Background

Waste materials such as waste plastic often have contamination on the interior surfaces of the item that need to be removed before the item can be recycled. Bottles may contain food residue, soaps, oils, etc., from the product they once contained. A liquid cleaning step is needed to remove this contamination; however the design of these items prevents liquid from entering the container and contamination from exiting the container. Waste plastic is a significant issue having global environmental impact. Only a fraction is recycled due to many factors including contamination and low value markets. A new process that will allow waste to be cleaned without destroying the item will help open up the recycling market.

Technology Overview

Researchers at Idaho National Laboratory have developed a blade design for a bottle crusher/perforator that will cut large holes in the waste items without destroying the item. These large holes will allow adequate quantities of aqueous or organic solvents to contact the interior surfaces of the containers. Limiting the size reduction of the material at this step is important as the perforation and cleaning step precedes item identification and sorting. It is far more efficient to sort whole materials. These large perforations also keep the containers from floating on top of the wash solutions.

Stage of Development

TRL 6, design has been manufactured and test and functions as expected.

Benefits

Enables interior and exterior cleaning to take place before sorting, increasing the number of items that can be identified and recycled.

Applications

Waste plastic recycling

Opportunity

Idaho National Laboratory (INL), managed and operated by Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC (BEA), is offering the opportunity to enter into a license and/or collaborative research agreement to commercialize this bottle crusher/perforator blade design. This technology transfer opportunity is part of a dedicated effort to convert government-funded research into job opportunities, businesses and ultimately an improved way of life for the American people.

INL is seeking to license the above intellectual property to a company with a demonstrated ability to bring such inventions to the market. Exclusive rights in defined fields of use may be available. Added value is placed on relationships with small businesses, start-up companies, and general entrepreneurship opportunities.

Novel Blade Design for Bottle Crushers and Perforators

Patents

IP Status