| abstract |
A system and method for recycling resin particles. The system and method includes exposing resin particles to a solvent in a solvent wash tank. Within the tank, the solvent contacts the resin particles and substantially removes the contaminants. After the solvent wash, the resin particles are removed from the solvent and placed into a heated chamber of a dryer. The heated chamber facilitates the evaporation of residual solvent remaining on the resin particles, without the use of liquid or supercritical carbon dioxide, by facilitating the movement of the resin particles through the heated chamber while maintaining a heated environment within the heated chamber. In various embodiments, an alkyl lactate solvent is used in the wash tank and a vacuum may also be applied to the heated chamber, further facilitating the evaporation of the solvent off the resin particles. The system and method has been found to remove volatile polar, non-volatile polar, volatile non-polar, non-volatile non-polar substances, such as but not limited to: Benzophenone, 1-Phenyldecane, Toluene and Diethyl-Ketone, to levels that meet current FDA guidelines, including at or below 0.220 parts per million and 0.5 parts per billion after migration testing. |