Technological Institute of the Philippines

Research Proposal

On

Sachet Component Separation and Disposal

by Incineration with Energy Recovery

GROUP 5

Fenol, Khing

Manalo, Jhane

Mante, John Caleb

Manuel, Princess

Marti, Benedick

Medina, John Gil

Rubio, Rhenna

Taladua, Lica
 Sachet Disposal 1

Abstract

The immediate purpose of this research project is to develop an ecological disposal

method for sachets produced by Unilever Phils, Inc. The research project has constructed

a sachet disposal method through incineration with energy recovery. The sachets are first

subjected to separation process which comprises of heating, shearing, electrostatic

separation, and hydrothermal process. The PE, PET and aluminum will then proceed to

incineration with energy recovery in a waste-to-energy plant. The incineration process

includes the use of lime scrubbers capable of removing acidic combustion products. The

fuel gases produced are then tested for presence of harmful components such as dioxins

and furans. The gases are evaluated by the Department of Natural Resources and the

National Solid Waste Commission. This research work will give rise to public understanding

regarding the environmental impact of sachets, will essentially improve solid waste

management in the Philippines, and will allow establishment of efficient waste-to-energy

facilities.
 Sachet Disposal 2

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

I. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Plastic is almost everywhere, and the growing rate of plastic pollution is even

worsened due to the rising consumption and population growth. Plastic pollution has

increasingly becoming a major nuisance and poses significant threats to the entire

environment leading to land, air, and water pollution. Plastics also impacts the natural

environment and has grave consequences for humans, wildlife, and plants since they

contain numerous toxic compounds.

Plastic is a polymeric material—that is, a material whose molecules are very large,

often resembling long chains made up of a seemingly endless series of interconnected links.

No one exactly knows how long plastic takes to break down, but it is believed to take

hundreds or even thousands of years. It is not just the accumulation of plastics that harms

the environment—it is also the fragments and toxins released during photo-decomposition

that pollute our soil and water.

Plastics are used as packaging materials such as plastic sachets. Unilever, the

consumer goods giant behind brands that are using plastic sachets in their products. The

company sells billions of products in single-use sachets each year, including cosmetics and

food products, particularly in developing and emerging markets. From shampoo and

toothpaste to detergent powder and instant coffee, plastic sachets are a common form of

packaging in developing countries that have made household goods affordable for people

with limited disposable income. But with hundreds of billions of them thrown away every

year, these lightweight plastic sachets have become an environmental nuisance, clogging
 Sachet Disposal 3

drains and polluting public spaces. It also contributes a great amount in municipal wastes.

And is difficult to recycle because sachets are fabricated out of thin film of plastics and

aluminum in a sandwich laminate form for longer shelf life and leakage counteract.

To tackle this problem, our group focuses on how to dispose plastic sachets without

harming our environment. In line with this, our group has come up with a step by step

procedure. The first step is separation of each plastic component by heating, shredding,

electrostatic separation, and hydrothermal process. The second step is disposal of

components: the PE and aluminum with energy recovery and the PET with degradation

through 0olysis. In past, incineration was conducted without separating materials thus

causing harm to environment. Incineration comes with a number of benefits in specific areas

like medical wastes and other life risking waste. In this process, toxins are destroyed when

waste is treated with high temperature.

Based on these problems, our research paper aims to dispose completely the plastic

sachets by incineration with energy recovery without harming our environment and at the

same time to produce energy that will help the people in the community.

II. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM / PROJECT OBJECTIVES

Research Statement: “The Development of an ecological disposal method on plastic

sachets produced by Unilever without violating any laws in relation to the proper disposal of

plastics in the Philippines”.

General Objective: To develop a way to dispose plastic sachets that will not harm the

people and our environment.

 Sachet Disposal 4

Specific Objectives:

 To identify the different components of plastic sachets owned by Unilever.

 To identify existing disposal methods on plastic sachets used in the Philippines.

 To incorporate the development of proper disposal method to the laws such as RA 8749

(The Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999), RA 9003 (The Ecological Solid Waste

Management Act of 2000) and RA 6969 (Toxic Substances and Hazardous Waste Act

of 1990).

III. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The discovery of plastics has tremendously changed lives from around the world. It

has been the greatest achievement of mankind. But as the newly-found packaging

technique granted convenient life to both the consumer and the producer since profitable

economy has been made possible for the manufacturing industries just by repacking their

products into tiny parcels, sachets are observed of be a major contributor to the

environment’s deterioration. This research aims to provide a method of how to dispose

plastic sachets particularly the consumer package goods or CPG manufactured by Unilever

Philippines, Inc. that can be used to solve the plastic problem. The beneficiaries of the study

are the following:

For the Researchers

The researchers will become a better individual after achieving the goal of this study.

They will be recognized for having a study that would help the community.

For the Government

 Sachet Disposal 5

This study will help the government to reduce or to fully unravel the problems with

plastics. The benefits of this research study to the government include the reduction of the

amount of solid wastes and pollution due to inadequate solid waste management. This study

will also benefit them by minimizing the area allotted to a landfill that can be used for a

different purpose.

For the Community

There is no question that sachets have brought better quality products to different

communities but the problem is that waste volumes are projected to grow worldwide as

adoption of these sachet products increases. However, with the help of this study, they will

not worry anymore about the clogging of creeks and canals that will be a reason of flood.

For the Students

The students could get further information regarding the disposal of plastic sachets

that can eliminate pollution. It also inform the students about the advancement of the

technology of modern days. Lastly, this study can encourage them to perform a study that

could also help in the community.

The development of this method of plastic sachet disposal will be able to make the

environment cleaner and greener, prevent break out of health diseases, avoid flooding, and

reduce the uses of the land for other, more useful purposes.

IV. SCOPE AND DELIMITATIONS

The main focus of this project was the ecological disposal of plastic sachets

produced by the company, Unilever, in the Philippines. These sachets are composed of

three layers: the Polyethylene, aluminum, and Polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Factors

such as the chemical properties of the layers and the inks printed on its packaging were
 Sachet Disposal 6

considered for this certain process of disposal. Essentially, the environmental legislations

like the RA 8749 (The Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999) and RA 9003 (The Ecological Solid

Waste Management Act of 2000) declared by the government were a huge influence to the

leading of this project. As for the method, plastic sachets are first subjected to undergo layer

separation whereas the material is heated and shredded to produce delamination.

Subsequently, materials will undergo a reactor for incineration for energy recovery. This

proposed method is exclusive for plastic sachet produced by Unilever should the material

be comprised of Polyethylene, Aluminum, and PET.

 Sachet Disposal 7

CHAPTER 2

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

V. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

Products from companies such as Unilever are readily available to the public since

the introduction of sachet containers. Small markets and stores sell these small packs of

both food and non-food products instead of the larger variety to accommodate to a wider

market range. In a third world country, like the Philippines, these small packs of goods are

more patronized as majority of the people cannot afford to buy the larger ones. However,

when these goods get used up, the discarded sachet becomes a major problem when it

comes to municipal solid waste. According to the National Solid Waste Management Status

Report (2008-2014) done by the Environmental Management Bureau under the National

Solid Waste Management Commission, plastics, such as sachets, contribute 10.55% by

weight to the total municipal solid waste. Also, according to a study conducted by the World

Bank, municipal solid wastes generated in the Philippine cities will go up by 165 percent to

77,776 tons per day from 29,315 tons (2012) as a consequence of a projected 47.3-percent

hike in urban population by 2025 (Hoornweg, et al. 2012).

Several processes were also invented in order to separate multilayered materials

such as sachets in order to simplify disposal methods. (Vandenhende et al., 1997) invented

a three-step process which was able to separate a base plastic from another plastic

separated by a layer of an adhesive plastic. After washing, the material is first heated to a

temperature between the crystallization temperature TC of the second plastic, which is within

67° – 80° C, and TC – 20° C. This can be carried out by any known means such as lamps

or resistances emitting infrared radiation. The material is then shredded by being subjected
 Sachet Disposal 8

to shearing at the same temperature as the first stage. This starts the delamination and

converts the materials into particles of small dimensions of two types: one is mostly the base

plastic (PE), and the other is the secondary plastic with the adhesive plastic (PET and

aluminum). The particles are then charged, for example, by subjecting them to friction via

fluidized bed. They can now then be separated by letting them pass through two deflecting

electrodes with continuous and high potential difference.

