PETpla.net Insider 11 / 2018

MATERIALS / RECYCLING PET planet Insider Vol. 19 No. 11/18 www.petpla.net 13 MATERIALS / RECYCLING 13 Bottle-to-bottle recycling at Ferrarelle SpA The rPET project The long-established Ferrarelle SpA company, well known throughout Italy, has been bottling its naturally effervescent water since 1893, and is now taking the next major step in its development by installing a new recycling plant. In pursuing an ambitious strategy of improving its produc- tion processes and at the same time developing its goal of eco- sustainability, the Italian mineral water bottler Ferrarelle SpA has invested in recycling technology by Amut to run the whole process of bottle making, filling and recycling in-house. With Amut’s washing technology, Ferrarelle will produce up to 3,000 kg/h of flakes recycled from post-consumer PET bot- tles, and thanks to a re-gradation process, the flakes will be suit- able for food applications. The rPET flakes, of high quality and purity, will be processed directly to produce preforms and final bot- tles. After the bottling process, the newly produced bottles will finally reach the supermarket shelves. “Under full production process, we expect to exceed our annually preform in-house requirement – actually around 700 million/year. The flakes we will be producing with the Amut plant are of high quality, and may thus be an addi- tional source of income for us. “By selling recycled PET to third parties, we will be part of a virtu- ous circle that benefits everyone,” comments Pietro Bortone, Plant Manager of Ferrarelle SpA. He continues “With our new recycling plant in Presenzano, Caserta, we are taking a further step in our eco-friendly stance that we have been adopting over recent years. Already involved in a number of social and cultural international projects, Ferrarelle is also con- scious of its own local environ- ment, increasing productivity and providing employment, whilst also reducing waste volume and pollu- tion.” Functioning of the plant Once the bottle bales are opened and sent to the constant feeder, a detector performs an initial positive selection to sepa- rate bottles from any contaminants before the washing phase. The upfront part of the line allows the treatment of PET bottles bales not properly sorted which may contain a significant quantity of pollutants. The bottles are conveyed to the Delabeller-PreWasher, a patented machine working in a dry process to remove any labels and initiate the first cleaning action. The dry process reduces energy consumption. Two NIR detectors for colour/metal separa- tion handle the final sorting and purify the stream from any non- PET material. The flakes are then washed with Amut patented technology: Turbo washer and friction washer carry out a strong cleaning action to remove all fine pollutants and glue. The combination of these machines allows the treatment even in the case of highly pol- luted bottles, achieving the desired results in term of final product quality and output. www.amut.it