Enhanced plastics compounding, recycling and processing of bioplastics
At this year's Chinaplas, Coperion will be presenting the versatile and efficient processing applications of its ZSK and STS twin screw extruders as well as its engineering expertise in groundbreaking applications such as the recycling of plastics and the production of bioplastics. A ZSK 58 Mc18 twin screw extruder with a specific torque of 18 Nm/cm³ will be on display, characterized by its consistently high throughput capacity with first-class product quality. It has been locally assembled at Coperion’s manufacturing site in Nanjing, China. With the assembly in China, Coperion is able to react as fast as possible to customer demand. Customers benefit from local added value, transport and tax savings as well as from shorter delivery times. Even after-sales services are customized to local parts and needs. The ZSK 58 Mc18 extruder will be outfitted with a Coperion K-Tron K-ML-SFS-KT20 twin screw loss-in-weight feeder.
In addition to compounding and recycling, Coperion extruders are suitable for the production of bioplastics. This process places very high demands on the extrusion system due to the diversity of base polymers being used and the variety of recipes. Coperion has already realized numerous systems for the production of bioplastics and therefore has comprehensive engineering know-how in designing the process steps needed to achieve the required mechanical properties of the bioplastic end product.
The STS 25 Mc11 laboratory extruder that Coperion will show at Chinaplas, has a 25 mm screw diameter and features a simple design. It is operator-friendly and easy to clean. By having the same screw diameter ratio Do/Di of 1.55 and the same maximum specific torque Md/a³ of 11.3 Nm/cm³ as the entire STS Mc11 extruder series, production parameters can be reliably scaled up to a larger STS model. To extend the process window, Coperion has increased the screw speed of the STS 25 Mc11 to 1,200 min-1. This way the laboratory extruder is ideally suited for recipe development and basic scientific research with small batch sizes of 2 kg and achieves throughput rates of up to 110 kg/h. The STS 25 Mc11 which Coperion will exhibit at Chinaplas will be shown with a Colormax Systems C/S-LW-NT28 twin screw loss-in-weight feeder.
Complete plastics recycling plants from a single source
Together, Coperion and Herbold Meckesheim realize entire plants for plastics recycling. From mechanical processing – shredding, washing, separating, drying and agglomerating of plastics – to bulk material handling as well as feeding and extrusion all the way to compounding and pelletizing, their systems cover the entire process chain for reclaiming plastics.
Coperion and Herbold Meckesheim achieve solutions for mechanical recycling of post-industrial and post-consumer waste, chemical recycling, solvent-based recycling, and deodorization, tailored to the type of plastic being recycled. Together, they will be showing a PET recycling plant simulation at Chinaplas, demonstrating their expertise in numerous plastics recycling processes. Booth visitors can look directly into the process steps and view the construction and functionality of key technologies.
