A method for causing used tires to recycle themselves involves chopping used tires to create a feedstock, placing the feedstock within a recycling vessel able to withstand heat and pressure, introducing a caustic agent which will isolate and neutralize or precipitate hazardous substances such as carcinogens and heavy metals, introducing a non-aliphatic hydrocarbon supercritical reactant, raising the interior of the recycling vessel to a desired temperature and pressure to cause the supercritical reactant to enter a supercritical state and effuse into the feedstock where it chemically reacts with the used tire feedstock to release hydrocarbons and other materials from the used tire feedstock, and precipitously dropping pressure within the recycling vessel so that the supercritical reactant exits the used tire feedstock so quickly that it mechanically breaks the used tire feedstock material part. Temperature within the recycling vessel can be increased by inductively heating the used tire feedstock. Hydrocarbon vapors and liquids which exit the used tire feedstock can be used to fuel a generator which provides electricity to heating by electrical induction. The hydrocarbon vapors and liquids can also be combusted to heat the recycling vessel or to preheat and dewater the used tire feedstock. Other than heavy metal contaminants and carcinogens, the used tire material can be re-used in new products.

A method and a device for reprocessing waste products containing substantially polyalkylene terephthalate, particularly polyethylene terephthalate and/or polybutylene terephthalate, in a continuous process by means of depolymerizing is provided. A solid alkali hydroxide and/or alkali earth hydroxide, particularly sodium hydroxide, is added to the waste products for producing a reaction mixture, suitable for recycling multilayer systems and colored material nearly entirely chemically into the starting materials at a high throughput and high quality, in order to be able to produce new polyalkylene terephthalate products from the recycling products without limitation. An alkylene glycol is additionally added to the reaction mixture as a reactant, wherein the alkylene glycol is an alkylene glycol produced as a product of the intended depolymerizing, particularly MEG. No further reactive components are added to the reaction mixture.

The present invention discloses a method of enabling the easy separation of labels, including wrap around labels and sleeve labels, particularly shrink sleeve labels, from containers during recycling through the use of a specially formulated coating to be applied in the seam area. The coatings ensure proper bonding, and shrink properties, of the labels, and have been designed to help de-bonding of the seam in a hot caustic wash step, or a solvent wash step. The method does not rely on floatation separation and therefore may be applied to any container/label material combination regardless of their specific gravity differences.

The present invention comprises a method of shredding treated medical waste, cleaning it of all traces of biological gunk, and sorting it into separate components for recycling. To clean biological gunk from materials, all materials must be first shredded into small parts to expose the interior. The cleaning is performed by submerging the gunk coated materials into a caustic solution that breaks down and dissolves the gunk off of the materials. The caustic solution may comprise sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, or a similar chemical, which is highly effective in producing a corrosive chemical that can break down blood, bone marrow, urine, unused medication, food waste, organs, tissues and any other biologic materials. After all of the biological material is removed from the cleaned materials, they are sorted into component materials, such as plastics, metals, rubbers, glass, etc.

Provided is a coating composition that include a first resin having a Tg above about 25 C. and a second resin having a Tg above about 50 C. The coating composition and/or resins thereof are at least partially hydrolysable in a hot caustic solution. Further provided are a method for applying the coating composition to a label substrate, a label substrate coated with the coating composition, and a recycling method. Sleeve labels for articles such as containers may be formed from label substrates by forming a bonded seam with the coating composition. The coating composition maintains the bond in the seam during sleeve label shrinking and during article life. Label removal during recycling is relatively easy, as the coating composition in the seam de-bonds in a hot caustic solution.

One embodiment of the present invention pertains to a packaging material provided with at least a first base material, a primer layer(S), and a printing layer (R) in the stated order, or a packaging material provided with at least the first base material and the printing layer (T) in the stated order. The primer layer(S) and the printing layer (T) are each a layer that is for recycling the first base material by causing the first base material to be separated therefrom and that contains a compound having an acidic group. The printing layer (R) and the printing layer (T) are each a layer that contains a colorant, a dispersant (A), and a binder resin.

The present invention relates to a process for the treatment of technical textiles based on thermoplastic fibers and comprising a coating, such as, in particular, airbags, using the principle of centrifugal decanting to separate the fiber residues and the coating material. The invention also relates to a process for the manufacture of a thermoplastic composition, in particular for molding, obtained by use of the fiber residues as obtained and optionally of reinforcing fillers. The distinguishing feature of this invention is based on the preparation of the fabric devoid of coating, thus resulting in formulations with elevated mechanical performances.

The present invention relates to a multilayer, coextruded polyester film including at least one outer layer (A) and a base layer (B), in which the at least one outer layer (A) includes, to an extent of at least 60 wt %, a polyester or a copolyester formed from units derived from aliphatic dicarboxylic acids and diols, wherein the units derived from dicarboxylic acids are selected from one or more dicarboxylic acids from the group of succinic acid, adipic acid, suberic acid, azelaic acid and sebacic acid, and the units derived from diols are selected from one or more diols from the group of ethylene glycol, 1,3-propanediol, 1,4-butanediol and neopentyl glycol. The present invention further relates to a process for producing the film according to the invention, to the use thereof and to a process for recycling the polyester film according to the invention.

A decontamination bath for decontaminating plastic articles including a contaminant is provided, wherein the decontamination bath includes water, a non-polar organic solvent component, optionally an anionic and/or non-ionic surfactant, a resoiling inhibitor, and an alkaline agent or an acidic agent for adjusting the pH of the decontamination bath, wherein the amount of the non-polar organic solvent component in the decontamination bath is 0.1 wt % to 25 wt % based on the total weight of the decontamination bath, and wherein the decontamination bath comprise the alkaline agent and the pH of the decontamination bath is 8, or wherein the decontamination bath comprise the acidic agent and the pH of the decontamination bath is 6. A method for decontaminating a plastic article using the above decontamination bath is also provided.

A mechanical polyolefin recycling process. comprising a particular combination of processing steps in a given order, providing access to highly pure recycled polyolefin grades. having well balanced mechanical and optical properties that are superior to those typically seen in similar recycled polyolefin grades and a mechanical polyolefin recycling apparatus configured for carrying out the mechanical polyolefin recycling process