By Ron Shinn
Lindner Washtech has launched two new wash systems aimed at increasing throughput as well as the quality of the final resin.
“The washing quality in particular has an essential influence on the quality of recycled plastics,” said Tomas Kepka, sales manager of Lindner Washtech, based in Germany with a U.S. office in Statesville, N.C.
Customers ask for higher throughput plus higher quality, he said, “not an easy challenge when you consider that plastics are increasingly being recovered from waste streams and that heavily contaminated input materials are increasingly finding their way into the feedstock.”
The two new systems are the Rafter 3.0, the latest version of Lindner’s Rafter pre-wash system, and the Twister Duo, a friction washer for cleaning highly contaminated plastics.
Lindner said the Twister Duo, which has two rotors and a 100 horsepower drive, can remove even the finest particles of dirt. Friction is generated by directing jets of water onto a rotor.
The Twister Duo is the only two-rotor friction washer currently available, Kepka said.
“The washer can be configured with special rotor designs for different materials to guarantee optimum washing efficiency as well as quick exchange of rotor paddles and screens,” Kepka said. Rotors are 62 inches in diameter and the large size gives a longer residence time. Other friction washers generally have one maximum-sized rotor that is 27 inches, he said.
There are a variety of machines available in the Twister series, ranging up to a throughput of 5,000 pounds per hour of PE film. All the Twister units have stainless steel housings, quick-change rotor paddles and screens and feature a robust and maintenance-friendly design.
Kepka said the newest Rafter 3.0 model has a larger body and larger diameter rotor than previous models.
The Rafter machines are especially suitable for contaminated, shredded plastics such as post-consumer LDPE film and hard plastics such as HDPE and PP. They use a chain-type conveyor to remove contaminants and impurities.
The Rafter 3.0 gently pre-washes plastics with minimal wear and tear and is easy to integrate into an existing system to increase washing efficiency, Kepka said. The Rafter 3.0 prepares the input material for the downstream washing process.
Contact:
Lindner Recyclingtech America LLC, Statesville, N.C., 800-235-1391, www.lindner.com
