Sustainable Plastics - July/August 2022 - 27

Manfred Hackl
Reifenhäuser PET line.
be presenting their technological
innovations, services and
support together at a Group
Addex to introduce the
Short Stack at K 2022
trade fair stand (Hall 9/C09);
" In total 11 new technologies
will be shown, " said CEO Manfred
Hackl, speaking at a pre-K
press event in June. Seven are
recycling related; four are others,
he added.
Extrusion-wise, the Group is
debuting its first solution developed
specifically for mechanical
material processing as part of
the chemical recycling process,
a new series called called Chemerema.
" This indicates our clear
commitment to chemical recycling
activities, " said Hackl. " Our
part is the input preparation. "
Mechanical processes are often
at the beginning of the process
chain for chemical recycling
and serve to prepare the input
streams as a way to ensure a reliable,
continuous and energy-efficient
flow of feed material. Chemerema
offers extrusion-based
technology that can be adapted
to the specific requirements of
chemical recycling.
Reifenhäuser Group:
'It's time to turn
challenges into chances'
At K 2022, the Reifenhäuser
Group is spreading its presence
across four booths: three of its
own and one as part of a joint
pavilion in the so-called Circular
Economy Forum as a founding
partner of the R-Cycle initiative.
R-Cycle is a cross-company
initiative to develop an open
and globally applicable tracing
standard for sustainable plastic
packaging. All recycling-relevant
data is automatically recorded
during the production of the plastic
packaging - creating a digital
product passport - and made
accessible via appropriate markings
such as digital watermarks
or QR codes on intermediate and
A Reifenhäuser barrel.
end products. This enables waste
sorting plants to accurately identify
packaging and to sort this
into recyclable fractions. R-Cycle
is now operational and has been
successfully tested in a number
of pilot projects.
Among many others, one interesting
development which
the company will also be showcasing
is a particularly efficient
production process developed
by Reifenhäuser Cast Sheet
Coating (Hall 17/C22), which
allows PET recyclate to be processed
directly into food-safe
film without a pre-drying process.
Processors save by not
having to invest in an additional
line component, thus also avoiding
additional energy and maintenance
costs, all of which ladd
up to welcome savings, in these
times of rising energy prices.
The process, which uses a
co-rotating twin-screw extruder
and a specially developed
high-performance vacuum system,
meets the criteria of both
the US Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) and the European
Food Safety Authority (EFSA),
opening the door for direct trayto-tray
recycling. The specially
developed ExtrusionOS Production
Compliance software bundle
helps to monitor and securely
document production processes
and compliance with EFSA-relevant
thresholds in a data-based
and real-time manner. Via ExtrusionOS,
production data can also
be transferred to a Digital Product
Passport - for example, via
the open R-Cycle standard.
ExtrusionOS Production
Compliance is based on Reifenhäuser's
ExtrusionOS Core
& c.Hub Middleware, and can
also be retrofitted to existing
lines. The c.Hub, the new digital
ecosystem of the Reifenhäuser
Group, is an on-premise solution
that can be deployed locally
and remains under the full
data sovereignty of the user and
ensures the secure exchange of
data between different IT systems,
applications, extrusion
machines and line controls. This
includes systems developed
by both Reifenhäuser and by
third-party vendors. The webbased
ExtrusionOS user interface,
provides user-friendly applications
and dashboards that
help monitor, manage, store
and analyze this data. Users can
access all data from wherever
they are.
One challenging aspect of
the increasing use of recyclate
is the wear and tear on screws
and barrels. Reifenhäuser Reiloy
will be showcasing its highly
wear-resistant screws and
barrels made with proprietary,
iron- and nickel-based alloys
and featuring process-optimized
surfaces for an extended service
life. The decisive factor here is
the composition of the alloys,
as wear protection depends on
more than just the hardness of
the layer, the company said.
At the various Reifenhäuser
stands, there will also be exhibits
demonstrating, among others,
how blown film producers can
achieve a more stable production
when processing recyclate
and the new, high-performance
cooling system for its EVO FFS
blown film line - all designed
to meet the challenges facing
producers today. As CEO Bernd
Reifenhäuser said: " It's time to
turn challenges into chances. "
Addex' 'Short Stack'
technology a 'major
upgrade'
US-based Addex is introducing
the 'Short Stack' at the upcoming
K 2022 exhibition (Hall 17/
C41), described by the company
as a major upgrade to the company
Intensive Cooling system
which was first introduced at K
2016. I It typically delivers a 25
percent increase in output over
the company's 'Down-on-theDie'
version, which offers an improved
output by 10-15% over
conventional dual-flow air rings.
Addex has added additional
high-velocity air streams to the
traditional single, high-velocity
'main lip' air stream common to
all air rings. Each new high-velocity
air stream naturally provides
a firm stabilisation 'lock
point' that provides intense
cooling and holds the bubble
in place. Another new design
element is sealing the air ring
to the top surface of the die, allowing
positive stabilisation and
high-intensity cooling to begin
earlier in the process, i.e. just
above the die lip.
In the new Short Stack configuration,
the bubble is pulled
through a circular enclosure located
between the die and air
ring that pulls the bubble into an
oversized air ring which further
increases output. Unlike other
raised-up systems, the Short
Stack does this naturally, so it
can be run with or without conventional
IBC hardware.
The Short Stack incorpocontinued
on page 28
July/August 2022
27
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