process feature | Recycling and granulators
Erema’s €5m customer centre has seven recycling lines and includes cast film equipment for end product evaluation
Ecostar is owned by thermoformed packaging producer Placon.
Up the chain Austrian recycling systems developer Erema has developed a new ‘upcycling’ technology with German compounding specialist Coperion. Their Corema technology combines Erema’s
recycling know-how with Coperion’s compounding expertise. It comprises an Erema shredder/compactor unit, single-screw extruder and melt filter which feed molten recyclate directly into a Coperion twin-screw compounding extruder. Direct feeding of the molten recyclate into the
compounding extruder is claimed to reduce energy costs and minimise residence time and shear, while allowing the system operator access to the full range of filler, reinforcing, degassing and blending technologies provided by a twin-screw compounding installation. According to Erema, the Corema system allows
Conair’s FSG Series
granulator was designed to handle scrap from thin-
gauge film and sheet extrusion operations
recycled polymers to be used in formula- tions with up to 80% calcium carbonate filler and up to 50% glass or wood fibre reinforcement. It is not possible to incorporate such high non-polymer addition levels in the standard Erema single screw recycling system, according to the company. It said this opens up possibilities to manufacture customised high added-value compounds for high- performance applications. Erema has also opened
a new €5m customer centre at Ansfelden, near Linz in Austria. The 1,200 m2 facility houses seven recycling lines, which are available for customers to carry out trials and test runs using their own material feed- streams. It also includes injection moulding and cast film equipment for end product evaluation.
12 FILM & SHEET EXTRUSION | December 2012/January 2013
Thin gauge scrap The FSG Series granulator from Conair was designed to handle scrap generated in thin-gauge film and sheet extrusion operations. It has an in-feed section that can handle edge and bleed trim, off-spec rolls or hand-fed materials. Available in nine different sizes, for maximum throughputs from 100 to 1600lbs/hr (45-726kg/hr), the units can be standalone or be used as part of an integrated in-line film scrap recycling system. The cutting chamber features three or five knives on
an open rotor. These are slanted relative to the two standard bed knives, achieving a scissors-like cutting action, which is ideal for cool, clean, uniform grinding of even thin films. The knives are adjustable to maintain a constant cutting circle and an unchanging gap between the moving knives, fixed bed knives and the screen, so screen clogging is virtually eliminated and heat build-up is minimised.
The cutting-chamber is easy to clean and maintain.
The screen cradle and granulate catch bin are mounted on the large swing-away front-panel door (in front of the rotor, instead of underneath) so they swing out of the way as the door is opened. With the hopper tilted back by an electric jackscrew, maintenance personnel can easily reach all areas of the cutting chamber. This significantly cuts the time needed for cleanout and material changeover, and simplifies access to the blades for maintenance. The scrap-in-feed hopper comes with a manual feed port on the side and can be equipped with a roll-feed system or air-relief head that blows edge trim directly into the cutting chamber. The roll feeder is designed with knurled rolls that provide a strong pull on the film without wrapping. It is available in several sizes with 0.5hp (0.37kW) single- drive variable-speed motors that can feed between 13 and 65ft/min (4-20m/min). A fluff-conveying blower – to
convey regrind from the discharge bin to a hopper or surge bin – is built into the granulator. Blowers are available
www.filmandsheet.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52