PETpla.net Insider 03 / 2014

MATERIAL / RECYCLING 19 PET planet insider Vol. 15 No. 03/14 www.petpla.net Control (FCC) feature supervises the stored recipe data. This enables users to switch to the process param- eters required for the production of the respective recyclate simply by pressing a button. If levels go beyond defined limits an alarm is triggered automatically and (optionally) material flow is diverted away from the produc- tion line. This guarantees traceability Efficiency performance A total of eight different PET recy- cling technologies available on the market were tested by an independ- ent institute for electrical and thermal performance. The Vacurema Inline Sheet system (used to produce food contact grade thermoforming sheet) of a customer in Germany came out on top in an energy comparison with other systems available on the market, recording the lowest specific total energy consumption (including sheet downstream) of 0.29kWh/kg (Fig. 2). Vacurema technology proved to be 40% more energy efficient than other systems also in the bottle-to-bottle field with a rating of 0.295 kWh/kg. This is due on the one hand to the decontami- nation before extrusion which – unlike other systems on the market – requires only a single energy input for process- ing. Plus, on the other hand, no addi- tional pre-drying is required as materi- als with input moisture of up to around 1.5% can be processed. The very large active filter areas of the Erema filter systems likewise contribute to The plastic closure company committed to your success BERI CAP Technology Research and Development Mould Technology | Global Presence Capping Technology and Know-How Innovation and Flexibility www.bericap.com the system’s remarkable efficiency performance. The patented partial surface backflush screen changers from the RTF series feature a fully automatic self-cleaning system which, despite extremely fine filtration (32μm screen mesh), allows low pressure losses, high filter capacity and long filter service life. The result is highly clean repellets. Users are also spared from having to buy expensive special filters which are often necessary with other manufacturers. Erema’s high- performance filters can be connected directly to the extruder outlet. They have been successful for large area ultrafine melt filtration in the produc- tion of flat film and as a consequence other manufacturers of film plants now use the Erema piston screen changer as standard. These are available in a variety of sizes and output levels, up to the six-piston system with twelve parallel filter screens. Inline crystallised strand pellets Vacurema technology is based on Compact Inline Crystallisation (CIC). According to Erema, this technology makes Vacurema the only system on the market which is able to produce strand pellets. As around 80% of virgin material is produced in strand form, mixtures of repellets made using Vacurema and virgin material are now easier and actually possible. www.erema.at Fig. 3: Vacurema Basic energy efficiency