APK
High quality PE recompounds launched / Rising demand from construction sector / Newcycling project in development
German recycling specialist Aluminium und Kunststoffe (APK, Merseburg; www.apk-ag.de) has developed technology for producing high quality recycled regranulates from post-consumer film scrap. The scrap, called fraction 310, comprises pieces of PE and PP film. They emerge from APK’s elaborate cleaning, separation and recycling process as “Mersalen” LDPE recompounds and MDPE recompounds in pellet form.
Mathias Nobis, manager of APK’s southwest sales office, said: “Our Mersalen MDPE recompounds, which are designed for demanding processing technologies and applications, are meeting growing demand from the building industry and other sectors. Just a few months into production on an industrial scale, we are already supplying increasing volumes to a solid customer base and from 2016 we will also be able to meet demand for silo delivery.” Mersalen MDPE has been available since mid-2015 and, said APK, has been in high demand for various applications thanks to its high batch-to-batch consistency and continuous availability.
Applications include blown films with a thickness of 50 micron upwards which are used to produce barrier membranes for construction, heavy duty films and recycling sacks, among others. Further uses include sturdy (possibly coextruded) flat films for converting into dimpled sheets for construction, non-pressurised piping and extrusion moulded parts such as containers of up to 1.5 litre capacity. APK said its MDPE recompounds also offer particular advantages for HDPE processors as an admixture in film extrusion because of its higher achievable draw-off speeds in comparison with pure HDPE, a wider processing window and lower processing temperatures.
The company has been investing in its facilities at Merseburg to cater for the new recompounds. A line with a capacity of 24 tonnes per day has been operational since the middle of this year and includes an extruder specifically designed for converting problematic feedstock into high-quality pellets. As a result, said APK, the MDPE recompounds are particularly clean, contain little or no moisture and have undergone minimal thermal damage.
A project to separate and recycle plastic waste from the packaging and automotive industries into raw materials with properties identical to virgin material (newcycling) is also underway. APK, using its proprietary technologies, has built a large-scale pilot plant financed by German venture capital firms MIG Fonds and AT Newtec.
Mathias Nobis, manager of APK’s southwest sales office, said: “Our Mersalen MDPE recompounds, which are designed for demanding processing technologies and applications, are meeting growing demand from the building industry and other sectors. Just a few months into production on an industrial scale, we are already supplying increasing volumes to a solid customer base and from 2016 we will also be able to meet demand for silo delivery.” Mersalen MDPE has been available since mid-2015 and, said APK, has been in high demand for various applications thanks to its high batch-to-batch consistency and continuous availability.
Applications include blown films with a thickness of 50 micron upwards which are used to produce barrier membranes for construction, heavy duty films and recycling sacks, among others. Further uses include sturdy (possibly coextruded) flat films for converting into dimpled sheets for construction, non-pressurised piping and extrusion moulded parts such as containers of up to 1.5 litre capacity. APK said its MDPE recompounds also offer particular advantages for HDPE processors as an admixture in film extrusion because of its higher achievable draw-off speeds in comparison with pure HDPE, a wider processing window and lower processing temperatures.
The company has been investing in its facilities at Merseburg to cater for the new recompounds. A line with a capacity of 24 tonnes per day has been operational since the middle of this year and includes an extruder specifically designed for converting problematic feedstock into high-quality pellets. As a result, said APK, the MDPE recompounds are particularly clean, contain little or no moisture and have undergone minimal thermal damage.
A project to separate and recycle plastic waste from the packaging and automotive industries into raw materials with properties identical to virgin material (newcycling) is also underway. APK, using its proprietary technologies, has built a large-scale pilot plant financed by German venture capital firms MIG Fonds and AT Newtec.
30.09.2015 Plasteurope.com [232299-0]
Published on 30.09.2015
German version of this article...