TECHNOLOGY | EXTRUSION LINES
Right: Coperion twin-screw extruders are used for the compounding stage in the Corema
technology
Below: EstPak Plastik has installed a ViscoSheet rPET sheet line at its plant in Estonia
plasticising and filtration takes place in an Erema single-screw extruder with a cutter compactor. “Immedi- ately adjacent to this, and without allowing the melt to cool, the compounding step – the actual upcycling – follows in a co-rotating ZSK or STS twin-screw extruder from Coperion. This is where the properties profile of the recyclate is precisely tailored to the specific requirements,” said Coperion. Throughput rates of up to 4,000 kg/h can be achieved, depending on the material. A variety of materials can be processed, such as nonwoven PP, PE edge trimmings or PA fibres. The filtered melt is fed from the single-screw extruder into the co-rotating, self-wiping twin screw extruder from Coperion, which can be configured for flexible compounding tasks. Additives, fillers and reinforcement additives may include CaCO3, talc, glass fibres or natural fibres. “Here the melt also undergoes highly intensive mixing and devolatilisa- tion which are typical features of the Coperion twin screw extruders,” said Coperion. “The interplay of Erema’s and Coperion’s technologies ensures that compounds are treated gently and subjected to minimal thermal stress, because the melt is passed directly from extruder to extruder without any cooling and reheating stage. Processing at a constant temperature also provides for extremely energy-efficient operations.” Peter von Hoffmann, General Manager of the business unit Engineering Plastics and Special Applications at Coperion, said: “By conjoining Corema’s systems with Coperion’s technology we can give the market a technology that not only helps entrepreneurs achieve commercial success, but also incorporates basic principles such as resource conservation and sustainability. This is the key to the current and future success of this technology.” Recycling extrusion lines are not restricted to making pellet products; they can also feed directly
into a second process, such as extrusion of sheet for thermoforming applications. During Plast 2018 in Milan in May, Amut Group and Erema demon- strated an integrated line for producing rPET sheet direct from post-consumer PET bottle flakes (Plastics Recycling World May-June 2018). The process combines Erema’s Vacurema recycling technology and Amut’s inline sheet plant. The post-consumer PET is decontaminated and pre-dried prior to extrusion in the vacuum reactor of the Vacurema Basic, which has an output capacity of 1,000 kg/h. The unit incorporates Erema’s new PET Laserfilter which can process input material with a degree of contamination of over 1%. Amut says that the process offers energy savings, preservation of intrinsic viscosity (IV), and lower logistics and process costs that lead to higher profitability. ViscoTec, part of Starlinger Group, has well established technology for PET recycling. In addition to its ViscoStar solid state polycondensa- tion plant for increasing IV and decontaminating pellets, the Austrian company also has the Vis- coSheet technology which can produce sheet using up to 100% rPET, in-house waste and virgin PET at guaranteed IV levels. Two ViscoTec custom- ers invested in ViscoSheet lines earlier this year. Estonia-based thermoforming company EstPak
Plastik opened a new facility in Harjumaa in Febru- ary, equipped with new ViscoSheet technology. The company has grown since its formation in 1999 and it now operates six thermoforming machines processing rPET and PP, including two of the largest and most up-to-date available. Its growth has been due to an expansion of exports to Scandinavian markets, including Finland, Sweden, and Denmark. As well as thermoformed tray production, EstPak decided it was important to establish a plant for the production of rPET sheet. With the ViscoSheet line and other recycling technology from Starlinger Group with EFSA approval for food-contact packaging, EstPak now has the capability to produce rPET sheet with the highest degree of purity. This also opens up new possibilities for the
18 PLASTICS RECYCLING WORLD | September/October 2018
www.plasticsrecyclingworld.com
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