PETpla.net Insider 07+08 / 2020

52 PRODUCTS PETplanet Insider Vol. 21 No. 07+08/20 www.petpla.net Complete concept for wastewater recycling Between one and three litres per litre of beer or soft drinks, two litres per kilo of PET – during a production opera- tion, very substantial quantities of wastewater are created. For precisely this reason, not only beverage and liquid-food producers, but also recyclers are continually seeking solu- tions for downsizing this wastewater incidence. Since Krones has already optimised its individual machines for enhanced efficacy, the complete-system vendor has now expanded the horizons of its corporate capabilities to factory level: a treatment concept has been developed for converting waste- water from the production operation into new process water. This covers all the process steps involved that give rise to wastewater in production. From effluent to process water In this concept, all the process wastewater from the pro- duction operation is passed through the existing network of gullies into a central storage basin. From there, any solids it contains are sieved out, whereupon the wastewater is neu- tralised in a collecting tank. The next step in the process, depending on the size of the system concerned, is traditional- style water treatment. If very sizable quantities of wastewater are involved, it is expedient to use an anaerobic stage: this will then produce biogas, which can be re-used in a unit-type cogeneration plant, for example. Once all the residues have been removed from the wastewater, it needs to be treated to make it suitable again for use as process water. This is where Krones’ Hydronomic water treatment systems come into play. By means of ultra filtration and reverse osmosis, even the tiniest particles like micro-organisms or salts are filtered out of the water. Fol- lowing the subsequent admixture of chlorine dioxide in order to disinfect and stabilise the water, it is ready to be used again in the production process. The closed-circuit concept enables the water consumption in the production operation to be substantially reduced: up to 80 per cent less water is now required – which of course has a perceptible effect on both the company’s water costs and its environmental performance balance. The system can not only be installed in new factories, it can also be retrofitted in existing plants. www.krones.com Sustainable label collection CCL Label offers a sus- tainable label collection including recycling-friendly solutions like EcoStream and EcoFloat, technologies like ultra-thin films, adhesives with specific functionalities or materials from renew- able resources but also label innovations using recycled content such as rPET from post-consumer recycling (PCR). Permanent and WashOff labels with rPET content Permanent self-adhesive labels based on PET are avail- able with up to 70-90% recycled content from PCR. WashOff labels allow the clean removal of labels from returnable glass bottles in typical industrial washing processes. Compared to paper wet-glue labels they also help save water and energy and do not contaminate the washing bath. WashOff labels are currently available with 30% rPET from PCR – even higher percentages of recycled materials are currently being tested for the future. Liner solutions with rPET content Liners are the carrier sheet for the label and adhesive. Release Liners for both label solutions made from 30% recycled materials are available. 30% rPET content reduces the carbon footprint by 24% CO 2 equivalent emissions, 70% rPET content by 56%. Sleeve solutions with recycled content This solution, a medium shrink transparent PETG film for sleeves with approx. 30% recycled material (post-industrial), is claimed to offer good performance in steam and hot air applications. It is suitable for gravure, flexo and rotary offset printing. Thanks to the sophisticated chemical recycling process, the post-consumer recycled plastic from PET bottles is of highest quality and safe to use on food and beverage pack- aging, states CCL Label, and continues that the functional- ity and performance of the labels with rPET share are not distinguishable from those made from virgin raw material. www.ccllabel.com