POST-INDUSTRIAL RECYCLING | TECHNOLOGY


the waste film may be printed, laminated or metallised. “In the best case, the scrap is clean and dry,” says the company, but “often it might have become humid during outside storage, or be contaminated with paper labels or metals.” Independent recyclers of post-industrial waste,


which often recycle material for packaging produc- ers, also face these challenges. Film scrap may vary from delivery to delivery. The material might be wet from outside storage, or printed, or dirty from inappropriate materials handling. Additionally, the film scrap might be a mixture of unidentifiable polymers, or laminated with other materials such as paper or aluminium, says Starlinger. In order to provide technical solutions that lead to the best results, Starlinger says it offers a spectrum of innovative machinery solutions for the efficient recycling of all kinds of film materials. “Depending on machine design, eg air-flushing


of the feeding unit or extruder degassing, it is possible to process materials with humidity levels of up to 10%. Special solutions such as the C-VAC degassing module and special melt filters are available in case of organic contamination such as paper or wood. If desired, additives for upgrading the regranulate can easily be added.” Film producers continue to face a variety of economic factors like rising plastics prices, pres- sure to reduce costs, and stronger competition, which has led to them becoming more aware of the costs of production scrap. Starlinger says: “In-house film waste requires simple and cost-effec- tive setup of the recycling equipment for fast ROI. The choice of the right equipment is fundamental in order to increase the regranulate content in the primary product up to 100%. The result: higher competitiveness, resource conservation and a high-quality end product.” But film recycling is no longer just about film companies saving costs or raw materials. “It is a significant contribution to more sustainability in the plastics industry and an important step towards a circular economy in the packaging sector,” it says. The new Greenplast exhibition, which took place


in Milan, Italy on 3-6 May, provided an opportunity for technology companies to show their recycling innovations for plastics processors. Reifenhäuser Blown Film featured its EVO Ultra Fusion extrusion process, designed to make blown film producers less dependent on the input quality and which can also dispense with the need for regranulation of the recycling material. The company says the technology can reprocess film shreds (fluff) as well as all types of production waste and PCR material in a direct extrusion process.


www.plasticsrecyclingworld.com


Even the lowest quality recyclates can be


reprocessed by Ultra Fusion into functional films, due to its twin-screw technology enabling better melt homogenisation in a stable process. For processing better quality regranulates, Reifenhäu- ser recommends the EVO extruder in the 33L/D variant. “Thanks to optimised barrier as well as shear and mixing parts, this extruder processes recycled material as reliably and naturally as other raw materials – the ideal prerequisite for success in the growing market for products with a high recycled content,” says the company. At Greenplast, Reifenhäuser also highlighted a


fully recyclable mono-PE pouch equipped with R-Cycle technology. This traceability system crosses plastics processes and has been developed by European companies including Reifenhäuser (extrusion), Arburg (injection moulding) and Kautex Maschinenbau (blow moulding). R-Cycle automatically stores recycling-relevant


information during production and makes it available as a standardised data record for the waste sorting process. Reifenhäuser says: “This enables data-based and thus more precise sorting for high-quality recycling. Production machines along the entire value chain can thus record relevant data, such as the type of plastic, printing ink, adhesive, additives and also the use of the packaging (food/non-food), and make this informa- tion available on the end product via appropriate marking (eg digital watermarks).” Bausano showed its E-GO R extruders at


Greenplast, which are designed for use in both post-consumer and post-industrial recycling. The company says the technology is suited to recycling


Left: Reifenhäuser says its EVO Ultra Fusion extrusion technology makes blown film producers less dependent on the material input quality


May/June 2022 | PLASTICS RECYCLING WORLD 45


IMAGE: REIFENHAUSER


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