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Recycling Plastic Bottle into Synthetic Fiber

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Developing a Model for Recycling Plastic Bottle into Synthetic
Fiber
Developing a Model for Recycling Plastic Bottle into Synthetic
Fiber

Submitted by

Mohammed Milad Bhuiya

Student ID: 14207012

Program: BSME

Kazi Simon Hasan

Student ID: 14207066

Program: BSME

This Thesis is Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the

Degree of Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering

Department of Mechanical Engineering

IUBAT—International University of Business Agriculture and Technology

ii
 SUPERVISOR’S APPROVAL

The thesis titled “Developing a Model for Recycling Plastic Bottle into Synthetic Fiber.”
Submitted by Mohammed Milad Bhuiya, ID: 14207012 and Kazi Simon Hasan, ID: 14207066,
has been accepted as satisfactory in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of
Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering.

……………………………..

Mafizul Huq
Department of Mechanical Engineering, IUBAT

iii
 DECLARATION

This thesis has been prepared after eight months of research on “Developing a Model for
Recycling Plastic Bottle into Synthetic Fiber”. The thesis is solely for academic requirement
of the course MEC 488 and has not been submitted in part or full elsewhere for any other degree,
reward or for any other purpose. I do solemnly and sincerely declare that all and every right in
the copyright of this thesis belong to IUBAT-International University of Business Agriculture
and Technology. Any reproduction or use in any form or by any means whatsoever is prohibited
without the written consent of IUBAT.

Submitted By:

Signature: .................................................

Name: Mohammed Milad Bhuiya

Student ID: 14207012

Signature: .................................................

Name: Kazi Simon Hasan

Student ID: 14207066

iv
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First of all, praise is due to almighty ALLAH with his compassion and mercifulness to allow
us finalizing this undergraduate thesis. We express sincerest gratitude to our supervisor,
Mafizul Huq, Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, IUBAT, who has
supported us throughout our thesis with his patience and knowledge. We attribute the level of
our Bachelor degree to his encouragement and effort and without him this thesis would not
have been completed and written.

Our special thanks to all the lab assistants of IUBAT who participated in maintenance related
to experimental setup. We are grateful to IUBAT for funding. It would not be possible to
complete this thesis without the financial co-operation of this organization. Finally, we thank
our parents for supporting us throughout all our studies at University. We are also grateful to
our friends for inspiring us in different stages of the thesis work.

The Authors

Department of Mechanical Engineering,

IUBAT - International University of Business and Agriculture Technology.

Uttara model town, Sector: 10, Dhaka-1230, Bangladesh.

December, 2019.

v
 Developing a Model for Recycling Plastic Bottle into Synthetic Fiber

Candidates Supervisor

………………………. ……………………….

Mohammed Milad Bhuiya Mafizul Huq

ID: 14207012 Department of Mechanical Engineering

……………………….

Kazi Simon Hasan

ID: 14207066

vi
 ABSTRACT

This study has been carried out to effectively manage the PET plastic bottles by identifying

practical means and introducing recycling as cleaner production tool to achieve sustainable

development goals. We have designed and analyzed a PET bottle recycling machine that turns

PET flakes into synthetic fiber. PET bottle is a thermoplastic resin so it can be melted and

reshaped repeatedly. With plastic extrusion process we can melt PET bottle flakes and then air

is blown using air compressor turning that molten plastic into synthetic fiber. In recent years

the consumption and disposal of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) has increased. After use,

PET bottles can be disposed of in mixed waste or in selective waste collection to be recycled

and reinserted in the production chain. We have found out with the abundance in plastic bottle

waste we can make synthetic fiber in a very cheap price. Compering with the imported fiber or

felt, flock our synthetic fiber costs less than half of the price. This fiber can be used as the

packaging material or stuffing material. It can also be processed at a spinning mill to turn it

into polyester yarn. As recycling PET bottle has commercial value, employment and income

can be generated.

Key words:

PET recycle, Extrusion, Synthetic fiber, PET bottle, r-pet, plastic recycling, plastic extrusion

vii
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .................................................................................................. v
ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................... vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................. viii
LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................ x
LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. xi
LIST OF SYMBOLS AND ABBREVIATION .............................................................. xii
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................... 13
1.1 Research Background .............................................................................................. 13
1.2 Problem Statement .................................................................................................. 14
1.3 Objectives ................................................................................................................. 17
1.4 Organization of the Report...................................................................................... 18
CHEPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW: ........................................................................ 19
CHEPTER 3: METHODOLOGY .................................................................................... 24
3.1 Introduction of Extrusion Process........................................................................... 24
3.1.1 Ram Extrusion................................................................................................... 24
3.1.2 Screw Extrusion ................................................................................................ 25
3.2 Types of Extrusion Process...................................................................................... 26
3.2.1 Sheet/Film Extrusion ......................................................................................... 26
3.2.2 Blown Film Extrusion ....................................................................................... 26
3.2.3 Over-Jacketing Extrusion ................................................................................. 27
3.2.5 Co-extrusion ...................................................................................................... 28
3.2.6 Extrusion Coating ............................................................................................. 28
3.3 Materials Used ......................................................................................................... 28
3.3.1 Symbols of plastics............................................................................................. 29
3.3.2 Properties of Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) ............................................... 29
3.4 Design of Machine.................................................................................................... 30
3.4.1 Schematic diagram of Machine......................................................................... 31
3.4.2 Screw Shaft Design:........................................................................................... 32
3.4.3 Hopper ............................................................................................................... 34
3.4.4 Pipe Barrel ......................................................................................................... 34

