Separation of Different Resin Plates Bonded by Solvent Through a Wire Explosion Induced by Pulsed Discharge

Accelerating the resource recycling of plastics and creating a recycling-oriented society require the development of efficient recycling technology for resin adhesives used in many products. We report the application of a fine wire explosion induced by an electric pulse to the selective separation of different resin adherends. Methylene dichloride, a solvent, was applied to the interface of an acrylic plate and polycarbonate plate together with a silver wire. A pulsed discharge circuit applied electric pulses to the fine wire and thus exploded the wire. At a capacitance of 2.4μF and charging voltage of 5.5 kV, no separation of different resin materials occurred. Shadowgraph visualization revealed that when a charging voltage of 20 kV was applied, separation at the interface of the bonded resin materials occurred due to gas expansion, resulting from vaporization of the exploding fine wire. Electrothermal simulation showed that the temperature within the silver wire reached the boiling point of silver when electric pulses were applied at a charging voltage of 20 kV, suggesting that the silver wire melted and evaporated under the effect of an electrothermal force, causing the silver wire to expand. In terms of separating different resin adherends at their interface using an electric pulse, it is effective to place a fine wire on the adhesive surface, bond the resin materials, and, through applying an electric pulse, generate Joule heat in the wire, expand gas in the wire, and vaporize the wire.