Sorting Plastic Using Triboelectric Charging
Students Heading link
- Daniel Velazquez
- Andy Chou
- Paul Tran
Project Description Heading link
Most manufacturing companies have to deal with waste on a daily basis. This waste is made up of the materials they use to manufacture their products. In the end, this waste is thrown away because it is seen as not recyclable. Thule Group’s problem is that thousands of pounds of mixed plastic are being created and essentially thrown away each year. They refer to this waste as floor scraps.The goal of this project is to analyze how effectively triboelectric charging can be used for sorting these mixed plastics. To test this, a prototype that utilizes triboelectric charging mechanics will be designed. Essentially, triboelectric charging is based off the idea of rubbing a balloon on your head and your hair being attracted to the balloon due to the movement of electrons. This sorting method is applicable to Thule’s problem because rubbing the mixed plastics together creates a charge and using their triboelectric properties to separate them. This prototype will demonstrate that the mixed plastics can be successfully separated into prime material. This prime material can then be recycled into Thule’s manufacturing processes, or sold for a return.