viii
 3.4.5 Induction Motor ................................................................................................ 34
3.4.6 Circular Band Heater........................................................................................ 35
3.4.7 Temperature Controller.................................................................................... 35
3.4.8 Thermocouple .................................................................................................... 36
3.4.9 Air Compressor ................................................................................................. 36
3.4.10 V-Belt and Pulley arrangement ...................................................................... 37
3.5 Working principle.................................................................................................... 38
CHEPTER 4: DATA COLLECTION AND CALCULATION ....................................... 40
4.1 Calculation of Current consumption ...................................................................... 40
4.1.1 Electricity consumption of Induction Motor .................................................... 40
4.1.1 Electricity consumption of Barrel Heater ........................................................ 40
4.1.3 Electricity consumption of Air Compressor ..................................................... 41
4.2 Calculation of cost of fiber....................................................................................... 42
4.3 Result Analysis ......................................................................................................... 43
CHEPTER 5: CONCLUSION .......................................................................................... 46
REFERENCES .................................................................................................................. 47

ix
 LIST OF FIGURES

Fig 1. 1: Global PET bottle production ................................................................................ 15

Fig 1. 2: Effect of plastic pollution on animals .................................................................... 16
Fig 1. 3: Global plastic production ...................................................................................... 16

Fig 3. 1: Blown film extrusion ............................................................................................. 27

Fig 3. 2: Symbol for recyclable plastic container ................................................................. 29
Fig 3. 3: Extrusion Machine ................................................................................................ 31
Fig 3. 4: Actual Image of Machine ...................................................................................... 31
Fig 3. 5: Screw Shaft ........................................................................................................... 32
Fig 3. 6: Dimension of hopper ............................................................................................. 34
Fig 3. 7: Circular band heater .............................................................................................. 35
Fig 3. 8: K type thermocouple ............................................................................................. 36
Fig 3. 9: Air compressor ...................................................................................................... 36
Fig 3. 10: Flow chart for PET extrusion............................................................................... 38
Fig 3. 11: Extrusion process ................................................................................................ 39

Fig 4. 1: Flakes input vs Fiber Output.................................................................................. 43

Fig 4. 2: Fiber Output vs Power Consumption ..................................................................... 43
Fig 4. 3: Cost of electricity per hour .................................................................................... 44
Fig 4. 4: Price point of Imported and Recycled Fiber ........................................................... 44
Fig 4. 5: Synthetic fiber from PET flakes per kg .................................................................. 45

x
 LIST OF TABLES

Table 3. 1: Properties of PET .............................................................................................. 30

Table 3. 2: Dimension of helical screw shaft ....................................................................... 33
Table 3. 3: Specification of Induction Motor ....................................................................... 34
Table 3. 4: Specification of Induction Motor ....................................................................... 35
Table 3. 5: Specification of Air compressor ......................................................................... 37

Table 4. 1: Total Electricity Consumed per hour.................................................................. 42

xi
 LIST OF SYMBOLS AND ABBREVIATION

PET = Polyethylene Terephthalate

V = Voltage

R = Resistance

A = Ampere

R.P.M = Revolutions per minute

xii
 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Research Background

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is a versatile material and has a wide range of applications

such as clothing, acoustic panels, sportswear, agricultural nets, nonwovens, sheets and films,

straps, engineering resins, food and beverage bottles, bottles, packaging materials,

reinforcement in building construction etc. Among these products, bottle grade PET is

generally used for water and beverage packaging due to its lightweight, inexpensive price,

resistance to microorganisms, and light [1]. Bottles of water, soft drinks, and other beverages

constitute 83–84% of global PET resin requirement. Furthermore, the projected demand for

PET packaging materials is forecasted to reach 20 million tons by 2019 with an annual increase

of 4.6% [2]. There are two major categories of plastics include thermoplastics and thermosets.

Thermoplastics refer to plastic materials that can be formed into other products by re-melting

or processing into different shapes by the application of heat and pressure. These are easily

recyclable into other products. These thermoplastics include polyethylene terephthalate (PET),

polyethylene, low and high density (LDPE, HDPE), polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride

(PVC), polystyrene (PS) etc. Thermoset plastics contain alkyd, epoxy, ester, melamine

formaldehyde, polyurethane, etc. Which will not soften with heat to allow these to be formed

into different shapes. In Bangladesh very small amount of work going on about recycling of

plastic. There are huge amounts of plastic wastes and no systematic process is present to recycle

that. If there is a systematical way to recycle that waste plastic and manufacture different kinds

of products it will create more job opportunity and that it can also help the national economy.

So, in this study we are implementing extrusion process to recycle PET bottle into synthetic

fiber as PET bottles are made of thermoplastic resin.

13
1.2 Problem Statement

Since plastic is a non-biodegradable product and cannot be dumped in the ground, plastic

recycling is a very important issue in protecting the nature. Use of plastic is increasing and

plastic waste becoming a major obstacle to greener technology. Waste plastic is often the most

visible component in waste dump and landfill. Recent studies says to us that plastic bottle

remains for 450 years long on the earth and since plastic waste is growing rapidly hence the

improper disposal of plastics causes problems as distant as breast cancer, reproductive

problems in humans and animals, genital abnormalities and much more. Plastics wastes are

found in different forms which almost 5% of the municipal solid wastes which is toxic in nature.

