Recycling of plastic bottles in PET bottle recycling plants has become an important issue in the context of modern environmental awareness, and PET bottle flakes are one of the common types of plastic bottles that undergo a series of cleaning steps in a PET bottle washing line factory to ensure that they are recycled to a high-quality standard.

Pre-washing in PET bottle recycling plant

First, PET bottles are crushed into pieces and then sent to a plastic bottle washing line at a PET bottle washing line factory. Here, the bottle flakes go through a pre-washing process. The purpose of pre-washing is to remove most of the surface dirt and impurities in preparation for the subsequent deep cleaning. Typically, the pre-wash stage utilizes spraying or soaking, using water and a light detergent to remove surface dirt.

Float-sink separation

The next stage is the float-sink separation of the PET bottle recycling plant. In this step, PET bottle flakes are placed in water and the difference in density is utilized to separate different types of plastics, such as caps or PVC labels. Due to the lighter density of PET plastics, they float on the surface of the water, while other impurities with a higher density settle to the bottom. This process helps to effectively remove the different materials and improve the purity of PET bottle flakes.

Hot washing

Hot washing is one of the key links in the PET bottle recycling plant. The PET bottle flakes are fed into the hot washing tank after being separated from the rinsing process. Here, the bottle flakes are exposed to high-temperature water, usually between 80-90 degrees Celsius, and the addition of alkaline cleaning agents. The combination of high temperatures and detergents helps to completely remove residual dirt, grease and other organic matter, leaving the surface of the PET bottle flakes cleaner.

Intensive friction cleaning

The final step of the PET bottle recycling plant is intensive friction cleaning. In this stage, the hot-washed PET bottle flakes are fed into the frictional washing machine, which utilizes high-speed rotating friction forces for further cleaning. This powerful friction helps to remove residual dirt, leaving the surface of the PET bottle flakes smooth and reducing the likelihood of them carrying contaminants.

Through these key steps, PET bottle flakes undergo a series of rigorous cleaning processes in the PET bottle recycling plant. The purpose of these steps is to ensure that the recycled PET bottle flakes meet high-quality standards for reuse, providing a clean, pure raw material for the manufacture of new PET products.