High-Efficiency Technologies For Processing And Recycling Plastics

Stuttgart August 2024 – At Fakuma 2024 (15-19 October 2024, Friedrichshafen, Germany) Coperion and Herbold Meckesheim will jointly present numerous product and process solutions that make both compounding and recycling of plastics markedly more efficient and that consistently achieve high product quality. 

Coperion and Herbold Meckesheim will demonstrate their expertise in realizing entire systems using virtual animation: Both a complete compounding plant as well as an entire system for recycling plastic will be available to view. The processes involved can be experienced digitally with the aid of simulations, and visitors will be able to peer into individual key components and their functions.

Moreover, rotors from Herbold Meckesheim granulators will be on display in various sizes and for a myriad of applications. Within the rotor concept, the cutting geometry is the primary reason for the high efficiency of Herbold Meckesheim’s rotors.

Efficient plants for recycling a myriad of plastics

Along with individual components, Coperion and Herbold Meckesheim deliver entire systems 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, such plants cover the entire plastics reclamation process chain. 

Currently, Coperion and Herbold Meckesheim are realizing an entire bottle-to-bottle recycling system for Indian preform and plastic packaging manufacturer Magpet Polymer Pvt Ltd. This plant handles every process step from mechanical processing of used PET bottles to discharging high-quality PET granulate, using a ZSK twin screw extruder with fully attuned peripherals to meet every need. Magpet awarded the contract for this PET recycling plant to Coperion and Herbold Meckesheim as they have optimally coordinated their technologies and realized efficient plastic recycling solutions that consistently and reliably deliver high PET recyclate quality.

Recycling Test Center: Seamless connection of every process step

In its fully equipped Test Centers, Coperion and Herbold Meckesheim offer customers the ability to test an enormous variety of plastic recycling processes and technologies under actual production conditions even before investing. At Herbold Meckesheim, within its 800 m² facility in Meckesheim, Germany, there is a complete washing line for cold and hot washing as well as every size reduction solution from shredders and granulators to pulverizers or plastic compactors for densification, all at the customers’ disposal. In 2023, Coperion launched the operation of the Recycling Innovation Center in Weingarten, Germany with state-of-the-art, individually configurable recycling plants where recyclate can be conveyed, fed, extruded, compounded, pelletized and deodorized. Both Test Centers complement each other perfectly to simulate and test the recycling of plastics. During the Recycling Days² 2024 on November 6 and 7, Herbold Meckesheim and Coperion are offering the opportunity to see the new Recycling Innovation Center in person. At this symposium, industry experts will highlight currently available technology and process solutions that make plastics recycling economically more appealing and versatile to use. Additionally, the entire recycling process will be on view in live presentations.

Smart solutions for classic compounding tasks

Along with recycling, at this year’s Fakuma, Coperion will present versatile and efficient uses of its ZSK and STS twin screw extruders as well as its feeding and conveying technologies for classic compounding tasks. With continuous research and development, Coperion continues to pursue its goal of setting new standards in machine and plant engineering for processing technology. For example, at the beginning of this year, Coperion introduced a re-worked version of the ZSK 18 MEGAlab laboratory extruder. With its optimized design, the ZSK MEGAlab now offers even more flexibility and safety in handling. Using the newly developed patent-pending feeding platform, up to four feeders can be placed over the extruder’s intake barrel with great variability, allowing ingredients to be added very flexibly into the compounding process.

Likewise, Coperion’s ProRate PLUS feeder line features new developments. With the ProRate™ PLUS-MT twin screw extruder and the new ProFlow™ bulk solid activator, an efficient feeding solution for powder additives is now available. Continuous-operation gravimetric ProRate PLUS feeders stand out with a good price-to-performance ratio and short delivery times.