It is a common sight in both urban and rural areas to find empty plastic bags and other type of

plastic packing material littering the roads as well as drains. If current trends continue, our

oceans could contain more plastic than fish by 2050.

While the United States, Japan and many European countries generate significant amounts of

plastic waste, they’re also relatively good at managing it. About half of all of the plastic waste

that ends up in the oceans comes from just five countries: China, Indonesia, the Philippines,

Thailand and Viet Nam. These countries are experiencing rapid economic growth, which is

reducing poverty rates and improving the quality of life for hundreds of millions of people. But

as these economies grow, consumption booms — and so does the use of plastic goods [3].

A million plastic bottles are bought around the world every minute and the number will jump

another 20% by 2021, creating an environmental crisis some campaigners predict will be as

serious as climate change. New figures obtained by the Guardian reveal the surge in usage of

plastic bottles, more than half a trillion of which will be sold annually by the end of the decade.

The demand, equivalent to about 20,000 bottles being bought every second, is driven by an

apparently insatiable desire for bottled water and the spread of a western, urbanized “on the go”

14
culture to China and the Asia Pacific region. Most plastic bottles used for soft drinks and water

are made from polyethylene terephthalate (Pet), which is highly recyclable. But as their use

soars across the globe, efforts to collect and recycle the bottles to keep them from polluting the

oceans, are failing to keep up.

Fig 1. 1: Global PET bottle production

In the UK 38.5m plastic bottles are used every day – only just over half make it to recycling,

while more than 16m are put into landfill, burnt or leak into the environment and oceans each

day. “Plastic production is set to double in the next 20 years and quadruple by 2050 so the time

to act is now,” said Tag Holm. Animals like birds or fish can mistake plastic in the ocean for

food. In addition, because plastic can come in sizes large or small, even the smallest organisms

like plankton could be affected. When an animal consumes enough plastic, their digestive

15
systems could get clogged up, eventually starving them to death. Sometimes, the uneven shape

of plastic pieces could even choke animals, like sea turtles, to death.

Fig 1. 2: Effect of plastic pollution on animals

Fig 1. 3: Global plastic production

16
There has been growing concern about the impact of plastics pollution in oceans around the

world. Last month scientists found nearly 18 tons of plastic on one of the world’s most remote

islands, an uninhabited coral atoll in the South Pacific [4]. Production of Plastic Bottles

Requires Fossil Fuels. One big problem with plastic, of course, is that its production requires

the use of non-renewable fossil fuels. Plastic bottles are no exception to this. Most plastic

bottles are made from a plastic known as PET (polyethylene terephthalate), which is produced

using oil. Worse yet, the production of plastic bottles isn’t the only time when energy is wasted.

In fact, energy is used during the entire lifespan of a plastic bottle: This includes the energy

used for transportation, storage, and the final disposal of the bottle. Plastic bottles are not

biodegradable in order to fully understand what this means, it is important to understand the

difference between biodegrading and degrading.

Biodegrading is when an object gets broken down (digested) by living organisms. This means
that the object can be naturally recycled (by decomposers like bacteria and fungi) into new
organic molecules and new life.

On the other hand, degrading is just the process of breaking down into smaller pieces [4].

So, this paper will concern about, plastic wastes and how plastic waste can be recycled and
utilized.

1.3 Objectives

1. To find out how to utilize of PET bottle waste.

2. To find out how PET bottles can be recycled.
3. To explore PET recycling situation in Bangladesh.
4. To explore the field of Thermoplastic Extrusion.
5. To explore various PET extrusion process.
6. To assess the need of synthetic fiber in Bangladesh.

17
1.4 Organization of the Report

This thesis is organized with five chapters. First chapter is about research background, Problem

statement and objective of this study. In chapter 2, elaborated literature review is presented

about harmful effect of plastic pollution and how effectively we can recycle plastic bottle.

Chapter 3 contains materials, design of machine and methods for this study with detail

experimental setup. Chapter 4 includes experimental result, presented with data collection and

analysis of obtained results respectively. Conclusion of this research work is drawn in chapter

5 along with our limitation and potential possibilities for further study.

18
 CHEPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW:

Economic and population growth and industrialization in the world together cause an increase

in the amount of plastic waste. Plastic pollution is the accumulation of plastic objects and

particles (e.g. plastic bottles, bags and microbeads) in the Earth's environment that adversely

affects wildlife, wildlife habitat, and humans [5]. As a consequence of all these, while the more

intensive use of natural resources is inevitable, the plastic wastes created by the ever-increasing

consumption tendency have reached the huge amounts that threaten the environment and

human health due to their quantity and harmful contents. For this purpose, plastic waste policies

should be developed and waste management studies should also be carried out, especially in

the field of recycling these plastic wastes, because of long decomposition time of these wastes

in the environment causing landfill and water logging problem [6, 7]. Waste management

system enables collection, categorization, reduction, recycling, and reuse of plastic waste. At

present, countries’ intensive efforts on waste management are striking. Currently, there is an

increasing focus on the importance of recycling and reuse in an effort to save the environment

from the harmful substances that result from plastic waste disposal. Many cities have created a

new system for waste collection where recyclables go in one bin, non-recyclables in another

and food scraps go in a third. Also, in an effort to reduce the disposal of plastic bottle in landfills

the city of Toronto, for example, requested all retailers to charge customers a fee for these

bottles and have been encouraging retailers to use bottles made from biodegradable material

and customers to use reusable bottles [8]. The thought of plastics first came in the late 1950s

and early 1960s. The idea of plastic recycling on the other hand began to take shape in the

