PETpla.net Insider 10 / 2011

PRODUCTS 50 PET planet insider Vol. 12 No. 10/11 www.petpla.net Drying and condensate separators Whether it is going to be used in injection moulding of preforms or in extrusion into films, PET always needs to be dried, and amorphous basic materials also need to be crystallised. If recycled PET is processed in the form of postconsumer flakes, volatile impurities and by-products must be removed from the drying and moulding process, safely. The systems engineering necessary for these process steps is, in principle, also suitable for the treatment of biopolymers such as PLA (polylactide). Mann+Hummel claims that its Somos D 200 dry air dryer, with air flow rate of 200 m³/h, is an exemplar of the new generation of stationary material drying systems. Equipped with drying hoppers from 50 to 300l, it can be modu- larly combined and flexibly expanded into a customised drying facility. In PET processing applications, material throughputs ranging from 500 to 2,000kg/h are standard, so larger sized dryers and dryer hoppers are available. The company’s new MH25 controller controls the triggering of dew point-constant dry air and Mann+Hummel says that new design features enable more flexible application of the dryers. The Somos D 200 dryer recently demonstrated at the Interpack trade fair was expandable from 200 m 3 /h (nominal) up to 500m³/h by adjustment in con- trol technology, which also enabled a reliable increase in dried material through- put from 100kg/h up to 250kg/h, without extra hardware. The company claims its newly-designed rotary desiccant container process control helps to reduce cycle time for drying agent regeneration, thus saving energy. Mann+Hummel’s latest modular condensate separator consists of three serially connected units: the pre- filter module for dust separation from process air; the cooling unit for cooling con- taminating substances below the dew point; and a demister module as the actual condensate separator. The company says that it achieves very effective filtration of volatile contaminants, such as monomers, by-products and dust particles from return air from the drying hopper. All modular units are easily accessible and can be cleaned quickly and easily. www.mann-hummel.com Fully-automated APC testing American company Mocon, Inc., has launched what it says is the world’s first fully-automated testing system for measuring bacterial aerobic plate count (APC). The GreenLight 930 is aimed at high-throughput companies and laboratories involved with dairy, meat, poultry, seafood, and other produce. Mocon says that the GreenLight series has been developed to provide accurate, same-day results, cost-effectively. Results can be obtained in anything from a few minutes up to 8h. Traditional agar or film plate methods typically require 48 hours. The GreenLight series provides an APC or total viable count (TVC) of a food sample’s microbial load by using a sensing assay or vial, to measure oxygen con- sumption by bacterial colonies. The change in oxygen is used to calculate the original sample’s colony forming units per gram (CFU/g) for solids or per ml for liquids. The 930 model auto- mates the process via a 48-posi- tion carousel. Food samples are loaded into barcoded vials, with built-in sensor material. Each barcode is read automatically and bacterial information is fed directly to the PC. The company says that shorter testing cycles offer packers and processors the potential of getting perish- able food items to the consumer faster. www.mocon.com Moretto S.p.A. Via dell’Artigianato 3 - 35010 Massanzago (PD) ITALY Tel. +39 049 93 96 711 - Fax +39 049 93 96 710 www.moretto.com The innovative shape of the OTX hopper solves the falling flow problems of the granules and permits to keep the drying process under control. designed by Moretto Drying Revolution Stand 7A - 431