Method for separating organic fibers and fibers or tapes of thermoplastic materials and a device therefor

Abstract

Method for separating organic fibers, such as for example plant-based fibers, such as hay, and plastics material fibers, for example fibers of thermoplastic materials, such as polyethylene or polypropylene, for recycling the plastics material fibers, which method comprises the steps of: • - providing a feed fraction, which feed fraction comprises a fiber mixture, which fiber mixture comprises a plastics material fiber fraction comprising plastics material fibers and an organic fraction comprising organic fibers; • - introducing the fiber mixture into a dry cleaner, which dry cleaner comprises a rotor that rotates fast inside a sieve basket and is provided with paddles, wherein the organic fraction is pulverized and / or broken down into smaller fibers under the action of the paddles, which reduced organic fraction is separated from the plastics material fiber fraction by the sieve basket; • - discharging the plastics material fiber fraction and the reduced organic fraction from the dry cleaner in separate streams. The disclosure also relates to a device for use with the method.

Description

[0001] METHOD FOR SEPARATING ORGANIC FIBERS AND FIBERS OR TAPES OF THERMOPLASTIC MATERIALS AND A DEVICE THEREFOR

[0002] The invention relates to a method for separating organic fibers, for example plant-based fibers such as hay, straw and grass, and fibers or tapes of thermoplastic materials, for example fibers of polyethylene or polypropylene, or tapes cut from so-called big bags, for recycling the plastics material fibers or tapes.

[0003] Products made from fibers or tapes of thermoplastic materials, such as polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), are widely used in many industries, including agriculture, fishing, and other maritime activities. Examples include ropes for balers, nets for fishing or protecting crops, big bags, geo felt, geotextile, or, for example, marine ropes. Other thermoplastic materials can also be used, for example polyamide, polyester and aramid.

[0004] Such products are easy to recycle in principle, but in practice it is difficult to remove contaminants that are present as a result of the use of the products made from fibers or tapes of thermoplastic materials. Fibrous contaminants in particular, such as plant-based residues, are not easy to separate from plastics material fibers or tapes. As a result, the purity of the recycled plastics material fibers or tapes is not sufficient to produce quality pellets, granules or agglomerates for the manufacture of high-quality (recycled) products. With “Agglomerates” is meant the product resulting from compressing fibers or tapes of thermoplastic materials under pressure and friction high enough to make the fibers and / or tapes soft and shape the soft fibers and / or tapes through a die, preferably, followed by cutting and screening.

[0005] The object of the invention is to reduce or even avoid the aforementioned disadvantage. This object is achieved according to the invention with a method for separating organic fibers, for example plant-based fibers, such as hay, straw and grass and plastics material fibers or tapes, for example fibers or tapes of thermoplastic materials, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyamide, polyester, aramid or other thermoplastic polymers, for recycling the plastics material fibers, tapes, which method comprises the steps of:

[0006] - providing a feed fraction, which feed fraction comprises a fiber mixture, which fiber mixture comprises a plastics material fiber fraction comprising plastics material fibers and / or tapes and an organic fraction comprising organic fibers;

[0007] - introducing the fiber mixture into a dry cleaner, which dry cleaner comprises a rotor that rotates fast inside a sieve basket and is provided with paddles, wherein the organic fraction is pulverized and / or broken down into smaller fibers under the action of the paddles, the reduced organic fraction is separated from the plastics material fiber fraction by the centrifugal forces created by the high rotational speed of the rotor in combination with the sieve basket;

[0008] - discharging the thermoplastic fraction and the reduced organic fraction from the dry cleaner in separate streams.

[0009] Preferably the organic fraction is pulverized to a size less than 15 mm, more preferably to a size between 1 and 12 mm, or between 2 and 7 mm.