As to separate the PET and aluminum components, (Prawisudha, et al., 2014)

conducted a study on the separation of aluminum and polyesters such as PET. The

experiments employed hydrothermal process in 2.5 L reactor using saturated steam of about

200 °C in 60 min. Subsequent liquid-solid product separation was conducted, and the solid

product was examined in thermogravimetry analyzer to obtain the remaining plastic in the

aluminum part. It was observed that the aluminum-plastic separation yield better result at

higher temperature of 225 °C. The plastic content in the aluminum part was reduced to 25

% of its original, and the aluminum part became brittle and having higher density compared

to raw plastic waste, reducing the waste volume.

With the components of sachet now separated, individual disposal methods for each

component are employed. According to the Waste Management Resources in an article

posted 2009, incineration was conducted without separating materials causes harm to the

environment. This un-separated waste was not free from bulky and recyclable materials,

even. This resulted in risk for plant workers health and environment.

According to Pennsylvania State University online publication, PennState

Extension, plastics, which include contaminated LDPE film, have a higher energy value

and heat content than most municipal solid waste materials. While taking up seven

percent of the waste stream by weight and 20 percent by volume, plastics provide
 Sachet Disposal 9

incinerators with 25 percent of the recoverable MSW energy. For example, a pound of

polyethylene supplies 19,000 Btu, but corrugated paper packaging provides only 7,000

Btu. Because of their high Btu content, plastics can be incinerated as a municipal solid

waste or used as a supplement with other municipal solid wastes to increase the

combustion temperatures.

According to the European Aluminum Foil Association, in countries where the

recovery of energy from the incineration of waste is the accepted practice, aluminum foil

becomes a useful source of heat energy. Under the furnace conditions of an incineration

plant, foil releases its latent energy by combining with oxygen to release heat. Although

aluminum foil is a tiny proportion of the total waste stream, it is nonetheless a positive fuel

substitute, helping to reduce the amount of fossil fuel needed to sustain the incineration

process. During oxidation, aluminum gives off no polluting or ‘green house’ gas and the

resulting residue represents the return of the metal to aluminum oxide, an inert compound

similar to that from which the metal was originally extracted. In less pure forms, aluminum

oxide occurs in most soils, and disposal of this residue is therefore totally safe. (2002)

Additionally, (Pruvost, 2013) researched on energy recovery from aluminum

incineration. Aluminum does not burn during incineration but its surface oxidizes partly into

its oxide Al2O3, releasing a quantity of energy, 31.6 MJ/kg, equivalent to that resulting from

the combustion of plastic, paper and even oil. The outer alumina layer offers a major

advantage as it prevents the aluminum substrate from further oxidation. This property is

highly valued and widely used in some industrial processes, especially for the controlled

voluntary deep oxidation (anodization) applied to aluminum extrusions for windows and

doors. Due to this surface treatment, these building products are well protected against
 Sachet Disposal 10

weather influences and do not need any additional maintenance for a considerable period

of time, thus reducing costs.

The aluminum oxide produced as a result of incineration, commonly called as ingots

can be reused in its powdered form. This ingots undergo pounding by a stamp mill, which

produces flakes, and are further powdered through a ball mill. The aluminum oxide powder

can be used as an adsorbent, desiccating agent, catalyst, and in the manufacture of dental

cements and refractories. Aluminum oxide powder is used in the coating of titanium oxide,

a compound that is used as a pigment for paints and plastic papers. It helps in preventing

catalytic reactions between these products and the atmosphere. Aluminum oxide is also

used in the making of fillers used in the welding industry. (National Center for Biotechnology

Information, 2006)

The high fuel value of Polyethylene Terephthalate makes it desirable to be subjected

to incineration with energy recovery since it cannot be recycled, (Edinburg Plastics Inc.).

However, the incinerator used must be capable of scrubbing out acidic combustion products.

