TECHNOLOGY | PET RECYCLING
might become a problem when quantities to grind increase, says CMG, which specialises in size reduction technologies. It has recently developed a new high capacity preform recycling line, which it says safeguards all mechanical properties and physical characteristics of the polymer, “so that the regrind be reintroduced in the production process flawlessly, with no implications or negative quality impact”. CMG’s solutions include granulators, shredders,
Above: CMG has developed a high-capacity PET preform granulation line
example, a company in South America has been using our Rotary Filtration Systems for several years now to produce PET thermoformed trays with a 70% recycled content,” it says. Even with high degrees of contamination, the screens of the RSFgenius system can be reused up to 400 times, depending on the filter fineness, it says (see feature on Melt Filtration, page 13 in this issue). Another manufacturer in South America has
taken an MRS 130 (1,000 kg/h capacity) Multi-Rota- tion System (MRS) extruder together with a com- plete Gneuss Processing Unit, which includes an RSFgenius 150 melt filter as well as an Online Viscometer. The viscometer is also available separately and is ideal, says Gneuss, as a retrofit solution. It constantly provides the representative shear rate and dynamic viscosity. Depending on the values determined, the vacuum in the degassing zone of the MRS extruder is readjusted to keep the melt viscosity within the specified tolerances. Bottle preforms are made of PET solidified in an amorphous state. While such a condition is advantageous for the process of grinding them, it
integral conveyor belts, regrind evacuation and conveying systems, dedusting, dust management and air filtration. Systems range in capacity from 400 to 1,200 kg/h. Indorama Ventures has a ticker on its web site, counting how many PET bottles it has recycled across its global operations since 2011. As of April 13, the figure was 61.35bn. In March 2020, when the figure reached 50bn, Yashovardhan Lohia, the company’s Chief Recycling Officer, said the aim was to recycle 50bn bottles every year within five years. Last year the company acquired operations in France and Poland, and is set to have European capacity of 10bn bottles per year by 2023. It is also building capacity in the Philippines in collaboration with Coca-Cola; projected capacity is 30,000 tonnes per year, with output of 16,000 tonnes per year in the first phase. According to the company’s 2020 Sustainability Report, last year it recycled 222,288 tonnes of PCR PET. In January, plastic packaging and recycling
specialist Alpla Group said it was investing more than €5m in an extrusion system for food-grade rPET made from used bottles at its site in Anagni, Italy, where it has one of its most important preform production plants. The plant processes around 50,000 tonnes of PET a year, of which only a very small proportion has been recycled material. The
Authorisations are a drag on progress in EU
In Europe, several industry bodies have written to the EU Directorate General for Health and Food Safety urging faster progress in authorisa- tions for rPET in food contact. The heads of Petcore Europe, Plastics Recyclers Europe, Natural Mineral Waters Europe, and Unesda (Soft Drinks Europe), say that while many of their members want to go beyond existing EU targets on use of recycled content in beverage containers, regulatory inaction is impeding them.
32 They say EFSA, the European Food
Safety Authority, has been requested to provide Scientific Opinions on the safety evaluation of the mechanical recycling process to produce recycled PET intended to be used for manufac- ture of materials and articles in contact with food – but authorisations have been pending for years. EFSA opinions have now become the established standard for most EU Member State’s authorities. “It is now up to the European
PLASTICS RECYCLING WORLD | March/April 2021
Commission to publish the authorisa- tion of the positively evaluated processes,” they say. The absence of authorisation is putting the PET industry at risk of not being able to reach its regulated targets for 2025 (25% recycled content in all beverage containers). “Closure of installations is also a threat,” they say. “There are currently three processes awaiting EFSA opinions in France alone and many more throughout the rest of Europe.”
www.plasticsrecyclingworld.com
IMAGE: CMG
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
