Evaluation of the energy consumption of the recycling process of silane cross-linked polyethylene using supercritical alcohol

摘要

It is reported that silane-crosslinked polyethylene(Si-XLPE) which is used as insulation of cable can be recycled as thermoplastic polyethylene by supercritical methanol[1][2]. The critical point of methanol is 293°C, 7.99MPa. High pressure and high temperature is apt to waste large amount of energy. Here, we represent the study on the energy consumption of the process developed for the recycling of Si-XLPE. It is revealed that the process using extruder is efficient for the supercritical fluid treatment of Si-XLPE in the aspect of energy consumption.