Bulk Handling System (BHS) is set to provide front-end recycling system for CarbonLITE’s new post-consumer recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) facility in the US.

Carbonlite

Image: BHS to supply front-end recycling system for CarbonLITE’s new rPET facility. Photo: courtesy of Bulk Handling Systems.

Located in Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania, the new facility will produce 80 million pounds of rPET pellets per year with the BHS system.

The installation activities at the new plant are slated to be completed by the end of the fourth quarter this year and the plant is expected to be fully operational in 2020.

BHS already supplied the front-end recycling system for CarbonLITE’s facility located in Dallas of Texas. It started production in the fourth quarter of 2017.

The advanced plastics recycling system will enable CarbonLITE to recycle over six billion plastic bottles per year across the company.

BHS has designed the plastic recycling system to process 14 tons per hour, and it can be operated four shifts without manual sort labor.

The system is provided with latest technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) driven robotic sorters.

BHS Max-AI technology is said to employ neural network-based AI to detect recyclables and direct sorting decisions for recycling equipment such as robotic and optical sorters.

The system features Max-AI AQC-2 units for autonomous quality control, and dual robotic sorters with each robot capable of picking and placing up to 60 items per minute.

BHS has also added NRT SpydIR with Max-AI units to the system, which employs In-Flight Sorting technology to accurately identify PET plastic by polymer type. The Max-AI technology enables to identify non-target PET.

The Max-AI integration also helps object recognition, black plastic identification and material composition analysis.

The optical sensing, along with AI technologies, will help avoid the separation of clamshells and thermoform trays and target only PET bottles.

BHS also collects material composition data and performance metrics from its AI and optical equipment, scales, motors, bunkers, baler and other sources. It will be provided to the customers through BHS’ new Total Intelligence Platform (TIP).

CarbonLITE chairman Leon Farahnik said: “The BHS system, along with NRT and Max, offers unprecedented intelligence and performance that aligns with our vision.”

BHS CEO Steve Miller said: “This system really showcases what’s possible with the most recent Max technology – a fully-automated recycling system that can produce pure rPET feedstock 24 hours a day.”