Removing Nickel Plated on Plastic
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THE MAGAZINE DEVOTED TO NICKEL AND ITS APPLICATIONS |
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CONSUMER PRODUCTS such as this television set contain plastic components that have been plated with
nickel. Recycling the nickel on these components is technically feasible and may some day become
economically feasible.
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New plasma technology, developed in Japan, allows the recycling of metal that has been plated on plastic
By Virginia Heffernen
Nickel Magazine, July 2004 -- Metal plated on plastics poses problems at end-of-life. The metal is lost when the plastic is incinerated, down-cycled or landfilled. A new technique for stripping metal from plastic may encourage recycling of home appliances and automotive parts that currently end up in the waste dump.
Matsushita Electric Industrial, the largest electronics manufacturer in Japan and best known for its Panasonic brand name, recently developed technology for separating metal film from plastic without the use of chemicals. The process, which preserves both the metal and the plastic so that they can be remanufactured into new parts, was developed in collaboration with researchers at Kumamoto University in Japan.
Nickel is one of the most common metals used for plating plastics because it adheres well, can be easily cleaned and has good resistance to both corrosion and abrasion. Nickel-chromium plated plastics appear in several products, from decorative trim on small trucks and sport utility vehicles to fittings in showers.
Using an instantaneous electric discharge, the Matsushita technique physically separates the metal and plastic components in metal-plated plastics, including those coated with nickel. A spokesman for the company says the technology is economical and environmentally safe because it uses simple, inexpensive machinery and is energy-efficient and chemical-free.
Currently, nearly all metal-plated plastics are disposed of, rather than recycled. Although there are several methods to separate the two substances, including dissolving the plating with acid, none of them have caught on with manufacturers looking for end-of-life recycling solutions for their products.
But in Japan, a new law introduced in April 2001 specifies that home appliances, including television sets, air-conditioners, washing machines, refrigerators and, more recently, computers, must be 50-60% recyclable. The Matsushita technique will help Japanese companies adhere to the law because 99% of the recovered metals and plastics can be recycled using the new process.
Matsushita developed the technique for television cabinets, but it can also be used for casings of computers, projectors, game consoles and slot machines and on automobile parts. The company estimates it will use the technique on about 200 tonnes of car parts in 2006, the year it plans to begin producing of the plating-removal machinery, and on 750 tonnes of TVs by 2010.
But Matsushita says a few bugs still need to be worked out, namely a low separating capacity. Currently, the machinery can only process about 15 kilograms per hour. If this rate can be improved, the potential market both within and outside Japan is huge.
At its Matsushita Eco Technology Center (MITEC), Mitsushita recycles up to one million home appliances each year. The appliances are dropped off by retailers at designated exchange centres, then shipped to MITEC. There, they are separated into four recycling lines, depending on the type of appliance. The center is constantly developing new recycling techniques for each stream so that it can minimize waste and maximize production of recyclable products.
Development of the de-laminating technology began in November 2002, when Matsushita came up with the concept of using plasma discharge to separate metal film and plastic. The company approached Prof. Akiyama at Kumamoto University, a specialist in plasma discharge, for co-development , allowing the concept to blossom into application.
Virginia Heffernan is a Toronto-based freelance writer.
PHOTO: Panasonic
Kalia Farrell |
