Technology for closing the loop in compounding and recycling

Germany-based Coperion is focusing on technology for the entire process chain of processing plastics and recycling at Chinaplas 2025. It will showcase two extruders that are ideally suited to current challenges in plastics compounding and recycling. The 4th generation STS 75 Mc PLUS twin screw extruder features an increased specific torque of 13.6 Nm/cm³, enabling it to achieve up to 20% more throughput with significantly higher product quality. A ZSK 58 Mc¹⁸ twin-screw extruder with maximum torque for highest throughput demands, especially designed for products with high torque requirement such as engineering plastics, will also be on display.

In addition, Coperion will highlight its reliable and highly accurate feeding solutions, including the Coperion K-Tron T35 gravimetric feeder paired with a 2415 vacuum receiver for ingredient refill, as well as a C/S-LW-NS 60 single screw feeder from Colormax Systems. A ProRate PLUS-M feeder, part of the new line of robust gravimetric single and twin screw feeders, will be on display as well. For efficient conveying processes, a CVH 550 high pressure rotary valve and the two-way diverter valve WEK 265 for granulates will also be shown.

For the recycling of plastics Coperion and Herbold Meckesheim collaborate to provide operators with extensive expertise in technology and process solutions. At Chinaplas, they will showcase a virtual 3D recycling installation.

Over the years, the STS extruder series has established itself on the market as a quality product for a wide range of extrusion and compounding tasks such as engineering plastics and masterbatch but also cable masses, the recycling of regrind plastics, powder coating, and much more. The extruders are produced at Coperion in Nanjing, China, in accordance with CE guidelines, with an attractive price-to-performance ratio.

The STS 75 Mc PLUS presented in the Coperion booth 10K25 is the 4^th generation of STS technology and is equipped with a specific torque of 13.6 Nm/cm³ at screw speeds of up to 900 min. This advancement allows the compounder to deliver enhanced product quality while increasing throughput by up to 20% across all applications compared to earlier models. Key to this performance boost, alongside process-related modifications, is the optimisation of the drive’s key components.

The STS 75 Mc PLUS extruder features a high-power motor and a gearbox specifically designed to handle high torque. Proven high-performance materials are used for the screw shafts to ensure effective torque transmission from the gearbox to the screw elements. The higher fill level in the process section is crucial to the improved compound quality achieved by the STS 75 Mc PLUS, as it reduces both shear stress and melt temperature while enhancing mixing behaviour, for gentle product handling at high throughputs.

Coperion and Herbold Meckesheim realise plants for a wide variety of plastics recycling applications, from mechanical processing – shredding, washing, separating, drying and agglomerating of plastics – to bulk material handling as well as feeding and extrusion all the way to compounding and pelletising.

Especially for recycling of post-consumer recyclate (PCR) or any highly contaminated polymer, Coperion offers the ZSK FilCo filtration compounder that allows filtration and compounding in a single production step. Compared to the two-step production lines that have been the norm until now, Coperion’s ZSK FilCo is distinguished by a markedly more streamlined equipment set-up. Energy consumption and emissions for the extrusion process are reduced by more than 50%.

The ProRate PLUS feeder line integrates European weighing technology and controls, to meet the growing demand for robust and efficient feeding solutions in the plastics industry.

In addition, Coperion will demonstrate its expertise in all feeding tasks at this year’s Chinaplas with its high-accuracy Coperion K-Tron K2-ML-D5-T35 gravimetric feeder equipped with ActiFlow smart bulk solid activator and EPC (Electronic Pressure Compensation). The feeder is equipped with a 2415 vacuum receiver for refill.

The ActiFlow smart bulk solid activator offers an innovative method to reliably prevent bridging and rat-holing of cohesive bulk materials in stainless steel hoppers without internal hopper agitation. The smart flow aid applies gentle vibrations to the hopper wall, hereby carefully activating the contained material with the optimal amplitude and frequency, automatically adjusted by the controller based on bulk material flow. It is designed specifically to work with Coperion K-Tron’s line of gravimetric loss-in-weight feeders.

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