Gneuss screen changers find new opportunities in blown film
Gneuss RSFgenius screen changers are finding a new market among blown film processors wanting to recycle production waste.
The RSFgenius screen changers are designed for ultra-fine filtration, including the filtration of heavily contaminated materials. While they frequently are used in recycling cast film and extruded sheet production scrap, Gneuss reports growing interest recently coming from blown film processors wanting to boost their use of recycled materials.
Gneuss earlier this year sold a RSFgenius 175 screen changer to PE packaging film manufacturer Oldenburg Kunststoff-Technik GmbH, Chieming, Germany, to process its production waste.
“We see inquiries to use better screen changers on blown film lines or on off-line recycling lines,” said Monika Gneuss, VP of sales and marketing manager. “This particular installation is at a blown film manufacturer that processes their own production waste internally into pellets that go back into blown film lines. Their existing recycling line couldn’t filter fine enough to make the material good enough to go back into blown film, so, they retrofitted our RSFgenius filter onto their recycling line.”
Oldenburg manufactures a wide range of high-quality films in different formats. The company collects the film waste, which is created during startup, shutdown and product changes, and repelletizes it on a central recycling extruder.
The extruder was equipped with a conventional screen changer that couldn’t adequately filter the material for use in thinner-gauge films, Gneuss said. The simple, discontinuous screen changers on the blown film lines would block up quickly if the scrap was not filtered finely enough.
Oldenburg earlier this year retrofitted a Gneuss RSFgenius 175 to its recycling extruder and since has been able to filter out particles as small as 75 micrometers, Gneuss said. Pellets made from Oldenburg’s scrap can be put back into its blown film lines instead of being sold.
When using the repelletized material, the intervals between changing screens on the discontinuous screen changers on the blown film lines is practically the same as when processing virgin resin, according to Gneuss. In addition, the company can use up to 100 percent recycled resin in its blown film lines.
Bruce Geiselman, senior staff reporter
Contact:
Gneuss Inc., Matthews, N.C., 704-841-7251, www.gneuss.com
Bruce Geiselman | Senior Staff Reporter
Senior Staff Reporter Bruce Geiselman covers extrusion, blow molding, additive manufacturing, automation and end markets including automotive and packaging. He also writes features, including In Other Words and Problem Solved, for Plastics Machinery & Manufacturing, Plastics Recycling and The Journal of Blow Molding. He has extensive experience in daily and magazine journalism.
