How to recycle waste PVC fiber reinforced water hoses

PVC fiber-reinforced water hoses are high-performance composite products, with PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) plastic as the matrix and chemical fibers (typically polyester or polypropylene fibers) as the reinforcing component. This composite structure grants the hoses excellent pressure resistance and flexibility, yet it also creates a recycling challenge—effective separation of these two incompatible components is the prerequisite for unlocking their respective resource value. The recycling of waste PVC fiber-reinforced water hoses is a systematic project that integrates mechanical processing and physical separation. Centered on the "crushing-separation-purification" workflow and supported by automated auxiliary systems, this process ensures both recycling efficiency and the quality of recycled materials.

1. Crushing Stage: Standardized Disintegration of Waste Materials

The recycling workflow begins with the pretreatment and crushing of waste hoses. Prior to crushing, waste PVC fiber-reinforced water hoses require simple pretreatment: obvious impurities—such as metal connectors, rubber gaskets, and sediment residues—should be removed either manually or via equipment like magnetic separators and vibrating screens. This step prevents equipment wear and avoids impurity contamination. After pretreatment, the waste hoses are uniformly fed into a dual-shaft shear crusher through a feed hopper. Equipped with high-speed rotating blades and fixed cutters, the crusher applies shearing and impact forces to break the hoses into granular materials, with particle size strictly controlled between 6–8 millimeters. This specific particle size is determined through extensive technical validation: on one hand, it effectively disrupts the interfacial bonding between the PVC matrix and reinforcing fibers without damaging the fiber structure; on the other hand, it ensures the granular materials maintain good fluidity, enabling uniform feeding in subsequent separation stages and preventing material accumulation. If particles exceed 8mm, the bonding structure may not be fully broken, reducing separation efficiency; if smaller than 6mm, fibers tend to be crushed into fine powder, which is difficult to collect and may contaminate PVC particles.

2. Separation Stage: Efficient Separation Based on Specific Gravity Difference

The core separation of PVC plastic and reinforcing fibers is accomplished using a dedicated PVC-fiber separator, whose operating principle leverages the inherent difference in specific gravity between the two components. PVC has a specific gravity of approximately 1.35–1.45 g/cm³, while chemical fibers range from 0.9–1.1 g/cm³. This difference allows effective classification of the two materials under the combined action of mechanical force and airflow. The detailed separation process proceeds through the following sequential steps:

1. Mechanical Dissociation in the Grinding Chamber: The crushed 6–8mm granular materials are continuously conveyed into the separator’s grinding chamber via a screw feeder. Inside the chamber, a high-speed rotating blade rotor (operating at 800–1200 rpm) works in conjunction with a fixed toothed plate featuring irregular protrusions. As the rotor spins, materials undergo repeated shearing, impact, and friction between the blades and toothed plate. These mechanical forces completely break the van der Waals forces and weak chemical bonds at the PVC-fiber interface, achieving thorough dissociation of the two components without altering their chemical properties.

2. Airflow-Centrifugal Classification and Discharge: Two high-pressure centrifugal fans are symmetrically mounted on both sides of the grinding chamber, creating a stable negative-pressure airflow field inside. Within this field, the dissociated materials—lightweight fibers and heavy PVC particles—behave differently: fibers (with lower specific gravity) are easily suspended by the airflow. Driven by both the airflow and centrifugal force from the fan impellers, they are rapidly transported through air ducts to the fiber collection system, where a bag filter captures them to produce dry, clean reinforcing fibers. In contrast, heavier PVC particles are unaffected by the negative-pressure airflow due to their greater mass. They fall vertically under gravity and discharge through the grinding chamber’s lower outlet. A vibrating screen is typically installed at this outlet to sift out any oversized particles, which are then returned to the crusher for secondary processing—ensuring a complete separation cycle.

3. Key Optimization Measures for Enhancing Recycling Quality and Efficiency

• Multi-Stage Separation for Purity Enhancement: Fibers generally account for 15%–25% of the total mass in waste PVC fiber-reinforced water hoses. Due to entanglement between fine fibers and PVC particles, a single separation pass may leave 3%–5% residual fiber in the PVC product. To meet reuse standards (requiring residual fiber content below 0.5% for recycled PVC), the initially separated PVC particles must undergo 1–2 additional separation cycles. Separator parameters (e.g., fan speed, blade rotation speed) can be adjusted for re-separation: reducing fan speed by 10%–15% prevents loss of small PVC particles while ensuring residual fiber removal. After multi-stage separation, recycled PVC purity exceeds 99%, and fiber recovery rate reaches over 95%.

• Automated Auxiliary System Configuration: For large-scale recycling lines (daily capacity exceeding 5 tons), a full-process automated auxiliary system is critical to boosting efficiency and cutting labor costs.

  Key configurations include:

  1) Mixing and Feeding Machine: Integrates material storage, blending, and quantitative feeding. Waste hoses are uniformly mixed to avoid uneven feeding caused by varying hose thicknesses, with feed rate controlled via frequency converter to match crusher capacity.

  2) Screw Conveyors: Closed screw conveyors connect the crusher, separator, and storage silos, enabling sealed material transfer to prevent dust pollution and ensure continuous inter-process material flow.

  3) Intelligent Control System:

  A PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) system centrally monitors and regulates operating parameters (e.g., current, temperature, feed rate) of the crusher, separator, and conveyors. In case of abnormalities (e.g., material blockages), the system automatically alarms and adjusts parameters, reducing reliance on manual operation. Compared to manual workflows, automated systems increase production efficiency by 30%–40% and cut labor requirements by 60%.

4. Service Invitation

The above process—from pretreatment to automated separation—forms a mature, efficient technical system for recycling waste PVC fiber-reinforced water hoses. This system not only enables high-value reuse of both PVC and fiber components but also aligns with the "reduce, reuse, recycle" principles for solid waste management. If your enterprise faces challenges in handling waste PVC fiber-reinforced water hoses, we offer customized recycling solutions tailored to your daily capacity, regional location, and quality requirements—covering equipment selection, production line layout, and technical training. For inquiries regarding recycling processes, equipment parameters, or cost analysis, please feel free to contact our technical team. We are dedicated to providing professional, reliable, and cost-effective recycling support to help you achieve both environmental and economic benefits.