1990s in United States and elsewhere. At that time this process was run only to destroy the

plastic wastes. Between 1960 and 1970, the average person bought between 200 and 250

packaged drinks ever year, Elizabeth Royte reported in her book Bottlemania, citing data from

the Container Recycling Institute. Most of those purchases, she added, involved refillable

19
bottles. As of 2017, on a global scale a million plastic beverage bottles were purchased every

minute, according to data from Euromonitor International’s global packaging trends report,

published in 2017 by The Guardian. Today, plastic bottles and jars represent about 75 percent

of all plastic containers, by weight, according to the Plastics Industry Association. Now-a-days

many products are coming out of recycling plastic PET bottle. Once bottles have become trash,

entrepreneurs around the world are turning them into printer ink cartridges, fence posts,

roofing tiles, carpets, flooring, and boats, to name only a few items. Even houses have been

constructed from bottles. The latest is a three-story modern on the banks of the Meteghan

River in Nova Scotia, promoted as able to withstand a Category 5 hurricane. It only took

612,000 bottles. Waste management, which has an important place among environmental

protection policies, should prevent the rapid depletion of natural resources and minimize the

potential risks of the wastes to the environment and human health [8]. With the widespread

application of PET, large quantities of PET waste were inevitably created. PET has no side

effects on the human body and does not pose a direct threat to the environment. On the other

hand, it is regarded as a harmful material because of its high volumetric fraction in the waste

stream and high resistance to atmospheric and biological agents [9]. Due to poor

biodegradation of PET bottle, it is difficult to remove it from our environment. Beverage

companies have pledged to use more recycled bottles in manufacturing, a goal that aims to

reduce the production of new resin and boosts recycling numbers by adding value to bottle

recovery. PepsiCo pledged to increase recycled content in all its plastic packaging 25 percent

by 2025. Nestle Waters vowed to make all of its packaging recyclable by 2025 and increase

recycled content in bottles to 35 percent by 2025 globally and to 50 percent in the United States,

focusing on Poland Spring. Additionally, recycled content for European brands will increase

to 50 percent by 2025. Coca-Cola pledged to recycle a used bottle or can for every one the

company sells by 2030 and increase recycled material in plastic bottles to 50 percent by 2030.

20
For example, Brazilian team’s total outfit wearing T-shirts made from recycled plastics bottles

in the last world cup. There are two acceptable solutions; burning and recycling. Burning

method arises releasing toxic fumes into the atmosphere, causing environmental pollution and

health risks. As an acceptable solution, the recycling of PET bottles enables the conservation

of natural sources such as fossil fuels and energy, solving landfill problem, reducing

greenhouse gas emission, lowering carbon footprint, creating new business opportunities as

well as a contribution to the national economy [10, 11]. In addition, recycling processes are the

best way to economically reduce PET waste [12]. With both reduced energy costs and raw

material costs, recycling fiber production has become a form of production with a significant

economic advantage [12]. PET flakes are obtained from PET bottle wastes after a series of

procedures such as sorting, washing, grinding, drying, etc. Most of the recycled PET flakes

produced worldwide are utilized for staple fiber applications in textile sector [13]. Because of

environmental reasons initially, the recycling of PET bottles to textile fibers has now become

commercially attractive [14]. Worldwide, approximately 7.5 million tons of PET were

collected in 2011. This gave 5.9 million tons of flake. In 2009 3.4 million tons were used to

produce fibre, 500,000 tons to produce bottles, 500,000 tons to produce APET sheet for

thermoforming, 200,000 tons to produce strapping tape and 100,000 tons for miscellaneous

applications [15]. Petcore, the European trade association that fosters the collection and

recycling of PET, reported that in Europe alone, 1.6 million tonnes of PET bottles were

collected in 2011 - more than 51% of all bottles. After exported bales were taken into account,

1.12 million tons of PET flake were produced. 440,000 tons were used to produce fibres,

283,000 tons to produce more bottles, 278,000 tons to produce APET sheets, 102,000 tons for

strapping tape and 18,000 tons for miscellaneous applications. (Source: PCI for Petcore and

EuPR). In 2008 the amount of post-consumer PET bottles collected for recycling and sold in

the United States was approx. 1.45 billion pounds [16]. In 2012, 81% of the PET bottles sold

21
in Switzerland were recycled [17]. In 2018, 90% of the PET bottles sold in Finland were

recycled. The high rate of recycling is mostly result of the deposit system in use. The law

demands a tax of 0.51 €/ for bottles and cans that are not part of a refund system. Thus

encouraged by the law, products are included to have a 10¢ to 40¢ deposit that is paid to the

recycler of the can or bottle [18]. Increasing prices may increase the volume of recycling PET

bottles [19]. In Europe, the EU Waste Framework Directive mandates that by 2020 there should

be 50% recycling or reuse of plastics from household streams [20]. In the United States the

recycling rate for PET packaging was 31.2% in 2013, according to a report from The National

Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR) and The Association of Postconsumer

Plastic Recyclers (APR). A total of 1,798 million pounds was collected and 475 million pounds

of recycled PET used out of a total of 5,764 million pounds of PET bottles [21]. Furthermore,

as petroleum prices increase, recycling of PET becomes more financially feasible rather than a

virgin PET. It is expected that the recycling of the PET bottle will be estimated up to annually

13 million tons in 2018 and up to 15 million tons in 2020 [22]. The plastic industry in

