Turning caps into value drivers
Integrated cap material recycling system
Over the past two years, the PET recycling industry has undergone profound changes. Sustained fluctuations in raw material prices, increasing pressure from overcapacity, and rising environmental standards have placed strain on corporate profit margins. It is against this industry backdrop that Boretech asks: How can PET bottle recycling enterprises enhance the overall value of their recycling operations based on existing production lines? The answer points to a long-overlooked yet highly valuable component: PP and PE caps which are becoming a lever to improving the profitability of PET recycling plants.
Instead of treating cap recycling as an independent process, Boretech has organically integrated the online cap collection and washing process into the PET recycling production line from the perspective of integrated whole-line design. This design concept is claimed to deliver multiple advantages: the system connects directly to the existing PET production line and shares key equipment and facilities, avoiding duplicate investment and improving equipment utilisation. The compact, integrated design optimises space utilisation, enabling plants to create more value within limited space. According to Boretech, the automated process greatly reduces manual intervention, with only two operators typically needed to manage the entire system, thus boosting operational efficiency.
The core technologies of the system include an integrated sink-float tank design, which separates worthless impurities (such as stones and glass shards) from valuable cap materials. This is not only claimed to protect subsequent equipment, reduce cutter wear and lower maintenance costs, but also to ensure the purity of cap materials, allowing them to enter higher-value markets. The secondary air separation technology precisely controls wind force to efficiently separate labels from caps, simplifying the washing process while improving the purity and quality of cap materials, thus generating higher economic returns for enterprises, says the company.
According to Boretech, cap materials processed by the system have achieved a value leap from “by-products” to “high-quality recycled raw materials” which can be directly applied to high-performance demanding fields such as high-end household goods, industrial parts and automotive interior components, opening up new high-profit markets for PET recycling enterprises and enhancing their overall market competitiveness.