Taiwanese company says its machine offers “three-in-one” shredding, extruding and pelletizing capabilities.
Tainan City, Taiwan-based YE I Machinery Factory Co. Ltd. says its Plastic Waste Recycling Machine line of equipment offers “three-in-one” shredding, extruding and pelletizing functions in one device.
YE I says its water-cooled Plastic Waste Recycling Machines feature a three-in-one design that combines “the crusher, extruder and pelletizer into one unit, which simplifies the process and also saves labor and space.”
The firm says its machinery line can help produce a wide range of recycled-content resins, including polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), polystyrene (PS), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polycarbonate (PC), polylactic acid (PLA), expanded polystyrene (EPS), expanded polypropylene (EPP), expanded polyethylene (EPE), nylon plastic (PA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and other resins have been processed by the equipment line.
“Thanks to the experience in the field more than 60 years, YE I has been able to develop low-energy-consumption machines and enhance the machines through custom adjustments,” states the firm.
YE I says one of its customers in Japan had been generating more plastic scrap as it was growing, “so they urgently needed to have two more recycling machine production lines to solve the problem.” YE I modified its machine’s existing screw design to increase the output and “strengthened the safety design according to the customer’s usage habits, and improved the database programming [so] the machine will automatically calculate the maintenance period of the motor and issue a reminder.”
The Taiwanese company says its plastic recycling machines can be customized to meet the preferences of global customers. More information on the product line is available on this web page.
Company’s annual report cites Alumisource acquisition in U.S. for healthy nonferrous volume increase.
Global publicly traded recycling company Sims Ltd. says its newly released fiscal 2021 annual report “highlights the company's strong and sustained recovery after a previously challenging year.”
Covering the period from July 1, 2020, to June 30 of this year, the report portrays the rebound in the recycling sector and the wider economy during that time, Sims says. “Although the global COVID-19 pandemic continued to put pressure on operating conditions, Sims Ltdl finished the year with an underlying EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) of $287.3 million–up 768 percent over the prior year,” the firm says.
Geoffrey Brunsdon, chairman and an independent nonexecutive director, says, “The company not only experienced growth through acquisitions, increased our market share and made progress on new site development, but Sims Ltd. has also remained steady and well-positioned with a strong balance sheet and lower cost base as compared to fiscal year 2019, thereby enabling the company to capitalize on opportunities when and if presented.”
Alistair Field, Sims group CEO and managing director, adds, “After an underwhelming fiscal year 2020, the recovery that the second half of the fiscal year 2021 presented was welcomed.” He calls the improved EBIT figure “an indication of the trajectory of the business.”
The company also updates the strategic growth plan it unveiled in 2019 and mentions an acquisition in the United States as having provided a critical step. The acquisition of Pittsburgh-based Alumisource Corp. early this year has resulted in “24 percent forecasted growth in Sims Metal North America nonferrous retail volumes,” Sims says.
Another acquisition, “of an existing purpose-built recycling facility” in Australia, is leading to “forecasted growth in Sydney’s rapidly growing southwest market,” the company indicates.
Converting auto shredder residue, or ASR, and other byproducts into energy remains part of the company’s plan in its current fiscal year, according to the annual report.
A summary of the report says Sims “received planning development approval for the Sims Resource Renewal pilot facility at Rocklea in Queensland, Australia, with operations anticipated to begin the first half of calendar year 2022.”
Sims says it also is preparing to produce hydrogen as a waste byproduct at Sims Resource Renewal's planned Campbellfield facility in Victoria, Australia, “based on commercial demonstration results and financial analysis.”
The new annual report, along with the company’s latest sustainability report, are available to view or download on this web page.
Will the increasing consumption of nickel by EV battery producers affect its availability for the stainless steel industry?
Demand for nickel has grown at a fast pace over the last decade. According to the International Nickel Study Group (INSG), Lisbon, Portugal, global demand for nickel in 2000 stood at 1.1 million metric tons and grew 21 percent to 1.4 million metric tons in 2010. By 2020, however, demand for this metal grew by 41 percent to reach 2.3 million metric tons.
Nickel production has been unable to keep up with this growth in demand, with the World Bureau of Metal Statistics (WBMS) in the United Kingdom reporting a 41,100 metric ton deficit in the nickel market in the first half of this year.
Refined nickel demand in the first six months of this year exceeded output by nearly 100,000 metric tons, with demand expected to increase further by 255,000 metric tons in 2021 compared with the previous year, according to data from the WBMS.
Much of this demand is being led by the rise in nickel consumption by the electric vehicle (EV) batteries industry.
Nickel is a key raw material in most lithium-ion batteries used in EVs because its properties help deliver higher energy density and higher storage capacity at a lower cost. The most used batteries are nickel cobalt aluminum, or NCA, which consists of 80 percent nickel, and nickel manganese cobalt, or NMC, which contains 33 percent nickel.
Production of nickel-based EV batteries also is set to leap with growing demand for and production of EVs across the world. The Electric Drive Transportation Association, Washington, has projected new EV sales to grow by 10 percent to 8.5 million units by 2025, by another 28 percent to reach 26 million vehicles by 2030 and by 58 percent to 54 million vehicles by 2040.
According to a publication by the Nickel Institute, Toronto, demand for energy-dense nickel-containing batteries will continue to grow for applications in EVs and renewable energy storage. The institute states that 39 percent of lithium-ion batteries contain nickel, with this number expected to increase to 58 percent by 2025.
Long before EVs became a popular nickel consumer, stainless steel was a key consumer of this metal.
