PETpla.net Insider 06 / 2013

TRADE SHOW REVIEW 41 PET planet insider Vol. 14 No. 06/13 www.petpla.net Polyone / Colormatrix: Improved clarity in PET packaging Colormatrix, a subsidiary of Polyone Corporation and supplier of liquid colour and additives for plastics, launched Amosorb Plus, an oxygen scavenging solution for PET packaging. The material offers enhanced container clarity to help customers achieve aesthetic and recyclability goals. Because it is based on a previously approved technology, Amosorb Plus does not require the complex regulatory approval procedures of a completely new material, allowing customers to improve speed to market. Amosorb Plus is a crystallised PET-based concentrate with a built-in catalyst to promote oxidation. It offers product protection for non-car- bonated foods and beverages for up to six months or longer, depending on the container design. Customers can tailor shelf life while reducing container weight for raw material and transportation savings. www.polyone.com ProTec Polymer Processing: Bottle-to-bottle recycling technology ProTec Polymer Processing, making its inaugural appearance as an exhibitor at Chinaplas, presented its technology for the improvement of polymer properties, especially polyesters and polyamides. The technology includes vacuum reactors with varying frame sizes to com- plete turn-key manufacturing lines for the recycling of poly- mer materials, such as the bottle-to-bottle recycling of PET. An important system component in this multistage process is the Ohl tumble reactor, a rotation reactor that can be heated and evacuated. The PET treatment process involves purging (decontaminating) the repellets inside of any volatile pollutants, while at the same time allowing post-condensation (increasing the intrinsic viscosity IV) to take place. The rPET produced by the OHL process has an acetaldehyde content of ≤ 1ppm and exhibits material properties just like virgin PET material. The Non-Objection Letter from the US certification authority FDA (Food and Drug Administration) verifies the safety of the PET recy- clates produced in this way with regard to direct contact with foodstuffs. In addition, the company also provided information on the Somos range of systems for material handling during injection moulding and extrusion which includes powerful and energy-efficient dryers, conveyors and precise dosing systems for all free-flowing types of plastics. Through the precise control of the parameters temperature, vacuum and time, the pellets in the Ohl tumble reactor, recyclates or also virgin material, are individually processed to the required quality based on technical requirements. In this way, during the post-condensation of polyesters even IV values of ≥ 1.2dl/g as required in technical applications, for example, can be achieved. As well as treating PET both for the production of high-quality rPET and for the post- condensation of new PET product, the Ohl tumble reactor is used in equal measure to carry out decontamination and post-condensation. www.sp-protec.com Kreyenborg: From pelletiser to Infrared drum Kreyenborg displayed a continuous screen changer, two melt pumps for different applications, an underwater pel- letiser and the underwater pelletising system Optigon. The underwater pelletising systems of the company are supplied with drying, water system and control ready for use and are suited for all thermoplastic materials, also for the production of micro pellets. As for throughput, the scope ranges from 2-80kg/h (Labline 100) to systems with 35,000kg/h. For particularly economic processing of PET, the company has developed the inline crystallisation system CrystallCut. With this system, pelletising and crystallisation are effected in one process step, without the supply of addi- tional energy. The Infrared Drum IRD is of special interest for PET recycling: by means of infrared radiation an extremely efficient drying and crystallisation of PET in a continuous process is guaranteed. In principle it is also suited for the thermal treatment of almost all free flowing bulk goods. www.kreyenborg.cn