INNOVATION | WASHING


Above: Lindner has been


involved with AST to establish a new centre of competence with a com- plete plastics recycling line to process


post-industrial and post-con- sumer HDPE


ment of the final product can be achieved. In PET recycling, the hot washing system was


traditionally used to remove adhesives with which labels were glued on bottles. The hot washing system is now also becoming a required process step in the recycling of polyolefins and other plastics – any materials where complicated residual material, heavy contamination and persistent odours are to be treated, or just simply where the highest quality level is demanded. With the hot washing system, a considerable reduction of organic contamination is achieved. Herbold Meckesheim adds that it has delivered a number of plants for hot washing of PET, polyolefins and other plastics in recent years and has developed signifi- cant expertise in this area. The new plant will now be available to offer this knowledge for other projects.


Lindner Washtech has supplied a shredding and washing line for a major agricultural coopera- tive in Argentina. The Argentinian economy depends heavily on agriculture – through the rearing of cattle to growing soya, grain and other crops. The industry covers an area of 157m hectares. It also generates around 70,000 tonnes of plastic waste every year, mainly heavily soiled agricultural films, bags and containers. The Asociación de Cooperativas Argentinas


(ACA) in Cañada de Gómez, 70 km west of Rosario, Argentina’s third largest city, has taken on the task of recovering this LDPE agricultural film contami- nated with soil and organic components. ACA is an agricultural cooperative and also one of the largest farms in the country. The LDPE film waste originates in the company’s own facilities and equates to 10% of the plastic waste produced by the agricultural sector in Argentina per year. In a four-stage process, the contaminated, 180-250 µm thick films are recycled using Lindner shredding and washing equipment. The contamination of the material


18 PLASTICS RECYCLING WORLD | July/August 2021


makes primary shredding a major challenge in the recovery process. For this reason, a Lindner Micromat 2000 shreds the plastics to the optimum particle size of around 60 mm as required for the rest of the process. The shredder ensures continu- ous throughput with knives that have a long service life. Then, in the pre-washing stage, the flakes are freed from coarse foreign matter and cleaned as well as dried with friction washers. The clean flakes are extruded into pellets, which are yet again used for the production of agricultural film. Lindner has also been involved with AST, the manufacturer of plastic containers, drums and bottles, to establish a new centre of competence with a complete plastics recycling line to process post-industrial and post-consumer HDPE. AST has set a long-term target to increase the amount of recyclates used in its products. AST produces high-quality packaging with


approval for dangerous goods at a facility in Erndtebrück, Germany. Currently, the company is a European market leader when it comes to plastic containers for chemical products or food, and it says it is working hard to increase the sustainability of its products by using recyclables. The new centre of competence is designed to meet legal requirements in terms of product safety, as well as the principles of the circular economy and EU strategies for avoiding plastic waste. The aim of the new project is to gather experience, pave the way for future strategies and introduce the use of recyclates in the series production of technically demanding HDPE containers and drums. Ultimately, the company wants to produce a sustainable flow of raw materials. The new centre of competence is a pilot project that aims to harness the experience and expertise at the AST locations in southern Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and the UK. AST has chosen Lindner as its technology and development partner. The washing and sorting components come from Lindner Washtech, which is also responsible, together with AST, for the facility’s entire engineering. The shredders of the parent company Lindner Recyclingtech complete the system solution.


CLICK ON THE LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION: � www.evonik.com � www.sorema.it � www.pphuanna.pl � www.krones.com � www.herbold.com � www.lindner-washtech.com � www.ast-kanister.de


www.plasticsrecyclingworld.com


IMAGE: AST


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