Bangladesh is relatively new compared with the textile and leather industries. The plastic

industry began its journey as a small industry in 1960. The plastic industry in Bangladesh uses

imported polymer granules. During the period 1989 to 2007, the import of polymers increased

from 10,000 tonnes to 289,000 tonnes per year. At present total consumption of polymers

including imported polymers and recycled plastic wastes is 750,000 tonnes in 2010-2011. This

corresponds to the per capita consumption of plastics in Bangladesh 5kg per year against the

world average 30kg. Per capita consumption in India and ASEAN countries are 8kg and 17kg

respectively. There are about 3000 manufacturing units in the plastic sector of which 98%

belongs to the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The plastic sector contributes 1.0percent

of GDP and provides employment for half a million people [23]. The PET recycling technology

has been developed better and better across the world. There are mainly two methods: chemical

22
recovery and physical recovery. Compared with the method of chemical recovery, the physical

recovery has made less secondary pollution on the environment. It is easier to implement the

process and start large-scale industrial production. Thus, the method of physical recovery has

been widely applied. In thermoplastics, processing techniques can be classified into either

batch or continuous process. Batch process includes injection moulding and roto-moulding.

Extrusion of plastics is a continuous process. However, blow moulding is available both in

batch and continuous process. Extrusion process is the most commonly used process in the

world and accounts for ~60% of total consumption by downstream plastic processing industries.

Injection moulding is the other popular process accounting for ~25% of the consumption. Blow

moulding is used for ~5% while Roto moulding 1% while the rest of the plastic is processed

through other processes [24]. At present, many developed countries, such as the United States,

Japan and Germany, have made much research on the high-quality precision extrusion

recycling technologies like the automatic sorting technology, efficient cleaning and melting

equipment, developing "bottle to bottle" technique, and made a great achievement. In 2007, the

German Battenfeld Extrusion Technic company developed a new PET single-screw extrusion

system. The extruder was equipped with specially developed planetary geared degassing parts

which can be directly processed without drying materials. The productivity of the system is

800- 1000kg/h [25]. China is very good at making high capacity recycling machines like

Palletizing Machine, High speed Single Screw Extruder, Twin Screw Extruder etc. China once

bought about 45 percent of the world’s plastic waste. In 2017, the government started to cut

way back on plastic trash imports. Then the big bombshell: In January 2018, it banned almost

all imports. Last year, China took in less than 1 percent of its 2016 total. That means a huge

amount of plastic is looking for a place to go. So, with rapidly growing textile industry in

Bangladesh, recycling plastic bottle into synthetic fiber is very viable.

23
 CHEPTER 3: METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction of Extrusion Process

Plastic extrusion is a high-volume manufacturing process in which raw plastic is melted and

formed into a continuous profile. This process starts by feeding plastic material (pellets,

granules, flakes or powders) from a hopper into the barrel of the extruder. A cylindrical rotating

screw is placed inside the barrel which forces out molten plastic material through a die. The

extruded material takes shape according to the cross-section of die. The material is gradually

melted by the mechanical energy generated by turning screws and by heaters arranged along

the barrel. The molten polymer is then forced into a die, which shapes the polymer into a shape

that hardens during cooling. There are two basic types of plastic extrusion:

1. Ram Extrusion.

2. Screw Extrusion.

3.1.1 Ram Extrusion

A ram extruder is an extruder where, instead of extrusion screw, a ram or plunger is used and

a plunger goes through a barrel and pushes out the material under pressure. The ram extruder

was the earliest extruder to be used in the plastics industry. This typical process is applied for

producing profiles, sleeves, rod, block, tubing, lining sheet bars, etc. The ram extrusion process

is very effective for specific materials like PTFE which are not extruded successfully using

screw extruder because of its low friction. In this process plastic material in powder form is

gravity fed into a chamber. In the extraditing chamber the resin powder is heated on sintering

temperature. Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene becomes gelatinous as it melts so it can

be extruded with this type of processes. A hydraulic ram pushes the resin materials like PTFE,

UHMW, etc. from the chamber to the die. The die actually gives the shape of the desired plastic

24
like a rod, tube or a profile shape with the requisite internal or outer diameter. When the

material comes out of the die, it moves the length of the conveyor. The profiles can be

manufactured endlessly and cut by the continuous extruding of each length.

3.1.2 Screw Extrusion

Screw extrusion involves a helical feed screw that turns inside a barrel. This is often called the

feed screw or the extruder screw. The screw is a single shaft with helical flights. Sometimes,

when more thorough mixing is needed, two screws are used. The constantly turning screw

moves the resin through the heated barrel where it is heated to proper temperature and blended

into a homogeneous melt. Extrusion screw design has been improving over the years, with new

innovations and ideas. Nowadays, single screws are available that have a secondary flights that

improve speed by enabling faster melting. This process of extrusion serves two functions: it

heats the plastic material above its melting point and puts the melt under pressure. The molten

plastic material can then be forced through an orifice, commonly known as the die. This process

is common to all types of extrusion. Most screws have these three zones, Feed zone (also called

the solids conveying zone): this zone feeds the resin into the extruder, and the channel depth is

usually the same throughout the zone. Melting zone (also called the transition or compression

zone): most of the polymer is melted in this section, and the channel depth gets progressively

smaller. Metering zone (also called the melt conveying zone): this zone melts the last particles

and mixes to a uniform temperature and composition. Like the feed zone, the channel depth is

constant throughout this zone. A great advantage of extrusion is that profiles such as pipes can

be made to any length. If the material is sufficiently flexible, pipes can be made at long lengths

even coiling on a reel. Another advantage is the extrusion of pipes with integrated coupler

including rubber seal.

