MACHINERY | MELT FILTRATION
Right: Recycling of PE and PP are typical applications of Ettlinger’s ERF 1000 continuous melt filter
Finally, Fimic helped maintain a reliable delivery schedule, aligning with Epsilyte’s production needs. “The collaboration with Fimic serves as a founda-
tion of our improved capability to process a variety of recycled polystyrene,” said DJ Harris, plant engineer at Epsilyte. The company is now on the verge of acquiring its second Fimic machine. Separate to this, Fimic recently installed two of its RAS-type filters on PET recycling lines process- ing highly contaminated PET waste. In both cases, contamination of the input material is as high as 5%, which it says is higher than the contamination previously expected for food grade applications. It defines these waste streams as “not coming from hot-washed bottle flakes only”. In the first project, its RAS filter is used as the first in two filtration steps where the applied filtration is 150 or 120 microns using a laser screen and achieves an output performance of 2,000 kg/h. In the second project, the RAS filter is the only filtration step in the application, where the applied filtration is 80 microns on a laser screen and achieves an output performance of 700 kg/h. Effective filtration maintains the high throughput even when the intrinsic value (IV) levels on the infeed material are different and inconsistent, the company says.
Below: Epsilyte will use Fimic’s filtration
equipment to produce recycled EPS
Boosting efficiency PSI-Polymer Systems says that plastics converters can raise efficiency of their screen changers by using an enhancement such as its Super Plate. Super Plate adds efficiency and life to screen
packs by allowing better use of the surface area – which reduces screen replacement frequency and cost. The gain is achieved by lifting the screen pack away from the flat, solid surface of the breaker
plate. A conventional breaker plate’s open area is typically 50-55%, meaning that 45-50% of the screen rests on a solid surface. As a result, screen life diminishes as the small corresponding area over the breaker plate holes is blinded – and material must cross less clogged areas of the wire cloth to reach a through-hole. Using a Super Plate exposes up to 95% of the
screen to through-flow of the melt stream. This can yield a 30-55% gain in effective filtration area over a conventional design, it claims. The Super Plate is a precision-manufactured grid
of stainless-steel diamond-shaped blades, which are cross-welded to provide high strength and support.
Cost efficiency Germany-based Maag says that high-performance melt filters – such as the ERF series from its Ettlinger subsidiary – can help to make more high quality recyclate available to converters. The ERF 1000 – with its four rotating, perforated drums – can filter up to 10 tonnes of plastic melt per hour. Benefits include continuous operation in a stable process at consistent pressure and long operating times without filter changes. The very low melt loss – in the range of a just few percent – as well as the possibility of changing each drum individually and without interrupting production also contribute to high cost-efficiency. Lower-throughput versions, such as ERF 350
(around 3,000 kg/h) and ERF 500 (up to 6,000 kg/h) are also available. All three sizes are energy-efficient and suitable for filtering common thermoplastics, including soft PVC. The proportion of contaminants can be up to 16%. In principle, ERF melt filters can be used on any extrusion line – either single- or twin-screw. Their compactness makes them suitable
36 FILM & SHEET EXTRUSION | December 2023
www.filmandsheet.com
IMAGE: FIMIC
IMAGE: MAAG
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