[0010] In the framework of the invention, a fiber is defined as one or more filaments, wherein the one or more filaments are bundled, and the one filament or the bundle has a cross-section having more or less circular shape, whereby the diameter of the one filament or bundle of filaments is preferably in the range of 5 micrometers to 200 micrometers. If the shape of the cross-section is not a perfect circle, the diameter is deemed to be the longest distance between to opposite sides of the filament or bundle. In the framework of the invention, a tape is defined as a strip of thermoplastic material having a length L, a width W and a thickness d, wherein the ratio of L / d is equal to or larger than 3. Typically, the L / W ratio is larger than 1 , typically larger than 5.

[0011] Like fibers, tapes may be used to produce woven materials. For example, so called “big bags” or “geotextiles” are constructed from woven tapes.

[0012] In the framework of the invention, a sieve basket is defined as a perforated plate that has a three-dimensional shape and in which the rotor is present. Very often sieve baskets are used that are cylindrical on shape, however, it is not particularly important that the sieve basket has a round circumference. It can for example also be square or hexagonal in its cross-section. The sieve basket can be constructed from a single part but can also be comprised of multiple segments. Parts of the sieve basket may also be constructed out of materials that have no perforations.

[0013] Preferably, the paddles are positioned such that upon rotation of the rotor, the fiber mixture is moved into the downstream direction (i.e. the direction opposite to where the thermoplastic material first enters the sieve basket / housing.

[0014] The feed fraction for the method comprises a fiber mixture of plastics material fibers, the plastics material fiber fraction to be recycled, and organic fibers, the organic fraction to be separated. The feed fraction can be obtained, for example, by shredding the products mentioned at the outset (for example, ropes for balers, nets for fishing or protecting crops, big bags, or woven tapes and fibers used as geotextile, or marine ropes) in a pre-processing step to obtain a processable particle size., for example having a D90 between 20- 70mm, or more preferably a D90 between 40-60mm, wherein the D90 relates to the longest size (usually the length L) of the particles.

[0015] The separation according to the invention can take place very effectively because the flexibility and tenacity of the organic fibers in the organic fraction is lower than the flexibility and tenacity of the plastics material fiber fraction. The organic fraction, which is less tough relative to the plastics material fiber fraction, can be pulverized or reduced to smaller fibers without reducing the plastics material fiber fraction. As a result, the fractions can easily be separated from each other.

[0016] This separation takes place according to the invention under the action of mechanical agitation to break down the organic fraction. The dry cleaner provided for this purpose is provided with a rotor that rotates fast inside a sieve basket and is provided with paddles. The mechanical forces and the airflows in the dry cleaner pulverize the organic fraction or break it down into smaller fibers, allowing them to be separated by the sieve basket. The flows separated by the dry cleaner, consisting of the plastics material fiber fraction on the one hand and the reduced organic fraction on the other hand, can be discharged from the dry cleaner, for example by means of a vacuum or via mechanical discharge techniques (auger, rotary lock, knife gate).

[0017] In an embodiment of a method according to the invention, the method additionally comprises the step of drying the fiber mixture before the fiber mixture is introduced into the dry cleaner to reduce the tenacity and flexibility of the organic fraction.

[0018] The effectiveness of the separation according to the invention can be even further improved because the drying ensures further reduction of tenacity, flexibility of the organic fibers in the organic fraction. By reducing the tenacity and flexibility, the brittleness of the organic fibers increases, causing them to break more quickly (reduced flexural fatigue performance). Organic fibers, such as for example plant-based fibers, such as hay, straw and grass, or other plant-based residues, become more brittle when dry. By contrast, the tenacity of the fibers of thermoplastic materials is virtually independent of the degree of dryness. The organic fraction, which is relatively brittle with respect to the plastics material fiber fraction, can thereby be pulverized to dust or reduced to smaller fibers without reducing the plastics material fiber fraction. As a result, the fractions can be separated from each other even better.

[0019] A further embodiment of a method according to the invention is a method in which the step of drying the fiber mixture takes place under the action of hot air.

[0020] The drying of the fiber mixture can be achieved very effectively by the action of hot air. The fiber mixture can, for example, be transported between different processing stages by means of hot air or dried in a drying drum.

