TRADE SHOW PREVIEW PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 10/22 www.petpla.net 53 material which can be processed as a recycled material on an industrial scale to create food packaging. This innovation sees partner companies pave the way for removing the need to downcycle packaging products other than bottles, and opens up an opportunity for recycling or even upcycling. This would substantially extend the range of uses for PET and rPET. In addition to the bottle-to-bottle cycle, this also means that the establishment of bottle-to-cup or even a cup-to-bottle recycling is conceivable. Injecting at 1,400mm per second The modified rPET being processed at the show comes from drinks bottles recycled in the plants of packaging and recycling specialists Alpla Group, who are headquartered in Hard, Austria. Other partner companies involved in the show exhibit are Brink (Harskamp, Netherlands) for the mould and IML automation and IPB Printing (Reusel, Netherlands) for the labels. An Engel e-speed 280/50 injection moulding machine is the heart of the production cell. Engel specifically developed this hybrid machine with its electrical clamping unit and hydraulic injection unit for the high performance requirements of thin-wall injection moulding. The new high-performance injection unit achieves injection speeds up 1,400mm per second at a maximum injection pressure of up to 2,600 bar when processing small shot weights with an extreme wall-thickness to flow path ratio. To process rPET, Engel combines the new injection unit with a plasticising unit from in-house development and production specifically designed for processing recycled material. During plasticising and injection, the viscosity of the PET is configured for thin-wall injection moulding. The new Engel e-speed supports the processing of arbitrary recycled materials up to 100% rPET. Taking different label trends into account Engel is presenting a mould at the K’ show which can process different labels at the same time. This sees the partners respond to the globally different trends in in-mould labelling which are in line with the EPBP and/ or Recyclass recommendations in the EU, and with the specifications from the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) for the USA. The dyes used on in-mould labels for the American market and its requirements can be washed off as the intent is to recycle the labels and the application for this market. A different technology is used in Europe: an in-mould label which floats off in the recycling process making it easy to separate the dyes and the label from the PET. www.engelglobal.com www.alpla.com Containers are being produced directly from rPET in thin-wall injection moulding at the K’ show 2022. ES PROCESS on energy consumption, PET RECYCLING PLANT Compact process, modular design equipment space. CONTACT US TO LEARN MORE ! WWW.BO-RE-TECH.COM | +86-573-85120186 | SALES@BO-RE-TECH.COM
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