There is, however, a strict regulation with regards to incineration in the

Philippines. Section 20 of Republic Act 8749 or the Clean Air Act of 1999, states

“Incineration, hereby defined the burning of municipal, bio-medical and hazardous

wastes, which process emits poisonous and toxic fumes, is hereby prohibited.” The

provision states further, “with due concern on the effects of climate change, the

Department shall promote the use of state-of-the-art, environmentally-sound, and safe

non-burn technologies for the handling, treatment, thermal destruction, utilization, and

disposal of sorted, unrecycled, uncomposted municipal, bio-medical and hazardous

wastes.” This prohibits the use of incineration in the Philippines, given that they emit
 Sachet Disposal 11

poisonous and toxic fumes, and thus, if incineration does not emit these, are allowable

according to the law.

Furthermore, Section 54 of Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste

Management Act of 2000 states “The Department (of Environment and Natural

Resources), after consultations with the cooperating agencies, shall encourage,

cooperate with and render financial and other assistance to appropriate government

agencies and private agencies, institutions and individuals in the conduct and

promotion of researches, experiments, and other studies on solid waste management.”

Particularly, those that relate to “the development and application of new and improved

methods of collecting and disposing of solid waste and processing and recovering

materials and energy from solid waste.”

VI. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Disposal of plastic waste in environment is considered to be a big problem due to

its very low biodegradability; presence in large quantities, like disposal in a landfill promotes

a great harmful effect to the environment. Therefore, finding alternative methods of disposing

waste by using an eco-friendly methods are becoming a major research issue. In order to

make an effective disposal method, we need to identify first the different components of

Unilever’s plastic sachets and their proper disposal methods. Existing options for its disposal

are recycling, incineration with energy recovery, and landfill. The high value of this product

makes incineration with energy recovery very desirable for material that cannot be recycled,

but incineration must be capable of scrubbing out acidic combustion products that affects
 Sachet Disposal 12

the environment, so producing methods that could help regulate its acidic combustion

products can help the study.

According to the Waste Management Resources, incineration was conducted

without separating materials causes harm to environment. This un-separated waste was not

free from bulky and recyclable materials, even. This resulted in risk for plant workers health

and environment, thus violating laws regarding the proper solid waste disposal and clean air

act. In order to reduce the harmful effects of incineration, we need first to separate the

plastics into its components first then subjecting each component to disposal without

violating provisions of laws regarding the protection of environment from pollution such as

Republic Act. No 9003, Republic Act. No. 3931, Republic Act. No 8749, and Republic Act.

No 6969.
 Sachet Disposal 13

VII. RESEARCH PARADIGM

Input Process

I. Knowledge Requirement: A. Development of the disposal method

1. Unilever Products  Collection process
Home and Personal Care (HPC)  Cleaning Process
a. Hair  Separation Process of Plastic
 Creamsilk Sachet Components
 Sunsilk  Heating using infrared lamp
 Clear
 Shredding using impeller
 Dove
 Vaseline mill
 Tresemme  Electrostatic separation
b. Skin using electrostatic separator
 Vaseline with the aide of fluidized bed
 Ponds
 Hydrothermal Process
 Block and White
 Master
 Incineration
 Rexona (Deos)  Energy Recovery
c. Mouth  Aluminum oxide Collection and
 Pepsodent pulverization using stamp and
 Close-Up ball mills
d. Laundry I. Testing
 Surf
 Compliance with the
 Breeze
Philippines environmental
e. Dishwashing
 Sunlight
laws
II. Evaluation:
Food  Safety evaluation of
combustion gases by NSWMC
 Lady’s Choice Mayonnaise and DENR.
 Knorr
3. Disposal method of plastic sachets in the
Philippines
11 a. Landfilling Output
4. Environmental policies covering plastic
disposal  Energy
a. RA 8479  Aluminum oxide powder
b. RA 6969
c. RA 9003
II. Hardware Requirements:
1. Cleaning equipment
2. Infrared lamp
3. Impeller mill
4. Electrostatic Separator
5. Combustion Chamber Evaluation of Acceptability
6. Boiler
7. Turbine Generator
8. Cooling Tower
9. Lime Scrubbers
10. Stamp Mill Figure 1. Research Paradigm
11. Ball Mill
 Sachet Disposal 14

VIII. DEFINITION OF TERMS

For better understanding of the study and to help the readers understand it, the

following terms are herein defined operationally.

Aluminum Foil. In this study, it is the innermost layer or component of the plastic sachet.

Disposal. It refers to the disposing method applied to the plastic sachets.

