• 专利附录
  • 专利说明
  • 权利要求
  • 类似技术
  • 同族专利
  • 引用文献
  • 法律状态
  • 优先权
    • 专利摘要:
    The present invention provides a method for recovering aluminium and polyethylene from multilayer packages at room temperature, which allows 100% of the raw materials forming the multilayer package to be recovered with high degrees of purity and without needing to neutralise any of the separation mixtures.
    公开号:ES2871225A2
    申请号:ES202190033
    申请日:2019-12-06
    公开日:2021-10-28
    发明作者:Cruz Raúl Segura；Sandoval María Isabel Velazquez；Vidrio Héctor Uriel Pamplona；Aguilar Martín Carbajal；Aguilar José Luis Carbajal
    申请人:Omicron Tecnologia Circular S L；
    IPC主号:
    专利说明:

    [0001] PROCESS FOR THE RECOVERY OF ALUMINUM AND POLYETHYLENE A
    [0003] Field of Invention
    [0005] The present invention refers to a process for the recovery of the components of multilayer packaging and more particularly, the present invention provides a novel process for the recovery of aluminum and polyethylene from laminated multilayer packaging, which allows the polyethylene film to be separated from the aluminum without requiring the use of high temperatures or the addition of organic solvents.
    [0007] Background of the Invention
    [0009] Multilayer packaging has proven to be very useful in the food industry, since it allows keeping food produced aseptically for periods of time of up to one year without the need for refrigeration or the addition of preservatives. These multilayer packaging are made up of polyethylene laminates with intermediate layers of cardboard and aluminum, which make the laminate impervious to liquids and gases, therefore, when used in the manufacture of packaging, said laminate prevents contamination of the food contained within. of the.
    [0011] While these laminates are ideal to be used as barriers against food contamination, they have the disadvantage of being difficult to recycle, since the bond between the layers is so firm that it is not possible to recycle them by conventional methods intended for the recovery of polyethylene, cardboard and aluminum. Generally, this type of packaging is recycled by a method specifically designed for the recovery of only one of its components, so that in most cases two of the layers are discarded as waste from the process. The main method used for the recycling of these laminates is to separate the cardboard fibers from the other components of the laminate by shredding and investment in water. The cellulose fiber pulp is passed through filters and can be reused to obtain recycled paper. The remaining material or "polyaluminum", which is a mixture of polyethylene fibers fused with aluminum, is conventionally disposed of in landfills and at best burned to try to remove the polyethylene. However, the burning of this material generates very toxic gases and the aluminum obtained has a low purity so it would have to undergo secondary refining processes in order to be used. Due to this, the recovered aluminum is of little value and its reuse is economically unfeasible.
    [0013] Due to this problem, attempts have been made to design processes for the reuse of poly-aluminum, ranging from using solvents for the disintegration of polyethylene, to pyrometallurgical processes for the recovery of aluminum. However, these methods have been shown to be one side too expensive and on the other, not very efficient. In the case of the use of solvents, it has been shown that they bring with them several drawbacks ranging from complex reaction conditions such as high temperatures and high pressures, to serious problems when separating the used solvents from the polymeric matrix. On the other hand, pyrometallurgical processes are not without problems, since in almost all cases the polyethylene is destroyed during the metal extraction process, producing toxic vapors and the metal obtained continues to present traces of impurities that affect its malleability.
    [0015] In order to overcome the advantages of the existing poly-aluminum separation and recovery processes, alternatives have been developed for recycling these materials, such as the one described in patent application US20170080603A1, in which the poly-aluminum is placed in a reaction vessel containing a separation fluid comprising a mixture of a swelling agent that is at least one solvent hydrocarbon selected from aromatic hydrocarbons such as toluene, xylene, ethylbenzene or naphtha-type solvents, alicyclic hydrocarbons such as cyclohexane or decalin , olefins, terpenes, alicyclic aliphatic hydrocarbons or, an aprotic solvent selected from ketones, esters and ethers and; at least one carboxylic acid. This separation fluid, what it does is partially dissolve the polyethylene layers to facilitate their separation from the aluminum layer, in this way it can be recycle both polyethylene and aluminum separately. However, the use of hydrocarbon and / or aprotic solvents can modify the properties of the polyethylene, leaving impurities in the separated product, which makes it difficult to recycle it by conventional methods. In addition, when using solvents such as xylene or toluene, it makes it difficult to handle the process residues, thus becoming a process that generates toxic residues for the environment.