[0021] In another embodiment of a method according to the invention, the fiber mixture is a light fraction and the feed fraction also comprises a heavy fraction, which heavy fraction comprises contaminants having a higher density than the light fraction, such as stones, metals or glass, and wherein the heavy fraction is separated from the light fraction in an air trap.

[0022] In addition to the fibrous organic fraction in the fiber mixture, other contaminants can also occur in the feed fraction, for example stones, metals, glass or other contaminants having a relatively high density with respect to the light fraction. These contaminants are preferably removed at an early stage because they can also cause severe wear and damage on equipment. For this purpose, an air separator is used according to the invention, for example an airtrap, a cyclonic air separator, zig-zag aspirator or windsifter. This allows the feed fraction to be separated into the heavy fraction and the fiber mixture, which is the light fraction.

[0023] In a preferred embodiment of a method according to the invention, the step of drying the fiber mixture takes place at least partially and preferably completely by using hot air in the air separator, preferably an air separator that is provided with an air lock, preferably a rotary lock The cost efficiency of the method can surprisingly be improved when hot air is used in combination with the step of separating the heavy and the light fraction. When the drying step is partially or even completely combined with the separation of the heavy and light fractions, the energy consumption is reduced. An additional advantage is that the density of wet organic fibers is higher than that of dry organic fibers, allowing the air separator to be configured as a dryer in which the heavy fraction lands at the bottom, the wet organic fibers of the light fraction continue to dry until they are light enough to exit the air separator, and the plastics material fibers exit the air separator almost immediately as the light fraction.

[0024] Yet another embodiment of a method according to the invention is a method in which the air separator, for example an air trap, is provided with a airlock, preferably a rotaring air lock, to minimize excessive air intake at the infeed section, i.e. the section of the air lock where the feed fraction enters the air separator. (Ambient) air is drawn-in at an intake opening, situated at the bottom of the inclined housing of the air separator and exits at the discharge opening situated at the top of the inclined housing, the heavy fraction is unable to be transported by the airflow and exits at the air intake opening. The light fraction is transported by the airflow towards the discharge opening of the air separator. The airflow can be controlled by means of increasing or decreasing the surface area of the intake- and discharge opening, and / or by means of controlling the ventilator flowrate (frequency). By controlling the airflow the degree of separation can be manipulated.

[0025] The use of an airlock, preferably a rotating air lock, at the infeed section of the air separator, i.e where the prevents large amounts of (non-heated) air from entering the air separator. This results in significant savings in the amount of energy required, in particular when using hot air at the air intake of the air separator. A further embodiment according to the invention is a method in which the particle size distribution of the thermoplastic fiber fraction has a d90 < 70 mm, preferably d90 < 60 mm, more preferably d90 < 50 mm.

[0026] In the framework of this invention, d90<70mm is defined as the distribution wherein 90% of the fibers having a length smaller than 70mm (number average).

[0027] With a particle size distribution of the length of the fiber mixture of d90 < 60 mm, it was shown that filtering is possible with a very limited loss of plastics material fibers in the various steps of the method.

[0028] In an embodiment, the plastic material fiber fraction obtained after the dry cleaner which has separated the reduced organic fraction therefrom, can be transported pneumatically. A material separator is thereby used to separate the fiber fraction from air. Such material separator preferably comprises a sieve comprising and a rotary valve. By applying a lower pressure downstream form the material spearator, the air flow passes through the sieve. Larger particles are unable to pass the sieve and are transported by the rotary valve towards the (atmospheric) outlet side of the material separator. By using a sieve with mesh size 2.5 mm (range 2-3.5mm), additional separation may be achieved.