Plastic Sachet. It refers to the packaging material with components made up of multi-

layered films.

Polyethylene. In this study, it is the outermost layer or component of sachet.

Polyethylene Terephthalate. It refers to the next layer of sachet covering aluminum foil.

Ambient Temperature. In this study, it the air temperature of the environment where the

equipment is placed.

Scrubbers. It is used as an equipment to remove pollutants.

Degradation. It is the act of decomposition of a compound.

Shearing Forces. It occurs when two parallel forces act out of alignment with each other.

Adhesive. It is a substance that causes to adhere as glue or rubber cement.

Delamination. It is the separation of the components into layers.

EVOH. It is a flexible, crystal clear, and glossy thermoplastic copolymer.

Corona Discharge. It is an electrical discharge appearing on the surface caused by the

ionization of the surrounding gas.

Thermogravimetry Analyzer. It is a necessary tool to characterize complex materials.

 Sachet Disposal 15

Friction. It is a force resisting the movement of solid surfaces, fluid, and material elements

from sliding against each other.

Electrodes. It is a metal or other substance that is used to take an electric current.

Potential Difference. It is the difference of the electrical potential between two points.

Pulverization. It is a mechanical device for grinding of many different materials.

Ingots. It is a piece of metal that is cast into shape for storage and transportation.

Fluidized Bed. It is a type of reactor that can be used to carry out variety of multiphase

reactions.

Crystallization Temperature. It is the temperature at which solid phase begins to form

resulting in a mixture of solid particles and solution.

Infrared Radiation. It is a type of electromagnetic radiation with longer wavelengths than

those of the visible lights thus they are invisible.

Electrostatic separation. The selective sorting of solid species by means of utilizing

forces acting on charged or polarized bodies in an electric field.

Incineration. A waste treatment process that involves the combustion of organic

substances contained in waste materials.

Chemical mist. A colloidal suspension of a liquid in a gas.

Food grade. An adjective that means the material or product at hand is either fit for human

or animal consumption, or, more commonly, is at least permitted to come into contact with

food.

Non-food grade. The substance has not been tested for this purpose or that there is some

reason to believe that there could be contaminants that are harmful to humans.

RA No. 8749. An act providing for a comprehensive air pollution control policy and for

other purposes.
 Sachet Disposal 16

RA No. 3931. An act creating the national water and air pollution control commission.

RA # 6969. An act to control toxic substances and hazardous and nuclear wastes,

providing penalties for violations thereof, and for other purposes.

RA # 9003. Providing for an ecological solid waste management program, creating the

necessary institutional mechanisms and incentives, declaring certain acts prohibited and

providing penalties, appropriating funds therefore, and for other purposes.

Ozone depleters. Any of various environmental pollutants which contribute to the

depletion of the ozone layer in the earth's atmosphere.

Thermoplastic. A plastic material, a polymer that becomes pliable or moldable above a

specific temperature and solidifies upon cooling.

Cinders. Residue of combustion; ashes.

Polyolefins. Polyolefins are macromolecules formed by the polymerization of olefin

monomer units. The IUPAC nomenclature term is poly(alkene) .

Soot. A mass of impure carbon particles resulting from the incomplete combustion of

hydrocarbons.
 Sachet Disposal 17

CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY OR OPERATIONAL FRAMEWORK

IX. PROJECT DESIGN

The initiation step of this research study is the collection of Unilever’s used plastic

sachets, that also includes the segregation of food-grade and non-food-grade plastic

sachets, then it will undergo cleaning process to remove the remaining contents.

Subsequently, these sachets will be dried and then will be subjected to a process for

separating the constituents of a multilayer material which, namely, are polyethylene,

polyethylene terephthalate, and aluminum. Lastly, these separated components will be

subjected to their own disposal process.

Cleaning/ Incineration
Collection Separation and Energy Pulverization
Drying Recovery

Figure 2. Project Design Flow

X. PROJECT DEVELOPMENT

The process develops into several steps for the disposal of plastic sachets. The first

step in this project relates to the separation of a multilayer material based on plastic

produced by the manufacturing company, Unilever Philippines. Particularly, it is associated

to the separation of constituents of the multilayer material including a base plastic and a

layer of a barrier plastic separated by a layer of adhesive plastic.

