OUR TECHNOLOGY
Ritchie Technology (Rtec™) takes pride in designing, prototyping and demonstrating new technologies that offer significant advantages. Our principal technology can facilitate a lower cost alternative to trading in recycled and reclaimed plastic with domestic and international market applications.
Our technologies represent a more efficient approach to commercial recycling. When demonstrated on the larger scale, they would represent novel solutions to Australia’s and the worlds plastic recycling woes with significant socioeconomic and environmental advantages.
CONTINUOUS INPUT AND OUTPUT MELTER
The machine is designed to take a continuous feed of plastic waste with sustained melting and melt flow outputs. The machine can take baled, loose and solid form plastic waste that is otherwise difficult to recycle.
The large intake of the machine means large volumes and whole bales can be introduced to the technologies melting process. The machine can process waste with high levels of contaminants and manufacturing infrastructure can also be coupled directly to the machine.
PLASTIC INGOT SYSTEM
The development of the continuous input and output melting technology has identified an opportunity to produce quality certified ingots of specific polymer type and purity that can target export markets.
It is intended that versions of the Melter technology serve as the principal ingot manufacturing machine with customised Melters configured and employed to process the ingots by re-melting for
manufacturing. The resulting melt can be used without the requirement of an extruder by employing a gear pump or pressurising metering screw.
PIPE MAKER
We are currently developing a prototype for a pipe making method intended to be scaled up to produce large diameter pipes of several meters in length. The proposed methodology utilises crude, unprocessed or semi processed plastic waste streams and eliminates many of the processing steps prior to manufacturing. The methodology eliminates many of the infrastructure requirements that would be involved with traditional rotary moulding methods.
It is intended that these pipes would be employed in drainage applications such as culverts where large diameter, heavy-duty, thick-walled pipes of several meters in length are required.
ADDITIONAL TECHNOLOGY
DRUM COMPACTOR
We are currently developing a prototype machine capable of compacting 20L HDPE drums at a medium to high throughput rate.
The principal advantage of the technology will be the compression and elimination of shape memory of the plastic during the compaction process. This will result in a highly compacted drum that will not expand on release of the compression mechanism.
HOMOGENIZER MELTER
Concept design and configuration has been completed for an auger driven Homogenizer melter with the principal heating and mechanical mechanisms identified and configured.
This technology is intended to process all highly mixed and contaminated waste containing inorganics, organics, paper and non-thermoplastic polymer contaminants.