TECHNOLOGY | FLEXIBLE PACKAGING
PCR grades available on the European market today, extrusion lines often cannot run continu- ously. Continuous filtration can help to run extru- sion lines for longer production periods. Filtration removes a significant proportion of the impurities present in the melt, but not all the gels.” Nevertheless, the project has demonstrated quality and process consistency, said Gneuss in a press release. All tests carried out demonstrated the ability to consistently produce film on Colines lines that incorporated 30% PCR content for automatic use with a consistency of 180-200% without the need to stop the line, except for routine operations unrelated to recyclate use. The Gneuss RSFgenius automatic filtration system used in the process renewed the screen surface with no measurable pressure fluctuations and can be adapted to the material in question, with screen finenesses typically ranging from 30-75μm, even during full operation.
Below: Erema has sold its Intarema TVEplus DuaFil_Com- pact recycling system to customers including film recycling companies
Individual needs Gneuss said “Colines has demonstrated exception- al flexibility”, by meeting the individual needs of its customers, integrating the Gneuss screen changers and developing fully customisable line set-ups for the production of any type of film. The collabora- tion between Colines, Gneuss and ExxonMobil Signature Polymers has already led to the creation of several large-scale production lines enabling PCR incorporation in new film products. In the early months of 2025, the project partners have invited more film companies to Colines’ facility in Novara, Italy, to go through production line requirements in individual demonstrations. A Colines line with a fully integrated RSFgenius 150 will be available to achieve film thicknesses of up to 10μm consistently without quality fluctuations. ExxonMobil expertise in material and additive
selection will also be available for these trials. Machinery suppliers continue to report success for their technology used in film and flexible packaging recycling. Erema’s new Intarema 2325 T-VEplus is a large-capacity recycling system that can be used for PE and PP film in one of two options (the other is for regrind applications). Its output capacity is 3,200-3,700 kg/h for LDPE and LLDPE film, 2,600-3,100 kg/h for HDPE film and 3,600-4,000 kg/h for PP film. The Intarema 2325 T-VEplus is based on Erema’s
patented extruder system and integrates advanced features for the processing of materials that are otherwise difficult to process, either regrind or film. In the system, a 2.3 m Preconditioning Unit cuts, homogenises, heats, dries and pre-compacts the material. Next, the tangentially connected extruder is filled continuously with warm, pre-compacted material. Erema says its Counter Current Technology ensures optimal material intake, process stability, and high throughput across a wide temperature range. In the 250 mm extruder screw, the material is plasticised and degassed in reverse. At the end of the plasticising zone, the melt is cleaned in the 2/406 Quattro Laser Filter with a 7,800 cm² filtration area which efficiently removes impurities. The final homogenisation of the melt takes place after the melt filter. In the subsequent degassing zone, the filtered and homogenised material is degassed. The triple degassing leads to high melt quality, even with printed or moist materials, says Erema. Erema also highlighted the success of its Intarema TVEplus DuaFil Compact system, saying that since K2022, it has sold around 20 lines. One customer is Recupac, a business unit for waste management at Coipsa, a group of packaging companies in Chile that are fully integrated in all phases of the circular economy. It opted for an Intarema 1512 TVEplus DuaFil Compact to produce high-quality recycled pellets suitable for making film.
Feeding challenge At Compounding World Expo, run by AMI (pub- lisher of Plastics Recycling World) in Brussels, Belgium in September 2024, Japan Steel Works Europe showed the suitability of its technology for mechanical and chemical recycling of a broad range of plastic waste, including film. JSW Europe’s approach has a number of elements including its TEX twin-screw extruders and a special stuffing device, the Compactor, to address challenges of feeding various low bulk density fluffs, such as shredded film, into extruders. The company has also recently installed a new continuous melt filtration system at its sales and
16 PLASTICS RECYCLING WORLD | January/February 2025
www.plasticsrecyclingworld.com
IMAGE: EREMA
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