In the case of these multilayer materials, the presence of several different plastics

sometimes presents problems: if it is deemed sufficient to grind the multilayer material into

particles and to reemploy them in the manufacture of a new product, the latter runs the risk
 Sachet Disposal 18

of exhibiting mediocre mechanical performance and therefore the quantities of material thus

recycled must be greatly restricted. It is therefore desirable to have available a simple and

effective method enabling the constituents of multilayer materials to be separated with a

view to being able to reemploy them in a manner which is comparable with virgin

constituents, without affecting the performance of the new product manufactured from

constituents which are thus recovered.

Process for Separating the Constituents of a Multilayer Material

1. COLLECTION

The initiation step for this research study is the collection of used Unilever’s plastic

sachets within a barangay. It also includes the segregation of food grade and non-food grade

plastic sachets.

2. CLEANING

After the collection of sachets from the sources, it will undergo cleaning where the

residue of product will be removed through the use of water.

3. KNOWING THE CHARACTERISTICS

The process in which we will be separating the multilayer material into two

components including a layer of base plastic (A) and a layer of plastic (B) separated by a

layer of adhesive plastic (C) was patented by Vandenhende and Yernaux of Belgium (1999).

Plastic is intended to denote any polymer or polymer mixtures. Evidently, the variable of this

research which is the sachet produced by the Unilever contains a layer of Polyethylene,

Aluminum, and Polyethylene terephthalate which are also thermoplastic and thus making it
 Sachet Disposal 19

suitable for the process. However, each of the plastics (A, B, C) may in addition optionally

contain one or several conventional additives such as stabilizers, lubricants, antioxidants,

pigments, flame retardants, fillers or reinforcing fillers, and the like.

According to the tests ran by Vandenhende and Yernaux, there are characteristics

of each layer must have for the separation to obtain a good result.

Table 1.

Characteristics of the Multilayer Plastic

Layer Description

Base plastic (A) - represents more than 80% of the total weight of the

plastics A, B and C, and in particular more than 90%.

- consists essentially of one or more polyolefins chosen

from the homopolymers and copolymers of ethylene or

of propylene, and in particular of high density

polyethylene (HDPE).

Plastic (B) - a barrier plastic

- any plastic capable of forming a layer exhibiting a low

permeability to particular fluids. i.e, hycrocarbon-based

fuels
 Sachet Disposal 20

- consists essentially of one or more polymers chosen

from polyamides and ethylene-vinyl alcohol

copolymers, and very particularly of the latter.

- has a low adhesiveness to the conventional polymers

Adhesive plastic (C) - compatibilized polyolefin, and in particular

compatibilized polyethylene

- preferably consists essentially of a polyolefin grafted

with maleic anhydride, in particular polyethylene or

polypropylene grafted With maleic anhydride.

- when the base plastic (A) consists essentially of

polyethylene or of polypropylene, the adhesive plastic

(C) is advantageously a grafted polymer of the same

kind (PE or PP respectively).

With the knowledge of how compatible our variables are with the required or

suggested characteristics of each layer, the multilayer plastic is now subjected to the

following process:

4. HEATING

Before the heating begins, it may optionally include washing or else chopping at an

ambient temperature, intended to reduce the materials into medium dimension. The material

is heated to a temperature between the crystallization temperature (Tc) of the second plastic

(B), which is within 67° – 80° C, and TC – 20° C. This can be carried out by any known
 Sachet Disposal 21

means such as lamps or resistances emitting infrared radiation. The purpose of heating is

to bring the material to a temperature suited for the next stage.

5. SHREDDING

The material is then shredded by being subjected to shearing at the same

temperature as the first stage. Surprisingly, it has been found that the fact of subjecting the

multilayer material to shearing forces at a temperature slightly lower than the crystallization

temperature of the plastic B makes it possible to effect the separation of, on the one hand,

A and, on the other hand B+C. This justifies the main goal of the process- to separate the

base plastic from the other plastics.

