{"id":14230,"date":"2026-05-29T00:33:41","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T07:33:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.recyclemachine.net\/"},"modified":"2026-05-29T00:33:42","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T07:33:42","slug":"como-dimensionar-un-tanque-de-separacion-de-gravedad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.recyclemachine.net\/es\/como-dimensionar-un-tanque-de-separacion-de-gravedad\/","title":{"rendered":"C\u00f3mo dimensionar un tanque de separaci\u00f3n de flotaci\u00f3n para su l\u00ednea de reciclaje"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Most sink-float separation tanks are bought on a single number \u2014 a target throughput in kg\/h \u2014 and that is exactly why so many of them underperform once real post-consumer material starts flowing. A tank that looks correctly sized on paper can still hand you contaminated flake, runaway water bills, or a sludge problem nobody planned for. Sizing a sink-float tank well means matching it to your <em>feedstock behavior<\/em>, your <em>purity target<\/em>, and the <em>machines on either side of it<\/em> \u2014 not just to a capacity figure. This guide walks through how to do that before you issue an RFQ.<\/p>\n<h2>What a sink-float tank actually does (and what it can\u2019t)<\/h2>\n<p>A sink-float separation tank \u2014 also called a float-sink tank, float washing tank, or floating washer \u2014 separates plastics purely by density relative to water (1.0 g\/cm\u00b3). Lighter-than-water polymers float and are skimmed off the surface; denser polymers and heavy contaminants sink and are dragged out at the bottom. There are no screens or sensors deciding the split \u2014 gravity and buoyancy do the work, which is why the tank is so reliable and cheap to run, and also why it has a hard limit.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Material<\/th>\n<th>Densidad (g\/cm\u00b3)<\/th>\n<th>Behavior in water<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>P\u00c1GINAS<\/td>\n<td>0,90\u20130,92<\/td>\n<td>Floats<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>PE (HDPE \/ LDPE)<\/td>\n<td>0.91\u20130.96<\/td>\n<td>Floats<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>PD<\/td>\n<td>1.04\u20131.07<\/td>\n<td>Sinks<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>abdominales<\/td>\n<td>1.04\u20131.07<\/td>\n<td>Sinks<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>MASCOTA<\/td>\n<td>1.38\u20131.40<\/td>\n<td>Sinks<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>PVC (rigid)<\/td>\n<td>1.35\u20131.45<\/td>\n<td>Sinks<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The takeaway for sizing: a water tank cleanly splits floaters (PP\/PE) from sinkers (PET\/PVC\/PS\/ABS), but it <strong>cannot<\/strong> separate two materials that both sink. PET and PVC have overlapping densities, so both go to the bottom together. If your spec calls for sub-50-ppm PVC in rPET, you will need an electrostatic or NIR polishing step <em>after<\/em> the tank \u2014 size for that now, not later.<\/p>\n<h2>Step 1: Profile your feedstock before anything else<\/h2>\n<p>The single most useful thing you can do before sizing is characterize what is actually entering the tank. Three variables matter most:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Polymer mix.<\/strong> A clean PP\/PE float stream behaves completely differently from a mixed rigid post-consumer stream. The wider the density spread you need to capture, the more separation passes you want.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Bulk density and form.<\/strong> Light film and fluff sit on the surface and need strong, well-placed paddles to submerge and convey; heavy rigid flake sinks fast and loads the bottom screw harder.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Contamination load.<\/strong> Paper labels, glue, sand, fines, and organic residue all end up in the water and the sludge. Heavy contamination is the main reason a tank that is \u201cbig enough\u201d on throughput still fails on purity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you can, run a float-sink test on a representative sample in a bucket of water. It tells you your real float:sink ratio, which directly drives skimmer and bottom-discharge sizing.<\/p>\n<h2>Step 2: Fix your real throughput band \u2014 not your peak<\/h2>\n<p>Throughput should be expressed as a band tied to a specific material, not a single headline number. A tank rated \u201c2000 kg\/h\u201d on clean PP regrind will not hold that rate on wet, contaminated post-consumer PET, because residence time \u2014 how long each flake stays in the water \u2014 is what determines separation quality. Push material through too fast and floaters get dragged down before they surface.<\/p>\n<p>As a planning reference, typical single-tank bands fall roughly into:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>300\u20131,500 kg\/h<\/strong> \u2014 most film and bottle wash lines, clean to moderately contaminated feed.<\/li>\n<li><strong>1,500\u20133,000 kg\/h<\/strong> \u2014 higher-capacity lines and heavily contaminated post-consumer streams (usually a triple-row tank, see below).