WASHING AND DRYING | TECHNOLOGY
sufficient material quality, making energy-intensive wet cleaning unnecessary,” said Vecoplan. “In more complex processes, it serves as a pre-cleaning stage, significantly reducing water consumption in downstream washing processes. It also plays an important role in chemical recycling by reducing residual moisture and thus enabling the production of extrudable flakes.”
Additive answers “It has become increasingly clear that washing and drying are taking a more central role in determin- ing the overall quality and usability of recycled plastics,” said Julien Couet, Global Marketing Director for Compounds & Specialty Amines at Evonik Interface & Polyurethane Additives business line. “The focus is no longer only on removing visible contamination, but more on achieving consistent, high quality recyclates that meet growing technical and regulatory requirements. Within the washing process, expectations have also changed. In addition to standard cleaning, there is now a stronger focus on the effective removal of inks, adhesives, and other residues that can negatively impact both appearance and mechani-
cal performance. We still see that not all inks and residues are fully removed during washing, or they can come back onto the material again. This is one reason why recyclate quality can vary, and additive solutions can support this step.” Evonik additives such as Tego Cycle WA 111 help with the detachment and removal of inks and residues during washing, while co-additives like Tegomer DA 850 improve the separation and help reduce redeposition. When combined with suitable defoaming solutions and good process conditions this can support more stable operations and more consistent results, while also helping to use energy and resources more efficiently. “Technologies that are introduced upstream, for
example through ink formulations, can make downstream processing easier,” said Couet. “By incorporating functional components such as cobinders directly into inks, deinking can be faster and more effective under standard washing conditions. This kind of approach helps enable efficient, high quality deinking, which is an impor- tant step for improving recyclate quality and meeting future regulatory expectations such as PPWR in Europe. When used with the right washing
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