The material is preferably shredded in an impeller mill. This type of equipment is

well known as such; it generally consists of a rotary drum provided with blades at its

periphery, rotating in a vessel to which blades are also secured. A model capable of

producing particles from approximately 5 to 12 mm in size is generally chosen, these specific

dimensions making it possible to perform the separation with a high efficiency. This starts

the delamination and converts the materials into particles of small dimensions of two types:

one is mostly the base plastic, which in this case is the Polyethylene, and the other is the

aluminum film along with the adhesive plastic.

6. ELECTROSTATIC SEPARATION

In this stage, the particles are charged at a temperature of at least 50° C, for

example, by corona discharge or by subjecting them to friction which may involve mutual

friction, for example in a fluidized bed, or else friction of the particles on a moving member

(drum, belt or the like) of an appropriate nature (glass, plastic, or the like). In this process,
 Sachet Disposal 22

fluidized bed is employed. They can now then be separated by letting them pass through

two deflecting electrodes with continuous and high potential difference. The polyethylene is

separated from aluminum and the polyethylene terephthalate.

7. HYDROTHERMAL PROCESS

To separate the aluminum and the polyethylene terephthalate, they are subjected

to a hydrothermal process in 2.5 L reactor using saturated steam of about 200 °C in 60 min.

Subsequent liquid-solid product separation was conducted, and the solid product was

examined in thermogravimetry analyzer to obtain the remaining plastic in the aluminum part.

8. INCINERATION

After the separation of components of plastic sachets, each component will undergo

incineration process with energy recovery. Hot combustion gases will pass through a boiler,

which will the go through a series of scrubbers where acidic substances are absorbed in

order to minimize its contribution to the degradation of our environment. Also, hot gases

shall be cooled with the aid of a cooling tower before it can be released.

 Waste storage and feed preparation.

 Combustion in a furnace, producing hot gases and a bottom ash residue for

disposal.

 Gas temperature reduction, frequently involving heat recovery via steam generation.

 Treatment of the cooled gas to remove air pollutants, and disposal of residuals from

this treatment process.

 Dispersion of the treated gas to the atmosphere through an induced-draft fan and

stack.
 Sachet Disposal 23

9. ENERGY RECOVERY

The heat released from burning the materials goes to a boiler which is connected to

the combustion chamber. In the boiler, water is converted into steam, which is sent to a

turbine generator to produce electricity. This generator is then connected to power lines

which will be distributed by a power supplier.

10. PULVERIZATION

The aluminum, after incineration, will produce aluminum oxide in the form of ingots.

These ingots undergo pounding by a stamp mill, which produces flakes, and are further

powdered through a ball mill. Aluminum oxide in its powdered form can be used as an

adsorbent, desiccating agent, catalyst and a component in manufacture of dental cements

and refractories.
 Sachet Disposal 24

START

COLLECTION

CLEANING

SEPARATION
OF EACH
COMPONENT

INCINERATION
AND ENERGY
RECOVERY

YES
Is it
PULVERIZATION
Al?

NO

END

Figure 3. Flowchart Diagram for the Disposal

XI. TESTING AND OPERATING PROCEDURE

The efficiency of this project can be justified if it is observed to comply with the

environmental policies enforced by the Philippine government- serving its purpose to utilize

an environmentally-sound method of disposal. It involves several processes like chemical

treatment (to selectably dissolve multilayer polymer constituents), incineration, and energy

recovery which are related to the Republic Act (RA) No. 8749: Clean Air Act of 1999 and the
 Sachet Disposal 25

Republic Act (RA) No. 3931: An Act Creating the National Water and Air Pollution Control

Commission where these policies maintain the standards of purity for the water and air of

this country. However, this project was designed and engineered to ensure the gases and

other fume produced during the process will not cause significant negative environmental

impact specifically on the atmosphere. This project also underwent a thorough planning and

research to evade the protocols of Republic Act (RA) No. 6969: Toxic Substances and

Hazardous and Nuclear Wastes Act which regulates and restricts, use and disposal of

chemical substances and mixtures. Ultimately, this process of disposal serves as an

alternative solution to the aggravation of solid waste management in the country that is

consequently in line with the Republic Act (RA) No. 9003: Ecological Solid Waste

Management Act.

The formed gases upon incineration must also comply with the regulations of Chapter

2: Article 1, Section 12 of the RA No. 8749, which states the guideline values and standard

of ambient air quality. The DENR, in coordination with concerned agencies, shall review the

values and standard necessary to protect the public health and safety, and general welfare.

