Erhöhung der Wirtschaftlichkeit einer Kunststoffsortieranlage durch optimierte Verfügbarkeit

Abstract

The sorting of collected lightweight packaging waste (plastics) is an important part of a modern circular economy. At the same time, operators of sorting plants are confronted with low prices for primary raw materials and high investment costs for state-of-the-art sorting units. These complex interlinked systems place high demands on the achievement of economic availability. This paper takes a closer look at the aspect of plant availability. It shows how an increase in availability can be achieved and how this affects the cost reduction and thus the economic efficiency of a plastics sorting plant. The methods of Lean Management, Six Big Losses and Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) are very suitable for increasing plant availability and efficiency. One important finding is that measures to improve availability can only be taken based on actual data and the changes subsequently documented. For this purpose, key performance indicators (degree of availability, overall equipment efficiency) are described and recommended for use. Based on a plastic sorting plant in Austria, concrete data is collected regarding availability, the effect of improvement measures taken is documented and placed in a scientific context using a hermeneutic-interpretative method. The findings of this work offer practical recommendations for improving the efficiency of plastic sorting plants. The sustainable recycling of plastics is only possible if separately collected materials are sorted by type and processed into secondary raw materials in further treatment steps. In the future, it will be necessary to further increase the efficiency of sorting technologies and to enable investment and research in modern systems through cost-effective plastic sorting.

Date of Award	2024
Original language	German (Austria)
Supervisor	Franz Obermair (Supervisor)