25
3.2 Types of Extrusion Process

The extrusion process is broadly classified into seven different types depending upon the

specific applications.

3.2.1 Sheet/Film Extrusion

In this extrusion process, the molten plastic material is extruded through a flat die. The cooling

rolls are used to determine the thickness of sheet/film and its surface texture. The thickness of

sheet can be obtained in the range of 0.2 to 15 mm. The thin flat sheet or film of plastic material

can be made. Generally, polystyrene plastic is used as a raw material in the sheet extrusion

process.

3.2.2 Blown Film Extrusion

In the blown film process, the die is like a vertical cylinder with a circular profile. The molten

plastic is pulled upwards from the die by a pair of nip rollers. The compressed air is used to

inflating the tube. Around the die, an air-ring is fitted. The purpose of an air-ring is to cool the

film as it travels upwards. In the center of the die, there is an air inlet from which compressed

air can be forced into the center of the circular profile, and creating a bubble. The extruded

circular cross section may be increased 2-3 times of the die diameter. The bubbles are collapsed

with the help of collapsing plate. The nip rolls flatten the bubble into double layer of film which

is called lay flat. The wall thickness of the film can be controlled by changing the speed of the

nip rollers. The lay flat can be spooled in the form of roll or cut into desired shapes. Bottom

side of the lay flat is sealed with the application of heat, and cut across further up to form

opening; hence it can be used to make a plastic bag. The die diameter may vary from 1 to 300

centimeters. Generally, polyurethane plastic is used in this process.

26
 Fig 3. 1: Blown film extrusion

3.2.3 Over-Jacketing Extrusion

This is also called wire coating process. In this process, a bare wire is pulled through the center

of a die. There are two different types of extrusion tooling used for coating over a wire i.e.

pressure or jacketing tooling as shown in figure 3. If intimate contact or adhesion is required

between the wire and coating, pressure tooling is used. If adhesion is not desired, jacketing

tooling is used. For pressure tooling, the wire is retracted inside the die, where it comes in

contact with the molten plastic at a much higher pressure. For jacketing tooling, the wire will

extend and molten plastic will make a cover on the wire after die. The bare wire is fed through

the die and it does not come in direct contact with the molten plastic until it leaves the die. The

main difference between the jacketing and pressure tooling is the position of the wire with

respect to the die.

In this process, the molten plastic is extruded through a die and hollow cross sections are

formed by placing a mandrel inside the die. Tube with multiple holes can also be made for

specific applications, by placing a number of mandrels in the center of the die.

27
3.2.5 Co-extrusion

Co-extrusion is the extrusion process of making multiple layers of material simultaneously. It

is used to apply one or more layers on top of base material to obtain specific properties such as

ultraviolet absorption, grip, matte surface, and energy reflection, while base material is more

suitable for other applications, e.g. impact resistance and structural performance. It may be

used on any of the processes such as blown film, over jacketing, tubing, sheet/film extrusion.

In this process, two or more extruders are used to deliver materials which are combined into a

single die that extrudes the materials in the desired shape. The layer thickness is controlled by

the speed and size of the individual extruders delivering the materials.

3.2.6 Extrusion Coating

Extrusion coating is used to make an additional layer onto an existing roll stock of paper, foil

or film. For example, to improve the water resistant of paper polyethylene coating is used. The

applications of extrusion coating are liquid packaging, photographic paper, envelopes, sacks

lining for fertilizers packaging and medical packaging. Generally, polyethylene and

polypropylene are used.

3.3 Materials Used

The different types of plastic materials that can be used in extrusion process are Polyethylene

terephthalate (PET), Polypropylene (PP), Acetal, Acrylic, Nylon (Polyamides), Polystyrene,

Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) and Polycarbonate.

28
3.3.1 Symbols of plastics

There are many kinds of plastics. Some of them are recyclable and some of them are not

properly recyclable. So, when someone knows about the symbol and the number which is on

the products in every item s/he can keep that plastic in right place.

Fig 3. 2: Symbol for recyclable plastic container

3.3.2 Properties of Polyethylene terephthalate (PET)

Polyethylene terephthalate (sometimes written poly(ethylene terephthalate)), commonly

abbreviated PET, PETE, or the obsolete PETP or PET-P, is the most common thermoplastic

polymer resin of the polyester family and is used in fibers for clothing, containers for liquids

and foods, thermoforming for manufacturing, and in combination with glass fiber for

engineering resins.

29
 Table 3. 1: Properties of PET

IUPAC Name Poly(ethyl benzene-1,4-dicarboxylate)

Chemical formula (C10H8O4)n

Solubility in water Practically insoluble

Melting point > 250 °C; 482 °F; 523 K

Boiling point > 350 °C; 662 °F; 623 K

3.4 Design of Machine

Our extrusion machine has single screw shaft design with Different parts of Machine is

listed below-

1. Screw Shaft

2. Hopper

3. Barrel

4. Induction Motor

5. Circular Heater

6. Heat Controller

7. Thermocouples

8. Air Compressor

9. Belt and pulley arrangement

30
3.4.1 Schematic diagram of Machine

Fig 3. 3: Extrusion Machine

Fig 3. 4: Actual Image of Machine

31
3.4.2 Screw Shaft Design:

The design of screw is important for plastic processing. It has mainly three different functions

namely, feeding mechanism; uniform melting and mixing of plastic and finally it generates the

pressure to push the molten material through die. A screw length (L) is referenced to its

diameter (D) as L/D ratio. Generally, L/D ratio is used as 24:1, but for more mixing and output,

it may increase up to 32:1. The Screw is made of mild steel. There are three possible zones in

a screw length i.e. feed zone, melting zone, and metering zone.