The following are the initial list and values of the hazardous pollutants which are based on

the World Health Organizations (WHO) standards, but shall not be limited to nor be less

stringent than the standards.

 Sachet Disposal 26

Table 2.

For National Ambient Air Quality Guideline for Criteria Pollutants

 Sachet Disposal 27

Table 3.
For National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Source Specific Air Pollutants from
Industrial Sources/Operations
 Sachet Disposal 28

Table 4.

Emission Concentration Limits

 Sachet Disposal 29

XII. EVALUATION

To determine the efficiency of the disposal method of Unilever’s plastic sachets

presented, which is incineration with energy recovery, an evaluation sheet shall be filled out

by the inspecting officer. It can be evaluated by the National Solid Waste Management

Commission (NSWMC), which represents the NGOs and the Department of Energy and

Natural Resources (DENR) and any possible concern persons. The evaluator shall score

the different parameters as 5 being Excellent, 4 being Good, 3 being Satisfactory, 2 being

Inadequate, and 1 being Poor.

Table 5.

Evaluation Form

Environmental Parameters 5 4 3 2 1

1. Waste material feed is stored in a proper and regulated

room.

2. Waste management of the facility is well-supervised.

3. Gases released after energy recovery are colorless and

free of smoke.

4. Gases released after energy recovery are within the

standard values for air quality as described by Section 12

of the RA 8749.
 Sachet Disposal 30

5. Gases released after energy recovery do not contain

excessive amounts of air pollutants as described by

Section 19 of the Republic Act no. 8749.

6. Gases released after recovery do not contain any

particulate matter.

7. Gases released after recovery do not contain fumes and

chemical mists.

Energy Parameters 5 4 3 2 1

1. Energy is consistently produced and supplied to the

power provider without outages.

2. Power surges or oversupply of voltage are infrequent.

3. The use of the energy generated by the process is cost

efficient.

Safety Parameters 5 4 3 2 1

1. Gases released in the atmosphere do not cause

inflammation when inhaled.

2. Gases released in the atmosphere do not cause skin-

irritation.

3. Gases released in the atmosphere do not cause irritation

in the eyes.

4. Gases released do not produce any foul smell.

 Sachet Disposal 31

5. Gases released after energy recovery are colorless and

do not produce visible smoke.

6. Waste material feed are well-regulated in the facility.

 Sachet Disposal 32

XIII. Bibliography

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Materials: https://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=1586

Dinglasan, M. (2015). Unilever's sachet recovery program continues its mission to provide a
sustainable environment for Filipinos. Entrepreneur Philippines.

Edinburg Plastics Inc. (2006). MSDS - PET Polyester.

Garthe, J. K. (2017, August 8). Pennsylvania State University. Retrieved from PennState
Extension: https://extension.psu.edu/resource-recovery-turning-waste-into-energy

Hoornweg, D. P. (2012). What a Waste: A Global Review of Solid Waste Management.

Northwest: World Bank.

National Center for Biotechnology Information. (n.d.). PubChem Compound Database. Retrieved
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https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/9989226

Prawisudha, P., Mu'min, G. F., Yoshikawa, K., & Pasek, A. D. (2014). Experimental Study on
Separation of Metal Layer in Aluminum-plastic Packaging by Employing Hydrothermal
Process.

Pruvost, F. (2013, June). Aluminium packaging finds its way through incineration – Metal
transfer ratios higher than expected . Every Can Counts, pp. 81-83.

Republic Act No. 8749. (n.d.). Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999. Retrieved from
http://emb.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/RA-8749.pdf

Republic Act No. 9003. (n.d.). Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000. Retrieved from
http://emb.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/RA-9003.pdf

Vandenhende, B., & Yernaux, J.-M. (1997). Belgium Patent No. US5934577.

Waste Management Resources. (2009). Retrieved from Waste Management Resources:

http://www.wrfound.org.uk/articles/incineration.html

Yue, Q. F., Xiao, L. F., Zhang, M. L., & Bai, X. F. (2013). The Glycolysis of Poly(ethylene
terephthalate) Waste: Lewis Acidic Ionic Liquids as High Efficient Catalysts. MDPI
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