Traditionally, plastic recycling processes involve using a lot of water. In order to avoid this waste, Ak Inovex from Mexico developed a new green technology that doesn’t require liquids, and has the capacity to process materials such as styrofoam, polystyrene and ABS (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) using the same type of customizable machinery.
The technology developed by Marco Adame, founder of Ak Inovex, can process more than 90 percent of any type of plastic, avoids water waste and reduces production costs by half without reducing the quality of the pellets (small beads of recycled plastic) by avoiding stages with severe changes in temperature. The original process of obtaining recycled beads involves washing and then grinding plastic containers. However, this type of plastic has the distinction of being hygroscopic (when it comes in contact with water it retains moisture at a molecular level), so it has to be dehydrated so it can be crystallized; this involves applying heat at 180º C and then cooling the material with water.
