Keeping Plastic Metal-Free at PLAST 2023

Separating and detecting problematic metal contamination is the focus for Bunting at PLAST 2023 (5-8 September 2023, Milan, Italy).  Live demonstrations on stand B172 in hall 13P will show equipment including metal detectors, eddy current separators and drawer filter magnets removing metal from virgin and recycled plastic. 

Bunting is one of the world’s leading designers and manufacturers of magnetic separators, eddy current separators, metal detectors and electrostatic separators.  The Bunting European manufacturing facilities are in Redditch, just outside Birmingham, and Berkhamsted, both in the United Kingdom. 

PLAST, held in Milan, Italy every three years, is one of the most important exhibitions for plastics and rubber industry worldwide.  

The plastics sector has witnessed unprecedented change in recent years with a global move away from single-use plastics and a rise in re-using plastic waste.  Plastic remains a vitally important versatile and important material, but the industry has had to adapt to meet the expectations of consumers and government legislation. 

Metal detectors and magnetic separators are commonplace in most plastic manufacturing plants produced bottles, film or other components from virgin plastic.  The metal separators prevent problematic metal from damaging injection moulding machines, screen conveyors and blocking filters. 

Figure 1 - Ferrous metal removed from recycled plastic 

Using recycled plastic as a raw material brings additional challenges including higher levels of contamination from metal and other materials.  Due to the complexity of the material and to prevent costly damage to machinery, metal is separated during the processing of the plastic waste and right through to the forming of the finished plastic product. 

Figure 2 - Eddy Current Separator Module for plastic cap recycling 

Bunting provides metal separation solutions for the whole process.  Eddy Current Separators remove small non-ferrous metals such as aluminium.  Magnetic Separators, such as Drawer Filter Magnets, capture small ferrous metals.  Metal Detectors, in various configurations and designs, identify and separate any metal. 

The correct combination of metal separators, located in optimum positions, remove the problematic metal.  On stand B172 in hall 13P, Bunting’s experienced team will help find practical and cost-effective solutions to metal contamination problems. 

For more information on Keeping Plastic Metal-Free at PLAST 2023 talk to Bunting - Redditch