(a) Feed zone: In this zone, the resin is inserted from hopper into the barrel, and the channel

depth is constant.

(b) Melting zone: The plastic material is melted and the channel depth gets progressively

smaller. It is also called the transition or compression zone.

(c) Metering zone: The molten plastic is mixed at uniform temperature and pressure and

forwarded through the die. The channel depth is constant throughout this zone.

Fig 3. 5: Screw Shaft

32
In addition, a vented (two-stage) screw has:

(a) Decompression zone: In this zone, about two-thirds down the screw, the channel

suddenly gets deeper, which relieves the pressure and allows any trapped gases (moisture, air,

solvents, or reactants) to be drawn out by vacuum.

(b) Second metering zone: This zone is similar to the first metering zone, but with greater

channel depth. It serves to re-pressurize the melt to get it through the resistance of the screens

and the die.

Each zone is equipped with one or more thermocouples in the barrel wall for temperature

control. The "temperature profile" i.e., the temperature of each zone is very important to the

quality and characteristics of the final product.

Table 3. 2: Dimension of helical screw shaft

Length 2 feet

Major Diameter 1.5 inch

Minor Diameter 1 to 1.4 inch

Pitch 0.4 inch

Helix Angle 15° to 25°

Depth 0.5 to 0.1 inch

Pulley Diameter 10 inch

R.p.m. 110

33
3.4.3 Hopper

Our hopper is a pyramidal shaped device used to feed plastic flakes into the screw shaft.

Fig 3. 6: Dimension of hopper

3.4.4 Pipe Barrel

Barrel houses the screw shaft. The helical screw shaft rotates inside the barrel. The barrel is

made of Mild Steel. Has a length of 22.5 inch.

3.4.5 Induction Motor

The machine uses an induction motor or an AC electric motor in which the electric current in

the rotor needed to produce torque is obtained by electromagnetic induction from the

magnetic field of the stator winding. It is used to rotate the screw shaft that is housed in pipe

barrel.

Table 3. 3: Specification of Induction Motor

Voltage 220 volt

Ampere 4.25 amp

R.p.m 1400

Power 0.935 kW

34
3.4.6 Circular Band Heater

An electric heater is an electrical device that converts an electric current into heat. There is

three circular band heaters placed around the pipe barrel. The diameter of the heater is 2.5 inch

and length are 2.8 inch. The resistance of three heater wire is 144 Ω, 136 Ω, 136 Ω accordingly.

Fig 3. 7: Circular band heater

3.4.7 Temperature Controller

It is widely used for measuring temperature and auto control temperature in different

machinery. We are using one temperature controller for three circular band heaters.

Table 3. 4: Specification of Induction Motor

Input signal K type thermocouple

Power supply 110v or 220v

Sensitivity range 0º C to 400º C

Output Relay

35
3.4.8 Thermocouple

A thermocouple produces a temperature-dependent voltage as a result of the thermoelectric

effect, and this voltage can be interpreted to measure temperature. Thermocouples are a widely

used temperature sensor. We are using K type thermocouple. It has sensitivity range of -200º

C to +1350º C.

Fig 3. 8: K type thermocouple

3.4.9 Air Compressor

An air compressor is a device that converts power (using an electric motor, diesel or gasoline

engine, etc.) into potential energy stored in pressurized air (i.e., compressed air). An air

compressor forces more and more air into a storage tank, increasing the pressure. When tank

pressure reaches its engineered upper limit, the air compressor shuts off. The compressed air

then, is held in the tank until called into use.

Fig 3. 9: Air
36
compressor
Specification of air compressor is given below-

Table 3. 5: Specification of Air compressor

Operating Voltage 220v

Power 0.55 kW

Speed 2850 r/min

Ampere 4.2 amp

3.4.10 V-Belt and Pulley arrangement

The belt and pulley arrangement are used to transmit the rotation from motor to helical screw

shaft. We have used two v-belt and three pulleys. The motor pulley has a diameter of 3 inch

and the other two has 12 inch and 10 inches accordingly. The arrangement is made in a way

that it reduces the motor’s 1400 r.m.p into 110 rpm in the screw shaft.

37
3.5 Working principle

Before actual extrusion process can take place, the PET bottle is need to be processed for

extrusion. Flow chart of the process is given below

Fig 3. 10: Flow chart for PET extrusion

There are five important process parameters to be considered before extrusion process:

• Melting temperature of plastic

• Speed of the screw

• Extrusion pressure required

In extrusion process, plastic material in the form of pellets or granules is gravity fed from

a top mounted hopper into the barrel. The plastic material enters through the feed throat

and comes into contact with the rotating screw, rotating in 110 rpm. The rotating screw

pushes the plastic beads forward into the barrel. The barrel is heated using the circular band

heater up to the melting temperature of the plastic, which is 260º C. There are three possible

zones in a rotating screw i.e. feed zone, melting zone, and metering zone. In the feed zone,
38
the plastic beads melt gradually as they are pushed through the barrel. The plastic material

is completely melted in the melting zone. A thermocouple is used to maintain the

temperature of the barrel. The overheating of plastics should be minimized which may

cause degradation in the material properties. At the front of the barrel, the molten plastic

leaves the screw and then it is blown with the help of air compressor to make the synthetic

fiber.

