With the popularization of plastic products around the world, the problem of recycling and disposal of plastic waste is becoming increasingly serious. In order to enhance the efficiency of plastic recycling, plastic crusher becomes the key equipment in the process of renewable resources. They can crush various plastics of different forms, sizes, and strengths into granules or fragments, providing prerequisites for subsequent pelletizing, melting, and re-molding.
However, different types of plastics have different needs for crushing methods due to differences in physical properties. Choosing the right type of plastic crusher machine not only improves crushing efficiency and equipment life, but also significantly reduces operation and maintenance costs and energy consumption.
This will introduce four common types of plastic crushers – jaw crusher, hammer mill, shear crusher, and blade crusher – to analyze their respective working principles, applicable plastic types, advantages, and shortcomings, to help enterprises or individual users to more reasonable choices of equipment.
Jaw Crushers
Working Principle:
The jaw crusher mainly relies on the repeated compression and squeezing movement between two jaw plates to crush large pieces of plastic. One jaw plate is fixed and immobile, while the other one is in reciprocating motion, and the plastic is continuously subjected to force between the two until it is crushed into a smaller size.
Applicable plastics:
Suitable for primary crushing of large plastic blocks or plastic products with strong structure, such as large hollow plastic containers, injection molded plastic parts, rigid polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polycarbonate (PC) and so on.
Pros:
- Capable of handling bulky and hard plastic materials
- Robust construction for coarse crushing stages
- Easy maintenance and durability
Drawbacks:
- The particle size is not fine enough, and usually needs to be further crushed with subsequent equipment.
- Weak handling of flexible plastics
- Relatively low efficiency, not suitable for fine processing or high output requirements
Hammer Mills
Working Principle:
The hammer crusher utilizes the high-speed rotating hammer head to produce a strong impact force on the plastic to break it. The plastic is thrown to the inner wall or sieve plate, constantly subjected to impact and friction, and finally broken into fine particles.
Applicable plastics:
Suitable for brittle plastics, such as polystyrene (PS), polyformaldehyde (POM), etc. It can also be used for crushing mixed plastic waste and some electronic waste plastic parts.
Pros:
- High pulverizing speed and high throughput
- Simple structure for easy maintenance
- Highly effective in pulverizing brittle materials
Drawbacks:
- Noisy, strong vibration during operation
- Not suitable for high tenacity or fibrous plastics
- Prolonged use may lead to increased wear and tear of the equipment
Shear Crushers
Working Principle:
The shear crusher realizes the shear crushing of plastic through the relative motion between a set of rotating blades and fixed blades. After entering the crushing chamber, the plastic is subjected to a force similar to that of scissors cutting, which is suitable for handling more flexible materials.
Applicable plastics:
Suitable for processing tough plastics, such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), thermoplastic elastomers (TPE), etc., especially in the recycling of soft plastics, such as film, woven bags, agricultural films, etc., which are widely used.
Pros:
- Efficient handling of highly ductile materials
- Uniform particle size for subsequent processing
- Continuous operation, suitable for medium and large production lines
Drawbacks:
- More sensitive to metal impurities, easily damaged tools
- Blades need to be replaced or sharpened regularly
- Not efficient enough for brittle plastics, low crushing efficiency
Blade Crusher
Working Principle:
The blade crusher generally adopts a high-speed rotating knife plate, with multiple sets of moving knives and fixed knives for shearing action to crush the plastic. Depending on the design form, the blade crusher can also include single-shaft, double-shaft, or multi-shaft crushers, suitable for different complexity of plastic materials.
Applicable plastics:
Widely used for all kinds of medium-strength plastics, including PE, PP, ABS, PA, and other thermoplastics, as well as injection molding wastes, automotive plastic parts, household appliance shells, and other recycled products.
Pros:
- Wide range of application and versatility
- Customizable blade form to achieve different crushing needs
- Flexible particle size control, can be adjusted through the screen mesh replacement of the discharge size
Drawbacks:
- High wear on bearings and tools at high speeds
- Susceptible to damage by foreign objects (e.g. metal, stones)
- Higher noise level, need to be supported by noise reduction treatment measures
Schlussfolgerung
The choice of plastic shredding equipment not only affects the crushing efficiency, but also relates to the economy and sustainability of the entire recycling process. The four types of plastic crusher machines introduced in this article have their own characteristics. In practical application, the most suitable crushing equipment should be selected based on a comprehensive assessment of the type of plastic (toughness, hardness, structure), output requirements, equipment costs, maintenance capabilities, and other factors. An efficient and stable shredding system not only enhances the overall capacity and quality of plastic recycling, but also provides strong support for the development of environmental protection and circular economy. For any enterprise involved in plastic recycling, the reasonable configuration of the crusher is an important step toward high-quality recycling.
FAQ
The four main types of plastic crushers are jaw crushers, hammer mills, shear crushers, and blade crushers. Each type has different working principles and is suitable for specific types of plastic materials.
You should consider the type and physical properties of the plastic (hardness, brittleness, flexibility), desired particle size, processing volume, energy consumption, and maintenance capacity when selecting a plastic crusher.
Common issues include blade or hammer wear, bearing failure, clogging due to soft plastics, and damage from metal contaminants. Regular inspection and proper material sorting can reduce these risks.
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