Doppstadt presents dust-free toner cartridge recycling

The disposal of printer toners is complex and expensive. Doppstadt Systemtechnik GmbH has developed a pa-tentized process for reprocessing the cartridges. The aim is to develop a complete reprocessing system for toner cartridges in order to close the recycling loop, avoid sending material for thermal disposal and comply with legal regulations.

As is generally known, printer toners must not be disposed of in the normal residual waste. The fine dust it contains is not only harmful to health, but also tends to ignite when shredded. “Until now, there has been no complete recycling loop for this material,” explains Leonhard Bo-scheinen, project developer at Doppstadt. “Empty cartridges are refilled by manufacturers and separate reprocessors, but defective and obsolete cartridges are excluded from this.” Ultimately, the only remaining option is thermal recycling, which is explicitly excluded in Germany under the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act, or export. “This results in unnecessary costs and valuable raw materials are lost. The metal content of a cartridge alone is 50 percent. In addition, the plastics used, predominantly polystyrene, are also in high demand on the market,” Boscheinen continues.

Patented reprocessing concept for toner cartridges

Under Boscheinen’s leadership, Doppstadt Systemtechnik GmbH has developed an effective reprocessing concept to meet this challenge: Instead of removing the dust, some of which is carcinogenic, in a special dust removal system, the cartridges are heated in an oven so that the fine dust melts. The melted toner is now no longer explosive. “This thermal pretreatment replaces a complex ex-zoning and dust removal system,” says Boscheinen. Both the annealing process and the resulting altered toner are protected by packages from the Doppstadt Group.

Safe processes

After annealing, a high-performance shredder from Doppstadt can take over the processing in combination with modern separation technology. The initial goals are to recover the metals and to condition the plastics for further processing.

Occupational safety during the processes is a top priority for Doppstadt. An expert opinion from the independent consulting firm INBUREX Con-sulting confirms that the dust emissions generated during the patented reprocessing process are harmless. “As a result, there is demonstrably no longer any risk of explosion from the re-cycled toner cartridges,” says Boscheinen. In addition, Doppstadt investigates and tests currently the sorting of plastic types in order to feed them into material recycling – this also applies to the agglomerated toner. For example, a new toner cartridge could be produced from the recovered regranulates.

Thanks to the new reprocessing method, Doppstadt Systemtechnik GmbH provides an efficient and economical solution to comply with the applicable laws. “We enable our customers to make significant savings on disposal costs and generate additional added value,” Boscheinen summarizes.

For more information, please visit: https://www.doppstadt.de/en/news/news/