TECHNOLOGY | PET RECYCLING
Right: Gneuss has launched its OMNImax recycling
system which features its MRS extruder technology
degassing process before the material is automati- cally fed into the MRS extruder. The MRS extruder features a modified, longer version of the Multi Rotation Section, which extends the material residence time and provides more surface exchange under vacuum. The longer Multi Rotation Section, combined with a powerful vacuum system that operates at 1 mbar is used to increase the viscosity of the rPET and keep it stable despite variations in the input material. This longer section and vacuum system also eliminate the need for liquid phase polymerisation or solid-state polymerisation, Gneuss said. By stabilising and/or increasing the intrinsic viscosity (IV) in the extrusion process, the MRS is particularly suitable for recycling PET fibre regrind. Direct recycling with a single extrusion step was previously impossible with PET fibre regrind due to its low IV or variable input viscosities, Gneuss said. The relatively short residence time of the material in the system eliminates thermal damage, resulting in recycled material with chemical properties virtually identical to those of virgin material, said the company.
Fibre technology In combination with the company’s rotary filtration technology, high melt purity is assured with the OMNImax recycling system, said Gneuss. Melt viscosity can be measured with an on-line VIS viscometer.
Gneuss said the compact design of the system
Below: ISEC Evo FibrePro:IV recycling system from Erema subsidi- ary Pure Loop
also results in very low energy consumption. Any energy used in the extrusion process is designed to benefit the next process step, which significantly reduces the CO2 footprint of the recycling process and has a noticeable effect on electricity and gas consumption. Cleaning of the system is conducted in a single, simple extrusion step that removes harmful contaminants. The compact system can be integrated into existing production lines or directly adapted to a fibre production line without the need
for an intermediate pelletising step. In 2022, Erema announced the establishment of a business unit dedicated to recycling fibres and textiles. The company opened its own fibre test centre, drawing from its breadth of plastics recycling technologies to process fibre waste from filament fibre production into high-quality pellets. The pellets were then processed into a spun 3 dtex fibre using its filament technology, with the fibre then processed into knitted fabric for use in clothing or technical textiles. Wolfgang Hermann, Business Development
Manager Application Fibres & Textiles, said the company has launched a new recycling machine specially developed for PET fibre-to-fibre recycling. The new Intarema FibrePro:IV produces rPET materials that can be reused in proportions of up to 100% to produce ultra-fine fibres of up to 2 dtex. The new unit can process shredded PET fibre
materials that are heavily contaminated by spinning oils using a gentle material preparation approach that efficiently removes the spinning oil in such a way that high-quality fibres can be produced from the recycled pellets. The Intrarema FibrePro:IV unit is characterised by a longer residence time of the PET melt, which is an essential factor for achieving high quality recycled pellets, as it allows the spinning oils and other additives to be removed more efficiently than in conventional PET recycling processes, Hermann said. The new unit also combines Erema’s Intarema technology with a new IV optimiser. Following extrusion, polycondensa- tion of the PET melt is increased to the precise level needed for fibre production under high vacuum in the new IV optimiser. While the focus of the fibre and textile applica- tions is currently still on PET fibre recycling, Erema said it is also committed to driving forward the recycling of mixed fibre materials from classic textile recycling collection in a next project phase. To accelerate development work, Erema Group has established a cross-company team at its fibre test
14 PLASTICS RECYCLING WORLD | March/April 2024
www.plasticsrecyclingworld.com
IMAGE: EREMA
IMAGE: GNEUSS
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