Mexican company develops water-free plastic recycling technology

The plastic recycling system requires only half of the energy used by previous systems.

Mexican startup, Ak Inovex, has developed a new recycling technology that enables plastics to be recycled without the use of water, with less energy compared to previous systems, and produces plastic pellets of the same or better quality.

More than 90% of all types of plastics can be processed by the water-free method.

In addition to processing 90% of any type of plastic, it can also process PET, ABS, Styrofoam, and polystyrene. Even more impressive, aside from not wasting water and using less energy, this green technology requires less space because of the simplicity of its method.

Gizmag reports that according to Marco Adame, the founder of Ak Inovex and the developer of the recycling technology, the new method can produce plastic pellets of equal or superior quality. The water-free and energy-reduced system, utilizes special walls that, on contact, can simultaneously mold plastic into the desired pellet shape and cool the pellets it produces.

Adame said that “Ak Inovex has a pending patent registration of the three technologies that integrate the development, which are responsible for cooling the plastic through contact with special walls and form the plastic beads.”

The recycling technology may not only be greener, but cheaper, as well.

Ak Inovex is seeking to expand its prototype system’s recycling capabilities. In an effort to lowers costs even further, the company wants to employ an ecological washing machine for plastics. This unique washing machine would use a special biodetergent instead of lye, which is the more commonly used product.

To make this possible, the company is partnering with ALINSA group, which specializes in manufacturing biodegradable chemical cleaning products that are environmentally friendly.

Currently, recycling plastic is a long and difficult process that consumes many resources, particularly water. Plastic must be thoroughly washed to remove any impurities. It must then be dehydrated inside an oven and later cooled by water when the newly formed plastic is cut into small pellets.

Thus, the plastic recycling technology developed by Ak Inovex is a process that is not only better for the environment, but is also one that has the potential to be notably simpler and cheaper than current recycling methods.