Plastic Waste Recycle into Pellet: Economic Analysis and Processing Temperature Effects

Waste from plastic products can be considered complex materials, making recycling a challenge. PET and LDPE are common type of plastic that is easily found in garbage pile. This research was conducted to study the potential of plastic waste conversion into solid fuel to reduce the accumulation of this waste in the environment. The conversion method is to use an extruder. An economic analysis was performed to measure the feasibility of this recycling method. PET and LDPE plastic waste were recycled into pellets using simple heated-extruder equipment after being shredded into small flakes. The extruder temperature was varied at 120OC, 130OC, 140OC, 150OC, 160OC, and 180OC. The optimum temperature for LDPE pellets is 120OC, and PET pellets is 130OC. The highest density LDPE pellets is 966.7 kg/m3, and PET pellets is 1320 kg/m3. The highest compressive strength LDPE pellets is 1041.1 kg/m2, and PET pellets is 615.2 kg/m2. The calorific value of the recycled LDPE and PET pellets is 43.52 mJ/kg and 27.26 mJ/kg, respectively. The moisture value in each plastic pellet did not change significantly by temperature difference. Meanwhile, the economic feasibility analysis shows an NPV of Rp4,394,049,079; IRR of 25.18%; B/CR of 1.465; and PP of 5.95 years.