PETpla.net Insider 11 / 2010

MATERIAL / RECYCLING 23 PET planet insider Vol. 11 No. 11/10 www.petpla.net tions. The technology can be integrated into produc- tion plants which use the above-mentioned MTR technology. The FTR technology consists of two steps: Firstly, impurities are eliminated and then the PET bottle resin is reformed. In the first step, post-con- sumer PET flakes are melted and ethylene glycol is added to the melt to partially depolymerize the PET molecules. The long PET molecular chain is broken into smaller sections, which reduces the viscos- ity of the polymer melt. Then a fine filtration of the low-viscosity melt removes impurities. In the second step, the partially depolymerized PET is blended with virgin prepolymer during the polymerization process and the low-molecular-weight material is polymerized to PET bottle polymer. The process leads to a virgin-like bottle resin which is ready for use in preform production and does not need blending at the preform produc- tion site. The blend uniformity of the resin is even reported to be superior to mixes of recycled and virgin pellets. As the post-consumer bottle flakes used in the FTR ® process can replace up to 50% of PET production feedstocks, the resulting feed- stock cost savings can be added to the profit usually made with a conventionally designed PET plant. www.uhde-inventa-fisch er.com Enjoy completeness Sacmi Imola S.C. Via Selice Prov.le, 17/a 40026 Imola (BO) Italy Tel. +39 0542 607111 - Fax +39 0542 642354 E-mail: sacmi@sacmi.it www.sacmi.com Sacmi offers turnkey solutions for the beverage and packaging industry: complete bottling lines for product preparation, container manufacture, filling and closing, labelling and final packaging operations. The extensive experience acquired since the company was established in 1919, in addition to its reputation for supplying advanced technology, financial solidity and a network of 70 companies throughout the world, enables Sacmi to meet all your requirements wherever you are. Melt-To-Resin (MTR) process Flake-To-Resin (FTR) process