[0029] Surprisingly, the use of a materials separator after the use of a dry cleaner, results in a very good separation of organic fibers and plastic material fibers. In the dry cleaner, the plastic materials fibers warp under the influence of the stress applied by the paddles and friction with the sieve. Any organic fibers that were not pulverized in the dry cleaner and thus are still present, are not warped under the stress resulting from the dry cleaner. Such organic fibers tend to orient themselves in the direction of the air flow, and then can pass through the sieve of the material separator while the warped plastic fibers are unable to pass the sieve and thus retained in the rotary valve and transported to the atmospheric outlet side of the material separator. A further embodiment of a method according to the invention is a method in which, after the step of the dry cleaner, the plastics material fiber fraction is intensively washed to remove very small (and / or sticky and moisture- saturated) particles of contaminants such as sand and pulverized residues of the organic fraction, wherein the intensive washing takes place under the action of liquid streams intensively mixed with the plastics material fiber fraction.

[0030] To even further increase the purity of the plastics material fiber fraction, the plastics material fiber fraction can be washed with a cleaning liquid, such as for example water or organic solvents, caustic soda, detergents, etc., after dry separation. This allows small particles such as sand and dust residue from the organic fraction to be removed. To loosen these small particles, cleaning liquid is added and intensively mixed with the plastics material fiber fraction. As a result, contaminants are released and end up in the liquid. When organic solvents are used, these are preferably used as part of a closed loop system wherein the organic cleaning liquid after use is purified and re-used as a cleaning liquid.

[0031] In yet another embodiment of a method according to the invention, after the step of the dry cleaner and / or after the step of intensive washing, friction cleaning takes place in a friction washer, which friction washer comprises a rotor that rotates inside a sieve basket and that is provided with paddles, wherein the paddles clean the plastics material fiber fraction in liquid (preferably water or an aqueous solution) and separate said liquid by discharging the cleaned plastics material fiber fraction in longitudinal direction through the sieve basket. The friction washer is preferably positioned at an inclination, wherein the inlet is situated at the bottom and the discharge opening is situated at the top, allowing a more efficient separation of the liquid. Additional cleaning can be achieved with a friction washer, optionally with the addition of clean cleaning fluid such as water. The rotor having paddles applies high friction forces to the plastics material fiber fraction, which is thereby cleaned as well as dewatered. The paddles transport the plastics material fiber fraction through the - sieve basket (i.e in the longitudinal direction of the sieve basket, and not through the mesh material of the sieve basket) from the drum, cleaned and dried to a moisture content of 45-65 mass percent. The remaining contaminants in the form of residues of the organic fraction are discharged with the cleaning fluid.

[0032] In this case, the sieve basket preferably has a sieve bore size in the range of 2-3.5 mm, preferably a sieve bore size of 2.5 mm. As used herein, the sieve bore size is the size of the openings of the sieve. Thus, a bore size of 2.5 mm means that the diameter of the sieve openings is 2.5mm

[0033] By using a sieve size of 2.5 mm, the loss of plastics material fibers is drastically reduced compared to, for example, a sieve size of 3.5 mm. In the case of a sieve size of 2.5 mm, the loss of plastics material fibers is reduced to approximately 2 w% (dry weight).

[0034] In a further embodiment of a method according to the invention, the plastics material fiber fraction is mechanically dried in a centrifuge after washing. A centrifuge can be used very efficiently to dry the plastics material fiber fraction to 5-15 mass percent.

[0035] In yet another embodiment of a method according to the invention, the plastics material fiber fraction, after washing and, optionally, after mechanical drying, is thermally dried under the action of hot air, preferably to a moisture content of less than or equal to 2 mass percent.

[0036] To dry the plastics material fibers sufficiently for possible further processing into pellets, air drying is used, wherein warm and preferably dry air is used to dry the plastics material fiber fraction. The degree of dryness achieved in this manner is preferably a moisture content of less than 2 mass percent. When the desired moisture content is reached, the temperature of the plastics material fiber fraction in the case of PE or PP has preferably risen to approximately a temperature between 55 and 75°C, for example 68°C, so that less energy needs to be supplied to form pellets in a subsequent step. The evaporated moisture humidifies the pneumatic transport air, this humidified air is subsequentially discharged in a cyclone or material separator.

