PETpla.net Insider 10 / 2019

TRADE SHOW PREVIEW PET planet Insider Vol. 20 No. 10/19 www.petpla.net 62 Infrared-rotary drums for various applications in plastics processing and recycling Gentle PET decontamination At its exhibition stand, Kreyenborg GmbH & Co. KG from Senden, Germany, will be showing its IRD B 180/270-135, thus representing all kinds of infrared applications in the plastics processing and recycling industry. Individual, tailor-made infrared rotary drums are available for pre-heating, crystallisation, drying and coating of virgin materials. The company has developed the IR-Clean especially for de-gassing and decontamination processes of PET post-consumer bottle flakes. This economical solution for the treatment of recycling material, which has already been awarded a letter of non-objection by FDA and positive results by EFSA, will be one of this year’s highlights at Kreyenborg’s booth. Apart from complete produc- tion lines for bulk material handling processes, infrared rotary drums are the key competences of Kreyenborg GmbH. Several hundreds of these systems have already been installed world-wide in the plastics processing industry alone. Their fields of applica- tion are as manifold as the designs selected by each specific customer individually. But the one thing they all have in common is their functional principle: the PET post-consumer bottle flakes are poured into the rotary drum through a volumetric dosing system. Inside the drum, an in-welded helix and the continuous rotation ensure a homogenous material flow at a pre-defined residence time (first-in/ first-out principle). At the same time, the mate- rial is mixed and a revolution of the surface takes place permanently, which causes the infrared elements tailor-made geometry, the targeted process control and a special control unit make the IR-Clean an ideal drying and decontamination unit for PET recycling material. This has been con- firmed by a Letter of Non-Objection issued by the American FDA Authority and by several challenge tests, which have proven conformity with the crite- ria of the European EFSA. PET recycling material, which has been dried and decontaminated in the IR-Clean, can be used for packaging that comes directly into contact with the foodstuff. Consequently, the IR- Clean itself, which works without any Hall 9 Kreyenborg Booth A55 positioned above the material bed to achieve a quick and even heat- up result. Infrared rotary drums work without any expensive vacuum tech- nology and are designed according to each customer’s individual require- ments as to their size and length. They can be designed either as a stand-alone solution or as a unit to be incorporated into a new or an existing extrusion line. The IRD B 180/270-135 that will be exhibited has a diameter of 180 cm, a length of 2.7m and is perfectly suited for material flows of up to 800 kg/h. Kreyenborg’s IR-Clean is a very specific development of an infrared rotary drum especially for the treat- ment of PET recycling material. Its IR-Batch for PET masterbatch drying processes The IR-Clean is a drying and decontamination unit for PET recycling material