PETpla.net Insider 06+07 / 2014

ON site 50 PET planet insider Vol. 15 No. 06+07/14 www.petpla.net Metal detectors prevent damage to recycling machines Plastic shredding is the first step in the recycling process and reliable metal detection is indispensable at this stage since metal contamination can cause damage to downstream modules. Consistent metal separation prior to shred- ding reduces malfunctions and increases the profit- ability of the recycling lines. Austrian company Starlinger GmbH therefore uses S+S DLS type detec- tors for this purpose which are mounted over the con- veyor system prior to the shredder. DLS detectors are intended to detect magnetic and non-magnetic contaminants even if they are embedded in the product. By removing con- tamination prior to the process, costs can be reduced due to machine damage and production downtime. DLS metal detectors are said to offer many advantages: they prevent metals from reaching cutting machines and thus avoid wear and broken cutting tools. They reduce downtimes and maintenance costs, they improve the quality and value of the cut material, they reduce malfunctions and off-times in downstream processing machines, and they minimise quality defects and reject rates in recycled plastic materials, accord- ing to S+S. www.sesotec.com Bottles reborn Nestlé Waters North America Inc. is rolling out bottles with 50% recycled PET for the well-known USA mineral water brands Arrowhead and Resource. The food contact grade rPET for these bottles is provided by state-of-the-art PET recycling company CarbonLite of Los Angeles and is produced using Vacurema bottle-to- bottle technology from Erema. CarbonLite operates one of the most modern PET recycling facilities in the USA. The company processes more than two billion plastic bottles collected from municipal curbside systems and deposit centres annually at its 20,000m 2 plant. Nestlé Waters named the new PET bottle with 50% recycled PET the ReBorn bottle. The half-litre bottle is said to meet the stringent FDA standards, look no dif- ferent than those made with virgin PET resin and is said to be just as durable and functional. PepsiCo Inc. is also among the other well-known major international clients who use the clean and food contact grade rPET from CarbonLite. For the recycling system, CarbonLite uses two Vacurema Prime 2321 T sys- tems from Erema which are each designed for a capacity of 2,500kg of material per hour and which are intended to ensure that decontamination is efficient and fast. www.erema.at Recycling in channel baling presses The logistics service provider in the reusable packag- ing division of Euro Pool System has built a new facil- ity in Hungary for recycling reusable materials from food markets. PET bottles, cardboard packaging and cans from 175 branches of a supermarket chain are processed by the company. In the new facility two fully automatic channel baling presses from HSM make it possible to reduce the volume of packaging and to return it to the recycling loop in the form of recyclable bales. The line at Euro Pool System consists of two HSM VK 8818 FU channel baling presses and the materials han- dling equipment. VK 8818 means a fully automatic chan- nel baling press with a pressing force of 880kN and a filler opening measuring 1,000 x 1,800mm. Each of the presses is fitted with a frequency converter which generates around 40% energy savings compared to conventional drives. The project and construction work for the line was carried out at the same time as the work on the new facility. The operat- ing personnel are continually loading the chain conveyors with the material for pressing which is delivered already sorted. One of the two presses is fitted with a PET perfo- rator. This is initially used to slit open the bottles so as to ensure that the air escapes and the volume is reduced to a minimum before it reaches the press. The HSM channel bale presses produce stable bales with 5 strips of banding measuring 1,100 x 750mm, weigh- ing between 500 and 700kg and 1 to 2m in length. These are sold on to recyclers in Hungary for recycling. www.hsm.eu S+S DLS type detectors are used and are mounted over the conveyor system prior to the shredder. Nestlé Waters North America Inc. is rolling out bottles with 50% recycled PET for the well-known USA mineral water brands Arrow- head