PETpla.net Insider 05 / 2018

PET news 6 NEWS PET planet Insider Vol. 19 No. 05/18 www.petpla.net Amut and Erema hold Open House Amut and Erema are holding an Open House to present a sophisticated “Bottle to Packaging” process from 28 to 31 May 2018. Washed post-consumer PET bottle akes will be recycled live at the Amut headquarters in Novara, Italy, to make food contact grade thermoforming sheet in a direct process. This rPET sheet will be used at the Plast Milan exhibition – which is being held at the same time – to make thermoformed trays for the food sector. Interested producers will be able to process their own input material on the demonstration system in future to make plastic rolls. They can then test the samples later in their own thermoforming production to check the quality. The post-consumer akes are processed in the new demonstration facility – a direct combination of Vacurema technology and the Amut Inline Sheet plant in a single process. Thanks to the direct combination of recycling and production technology there is no longer any excess process stage. This is because the melt goes straight from the Vacurema to the Amut plant without the detour of pelletising. The post-consumer PET material is already decon- taminated and pre-dried prior to extrusion in the vacuum reactor of the Vacurema Basic, with a throughput of up to 1,000kg/h. The newly developed Erema PET Laserlter processes input material with a degree of contamination of over 1% without any difculty and discharges the ltered particles continuously. Thanks to its unique pressure con- sistency this lter system is particularly suitable for inline production. Despite varying moisture, IV values and bulk densities in the input material, the melt has a constantly stable IV value and colour. Additionally, the process stands out through what is only a marginal IV drop. The melt then goes directly into the Amut Inline Sheet plant where it is processed into thermoforming sheet. The integrated online viscometer shows the user the actual viscosity of the melt. High-stiffness cooling rolls guarantee precise material planarity. Another boost in sheet quality comes from the fully integrated inline thick- ness gauge control. The hot lamination system represents an additional production benet and is particularly suitable for sensitive barrier lm thanks to the adjustable contact point. The wet coating at the end makes for an antistatic and anti-blocking solution. A free shuttle service between the trade fair in Milan and the Amut headquarters in Novara will be available for attendees. The demonstration facility in Novara will continue to be available for customer trials also after the Plast Milan show. www.erema-group.com Key process technology operating milestone for 100% bio-based PET bottle Anellotech, a sustainable technology company pioneering the Bio-TCat process for production of cost-competitive renewable chemicals and fuels from non-food biomass, announced a key operating milestone, achieving two weeks of continuous opera- tion of its seven-story tall TCat-8 pilot plant, producing aromatics (primarily benzene, toluene, and xylenes) from loblolly pine feed- stock. Anellotech also secured an additional $6 million investment from Suntory Holdings Limited, which was part of a previously announced $15 million package. Suntory’s total investment in Anellotech’s program is now more than $30 million. The Bio-TCat Process’s cost-competitive renewable aromatic chemicals are “drop in” replacements for their identical petro- leum-derived counterparts, and can be used in manufacturing plastics such as polyester, nylon, polycarbonate, polystyrene, or for renewable transportation fuels. Having recently announced completion of commissioning of the TCat-8 pilot plant located in Silsbee, Texas, Anellotech has begun an extensive development program to optimise process variables, validate process economics, conrm catalyst long-term performance, and obtain the critical data for commercial plant design. As these studies continue, TCat-8 is producing evalua- tion quantities of renewable aromatic chemicals for conversion into bio-based polymer prototypes and for bio-fuel certication programs. “We have demonstrated continuous, stable operation of the TCat-8 pilot unit over a two week period as the rst key step in demonstrating Bio-TCat’s commercial viability,” said Dr Charles Sorensen, Chief Technology Ofcer of Anellotech. “In a relatively short time period, our pilot plant has generated a large amount of high-quality data which gives us condence that we will be able to achieve our longer-term operational goals. Continuous catalyst circulation, the injection of solid biomass feedstock into the reactor, and several internal recycle loops create numerous complexities that Anellotech engineers and scientists, together with our R&D partners IFPEN and Johnson Matthey, have suc- cessfully addressed.” The alliance with Suntory began in 2012 with the goal of ena- bling the development and commercialisation of cost-competitive 100% bio-based plastics for use in beverage bottles. Anellotech continues to seek additional strategic partners to support its development and participate in the future success of Bio-TCat technology, especially companies interested in using bio-benzene or toluene to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with the manufacture of polymers and products such as ABS, nylons, polycarbonates, polyurethanes, detergents, and other aromatic-containing products currently made from petroleum. www.anellotech.com