Pureloop spotlights composites recycling at Fakuma

At Fakuma 2024, Pureloop will showcase its integrated shredder-extruder ISEC evo for injection moulders, first launched almost 10 years ago.

What’s new is the focus on the machine’s ability to keep composite materials in the loop.

The system, which is equipped with a melt filter, can also cope with challenging materials of different sizes and shapes. The use of high-quality carbide knives, a protected rotor, special treatment of the screw flights and other measures increase the wear resistance of the system. As a result, composite materials or glass fibres can also be optimally processed, the Erema subsidiary claims.

“During tests in August at our R&D Center in Ansfelden, the ISEC evo was once again able to prove its high performance,” said Manfred Dobersberger, managing director of Pure Loop.

During the production of glass fibre-reinforced fabric, scrap is produced from the non-crimp fabric or also residual spools. The 100% glass fibres were fed into the recycling process without pre-shredding and compounded with polypropylene or other polymers.

“In the tests, the recycled pellets produced showed higher mechanical properties than the virgin material from well-known manufacturers,” Dobersberger noted.

The ISEC evo has been designed to re-inject material rather than rejecting it. Disposing of scrap parts and sprues from the injection moulding process is often time consuming and expensive. Feeding them back to the production process therefore offers economic benefits for injection moulders.

“Our ISEC evo sets new standards in the recycling of injection moulded parts by ensuring a consistently high quality of recycled pellets,” said Dobersberger.

In contrast to grinding processes, only minimal changes in the Melt Flow Index (MFI) occur during repelletising and there is no dust, which promotes the formation of soot particles. The regranulate has the same shape and melt performance as virgin material, which makes it easier to feed back into the injection moulding machine.

Source: sustainableplastics.com