Fig 3. 11: Extrusion process

39
 CHEPTER 4: DATA COLLECTION AND CALCULATION

4.1 Calculation of Current consumption

We are using 3 types of electrical component which are listed below-

1. Induction Motor.

2. Three Barrel Heater.

3. Air Compressor.

4.1.1 Electricity consumption of Induction Motor

From motor specification list we get,

Voltage – 220 v

Ampere – 4.25 amp

So, Power = V × A =220×4.25 = 935 watt

= (935÷1000) kW

= 0.935 kW

Electricity Consumption = Power × time

= (0.935 × 1) kW h

= 0.935 kW h

4.1.1 Electricity consumption of Barrel Heater

As we have three-barrel heater, measuring heater resistance and ampere with the help of

multimeter we get,

40
R1 = 144 Ω, I1 = 0.67 amp

R2 = 136 Ω, I2 = 0.56 amp

R3 = 136 Ω, I3 = 0.56 amp

So, Voltage = I × R

So, V1 = 96.48 v , V2 = 76.16 v , V3 = 76.16 v

Again, Power = V × A

Power consumption of barrel heater B1, B2, B3 is 64.641 watt , 42.649 watt, 42.649 watt

accordingly.

So, electricity consumption of barrel heater B1, B2, B3 is 0.065 kW h , 0.043 kW h, 0.043 kW

h accordingly.

4.1.3 Electricity consumption of Air Compressor

From Air Compressor specification list, we get,

Power – 0.55 kW

Voltage – 220 v

Ampere – 4.2 amp

Electricity Consumption = Power × time

= (0.55 × 1) kW h

= 0.55 kW h

41
 Table 4. 1: Total Electricity Consumed per hour

Electrical Component Electricity Consumed (kW h)

Induction Motor 0.935

Barrel Heater, B1 0.065

Barrel Heater, B2 0.043

Barrel Heater, B3 0.043

Air Compressor 0.55

Total 1.635 kW h

4.2 Calculation of cost of fiber

Small industry electricity tariff per unit is 7.66/- tk

So, electricity cost per hour to run the machine is = 1.635 × 7.66 = 12.532/- tk per hour

At present, our machine can produce up to 936gram synthetic fiber from 1kg PET flakes per

hour. PET Flakes costs 35/- tk per kg.

So, Cost for making 936g synthetic fiber will be = 12.532+35 = 47.532 tk/-

As we can see, initially we are making synthetic fiber at a very cheap price excluding any

overhead cost. Compering to other synthetic fiber that we import, we can make our synthetic

fiber for half of the price. As we improve our machine and bulk production of synthetic fiber

will reduce the price furthermore.

42
4.3 Result Analysis

300

250
y = 0.978x + 0.419
Fiber output in gram

200

150

100

50

0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Flakes input in gram

Fig 4. 1: Flakes input vs Fiber Output

0.6

y = 0.0018x + 0.1023
0.5
Power Consumption in kW h

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Fiber output in gram

Fig 4. 2: Fiber Output vs Power Consumption

43
 1.2

0.8

0.6
Hour

0.4

0.2

0
-2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
-0.2
Cost of electricity

Fig 4. 3: Cost of electricity per hour

250

200

150
Taka

100

50

0
Recycled Fiber Felt/Flock Imported Fiber
Cost of different fiber

Fig 4. 4: Price point of Imported and Recycled Fiber

44
 1200

1000

800
Flakes input in gram

600

400

200

0
-200 0 200 400 600 800 1000

-200
Fiber output in gram

Fig 4. 5: Synthetic fiber from PET flakes per kg

From, above graphs and figures we can see the price of fiber production and comparison of

foreign fiber. At present, Bangladesh imports the felt, flock and synthetic fiber to fulfill the

countries demand. With huge amount of plastic waste already in our environment we can

collect and recycle PET bottle with ease. With the advantage of cheap raw material and labour,

small or medium enterprise can easily open up recycling plant. As we can produce synthetic

fiber for half of price compering to others. Operating a recycling plant will easy and profitable.

Our country has a rapidly growing textile industry. We can process this synthetic fiber to make

polyester yarn to meet the demand of our textile industry. So, we can see that our recycling

machine can help in achieving sustainable environment and also have economic value.

45
 CHEPTER 5: CONCLUSION

Population growth and rapid pace of urbanization pose several environmental challenges for

Bangladesh. One of the challenges is the waste management, and especially plastic waste

management. Mechanical recycling of PET bottles is the most preferred recovery route for

relatively clean plastic waste stream. It is well suited for developing countries like Bangladesh

since it is less cost-intensive. Collection process is the key to successful recycling of PET

bottles and plastic waste. It lies on consumers that must become educated and motivated

through designed community educational program so that identification and collection of

recyclables containers becomes a routine activity. Result shows with the abundance of plastic

bottle waste we can make synthetic fiber in a very cheap price compering with the other fiber.

Currently we have some limitation in fiber collecting method. The fiber should be collected in

a perforated large industry grade bag as the molten plastic is blown with the air compressor.

Our future work is consisting of adding industry grade air blower, stainless steel barrel to house

helical screw shaft and a breaker plate to get continuous fiber profile.

46
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