A PATENTED AND ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY PROCESS
WHAT IS TRIBOELECTRICITY?
Behind the complex term is actually a fairly classic natural phenomenon that most students have probably learned about in physics and chemistry class. For instance, if one first rubs a plastic ruler against one’s clothing and then approaches scraps of paper lying on a table, the paper will be attracted to the ruler without any contact. Basically, the friction creates an electrostatic effect, electrically charging an insulating object. The electrostatic field created by the charged ruler attracts electrons of the opposite sign and repels those of the same sign within the neutral paper
In fact, the Greek word “Tribo” means “to rub”
Our SORTING TECHNOLOGY
With TRIBLAST, the proprietary technology that results from a decade of R&D and 4 registrered patents, SKYTECH has succeeded in optimizing industrial sorting by triboelectricity to obtain an efficient separation of ABS, PS and PP polymers received as a mixture
SKYTECH stands out for achieving purity levels of around 99% at output of the sorting process. This level of purity is partly obtained thanks to an initial pre-treatment phase during which the mixed waste SKYTECH receives is cleaned and finely crushed
Thanks to this proven and innovative process, SKYTECH offers a clean solution that separates plastics without solvents or water and with little energy consumption. Plastics produced by SKYTECH have a low carbon footprint and extend the lifecycle of the constitutive plastic
OUR SPECIALIST GRANULATION KNOW-HOW
Following the triboelectric separation phase, we proceed to the granulation phase. That is to say, we transform the plastic materials retrieved from sorting into (re)usable resins
The resins produced can be customized to meet the specific requirements of our various customers and to restore technical characteristics that plastics have lost over time as waste. This can be, for example, a particular degree of resistance to impact or heat
These characteristics (mechanical properties, color, resistance to aging) are obtained by heating the material to over 200°C and incorporating additives (anti-UV, antioxidants, fiberglass, talc, CaCO3, pigment, etc.) which can be in solid, liquid or powder form
4 PATENTS TO PROTECT OUR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
AND KNOW-HOW
2010
Plastics
separation
Process for electrostatic separation in a granular mix of various materials and mechanism for application thereof
2019
Electrostatic
apparatus
Optimization of the separation process allowing SKYTECH to sort in fewer stages than competing technologies
2019
Electrostatic
charges
Electrostatic separation mechanism capable of sorting plastics to very high purty levels
2020
Simulation model for an electrical-field-Based separator
Designs for separators using an innovative electrical field to improve sorting performance in terms of both rate and purity
OUR RESINS HAVE SIMILAR PROPERTIES TO VIRGIN PETROLEUM-BASED PLASTICS
OUR R&D approach Continues
Improving our processes
To maintain our technological leadership, which is protected by several patents, and to optimize the efficiency and savings associated with our process, our teams are constantly working on new generations of machines. In particular, we want to broaden the mix of plastics we can accept for recycling (recycling larger quantities of plastics so fewer plastics wind up landfilled or incinerated)
New Products
Because users and consumers needs are constantly evolving, our engineers keep working on improving the performance of our regenerated plastics (mechanical, thermal, rheological and structural properties of the materials). Our R&D team works to formulate custom granules, optimize costs and provide support for our customers in the development of their products.
Investments in Quality Control
SKYTECH is constantly investing to improve its capacities and the performance of its facilities. In particular, we are working on automating the quality control stage using robots that can measure and evaluate the purity rate of the materials before and after separation with greater speed, representativeness and precision.