10.2190/0RVQ-JXKV-GFJ0-DQ3J 0RVQJXKVGFJ0DQ3J 4 Beverage Container Design and Separation 169 190 20020509 20020509 20020509 20020509 0RVQJXKVGFJ0DQ3J.pdf http://baywood.metapress.com/link.asp?target=contribution&id=0RVQJXKVGFJ0DQ3J 2 E. Tam C. Zeiss University of Toronto, Ontario University of Alberta, Edmonton Beverage containers make up a significant portion (at about 25%) of the packing materials that constitute 33 percent of the municipal solid waste stream. Despite the containers' similar shapes and sizes, only about 30 percent of glass, expanded polystyrene (EPS) and tetrapak containers are recovered. With this research, the mechanical separation capability of container materials from municipal waste is investigated. Breakage theory is reviewed and applied to predict the weight fraction of separated particles by screen size. The results show that the empirical parameters of maximum particle size y, breakage ratio r, and slope factor q can be established to predict the particle size distribution within plus or minus 10 percent. Factorial screening tests reveal that container size, material, size-material, and size-shape interactions influence the achievable separation. The next research phase will modify the breakage theory to incorporate these additional factors and should investigate the influence of size, shape, and materials on separation behavior, particularly for flexible containers. G. Trezek, <i>Significance of Size Reduction in Solid Waste Management</i>, USEPA, Municipal Environmental Research Laboratory, EPA-600/2-77-131, Cincinnati, Ohio, 149 pp., July 1977. A. Vesilind, E. Pas, and B. Simpson, Evaluation of Π Breakage Theory for Refuse Components, <i>ASCE-Journal of Environmental Engineering, 112</i>:6, pp. 1109-1121, December 1986. F. Hasselriis, <i>Refuse Derived Fuel Processing</i>, Butterworths, Boston, Massachusetts, 1984. A. Vesilind and A. Rimer, <i>Unit Operations in Resource Recovery Engineering</i>, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1981. B. Bergstrom, Empirical Modification of the Guadin-Meloy Equation, <i>Trans AIME</i>, Vol. 235, Society of Mining Engineers, 1966. I. Kennedy and A. Neville, <i>Basic Statistical Methods for Engineers and Scientists</i>, Harper & Row, New York, 1986. E. Tam, <i>Beverage Design and Material Recovery</i>, M.Sc. thesis, Department of Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, 120 pp., October 1994.