[0037] Optionally, after these steps, the plastic material fiber fraction obtained can be transported pneumatically. A material separator is thereby used to separate the fiber fraction from air. Such material separator preferably comprises a sieve incorporated in a rotary valve. By applying a lower pressure at the side of the rotary valve opposite from the side where the sieve is present, the airflow passes through the sieve.

[0038] In a further embodiment according to the invention, the method is a continuous process.

[0039] The use of a continuous process allows the capacity of the machines used to be optimally utilized. The various steps of the method for separation are, according to the method modular, and can be assembled into a configuration to separate the organic and plastics material fiber fraction as a continuous process. By repeating the sequence of cleaning processes, the cleaning effect can be further increased.

[0040] In a further aspect, the invention also relates to a device for use with a method according to the invention, which device comprises:

[0041] - a drying device for drying the fiber mixture to reduce the tenacity of the organic fraction, and

[0042] - a dry cleaner connected to the drying device, which dry cleaner comprises a rotor that rotates fast inside a sieve basket and is provided with paddles, and which dry cleaner comprises a first discharge opening for discharging the plastics material fiber fraction and a second discharge opening for discharging the reduced organic fraction, and optionally a third discharge opening for discharging of contaminants that are too heavy to be transported by air, such as for example mineral contaminants, such as pulverized stones or sand particles.

[0043] A drying device can be used to decrease the tenacity and increase the brittleness of the organic fraction of the fiber mixture so that it can be size- reduced by the dry cleaner and separated from the plastics material fiber fraction.

[0044] A further embodiment of a device according to the invention is a device in which the drying device comprises an air separator, which preferably comprises a rotating airlock (rotary lock) to ensure there is no excessive air intake at the infeed section of the air separator, wherein the air separator also comprises an air intake opening and a discharge opening for discharging the light fraction, which discharge opening is connected to the dry cleaner. The air intake opening and discharge opening are positioned at respectively the bottom and top of the inclined housing of the airtrap, the infeed opening and rotating airlock (rotary lock) is situated above the inclined housing surface. The air flow that is created between the air intake and discharge opening is capable of transporting the light fraction, the heavy fraction is not transported and moves over the inclined surface and exits the air trap through the air intake section.

[0045] The use of an air separator allows a heavy fraction to be separated from the feed fraction. This allows contaminants, in particular heavy contaminants to be removed from the feed fraction at an early stage. The optional use of an airlock to introduce the feed fraction into the air separator, which air separator separates the heavy fraction, can prevent large amounts of air from entering via the infeed section of the air separator. This is in particular valuable when hot process air is used to dry the light fraction and such hot air is introduced into the air separator via an air intake.

[0046] In a preferred embodiment of a device according to the invention, the device comprises:

[0047] - a washing device connected to the first discharge opening of the dry cleaner, which washing device comprises a friction washer provided with a rotor that rotates inside a sieve basket and that is provided with paddles; the washing device might also be decoupled from the dry cleaner by means of a dosing and / or storage silo, conveyor belt, pneumatic transport (albeit in combination with a material separator for additional separation of contaminants) or other means of transport or storage.

[0048] - a post-drying device that is connected to the washing device and comprises a centrifuge and / or a thermal dryer.

[0049] - after thermal drying and discharge of humidified air an extra loop of pneumatic transport including a material separator for additional separation of contaminants can be utilized.

[0050] With a device where a washing device is provided downstream of the dry cleaner small particles and dust residues on the plastics material fiber fraction can be removed effectively. By using a friction washer, partial drying of the plastics material fiber fraction can be achieved directly in addition to mechanical cleaning. The degree of dryness required for subsequent process steps can then be achieved in the post-drying device by means of mechanical and / or thermal drying. In this case, a mechanical dryer in the form of a centrifuge is preferably used to effectively remove the largest amount of moisture and then the final degree of dryness is achieved by thermal drying, for example with warm or hot air.

