For the aquaculture ropes and fishing nets to be granulated, they first must be melted. Each rope and net sample is separated by colour within multiple trays and placed within the ‘Contherm thermotech 2000’ to be fused into homogeneous slabs of plastic.

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Temperatures ranging between 190 to 210 degrees celsius were chosen after extensive melting experiments were conducted. These temperatures were used for all ropes and nets within 90 minute periods to form each slab.

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The high temperatures used within the melting stage, burnt impurities that may have still been in the material; however, the Lead and Crop aquaculture ropes still had sea debris weaved within the fibres which had to be separated after they were granulating.

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The vast majority of ropes and nets melted successfully, as they each formed large slabs of plastic that were ready to be granulated.