PETpla.net Insider 12 / 2011

MATERIAL / RECYCLING 14 PET planet insider Vol. 12 No. 12/11 www.petpla.net Gneuss Kunststofftechnik offers recycling system for PET with full FDA approval Food packaging from recycled PET With the introduction of its MRS technology, approxi- mately four years ago, Gneuss established itself as a specialist in PET recy- cling equipment. The com- pany’s extrusion process, consisting of the MRS multi rotation system devolatilis- ing extruder together with a rotary melt filtration system, has now been approved for reprocessing of PET post consumer waste (flakes) to direct food contact packag- ing products, without pre- or post-extrusion treatment of the flakes or pellets. It ena- bles the manufacture – from up to 100 % PET post con- sumer bottle flakes – of sheet and food containers of all types for direct food contact. Systems for recycling post-con- sumer PET reclaim to high quality (and value) products for the food packaging industry, with unrestricted FDA approval, are already well estab- lished on the market. Gneuss Kunststofftechnik offers a system for high quality food standard results without thermal treatment of the flakes, either before or after to the extru- sion process. The Gneuss processing system consists of the MRS extruder with its devolatilising system, a process- constant rotary melt filtration system for efficient purification of the melt, and an online viscometer for automatic regula- tion of viscosity in response to varia- tions in the viscosity and/or residual moisture level of the input material. The specific energy consumption of the MRS extrusion unit is approxi- mately 20% lower than that for con- ventional single or twin-screw extru- sion systems, as neither pre-drying nor crystallisation of the material is necessary. In addition, maintenance requirements are significantly because neither pre-drying equipment nor a maintenance- intensive high vacuum system are needed. Additional mate- rial treatment steps are eliminated by the MRS patented design. The MRS extruder is based on a single screw extruder equipped with a special devolatilising section: the Multi Rotation System, which gives the extruder its name. MRS Multi Rotation Section with plasticising and discharge screw sections