INNOVATION | PACKAGING
ema series of recycling machines. This expands the PET-proven technology into HDPE and PP applica- tions as well, with the target of energy reduction. In combination with the Counter Current technology, EcoGentle ensures a coordinated interaction between the intake section and the extruder section, thus melting the material gently, under lower temperature and with higher efficiency. It is possible to increase the flexibility in terms of the material fed, and the produced pellets have a higher quality.
In the post-consumer segment, EcoGentle enables the reliable processing of regrind material with different bulk densities and viscosities. For multipurpose applications (HDPE and PP), the plasticising technology lowers the temperature of the melt by up to 13° C and reduces the power consumption of the extruder drive by up to 6%. In real life, this translates into stable processes, less wear, longer component service life and lower production costs. Existing Erema systems can be retroffited with this technology. Erema has initiated numerous approval projects
and, together with customers, it has already received positive LNOs from the FDA for HDPE, PP and LD/LLDPE. There are two decisive prerequi- sites needed for food-grade: an input stream consisting of at least 99% food packaging, and technology that is able to clean and decontaminate the input material. A key technology here is the combination of Intarema TVEplus RegrindProand the ReFresher, which removes odours. Also from Erema is Volex, the technology for postconsumer recyclate degasification directly on the extruder. The targeted optimization of the screw geometry enables the process to achieve degassing performance levels so far only achiev- able with larger machine models. When combined with water injection, the technology opens further potential for sensitive applications. As the demand for high-quality PCR is expected
to increase, Gneuss has proposed a retrofittable solution, able to reduce the quality variation when expanding existing capacity. The system can be tailored to increase the capacity of the extrusion and the filtration; through the optimization of both processes it is possible to achieve a super-clean recycling process, even when involving higher loads of contaminated recyclate. The extrusion solution is based on a specially designed screw technology that, in addition to melting and homogenizing, facilitates the degas- sing and decontamination of the melt. This enables the reliable processing of materials with high moisture content, volatile components, or low bulk
18 PLASTICS RECYCLING WORLD | September 2026
density. The filtration based on rotary technology ensures the continuous and stable removal of contaminants. Fully automated operation allows for use even with fluctuating material qualities and higher proportions of recycled material, without interrupting the production process. The extruder and filtration systems can be
integrated into existing plants either together or separately. They are custom-configured to meet specific objectives, such as increasing the recycled content, stabilizing fluctuating material qualities, or enabling food-contact applications.
Cap recycling Recently, Gneuss presented a case study demon- strating a closed loop for HDPE bottle caps. Because the caps are already collected together with PET bottles, they can be processed back into bottle caps, thus closing the loop. The company offers the Omnimax recycling system, which has already undergone several challenge tests and has been awarded several food contact approvals and LNOs. The technology does not require any upstream or downstream process steps, which is of great importance for PE, as it can only be treated in other processes at very low temperatures, and requires long residence times due to the slow diffusion process involved. The Omnimax purifies the polymer subjecting it to highly efficient degassing, using an MRSpure recycling extruder and a robust vacuum system to remove volatile contaminants. The MRS is preced- ed by a melt extruder, which separates the plasti- cizing and degassing process, so that the param- eters can be optimized for each process. Downstream of the melt extruder, the RSFgenius filtration system removes hard contaminants by ultra-fine filtration. Starlinger’s Recostar dynamic recycling system obtained a LNO from the FDA for a PP cap-to-cap recycling process. This applies for the manufacture of bottle caps for beverages under Conditions of Use C to H. Bottle caps made of 100% recycled post-consumer polypropylene produced on the Starlinger recycling system can thus also be used for hot fill applications. The technology already obtained in 2021 an FDA LNO for HDPE cap-to-cap applications. The machine configuration for the approved
recycling process includes a Recostar dynamic recycling extruder equipped with a C-VAC degas- sing module for highly efficient degassing, as well as the PCUplus unit at the end of the recycling process. The latter ensures permanent odour reduction and completes the removal of VOCs,
www.plasticsrecyclingworld.com
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