Extrusion International 4-2022

54 Extrusion International 4/2022 MATERIAL HANDLING, RECYCLING T he ZS-B side feeder’s novel design makes it possible to feed very high rates of fiber and flakes, such as PA, PE, PET, and PP. As a result, the ZSK twin screw extruder’s high capacity can be fully exploited when the ZS-B MEGAfeed is used. Very high throughputs in both mechanical and chemical recycling of post-industrial and post-consumer waste are achieved. Increased Throughput in Numbers With a ZSK 58 Mc18 twin screw extruder, the through- put increase and thus the potential of the new ZS-B MEGAfeed becomes very clear. When recycling PA fibers with a bulk density of ~40-50 kg/m3, throughputs of 70 kg/h were previously achieved using conventional equip- ment. When the PA fibers were fed into the ZSK extruder using the ZS-B MEGAfeed, throughputs increased about fourteenfold to 1,000 kg/h. Similar results were achieved recycling carbon fibers with a bulk density of ~50-70 kg/ m3; in this case, throughputs increased from 50 kg/h to 2,500 kg/h using the ZS-B MEGAfeed. When recycling PCR (Post-Consumer Recycled) flakes, throughputs in - creased from 50 kg/h to 700 kg/h, and from 80 kg/h to 1,300 kg/h with multilayer film flakes. Key to Economical Recycling of A Wide Variety of Plastics Plastics previously considered not re- cyclable are becoming a valuable raw material using the new Co- perion ZS-B MEGAfeed. For example, PCR flakes or re- cyclate from carbon fiber-reinforced plastics can now be fed into the ZSK extruder at high feed rates and recycled economically. In the case of mechanical upcycling, upstream processes necessary for compounding, such as compacting, melt- ing and agglomeration, are completely eliminated using the ZS-B MEGAfeed technology. In this recycling process, flakes and fibers can be fed directly into the ZSK extrud - er, where they are melted, compounded, devolatilized, and filtered in a single step. In so doing, both investment costs and energy consumption drop. The production pro- cess becomes significantly more efficient. Moreover, the thermal product stress is reduced and recyclate quality increases. Even when recycling PET, the feed rate is no longer a lim- iting factor. With the ZS-B MEGAfeed, PET flakes and fibers can be fed into the ZSK twin Innovative ZS-B MEGAfeed Side Feeder Makes Plastics Recycling Markedly More Economical With the goal of making recycling of lightweight, high-volume fiber and flake recyclate much more economical and, in some cases even possible, Coperion has developed a new version of its ZS-B side feeder. Using the innovative ZS-BMEGAfeed, plastic recyclate with a bulk density under 200 kg/m³, long considered intake-limited and thus not worth recycling, can be reliably fed in large quantities into Coperion’s ZSK twin screw extruder and be concurrently recycled and compounded. The new ZS-B MEGAfeed side feeder from Coperion significantly increases fiber and flake feed rate into the ZSK twin screw extruder, making many plastics recycling processes markedly more economical, and making some possible that had not been before (Photos: Coperion, Stuttgart Germany)