[0051] - after thermal drying and discharge of humidified air an extra loop of pneumatic transport including a material separator for additional separation of contaminants can be utilized. These and other features of the invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the accompanying figures.

[0052] Fig. 1 shows a flow chart of a method according to the invention.

[0053] Fig. 2 shows a schematic representation of a device according to the invention.

[0054] Fig. 1 shows a flow chart 1 of an embodiment of a method according to the invention. In a first step 2, a feed fraction 3 is obtained with a fiber mixture as the light fraction and contaminants that may be present as the heavy fraction. The length of the fibers in the fiber mixture has preferably a particle size distribution having a d90 < 70 mm. The fiber mixture comprises a plastics material fiber fraction comprising fibers of thermoplastic materials and an organic fraction comprising organic fibers. In a second step 4, the fiber mixture is dried in an air separator under the action of warm or hot air to reduce the tenacity and flexibility of the organic fraction. The air separator thus separates the feed fraction into a heavy 5 and a light 6 fraction. The heavy fraction 5 is discharged from the air separator through a rotating airlock.

[0055] In a subsequent step 7, the light fraction 6 is subjected to mechanical forces and air flows in a dry cleaner. As a result, the organic fraction 8 is pulverized and / or broken down into smaller fibers. The reduced organic fraction 8 is separated from the plastics material fiber fraction 9 by the sieve basket of the dry cleaner.

[0056] In a subsequent step 10, the resulting plastics material fiber fraction 9 is intensively washed to remove very small particles 11 of contaminants such as sand and pulverized residues of the organic fraction.

[0057] For this purpose, the plastics material fiber fraction 9 is intensively mixed with a cleaning fluid such as for example water or other solvents, caustic soda, detergents, etc. The cleaning fluid may be cold or warm. The small particles of contaminant 11 are discharged with the cleaning fluid 11 . The intensively washed plastics material fiber fraction 12 is then subjected to friction cleaning 13 in a friction washer. The friction washer cleans the plastics material fiber fraction 12 and separates the fraction 14 from the cleaning fluid 15 by discharging the cleaned plastics material fiber fraction 14 through the sieve basket along the longitudinal direction of the rotor. Optionally, clean cleaning fluid 16 can be added during this step for a stronger cleaning effect.

[0058] In the subsequent drying step 17, the plastics material fiber fraction 14 is mechanically dried by means of a centrifuge. This reduces the moisture content of the plastics material fiber fraction from 50-60 mass percent to 5-15 mass percent. Then, the plastics material fiber fraction is thermally dried 18 under the action of heated air to a moisture content of less than or equal to 2 mass percent. In a subsequent step, the resulting cleaned plastics material fiber fraction 19 can be processed, for example into pellets.

[0059] Fig. 2 shows a schematic representation of a device 20 according to the invention. The device 20 has a drying device 21 for drying the fiber mixture 22. The drying device 21 consists of an air separator 23 that can separate the fiber mixture 22 into a heavy fraction 24 and a light fraction 25. The heavy fraction 24 is separated from the air separator 23 through a rotating airlock 26. The light fraction 25 is guided to a dry cleaner 26. The plastics material fiber fraction 28 is passed to the subsequent step from a first discharge opening 27, and the reduced organic fraction 30 is discharged with a second discharge opening 29. The first discharge opening 27 of the dry cleaner 26 is connected to a washing device 31 that comprises a friction washer 32. The washing device 31 can optionally also comprise a device for intensive mixing with a cleaning fluid, which device is arranged upstream of the friction washer 32. The cleaning fluid 33 is discharged with the washed-off contaminants. The cleaned plastics material fiber fraction 34 is guided to a post-drying device 35. The post-drying device 35 carries out the drying in a first step with a centrifuge 36 and then with a thermal dryer 37. The resulting cleaned plastics material fiber fraction 38 can be processed in further steps.

