Buoyancy Test #1

After shredding, the materials are added to a large vat of water. Water is continually filtered to maintain a density of 1.0. Because three of the plastics have a lower density than 1.0, they float on top of the water. Three other plastics and aluminum have a higher density than 1.0, so they sink to the bottom of the vat.

Materials that FloatDensityMaterials that SinkDensity
#2 - HDPE .95-.97#1 - PET 1.38-1.39
#4 - LDPE .92-.94#3 - PVC 1.16-1.35
#5 - PP .90-.91#6 - PS 1.05-1.07
Aluminum 2.70

The material is periodically removed by a sweeper - resembling a large rotating fan - and the two categories of materials literally go their separate ways.

Forward to Pentane (after sinking)
Forward to Heat (after floating)
Back to Flowchart