about EUR\u0026nbsp;2 billion of recycled polymer each year, compared to its total plastic production turnover of about EUR\u0026nbsp;100 billion.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProf. Rem is optimistic that magnetic density sorting will help to improve the situation. \u2018Slowly, primary polymers [non-recycled plastics] will receive a smaller share of the market, I think that is inevitable. That is what we want in Europe and that is what is going to happen,\u2019 he said. \u2018In reality, it will not happen in a day, it will take a large number of years, but the basics are there now.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-n0gidf-ykig7h2vyupgd-ckan4nmz9vuk09vnfcwyhi\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-n0gidF-Ykig7H2vYuPGd-CkAn4Nmz9vuk09vNfCwyHI\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]