    [0017] Patent application WO2015181038A1, describes a process for the separation of packaging materials that consists of dissolving aluminum using a strong acid such as hydrochloric acid, to form an acid solution that contains the metal dissolved in it, which later undergoes a pyrohydrolytic process to recover aluminum as alumina (Al 2 O 3 ). The process described in this application does not make it possible to obtain metallic aluminum, so it is necessary to subject the process residue to other refining processes before it can be used. In addition, because a very strong acid is used to separate aluminum from polyethylene, it is necessary to neutralize the polyethylene residue in order to use it, which generates a salt residue that can make recycling difficult.
    [0019] Patent CN101891903B describes a process for the separation of aluminum foils from packaging laminates. The described separation method consists of grinding the laminate in a formic acid solution, to favor the separation of aluminum from polyethylene, grinding at a temperature of between 40 ° C to 60 ° C. After this, a paste is obtained that is centrifuged to favor the separation of the layers. However, the proposed method does not completely detach the aluminum foil from the polyethylene, so it is mandatory to carry out the process with heating and perform a centrifugation to separate the layers, and it is necessary to add nitric acid to the separation mixture to maintain its acidity.
    [0021] Patent US5421526A describes a polyaluminium separation process that comprises immersing the material in acetic acid between 40 to 100%, raising the temperature of the mixture to 50-80 ° C to favor the detachment of the aluminum and polyethylene layers. However, since the method described requires a significant increase in temperature to be carried out, there is a risk of oxidizing the aluminum too much by increasing the proportion of solubilized Al 2 O 3 , which significantly decreases the efficiency of the method.
    [0023] None of these processes allows a correct separation of the aluminum from the polyethylene layer, so secondary separation processes are necessary to obtain the aluminum and the polyethylene with an acceptable degree of purity. In addition, none of the described processes allows the separation of the packaging layers at room temperature, without requiring the use of centrifugation equipment and without generating process residues that must be neutralized for final disposal.
    [0025] In view of the above, there is a need to provide a process for the complete separation of the components of multilayer packaging, which does not generate residues that must be neutralized for disposal and final treatment. Also, there is a need to provide a separation process for multilayer packages, which does not require complex operating conditions such as increase in reaction temperature or the use of centrifugal equipment.
    [0027] Summary of the Invention
    [0029] In order to overcome the limitations of the multilayer packaging separation processes available, the present invention aims to provide a novel process for the recovery of aluminum and polyethylene from multilayer packaging, which uses carboxylic acids at room temperature to promote separation. of the poly-aluminum components without the need to apply great mechanical stress.
    [0031] Another objective of the present invention is to provide a process for the recovery of aluminum and polyethylene from multilayer packaging, which allows to recover practically 100% of the original components of the packaging.
    [0033] A further objective of the present invention is provide a process for the recovery of aluminum and polyethylene from multilayer packaging, which allows obtaining aluminum and low-density polyethylene with a purity close to 100%.
    [0035] Yet another objective of the present invention is to provide a process for the recovery of aluminum and polyethylene from multilayer packaging, which does not require neutralizing the recovery solutions.
    [0037] The aforementioned, as well as other, objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description thereof.
    [0039] Description of the Figures of the Invention
    [0041] Figure 1 shows a micrograph obtained by scanning microscopy of an aluminum sample obtained by the process of the present invention.
    [0043] Figure 2 shows a micrograph obtained by scanning microscopy of a low-density polyethylene sample obtained by the process of the present invention.
    [0045] Figure 3 shows a graph of the EDS analysis of an aluminum sample obtained by the process of the present invention.
    [0047] Figure 4 shows a graph of the EDS analysis at a sample of a low-density polyethylene sample obtained by the process of the present invention.
    [0049] Detailed description of the invention
    [0051] The present invention provides a novel process for the recovery of aluminum and polyethylene from multilayer packaging, which is carried out at room temperature without the addition of solvents or conventional polymer separation agents. Likewise, the present invention provides a novel process for the recovery of aluminum and polyethylene from multilayer packaging, which allows obtaining metallic aluminum and polyethylene free of impurities and without the presence of remnants of paper pulp and / or substances that must be neutralized. . To achieve the above, the process of the present invention comprises the following steps:
    [0053] 1) place between 15 and 25% by weight / volume of residue-free multilayer packages, preferably previously washed, in a separation tank with water at a temperature of between 10 and 30 ° C, preferably between 15 and 25 ° C;
    [0054] 2) agitate the contents of the separation tank for a period of time between 110 and 130 minutes;
    [0055] 3) filter the obtained solution to separate pigmented polyethylene (PEPG), cellulose (CLSA) and polyaluminum (PAL);
    [0056] 4) clean the PAL to remove CLSA residues; 5) mixing the cleaned PAL with a separation mixture comprising between 20% and 92% water and between 80% and 8% of an acid medium separation additive;
    [0057] 6) stirring the mixture from the previous step for a period of between 110 and 130 minutes at room temperature and;
    [0058] 7) filter the obtained solution to separate low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and aluminum (AL).
