Recycling: Coperion/Herbold present one-stop recycling solutions

As a result of the completed merger between Coperion and machine manufacturer Herbold Meckesheim, Coperion presented complete systems for industrial-scale plastics recycling at the Germany-held K2022 show in October.

Specialist in extrusion and compounding, bulk material handling and feeding system Coperion brings its own expertise in the field of recycling together with that of Herbold Meckesheim, a specialist in the mechanical recycling of plastic and plastic waste, forming a new Recycling Business Unit.

The new business unit offers modular system and plant solutions that combine the complementary technologies of Coperion and Herbold to benefit customers. 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, the systems that both companies have developed together cover the entire process chain for reclaiming plastics.

Moreover, the plastics industry will profit from this cumulative expertise thanks to their combined global sales and service network.

PET recycling

PET recycling is one example that illustrates how Coperion will be able to implement a complete system for plastics recycling in the future. As the plastics industry makes advances towards a circular economy, PET plays an ever more important role due to its increasing use in disposable and reusable bottles and its recovery through deposit systems, along with other factors.This material possesses outstanding recycling properties, regardless of whether it is to be recycled in bottle-to-bottle, bottle-to-film/sheet, or bottle-to-fibre processes, or whether it comes from other product streams.

Complete PET recycling solutions from Coperion offer throughput performance of up to 10 tonnes/hour. Coperion says that the quality of PET recyclate manufactured using its recycling technology and decontaminated in an SSP (Solid State Polycondensation) reactor is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for direct contact with food.

One unique feature is that virgin material and various recyclates – such as regrind, agglomerates, or flakes – can be processed together, even if they exhibit different IV (IntrinsicViscosity) values. Compared to conventional PET recycling procedures, Coperion adds that its solutions save on operation and energy costs and create less logistic efforts.

New recycling innovation centre

Coperion also has started building a new recycling innovation centre, located in immediate proximity to its existing test centre for bulk material handling at its Niederbiegen/Weingarten production facility in Germany. In the future, every major step of the plastics recycling process can be tested under production conditions and results can be examined by customers, prior to making an investment.

Coperion supplies complete system for PMMA recycling to Renov8

At the K2022, Nilesh Jain, founder of Renov8, a subsidiary of plastics manufacturer just right based in Jafza, Dubai, visited Coperion at its booth to sign the contract for a complete system for recycling PMMA.The contract was preceded by extensive tests on the chemical recycling of PMMA at Coperion's test centre.

The Coperion system for the chemical recycling of PMMA will be installed at the Kezad Polymers Park in Abu Dhabi, which is among the most popular vertically integrated polymers downstream manufacturing eco- systems in the region. It will thermally convert PMMA into liquid rMMA in a continuous process.

The system includes material handling, two ARW discharge agitators with discharge screws and two SWB feeders, as well as a ZSK 92 Mc18 twin screw extruder with 92 mm screw diameter, a vacuum system and a condenser. Key components of the system are produced in-house by Coperion.

Coperion's process solution allows for the thermal recycling of PMMA to rMMA in an economical, continuous process.

The PMMA recyclate is conveyed via a discharge agitator ARW and a discharge screw to a SWB feeder.This low-headroom gravimetric feeder weighs large quantities of bulk material at high accuracy and feeds it reliably into a ZSK twin screw extruder.

In the Coperion ZSK Mc18 twin screw extruder a great deal of mechanical energy is quickly introduced into the PMMA via the co-rotating twin screws thanks to the high torque of 18 Nm/cm3.The temperature of the melt rises energy-efficiently in a short time. The material depolymerises.

Gaseous MMA is produced, which is reliably extracted via the degassing domes of a vacuum system and then converted into liquid rMMA in a condenser.

Coperion says its solution for chemical recycling takes place with significantly lower energy consumption than pyrolysis processes without extruders or compared to recycling with single screw extruders.

The chemical recycling system for Renov8 will allow the processing of two separate product streams. Thanks to its very good self-cleaning properties, PMMA with different light transmittances can be recycled on the same ZSK 92 Mc18 twin screw extruder in a short time without any loss of quality.

Renov8 specialises in the recycling of PMMA, PS, ABS, PC, PP and PE. Its 30,000 sq m site is fully integrated with one of the fastest growing ports in the world, Khalifa port.

(PRA)

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