 The new EREMA patent pending TVEplus, broadens the reach of profitable plastics recycling by increasing the amount of print and other contamination that can be efficiently removed from plastics scrap.EREMA developed the TVEplus, an upgrade of the classic TVE series, to facilitate recycling the increasingly more heavily inked and additive laden plastics packaging common today, allowing transformation of this waste into the valuable, near virgin quality pellets typical of EREMA systems’ production. In the basic EREMA recycling system, scrap material is fed into a large vertical cutter/compactor unit that uses friction to compress, size reduce and pre-warm the plastic material. A unique advantage of the large cutter/compactor is the ability to dynamically blend scrap materials while they are in the chamber. Scrap, inconsistent in its material make up and amounts, is blended to produce a steady, predictable melt. The pre-heated, densified material is then fed directly to the extruder screw. Compression and melting occur gradually, at a precisely controlled temperature, adding minimal heat history to the reclaim. In the EREMA TVE series, melt filters are placed ahead of a degassing system. The TVE, also patented, has proven over more than a decade of use to be an exceptionally capable handler of large amounts of contaminants at higher production rates and quality than other vented extruders. The TVEplus is the result of modifications of the TVE in design and process engineering that allow an extraordinary increase in degassing efficiency and an improved homogenisation process. EREMA tests of the TVEplus with heavily printed packaging film showed an increase of approximately three times the efficiency at removing gases from ink, binding agents, other additives and incidental contaminating materials. Even traces of these materials that survive less advanced reclaim processes can cause bubbles, blisters and film tears rendering finished recycled products unusable. The EREMA TVEplus series features a number of configurations able to handle throughputs from 250 to around 2,500 kg/h. For further details please contact: EREMA Engineering Recycling Maschinen und Anlagen Ges.m.b.H., Austria Web: www.erema.at |
