36 PETplanet Insider Vol. 24 No. 01+02/23 www.petpla.net PETproducts Energy-saving solution for pelletising of rPET/PET When it comes to the pelletising of PET, an energy-saving process as well as a certain degree of crystallisation is very important. Econ launched an underwater pelletiser especially adapted to these requirements. The result is the Econ PET-edition, which has been optimised for PET and rPET. With the help of the Econ patented Thermal Insulation Technology, a safe start-up process is obtained. By preventing heat transfer from the die plate unit into the process water, not only is the freezing of die holes prevented, but a considerable amount of energy is saved. In addition, special attention has been paid to an appropriate insulation of the water tank and the piping in order to achieve an end temperature of the pellets of at least 140 °C. Depending on a customer’s requirements, Econ provides a tailormade solution to ensure the required pellet end temperature. Not only is the pelletiser engineered to operate with minimum energy consumption, but the downstream equipment ECS (Econ Crystallisation System for PET) is as well. This uses the intrinsic heat of the pellets for crystallisation and is therefore one of the most efficient methods of crystallising PET, says Econ. The system is designed to keep the PET pellets at a constant temperature and to achieve a degree of crystallisation of 30-40 %. In the crystallisation channel, the pellets are conveyed further by gentle vibration and mixed to prevent sticking during crystallisation. The high degree of crystallisation enables a faster pre-drying of the pellets before further processing (e.g. injection moulding), which saves a considerable amount of time. In the food sector, a low acetaldehyde (AA) content of recycled PET is required in order to meet the legal guidelines. “Our goal in the development of the Econ PET-Edition was to achieve a significantly improved value in comparison to conventional pelletising systems,” explains Dominik Neumann, team leader of the R&D department. By reducing the pressure build-up at the die plate by 40%, a lower AA content of 30-40 % was achieved directly after pelletising. Previous tests have shown that a lower energy input can be expected during dehydration, since the reduced AA content represents a different starting position. www.econ.eu NIR detectable black bottle Ho.Bag Corporate, an Italian company specialised in the production and distribution of packaging for the cosmetic, herbal and pharmaceutic sector, introduces a new black bottle that can be fully recycled thanks to the carbon free pigments. The packaging is designed as a communication tool: graphics and colours are to attract consumers’ eyes and capture their attention through targeted messages. However, today, the needs of brands in terms of design and image have also to satisfy various sustainability requirements. In the case of cosmetics packaging, where the lifecycle is typically short, it is important to consider how the product will be disposed of after use. An example are black bottles. Eyecatching but difficult to recycle. Why? The carbon black pigments used to give the bottle the dark and full colour, absorb the ultraviolet and infrared spectrum used by near-infrared optical sensors installed in the plastic wastes sorting plants. As a result, the bottle cannot be disposed of in the correct stream. Ho.Bag Corporate, introduced a new black bottle with all the necessary green characteristics thanks to state-of-the-art NIR detectable pigments. www.hobagsrl.com Pigments for NIR detection and automatic sorting Automatic plastic sorting systems in recycling plants work with NIR sensors that do not always correctly identify certain colourants such as conventional silver shades. With NIR Silver, Eckart has developed a pigment solution that is tailored to the needs of automatic sorting. NIR spectroscopy uses the wavelength signature of specific polymers to distinguish between them. NIR Silver optimally reflects these specific wavelengths and thus supports the sorting of plastics. The pigments are claimed to be easy to process in all conventional plastics and provide impressive silver metallic effects. Particularly in combination with post-consumer resins, NIR Silver is intended to offer the packaging industry an opportunity to further strengthen its efforts with regard to sustainability. www.eckart.net MATERIALS / RECYCLING
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