Product Innovations

Heavy-duty pelletizers can handle difficult-to-cut materials

AXP: Bay Plastics Machinery (BPM) pelletizers can chop a wide range of thermoplastics, including rubberlike materials and brittle, fragile and glass-fiber-reinforced materials. They are designed to be compact and resilient and allow tool-free access for maintenance.

What’s new? The AXP (HD) line of heavy-duty pelletizers, based off the larger-model versions of the AXP12 and AXP16. The more-robust AXP (HD) pelletizers have been designed to handle heavily filled and difficult-to-cut material. Larger components include motors, feed roll air cylinders for greater clamping force and diameter rolls and bearings that reduce deflection. Options include a gearbox that lets users engage upper and lower feed rolls and a rotor coupling drive that allows the rotor to remain free of belt load with higher horsepower. Their

capacity depends on material input, but users have reported to BPM that they can handle 100 pounds to 140 pounds per hour of nylon material and about 50 pounds per hour of polypropylene material. Filled materials have different rates.

Benefits: Consistent results and more robust cutting, making the AXP (HD) pelletizers appropriate for new engineered resins, including heavily filled glass-reinforced materials. A push-pull bed knife holder allows users to adjust the bed knife gap to be consistent along the entire width of the cutter.

Bay Plastics Machinery, Bay City, Michigan, 989-671-9630, https://bayplasticsmachinery.com

Dual-bearing strand pelletizers feature redesigned cutting chamber

SP: Three models are included in Coperion’s line of dual-bearing strand pelletizers—the SP140, SP240 and SP340—with throughputs ranging from about 220 pounds per hour to about 6,614 pounds per hour. They feature a pellet outlet chute with soundproof cladding, a frequency-controlled rotor drive and upper feed roll and pneumatic control of feed roll pressure.

What’s new? Improvements to speed recipe and color changes. The pelletizers have been the subject of myriad upgrades over the past few years. Most recently, Coperion has made the cutting chamber design more compact and optimized the product strand-intake area so that strands are now continuously guided directly into the cutting section. Also optimized are the flanges on the cutting rotor, designed to use the entire width of the rotor.

Benefits: Reduced downtime and even better pellet quality, along with faster setup and easier cleaning and maintenance. The pelletizers’ cut quality is constant and very high, even when pelletizing soft polymers. Thanks to the new design, the cutting chamber has no dead space, reducing cleaning time. The cutting unit can be swapped out quickly and easily without the use of tools. Also, the pelletizers’ interior has improved accessibility and is very easy to clean.

Coperion Corp., Sewell, New Jersey, 856-256-3175, www.coperion.com

New plasticizing technology allows for a wider process window

Vacurema: This Erema portfolio of circular-economy technologies includes systems for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle-to-bottle recycling and in-line PET and PET fiber recycling, as well as systems for high-density polyethylene flakes. The systems vary based on material input and customer needs, but features include energy efficiency and the potential for producing recyclate that meets food-contact requirements.

What’s new? Erema’s EcoGentle plasticizing technology, which enables a throughput of up to 6.6 tons per hour. For now, Erema is focused on PET recycling, but it’s also working to upgrade technologies for polyolefin recycling.

Benefits: Greater productivity, improved recyclate quality and greatly reduced energy requirements. Because of the gentle way it handles the melt, the EcoGentle plasticizing technology allows for a wider process window, making it even easier to compensate for fluctuations in input material without negatively affecting process stability. The significantly lower temperature of the process results in lower acetaldehyde values, meaning better-quality recycled PET pellets. Also, in comparing a Vacurema system that now boasts the technology to a similar system without it, Erema says as much as 12 percent less energy is used.

Erema North America, Inc., Ipswich, Massachusetts, 978-356-3771, www.erema.com/us/home

Recycling line reduces production costs

RecoStar: Starlinger’s recycling lines have been designed to handle all kinds of thermoplastics, including polyethylene, polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate (PET), in a variety of shapes and sizes, from fluffy film to hard-to-grind start-up lumps, to produce regranulate that’s fully usable for subsequent production.

What’s new? The recoStar PET art recycling line. Starlinger’s newest line includes technologies for first-in-first-out (FIFO) predrying, pelletization, filtration, single-screw extrusion and FIFO solid-state polycondensation. It is designed for recycling used water bottles into recycled PET granulate that can be used to produce new bottles. Starlinger calls it a flake-to-pellet line rather than an integrated flake-to-preform line. Five models are available, with footprint dimensions ranging from about 72 feet by 67 feet to 115 feet to 105 feet, and hourly outputs ranging from 2,204 pounds to 9,259 pounds.

