Pvc Sorting Machine | AISORT
Application Overview — Plastic Recycling
PVC Sorting in Modern Recycling Facilities
PVC (polyvinyl chloride) sorting is primarily about REMOVAL — PVC is the most critical contaminant to remove from other polymer streams, particularly PET and HDPE. PVC degrades at PET processing temperatures, releasing hydrochloric acid that corrodes equipment, yellows the rPET, and creates hazardous working conditions. In the PET bottle stream, PVC contamination above 50-100 ppm can disqualify the entire batch from food-grade use.
Material Characteristics and Sorting Challenges
PVC sorting challenges: PVC bottles (typically for edible oil, some cleaning products) look similar to PET bottles; PVC labels on PET bottles are a major contamination source; PVC flooring, pipes, and profiles in construction waste require different sorting approaches than bottle PVC; and rigid PVC formulations vary widely (plasticized vs. unplasticized, filled vs. unfilled), affecting their NIR signature.
Recommended Sorting Technology Stack
For bottle streams: NIR tuned specifically for PVC detection (the primary PVC-PET separation) + UV fluorescence (PVC fluoresces under UV, providing a secondary detection method). For construction waste: NIR + XRT (PVC has distinct X-ray attenuation from other construction plastics) + 3D for shape-based separation of pipes and profiles.
Performance Benchmarks
| Metric | Target |
|---|---|
| PVC Detection Rate | >99% |
| PVC in rPET | <50 ppm target |
| Throughput | 5-15 t/h (bottle) |
| Particle Size | Whole bottle or 2-15mm flake |
These benchmarks represent achievable performance with modern sensor-based sorting equipment, assuming properly sized, well-maintained equipment operating on representative feedstock. Actual results depend on specific material composition, throughput, and operating conditions.