Extrusion International 6-2019

20 Extrusion International 6/2019 INDUSTRY NEWS Successful Run of Groundbreaking Plastics Recycling Technology PureCycle Technologies today announced it has successful- ly completed purified waste carpet from its Feedstock Evalu- ation Unit (FEU), transforming discarded carpet into clear, odorless, ultra-pure polypropylene (UPRP) resin through its proprietary plastics recycling technology, developed and invented by Procter & Gamble. The successful scaling of the technology unlocks the value for a wide range of waste poly- propylene (PP) that can be restored to its original virgin-like condition. This technology will result in a substantial increase in demand for waste PP and will help to provide alternatives to landfilling and exporting plastic waste. The FEU is the first of two phases for PureCycle’s plant in Hanging Rock, Ohio. The second phase, which will come on- line in the summer of 2021, will process 119 million pounds of waste PP each year. The plant is expected to produce over 105 million pounds of virgin-like PP per year, which will be used in consumer goods packaging, home furnishings and other applications that currently have very limited recycled PP options today. PureCycle is also working towards submit- ting for a letter of non-object from the FDA for our ultra- pure recycled polypropylene to be used in food grade appli- cations. “There is an overwhelming demand for high-quality recycled polypropylene, and this milestone is a huge step for us – and the industry – toward addressing a growing market that is demanding recycled applications,” said Mike Otworth, CEO of PureCycle Technologies. “This achievement not only proves the technology at scale, but also builds on the mo- mentum of the business as we move closer towards scaling operations beyond our first plant.” The development of the technology began when P&G was looking for more ways to incorporate additional recycled content into their applications, specifically targeting PP. With limited amounts of rPP available in the market, P&G set out to develop their own process to purify waste polypropylene. This groundbreaking innovation is the heart of PureCycle and continues to be a key initiative for P&G and their goal of reducing petroleum plastic in their packaging by 50%. The PureCycle process removes color, odor and impurities, producing virgin-like resin. This Ultra-Pure Recycled Polypro- pylene (UPRP) delivers a consistent product that meets vir- gin-like specifications to meet the demands of various indus- tries. In fact, demand for recycled PP is so high, PureCycle’s first plant is fully subscribed and has begun site selection for our large-scale operation in Europe. PureCycle Technologies is portfolio company of Innventure, a Wasson Enterprise Partnership. PureCycle Technologies purecycletech.com PureCycle Technologies celebrates successful run of groundbreaking plastics recycling technology (Photos: PureCycle) Extrusion Tooling Guill introduces the latest generation of its Series 800, the 2-to-6 layer extrusion tooling designed to produce the highest quality, highest material-efficient 1/8” to 6” OD tubing for au- tomotive, medical, appliance and industrial applications. The redesigned Series 800 produces flawlessly smooth extrusion and layer definition of Fluropolymer and other materials for all Guill Tool & Engineering www.guill.com multi-layer, multi-lumen medical tubing, as well as fuel line con- structions, multi-layer PEX pipe and drip irrigation applications, among others. The Guill design further allows thin layer combi- nations of polymers and adhesives to .02mmor less. Guill offers its extensive line of crossheads and inline tubing dies in fixed and adjustable center, for single or co-extrusion applica- tions. The tooling is designed to process all compounds and fea- tures the company’s patented, precision Feather Touch Concen- tricity adjustment, the Seal Right System, which combines with the Feather Touch system to eliminate polymer leaking. Guill also offers its unique spiral flow distribution system. All Guill tooling is produced with rigorous computer simulation of the flow channels using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) programs, resulting in optimum uniform flow with no weld lines.