By Ron Shinn
CMG Sp.A has developed a new granulator that can process objects made from biodegradable polymers without changing the materials’ physical or mechanical characteristics; separately, it has introduced a high-capacity line for recycling preforms.
The Bologna, Italy, manufacturer of a wide range of granulators, shredders and associated equipment, said its patented Bio-Gran fills a gap in equipment that can process post-industrial biodegradable scraps and rejects so they can be reused by a processor instead of being sent to a recycler.
Biodegradable polymers have unique physical characteristics and are more susceptible to heat and mechanical stress than non-biodegradable polymers, making them more vulnerable to fail due to the stress of post-production processing steps. CMG said the reject rate for products made from biodegradable material can sometimes be as high as tens of percentage points.
With the Bio-Gran process, manufacturers can reuse that material, the company said, because Bio-Gran does not compromise the integrity of the polymer during reprocessing.
Capacities for the Bio-Gran line range from 440 pounds per hour to 4,400 per hour. The new Bio-Gran equipment is Industry 4.0 compliant.
CMG said the Bio-Gran equipment is already in use in Europe and demonstrations are available at the CMG Tech Venter in Bologna. Universal Dynamics is the distributor for CMG in the U.S.
Processing PET and rPET preforms
The increasing amount of recycled material being added to virgin PET preforms can cause problems for processors that want to reintroduce regrind into their production process.
CMG said that while recycled content in preforms of 20 percent to 30 percent is common nowadays, the percentage is increasing to 50 percent to 100 percent in some cases. Grinding this material in large quantities is difficult on most conventional equipment.
The High Capacity Preform Recycling line is designed to safeguard the mechanical and physical characteristics of the polymer so it can be reintroduced into the production process, CMG said.
The hourly capacities for the models in the new CMG line are 881 pounds, 1,322 pounds, 1,763 and 2,645 pounds.
CMG said processing high volumes of the preforms requires larger vessels for storage and very robust handling capacity. The new lines use high-volume infeed conveyors featuring stainless steel or other materials suitable for contact with food-grade packaging, rugged belts and bridge-type metal detection units. The granulator is equipped with high-efficiency motors.
The evacuation, de-dusting and fines filtration system is designed for gentle handling of the regrind.
CMG said the output material is uniformly sized, small enough to be reprocessed and contains no dust.
Contact:
Universal Dynamics Inc., Fredericksburg, Va., 703-490-7000, www.unadyn.piovan.com
Ron Shinn, editor
About the Author
Ron Shinn
Editor
Editor Ron Shinn is a co-founder of Plastics Machinery & Manufacturing and has been covering the plastics industry for more than 35 years. He leads the editorial team, directs coverage and sets the editorial calendar. He also writes features, including the Talking Points column and On the Factory Floor, and covers recycling and sustainability for PMM and Plastics Recycling.