TECHNOLOGY | MONITORING AND TESTING
Above:
QualityOn: Polyscan from Erema measures the polymer
composition directly at the recycling machine
products, and increasingly in challenging consum- er goods. This requires high-quality recycled pellets and a stable recycling process. The Quali- tyOn package developed by Erema enables continuous quality monitoring during the ongoing recycling process. MVR (melt volume flow-rate), IV (intrinsic viscosity), colour values and now also the polymer composition of the input material can be measured directly at the machine. The QualityOn: Polyscan
is installed at the Precondition- ing Unit (PCU) of the Erema
recycling extruder, where it measures the polymer and filler composition of the input material in real time. “As soon as the measured values leave the defined tolerance range, the machine operators automatically receive a message and can thus take counter-measures at an early stage or remove reject material immediately from the ongoing process,” says Clemens Kitzberger, Business Development Manager in the Erema Group for the Post Consumer Division. The measurement is based on RAMAN spectros-
Right: Erema’s BluPort online platform provides service and data process- ing apps that support
customers in quality control and process optimisation
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copy. The interaction of the laser light with the material determines its composition in the PCU. With the exception of very dark and black input material, this method is suitable for all thermoplas- tics and fillers. The measured values are displayed at the Erema machine and a message is generated if there are deviations from the tolerance range. By measuring fluctuations in relative quality, Quali- tyOn: Polyscan supports the optimisation of the recycling process. Depending on requirements, it is available in a package that includes QualityOn technologies for MVR, IV and colour value measure- ment as well as a stand-alone system for existing and new recycling machines. In combination with the re360 Manufacturing Execution System, which records production and machine data for the entire machine park, recycling plant operators can benefit even more from QualityOn data over the long term in the form of detailed analyses. Erema has also
introduced smart tech- nologies for boosting machine performance through new digital
PLASTICS RECYCLING WORLD | November/December 2019
assistance systems and the BluPort customer platform. With the plastics industry currently facing two major challenges – the circular economy and digitalisation – Erema believes that digitalisation in plastics recycling is important to implementing a circular economy. According to the company, while demands on
recycled pellets are increasing, at the same time more contaminated input streams and new material compositions have to be integrated into the recycling process. “Digitalisation opens up new opportunities for planning, controlling and organis- ing these processes,” says Manfred Hackl. “Its potential must be harnessed to provide the required quantities of high quality, stable recycled pellets.” BluPort is Erema’s new customer platform for digital assistance systems. These include the Smart Start Package for a high degree of automation, the QualityOn packages for continuous measurement of operational data and Smart Factory re360. Erema adds that customers can now access more assistance systems and information tools using the new BluPort customer platform. “Our BluPort online platform puts together in one place a collection of intuitive and user-friendly service and data processing apps that support our customers in quality control and, as a result, increase machine performance,” says Michael Heitzinger, Managing Director. “With a focus on data security and customer benefits, we will continuously supplement and expand the BluPort range in the future.” Erema says that the basic version is free to all customers, while the full version with all the latest updates is available when customers purchase a Smart Service Package. All Erema machines delivered from K2019
onwards are equipped with the technology to use the Smart Service Package. An offer to mark the launch of the BluPort customer platform includes the My Recycling Plant dashboard with the most important key performance indicators and com- parison values of the customer’s own recycling systems, an investment calculator as a decision- making tool for invest- ments, as well as a pool of maintenance videos customised to each user and their machines with step-by-step field-proven instructions. “With these mainte- nance videos, which are
PHOTO: EREMA unique in this industry, we enable our
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