Powder Recycling’s Angus Carnie develops method of transforming toner powder into flooring suitable for a number of commercial buildings.
Industry veteran Angus Carnie has announced his latest development which sees used toner powder being converted for use in commercial flooring which he claims is suitable for numerous commercial applications including factories, shops, office reception areas, sports stadia and supermarkets, after working on the process for three years.
Carnie says that the flooring can be manufactured in any colour and is extremely hard-wearing, adding that the process “will work every time” and “in every country” around the world.
“I have now been working on this complex process for three years and perfecting the process whereby it worked for every type of waste type. Toner powder is manufactured in numerous types and it was important that each type was tested. Fortunately I received samples from many different manufacturers which allowed me to test each type of powder individually.
“The other problem was I had to develop a solution that would work equally well for small producers of this waste type and extremely large producers. I am approached everyday by remanufacturers and recyclers that have under one tonne of waste powder but equally I have customers that produce 20 tonnes per day, and a process had to be found that catered for both volumes.”
As part of his research into the method, Carnie said that he has “seen lots of different systems tried in numerous countries” which were unsuccessful for a various reasons. “For example, adding to concrete and bricks was a common one, but in fact it makes the concrete brittle. Adding heat or water is impossible in any type of process and burning the material is not an option, as although it has an excellent calorific value, it is extremely volatile and has lead to major explosions at processing plants.”
Carnie added that it was also important to find a method that would ensure producers would be able to gain an income from selling the powder “as it is a by-product of the remanufacturing process and with this process the powder can easily be sold with a high and constant demand.”
Explaining the reasons behind looking for a solution to waste toner, Carnie said: “Environmental Authorities throughout the world are becoming stricter in how this material is disposed of. Plus corporate buyers of printer cartridges are asking for complete and detailed audit trails and a zero land fill policy. Therefore a workable solution had to be found and fortunately with this conversion process it has and hopefully this will mean an end to the dumping and land filling of this material.”
Carnie has previously found methods of turning waste toner into cartridge components (http://www.therecycler.com/posts/toner-powder-converted-into-cartridge-components/) and toner bottles (http://www.therecycler.com/posts/toner-bottle-made-from-toner-powder/), and in 2011 developed a method of transforming waste toner into glue (http://www.therecycler.com/posts/aftermarket-veteran-invents-glue-from-waste-products/).
More details on the process can be found on Carnie’s website, www.powderrecycling.co.uk.