Recycling-oriented characterization of polyolefin packaging waste

Packaging waste is one of the main sources of secondary polyolefins. It is essential to characterize polyolefins derived from this waste stream in such way that not only mechanical sorting methods can effectively separate them but also that online sensor systems can quantify them. The characterization methodology is hierarchical, relating all properties of waste particles in any phase of the processing ultimately to the input End-Of-Life products. The present paper documents a pre-concentrate obtained by hand picking of mixed Romanian household waste. Investigations have been addressed to identify the composition of this polyolefin waste stream, to study the polyolefin density distribution, to distinguish the polymer manufacturing methods (i.e.: injection moulding and blow moulding by flake physical properties and finally to perform all the required polymers characterization/identification by Hyperspectral imaging. On the basis of these analyses, polyolefins from packaging wastes can be recycled by density separation and their rheological properties and wall thickness indicate the moulding procedures.