Benefits: About 21 percent production cost savings. Compared with the earlier version, the new lines use 25 percent less energy, require 46 percent less maintenance time and achieve 15 percent higher production outputs. They also have a 21 percent smaller machine footprint.

American Starlinger-Sahm Inc., Fountain Inn, South Carolina, 864-297-1900, www.starlingersahm.com

Single unit provides the functionality of a shredder and granulator

Raptor Duo series: Rapid Granulator’s Raptor series of shredders makes it possible to recycle a wide range of thermoplastics.

What’s new? The Raptor Duo models within the Raptor series. Offering the functionality of a shredder and granulator in a single unit, they feature a patent-pending “open-hearted” design that makes maintenance and cleaning easier. The new design gives direct access to the entire cutting chamber in less than a minute. Rapid displayed the Raptor Duo at K 2022.

Benefits: Customizable configurations. Rapid offers 36 base configurations of the Raptor for a variety of applications; they come in widths of 31.5 inches or 53 inches and with a choice of three cutting systems: Quad Cut, Claw and Power Wedge. Delivery of the Raptor Duo is set to begin this quarter.

Rapid Granulator Inc., Leetsdale, Pennsylvania, 724-584-5220, www.rapidgranulator.com

Self-cleaning filter enables higher productivity

contiNeo filter: Maag’s new contiNeo is a continuously self-cleaning filter that is well-suited for use with all thermoplastics for postindustrial recycling and compounding and producing pipe, profile and film. It incorporates advantages offered by a single-bolt screen changer with those that come from a continuous dual-piston screen changer with backflush capabilities. Maag says its contiNeo is the only single-piston filter offering this self-cleaning function for extrusion applications. It can operate at temperatures up to 572 F.

What’s new? The contiNeo filter, which Maag displayed at K 2022.

Benefits: Higher productivity. Maag’s contiNeo lets users employ a wider range of polymers, processes with higher rates of recycled material and minimizes material loss during self-cleaning cycles—with a backflush loss of material ranging from 0.5 percent to 1 percent. The contiNeo 31 offers throughput from 661 pounds to 1,543 pounds per hour, while the contiNeo 41’s has a throughput from 1,323 pounds to 2,425 pounds per hour. The efficiency of its self-cleaning function allows it to maintain a nearly constant differential pressure during long production cycles. The company says it is ideal for use in extrusion processes that require low pressure fluctuations and fully automatic operation in a small space.

Maag Automatik Inc., Charlotte, North Carolina, 704-716-9000, www.maag.com

Fire Prevention System (FPS): Lindner’s plug-and-play FPS can help recyclers more safely handle material streams that include highly flammable rechargeable batteries and lithium-ion batteries. It is available as a retrofit on all the company’s shredders, using only a power plug and ordinary water inlet. The system uses self-cleaning infrared sensors mounted on the discharge belt to scan the temperature of materials on a conveyor belt. If the sensors detect excessive heat, they activate nozzles that spray a cooling mist; if extreme heat develops, the conveyor belt shuts off so workers can remove hazardous materials. The system includes a control cabinet with software and necessary ports and a reserve water tank.

What’s new? The system, which is available in the U.S. starting this year.

Benefits: Safety. The FPS can detect a buildup of heat before it becomes dangerous.

Lindner Recyclingtech America, Statesville, North Carolina, 800-235-1391, www.lindner.com

Portable system detects organic carbon compounds in process air

Vulkano: Piovan’s portable instrument detects and quantifies the presence of organic carbon compounds in the process air used to dehumidify hygroscopic plastics during recycling. It can be used in facilities running multiple recycling lines to periodically check air quality in dehumidifying systems and to check the remaining life of the activated carbon filters inside a vapor condenser. The device measures 20.2 inches by 22.6 inches by 14.3 inches and weighs 104 pounds.

What’s new? Vulkano, which Piovan displayed at K 2022.

Benefits: Ease of use and flexibility. Vulkano has an intuitive interface that allows any operator to make fast and accurate measurements, and its portability allows it to monitor multiple lines at whatever interval is needed to handle the contamination level of the recycled material. Vulkano also helps users maximize filter life, verify its effectiveness and evaluate the status of the system.

Piovan Group/Universal Dynamics Inc., Fredericksburg, Virginia, 703-490-7000, www.piovan.com/una-dyn