Although chromium is the main alloying element in stainless steel, nickel enhances this metal’s formability, weldability and ductility. The Nickel Institute estimates that nickel-containing stainless steel grades account for 75 percent of the total stainless steel production today.
According to a report released in May by the International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF), Brussels, stainless steel production in 2020 fell by only 2.5 percent from the prior year, despite the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the first quarter of this year, global stainless steel production increased by 24.7 percent on an annual basis.
Tim Collins, the secretary general of ISSF, writes that demand for stainless steel has been growing by 5 percent on an annual basis since 1980. This, in turn, means that demand for nickel also has been increasing since then.
The question then arises, will the rise of EV batteries affect the supply of nickel available for stainless steel?
Not really, Collins says, pointing to the development of nickel-free stainless steel and low-nickel duplex stainless steel, which are likely to balance the overall demand for nickel in this sector. He says with the growing requirement for these grades, nickel use also could be curtailed in stainless steel.
New forms of stainless steel
Nickel use in stainless steel has been curbed with the introduction of low-nickel or nickel-free grades, stainless steel scrap and nickel pig iron (NPI).
According to the INSG, the annual production of NPI, which was first made by China in 2005 in many forms and grades, has increased. In 2010, NPI production stood at 160,000 metric tons and grew to 505,000 metric tons over the next decade.
Indonesia also started producing NPI in 2014, and its production reached 605,000 metric tons in 2020. INSG notes that all this NPI is being used in the production of primary stainless steel in the place of traditional raw materials, such as nickel metal and stainless steel scrap.
Still, Collins writes, we do not capture all the stainless steel scrap that becomes available at the end of life. Around 20 percent of it is lost to a combination of landfills and general steel industry usage, which could potentially be added back to producing primary stainless steel and could reduce demand for nickel.
All these factors have resulted in stainless steel becoming a self-sustainable metal where the requirement for nickel is not growing in proportion to the rising demand for stainless steel.
Collins cautions that while the growth of EV batteries remains an unknown and is not likely to affect the availability of nickel for use in stainless steel, a dramatic rise in battery electric vehicles and fuel cell electric vehicles could change the situation to some extent.
That said, battery technology also is evolving, and the requirement for nickel in batteries also could change in the medium to long term.
Countries that could fill the gap
The INSG reports that in 2007, nickel output was close to 1.4 million metric tons and slumped to 1.3 million metric tons in the 2008-2009 time frame during the global economic crisis. The market recovered again in 2010 to 1.4 million metric tons and kept increasing further until 2013 to 2 million metric tons. In 2020, global nickel production hit almost 2.5 million metric tons, according to INSG.
The explosion in nickel demand also is benefiting a few countries as illustrated in the tables on the opposite page.
Many stainless steel- and EV-producing nations have increased their imports of nickel to match growing demand for the metal, and the current nickel supply appears to be sufficient to fulfill the growing demand for both stainless steel and EVs as of now.
Divya Shastry is an analyst with Davis Index and can be reached at divya.shastry@davisindex.com.
The foodservice packaging company was given the certification for its plant-based packaging that does not use PFAS.
Eco-Products, a foodservice packaging company based in Boulder, Colorado, has been awarded the GreenScreen Certified Silver designation for its line of compostable plates and containers made from sugarcane. GreenScreen Certified is an independent, nonprofit certification standard that promotes products that do not use per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and instead use preferred chemicals in products and manufacturing.
Eco-Products’ Vanguard line uses proprietary chemistry to make grease resistance without the use of PFAS. The company says GreenScreen Certified products do not contain other chemicals of high concern or known regrettable substitutes.
“We are very excited to earn GreenScreen Silver certification for our Vanguard line of compostable products,” says Ian Jacobson, president of Eco-Products. “Finding an alternative formula to replace PFAS was our top priority. We also wanted to ensure our products did not contain other chemicals of high concern or known regrettable substitutes.”
According to a news release from Eco-Products, GreenScreen Certified evaluated every chemical used in the Vanguard formulation before being approved.
Eco-Products says it is the first manufacturer to earn the GreenScreen designation for a foodservice ware product line. The certification was developed by Clean Production Action (CPA) and the Center for Environmental Health (CEH).
“CEH and CPA are excited to launch GreenScreen Certified,” says Sue Chiang, food program director at CEH. “This new safety standard will empower consumers to make healthier decisions for themselves and their families.”
All Vanguard products are plant-based, Building Performance Institute-certified as compostable, microwave friendly, cut-resistant and effective in hot and cold applications. The initial line includes a variety of plates, bowls and clamshells, with more products to be added soon. Eco-Products has patents pending on the new formula.
An estimated 5,000 industry professionals are expected to attend the in-person event.
The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), Washington, has launched registration for the ISRI2022 Convention & Exposition. The convention will take place March 21-24, 2022, in Las Vegas. ISRI members can register for the event now, and registration will open to the public Nov. 8.
“We are so excited to be together in Las Vegas for ISRI2022,” says Stephen Moss, ISRI2022 convention chair. “This will be a great global reunion for the industry as we gather to learn about the recycling economy and to see in-person exhibits for the first time in three years.”
ISRI says more than 5,000 recycling industry professionals are expected to attend. ISRI2022 will provide attendees with the chance to get updates on key industry issues and trends, as well as opportunities to acquire the latest equipment and technology. Attendees can also connect with thousands of industry professionals through networking opportunities that have always been part of ISRI’s annual convention.
ISRI2022 programming focuses on a spectrum of topics for recycling industry professionals, including issues like sustainability, untapped labor markets, fire prevention, transportation and supply chain challenges and opportunities. Some of the sessions include:
For more details on the sessions, hotels, schedules, convention registration and exhibition hall, visit the ISRI2022 website.