<\/li>\n<li><strong>3,500\u20135,000 kg\/h<\/strong> \u2014 industrial bottle-to-bottle plants, typically with multiple or extended-length tanks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Actual capacity always depends on feed geometry, bulk density, contamination, and how tight your purity target is \u2014 so treat these as starting points for an engineering conversation, not guarantees.<\/p>\n<h2>Step 3: Single-row vs triple-row \u2014 the decision that drives footprint<\/h2>\n<p>This is usually the real sizing decision. A single-row tank gives each flake one pass through the water. A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.recyclemachine.net\/es\/tecnologia-avanzada-de-tanque-de-triple-fila-con-separacion-por-flotacion-y-hundimiento\/\">triple-row sink-float tank<\/a> makes material travel three times the distance and soak three times as long in one chassis, which is what lets it hit higher purity on dirty feed without lining up three separate tanks in series.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Criterios<\/th>\n<th>Single-row tank<\/th>\n<th>Triple-row tank<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Throughput band<\/td>\n<td>300\u20131,500 kg\/h<\/td>\n<td>1,000\u20133,000 kg\/h (one unit replaces ~3 single-row tanks in series)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Separation passes<\/td>\n<td>1 pass<\/td>\n<td>3 passes \u2014 3\u00d7 longer travel and soak time<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Typical purity<\/td>\n<td>98\u201399% in one stage<\/td>\n<td>99.5%+ even on heavy post-consumer contamination<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Best feedstock<\/td>\n<td>Clean post-industrial regrind; pre-sorted PET\/HDPE bottle flake<\/td>\n<td>Heavily contaminated post-consumer PET, mixed rigids, WEEE, automotive ASR<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Potencia instalada<\/td>\n<td>~5.5\u201315 kW<\/td>\n<td>~15\u201322 kW<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Rule of thumb: if your line target is above 1,500 kg\/h, or your feedstock comes from curbside or DRS bales, the triple-row configuration usually pays back its premium within the first year through purity uplift and far fewer extruder screen-filter changes downstream.<\/p>\n<h2>Step 4: Size the water loop and sludge handling, not just the tank<\/h2>\n<p>The tank is the cheap part. The water and sludge system around it is where operating cost is won or lost, and it is routinely under-specified.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Water consumption.<\/strong> Without a treatment loop, a tank typically draws 20\u201330 m\u00b3 of fresh water per ton of throughput. Adding a DAF (dissolved air flotation) and sedimentation loop typically cuts that to 3\u20135 m\u00b3 per ton \u2014 up to ~85% reuse. Over a year that difference dwarfs the price gap between tank models.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Sludge.<\/strong> Paper fiber, label glue, fines, and grit have to go somewhere. A dedicated screw press de-waters the sludge into a 60\u201370% solid cake that is cheap to haul away, instead of leaving you with a liquid-waste headache.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Specify the water loop and sludge press <em>in the same RFQ<\/em> as the tank. Bolting them on afterward almost always costs more and fits worse.<\/p>\n<h2>Step 5: Place the tank correctly in the wash line<\/h2>\n<p>A sink-float tank is a separation stage, not a standalone machine. It needs the right feed condition coming in and the right handoff going out:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Upstream:<\/strong> material should already be size-reduced and pre-washed. A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.recyclemachine.net\/es\/lavadora-de-tornillo-de-friccion\/\">arandela de fricci\u00f3n<\/a> o <a href=\"https:\/\/www.recyclemachine.net\/es\/sistema-de-lavado-en-caliente-continuo-para-escamas-de-pet-y-hdpe\/\">hot wash system<\/a> ahead of the tank removes the bulk of glue and surface dirt so the float-sink split is clean.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Downstream:<\/strong> separated flake still carries water. Plan for dewatering and drying before pelletizing, and \u2014 if you are chasing food-grade rPET \u2014 the electrostatic or optical PVC-removal step mentioned earlier.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you are scoping a full line rather than a single machine, start from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.recyclemachine.net\/es\/sistemas-de-lavado-de-reciclaje\/\">washing system<\/a> level and let the tank size fall out of the line target.<\/p>\n<h2>Quick-reference sizing checklist<\/h2>\n<p>Before you send an RFQ, have answers to these:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>What polymers are in the feed, and what is the approximate float:sink ratio?<\/li>\n<li>What is the realistic throughput band for <em>that<\/em> material \u2014 not your best-case peak?<\/li>\n<li>What purity does your buyer or extruder actually require?<\/li>\n<li>Is the feed clean post-industrial, or contaminated post-consumer? (This usually decides single- vs triple-row.)