Sustainable Plastics - May/June 2021 - 6

newsround
Maag Group equips sugar-to-PLA
facility in China with pump technology
PUMP AND PROCESS technology
provider Maag Group
has supplied its latest melt
pumps for the first fully integrated
sugar-to-polylactic acid
(PLA) facility in China. The facility
converts lactide from the
sugar of locally grown corn into
PLA using Maag Group's brand
of " x6 class " melt pump technology.
According to Maag, the
x6 class pumps are the perfect
fit for a modern, sustainable
plant producing bio-plastics.
The Chinese facility uses the
pumps in the polymerization
reaction stage to make sure
Sulzer brand reactors operate
smoothly; in the devolatilization
stage, when unreacted lactide
is removed from the PLA melt to
achieve a good product quality;
A melt pump
from Maag.
mer can safely be processed
through the plug flow reactor
when the polymer conversion
is progressing and the viscosity
is increasing.
The technology keeps the
and to build up the necessary
pressure to process the melt
through the downstream equipment
and up to the underwater
pelletizer. The facility's carbon
footprint is reduced by using
plant-based resources while
the gear pump technology contributes
to energy savings.
The key feature of the x6 class
melt pump technology is " reduced
back-flow to lower the
energy consumption, " said Maag.
The x6 class melt pump helps
save up to 50 percent on energy
use and reduces material recirculation
in the pump by about 50
percent, the release adds.
The pumps also off er a wider
operating range compared
to other technologies. For example,
low viscous pre-polybearing
temperatures lower than
former pumps. The shaft also
was designed to increase the
length over centre distance ratio,
which lets extraction pumps
operate at a lower fill level.
In one other development,
Maag Group says the bearing
surfaces are almost 30 percent
bigger to provide better cushioning
and to let the pump work
with bigger gaps, which allows
potentially small foreign particles
entering the system to pass
the pump more easily without
damaging it.
Paccor completes the acquisition of Miko Pac N.V.
THE PROPOSED ACQUISITION
by Paccor of Miko Pac
announced 31 March 31, 2021
has now been completed. Paccor,
an internationally operating
manufacturer of packaging
solutions for the consumer, food,
and foodservice market, said the
transaction closed June 1, 2021.
The acquisition is a logical
step in Paccor's execution of its
growth strategy, according to
Andreas Schütte, CEO of Paccor.
With more than 3,000 dedicated
employees in 15 countries,
Paccor is a global player in the
packaging industry. The company,
formerly known as Coveris
Rigid, was acquired in August
2018 by New York-based investment
firm Lindsay Goldberg,
who renamed it Paccor.
As a former subsidiary of
Miko N.V., Miko Pac has been
active in plastics packaging
for some 45 years. In 2020,
the plastics processing group
achieved a turnover of more
than 100 million euros and employed
about 500 people. Miko
Pac has its own production
sites in Belgium, Poland, Indonesia,
and sales organizations
in Germany and France.
Total rebrands as TotalEnergies
AT TOTAL'S 28 May Ordinary
and Extraordinary Shareholders'
Meeting, shareholders
approved, almost unanimously,
a resolution to change the
company's name from Total to
TotalEnergies, thereby anchoring
its strategic transformation
into a broad energy company in
its identity. In tandem with this
name change, TotalEnergies is
adopting a new visual identity.
The change comes hard on
the heels of the recent wake6
May/June
2021
The acquisition aligns Paccor even more
strongly for growth, said Andreas Schütte.
up call recently sent to Big
Oil, which saw, among other
things, a Dutch court ordering
Shell to slash its CO2 emissions
by 45% by 2030 from
2019 levels. In that same week,
shareholders at Chevron voted
to pass an activist-led resolution
demanding the company
set targets to slash emissions
of its energy products, while at
ExxonMobil, shareholders voted
to replace two of Exxon's 12
board members with nominees
Our ambition is to be a worldclass
player in the energy transition, "
said Patrick Pouyanné,
Chairman and Chief Executive
Off icer of TotalEnergies.
TotalEnergies, active in more
backed by Engine No. 1 activist
hedge fund, signalling strong
dissatisfaction with Exxon's climate
change strategy.
" Energy is reinventing itself,
and this energy journey is ours.
than 130 countries, is a broad
energy company that produces
and markets energies on a
global scale: oil and biofuels,
natural gas and green gases,
renewables and electricity. It is
committed to supplying energy
that is ever more aff ordable,
clean, reliable and accessible to
as many people as possible.
Sustainable Plastics - May/June 2021

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