Laboratory for Circular Process Engineering (LCPE), Department of Green Chemistry and Technology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Graaf Karel de Goedelaan 5, 8500 Kortrijk, Belgium; Sustainable Systems Engineering (STEN), Department of Green Chemistry and Technology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium; Center for Polymer and Material Technologies (CPMT), Department of Materials, Textiles and Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Ghent University, Technologiepark 130, 9052 Zwijnaarde, Belgium.
Sustainable Systems Engineering (STEN), Department of Green Chemistry and Technology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
Waste Manag. 2021 Feb 1;120:290-302. doi: 10.1016/j.wasman.2020.11.056. Epub 2020 Dec 14.
Household packaging waste sorting facilities consist of complex networks of processes to separate diverse waste streams. These facilities are a key first step to re-enter materials into the recycling chain. However, so far there are no general methods to predict the performance of such sorting facilities, i.e. how efficiently the heterogeneous packaging waste is sorted into fractions with value for further recycling. In this paper, a model of the material flow in a sorting facility is presented, which allows changing the incoming waste composition, split factors on the sorting units as well as the setup of the sorting facility. The performance of the sorting facility is judged based on the purity of the output material (grade) and the recovery of the input material. A validation of the model was performed via a case study on Belgian post-consumer packaging waste with a selection of typical waste items that can be found in this stream. Moreover, the model was used to predict the possible sorting qualities of future Belgian post-consumer packaging waste after an extension of the allowed waste packaging items in the waste stream. Finally, a sensitivity analysis was performed on the split factors, which are a key data source in the model. Overall, the developed model is flexible and able to predict the performance of packaging waste sorting facilities as well as support waste management and design for recycling decisions, including future design of packaging, to ensure proper sorting and separation.
生活垃圾分拣设施由将不同废物流分离的复杂过程网络组成。这些设施是重新将材料纳入回收链的关键第一步。然而，到目前为止，还没有一般的方法来预测这些分拣设施的性能，即异质包装废物在多大程度上能够有效地分拣成具有进一步回收价值的部分。本文提出了一种分拣设施物料流模型，该模型允许改变进入的废物组成、分拣单元的拆分因素以及分拣设施的设置。分拣设施的性能是根据输出物料的纯度（等级）和输入物料的回收率来判断的。通过对来自比利时消费后包装废物的案例研究，对模型进行了验证，该案例研究选择了在该流中可以找到的典型废物。此外，该模型还用于预测在废物流中允许的废物包装物品扩展后未来比利时消费后包装废物的可能分拣质量。最后，对模型中的关键数据来源——拆分因素进行了敏感性分析。总体而言，所开发的模型具有灵活性，能够预测包装废物分拣设施的性能，并支持废物管理和回收设计决策，包括未来的包装设计，以确保正确的分拣和分离。