<\/li>\n<li>Are water reuse (DAF) and a sludge press included in the scope?<\/li>\n<li>What machine feeds the tank, and what machine receives the separated streams?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2>Five sizing mistakes that cost you later<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Sizing on peak kg\/h.<\/strong> Tiempo de residencia, no capacidad de placa, determina la pureza. Tama\u00f1o para una tasa sostenida en tu alimentaci\u00f3n m\u00e1s realista de suciedad.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Esperar que el agua sola elimine PVC de PET.<\/strong> No puede \u2014 ambos flotan. Planifique la etapa de pulido por adelantado.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ignorar el ciclo de agua.<\/strong> Un tanque sin DAF puede costar m\u00e1s en agua fresca y tarifas de descarga que el tanque en s\u00ed.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Olvidar el lodo.<\/strong> Sin desague, significa un costo recurrente de residuos l\u00edquidos y tiempo de inactividad.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Comprar el tanque en aislamiento.<\/strong> El mal lavado upstream o el secador downstream hace que un tanque perfectamente dimensionado parezca que ha fallado.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Preguntas frecuentes<\/h2>\n<h3>\u00bfPuede un tanque de hundimiento-flotaci\u00f3n separar completamente PET de PVC?<\/h3>\n<p>No. PET (1.38\u20131.40 g\/cm\u00b3) y PVC (1.35\u20131.45 g\/cm\u00b3) ambos flotan con densidades superpuestas, por lo que un tanque de agua los env\u00eda al fondo juntos. Para menos de 50 ppm de PVC en rPET, agregue un separador electrost\u00e1tico o un clasificador \u00f3ptico NIR como etapa de pulido despu\u00e9s del tanque.<\/p>\n<h3>\u00bfCu\u00e1nta agua consume un tanque de hundimiento-flotaci\u00f3n?<\/h3>\n<p>t\u00edpicamente 20\u201330 m\u00b3 de agua fresca por tonelada sin filtraci\u00f3n. Con un DAF y un ciclo de sedimentaci\u00f3n, esto generalmente baja a 3\u20135 m\u00b3 por tonelada (hasta ~85% reciclado), lo que es donde se generan la mayor\u00eda de los ahorros en costos operativos.<\/p>\n<h3>\u00bfCu\u00e1ndo un tanque de triple hilera vale el costo adicional?<\/h3>\n<p>Generalmente cuando su l\u00ednea opera por encima de ~1,500 kg\/h o su alimentaci\u00f3n es material contaminado post-consumidor (baldes de acera, bales DRS, materiales r\u00edgidos mezclados). Las dos pasadas adicionales aumentan la pureza y reducen los cambios en el filtro downstream, generalmente pagando de vuelta en el primer a\u00f1o.<\/p>\n<h3>\u00bfD\u00f3nde se sit\u00faa el tanque en la l\u00ednea?<\/h3>\n<p>Despu\u00e9s de la reducci\u00f3n de tama\u00f1o y lavado previo\/fricci\u00f3n o lavado caliente, y antes del desague, secado y granulaci\u00f3n. Una alimentaci\u00f3n limpia significa una divisi\u00f3n de flotaci\u00f3n-hundimiento limpia.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bfNecesita ayuda para ajustar un tanque a su alimentaci\u00f3n y objetivo de l\u00ednea espec\u00edficos? Compartir su mezcla de pol\u00edmero, nivel de contaminaci\u00f3n y objetivo de rendimiento, y nuestros ingenieros pueden recomendar una <a href=\"https:\/\/www.recyclemachine.net\/es\/tanque-de-separacion-de-flotador-de-hundimiento\/\">tanque de separaci\u00f3n hundimiento-flotaci\u00f3n<\/a> configuraci\u00f3n \u2014 de una o triple hilera, con el ciclo de agua y el manejo de lodo adecuados \u2014 dimensionada en torno a su proceso real en lugar de un n\u00famero en grandes letras.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Una gu\u00eda de dimensionamiento pr\u00e1ctica para tanques de separaci\u00f3n hundimiento-flotaci\u00f3n: ajuste el rendimiento, la densidad de la materia prima, la configuraci\u00f3n de una o triple hilera, y el manejo del agua y el lodo antes de emitir una RFQ.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14234,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1997],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buying-guides"],"tsf_seo":{"title":"","description":"","robots":"index, follow","canonical":"","og_title":"","og_description":"","og_image":"","no_blogname":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.recyclemachine.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.recyclemachine.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.recyclemachine.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.recyclemachine.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.recyclemachine.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14230"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.recyclemachine.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14230\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14233,"href":"https:\/\/www.recyclemachine.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14230\/revisions\/14233"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.recyclemachine.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.recyclemachine.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.recyclemachine.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.recyclemachine.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}