Claims

CLAIMS1 . A method for separating organic fibers, for example plant-based fibers, such as hay, straw and grass, and plastics material fibers or tapes, for example fibers or tapes of thermoplastic materials, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyamide, polyester and aramid, for recycling the plastics material fibers, which method comprises the steps of:- providing a feed fraction, which feed fraction comprises a fiber mixture, which fiber mixture comprises a plastics material fiber fraction comprising plastics material fibers and an organic fraction comprising organic fibers;- introducing the fiber mixture into a dry cleaner, which dry cleaner comprises a rotor that rotates fast inside a sieve basket and that is provided with paddles, wherein the organic fraction is pulverized and / or broken down into smaller fibers under the action of the paddles, which reduced organic fraction is separated from the plastics material fiber fraction by the sieve basket;- discharging the plastics material fiber fraction and the reduced organic fraction from the dry cleaner in separate streams.

2. The method according to claim 1 , also comprising the step of drying the fiber mixture before the fiber mixture is introduced into the dry cleaner to reduce the tenacity and flexibility of the organic fraction.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the step of drying the fiber mixture takes place under the action of hot air.

4. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the fiber mixture is a light fraction and wherein the feed fraction also comprises a heavy fraction, which heavy fraction comprises contaminants having a higher density than the light fraction, such as stones, metals or glass, and wherein the heavy fraction is separated from the light fraction in an air separator.

5. The method according to claims 2 and 4, wherein the step of drying the fiber mixture takes place at least partially and preferably completely by using hot air in the air separator.

6. The method according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the air separator is provided with an airlock, preferably a rotating airlock, to ensure there is no excessive air intake at the infeed section of the air separator.

7. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the particle size distribution of the fiber mixture is d90 < 70 mm.

8. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein, after the step of the dry cleaner, the plastics material fiber fraction is intensively washed to remove very small particles of contaminants such as sand and pulverized residues of the organic fraction, wherein the intensive washing takes place in the presence of liquid streams intensively mixed with the plastics material fiber fraction.

9. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein, after the step of the dry cleaner and / or, if according to claim 8, after the step of intensive washing, friction cleaning takes place in a friction washer, which friction washer comprises a rotor that rotates inside a semi-cylindrical sieve basket and is provided with paddles, wherein the paddles clean the plastics material fiber fraction in liquid and separate said liquid by discharging the liquid with removed contaminants, if any, through the sieve basket.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the sieve basket has a sieve bore size in the range of 2-3.5mm, preferably has a sieve bore size of 2.5 mm.11 . The method according any of claims 8-10, wherein the plastics material fiber fraction is mechanically dried in a centrifuge after washing.

12. The method according to any of claims 8-11 , wherein the plastics material fiber fraction is thermally dried under the action of hot air, preferably to a moisture content of less than or equal to 2 mass percent after washing and, if according to claim 11 , after mechanical drying.

13. A device for use with a method according to any of the preceding claims, which device comprises:- a drying device for drying the fiber mixture to reduce the tenacity and flexibility of the organic fraction, and- a dry cleaner connected to the drying device, which dry cleaner comprises a rotor that rotates fast inside a sieve basket and is provided with paddles, and which dry cleaner comprises a first discharge opening for discharging the plastics material fiber fraction and a second and optionally third discharge opening for discharging the reduced organic fraction.

14. The device according to claim 13, wherein the drying device comprises an air separator, which preferably comprises a rotating airlock to ensure there is no excessive air intake at the infeed section of the air separator,, wherein the air separator also comprises an air intake opening and discharge opening for discharging the light fraction, which discharge opening is connected to the dry cleaner.

15. The device according to claim 13 or 14, which device also comprises:- a washing device connected to the first discharge opening of the dry cleaner, which washing device comprises a friction washer provided with a rotor that rotates inside a sieve basket and is provided with paddles;- a post-drying device that is connected to the washing device and comprises a centrifuge and / or a thermal dryer.

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