    [0060] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the acid medium removal additive is a carboxylic acid, preferably 10-15% acetic acid.
    [0062] In a further embodiment of the present invention, step 3) further comprises pressing the filtered liquid containing CLSA to obtain a CLSA sheet that dries at room temperature, separately removing the PEPG for drying.
    [0064] With the process described above, approximately 75% of CLSA, 5% of PEPG, 15% of LDPE and 5% of Al with traces of Al 2 O 3 are obtained , the net yield of the previously described process being practically 100% of salvaged materials, since conventional multilayer packaging has 75% cellulose, 20% low-density polyethylene and 5% aluminum.
    [0066] To demonstrate the technical advantages of the process described above, tests were carried out on samples obtained from the materials recovered by the process described above: aluminum (AL) and low-density polyethylene (LDPE). The samples were subjected to scanning microscopy and X-ray energy dispersion spectrometry (EDS). The obtained micrographs (Figures 1 and 2) show the appearance of the AL and LDPE samples respectively. In them you can see the presence of structures corresponding to aluminum (Figure 1) and LDPE films (Figure 2) without the presence of foreign bodies.
    [0068] In the EDS analysis (Figures 3 and 4), the presence of characteristic peaks for O 2 and AL is observed in the aluminum samples (Figure 3) without the presence of signals for other elements, which denotes the presence of only pure aluminum. and aluminum oxide. Regarding the LDPE sample, only peaks corresponding to C and O 2 signals were observed, which shows the presence only of the polymer. In none of the EDS tests, signals corresponding to other elements were found, so it can be certain that AL and LDPE are obtained practically 100% free of cellulose and of the separation mixture.
    [0070] The present invention has been described in accordance with a preferred embodiment; however, it will be apparent to a person skilled in the art that modifications can be made to the invention without departing from its spirit and scope.
    权利要求:
    Claims (1)
    [0001]
    1.- A process for the recovery of aluminum and polyethylene from multilayer packaging characterized in that it comprises the steps of:
    1) place between 15 and 25% by weight / volume of residue-free multilayer packaging, in a separation tank with water at a temperature of between 10 and 30 ° C, preferably between 15 and 25 ° C;
    2) agitate the contents of the separation tank for a period of time between 110 and 130 minutes;
    3) filter the obtained solution to separate pigmented polyethylene (PEPG), cellulose (CLSA) and polyaluminum (PAL);
    4) clean the PAL to remove CLSA residues; 5) mixing the cleaned PAL with a separation mixture comprising between 20% and 92% water and between 80% and 8% of an acid medium separation additive;
    6) stirring the mixture from the previous step for a period of between 110 and 130 minutes at room temperature and;
    7) filter the obtained solution to separate low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and aluminum (AL).
    2. - The process according to claim 1, characterized in that step 3) further comprises pressing the
    filtered liquid containing CLSA to obtain a sheet
    of CLSA that is dried at room temperature, stirring for
    separate the PEPG for drying.
    3. - The process according to claim 1, characterized in that the medium separation additive
    acid is a carboxylic acid.
    4. - The process according to claim 3, characterized in that the carboxylic acid is
    preferably 10-15% acetic acid.
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    同族专利:
    公开号 | 公开日
    WO2020130780A1|2020-06-25|
    引用文献:
    公开号 | 申请日 | 公开日 | 申请人 | 专利标题
    FR2510428B1|1981-07-31|1984-10-19|Scal Gp Condit Aluminium|
    DE4137895C2|1991-11-18|2000-02-10|Johannes Kersting|Process for separating aluminum foils from plastic foils, in particular PE foils|
    ES2124189B1|1997-04-17|1999-11-16|Vargas Diego Cortes|METHOD FOR THE RECOVERY OF ALUMINUM, CELLULOSE AND POLYETHYLENE FROM WASTE OF PACK TYPE CONTAINERS.|
    GB2557682A|2016-12-15|2018-06-27|saperatec GmbH|Method and apparatus for recycling packaging material|
    法律状态:
    2021-10-28| BA2A| Patent application published|Ref document number: 2871225 Country of ref document: ES Kind code of ref document: A2 Effective date: 20211028 |
    优先权:
    申请号 | 申请日 | 专利标题
    MX2018016381|2018-12-19|
    PCT/MX2019/050026|WO2020130780A1|2018-12-19|2019-12-06|Method for recovering aluminium and polyethylene from multilayer packages|
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