Extrusion International USA 1-2022

13 Extrusion International 1/2022 rPET recycl ing solutions viscoSHEET Up to 100% rPET and inhouse flakes processable at guaranteed iV-Levels for direct food contact. foodgrade without compromise Polyamide Compound Manufacturing Reaches New Throughput Dimension „ Specialty chemicals company LANXESS is now operating another Coperion line to produce Polyamide 6, Polyamide 66 and Polybutylenterephthalate (PBT) at its Krefeld-Uerdingen, Germany, location, making signi fi cant steps toward a new throughput range. With this technology, constructed around the high-performance ZSK 92 Mc18 twin screw extruder, LANXESS is producingdemanding compounds at throughputs never achieved before. To reach such high output and main- tain very good product quality, Coperion equipped the entire systemwith special features that ensureahighdegreeof auto- mation, a crucial requirement for this developer and provider of high-performance compounds. Among these features is the ASC strand conveying system from Coperion Pelletizing Tech- nology which automatically conveys polymer strands from the twin screw extruder discharge to the pelletizer. The entire sys- tem, built around the ZSK 92 Mc18, is one of several Coperion lines that LANXESS operates in Krefeld-Uerdingen. Coperion has designed this compounding line as a complete turnkey solution for LANXESS – from engineering to com- missioning. From state-of-the-art raw material feeding, to conveying, compounding, pelletizing and classifying technol- ogy, Coperion seamlessly synchronized every one of the sys- tem’s process steps with each other and logistically integrated them into one steel construction, forming the basis for the compounding system’s fully automated operation. Following a short startup process, its high performance capacity can be fully exploited. Moreover, Coperion designed this compound- ing line for LANXESS to make optimal use of available space and to assure good accessibility to individual components, as well as short walking distances for operating personnel. Every key component of this complete solution comes from Coperion’s own development and manufacturing, including the ZSK 92Mc18 high performance extruder with its very high 18 Nm/cm3 torque, which takes pride of place when aiming for high throughput rates for reinforced polyamides. The ZSK twin screw extruder is equipped with a twin screw ZS-B side feeder and a ZS-EG side devolatilization unit. Coperion further developed the SK92 die head speci fi cally for polyamide com- pound manufacturing. With its intelligent heating/cooling concept, a homogeneous temperature distribution is achieved so that strands discharge completely uniformly across the en- tire width of the die head, even at high throughput rates. Optimized fl ow geometry allows for gentle handling of the polyamidemelt, achieving high compound quality. In the new SK92 design, the die plate can be changed easily and quickly with just a few simple maneuvers’. The fully automatic strand conveying systemfromCoperion Pelletizing Technology is one of the most important contribution to the entire system’s op- eration. It automatically guides the extruded strands over a cooling water chute and a downstream conveyor belt to the SP 700 HD strand pelletizer’s intake section. Startup is fully au- tomatic just as the conveying and rethreading of the broken strands is. There is no product loss and running production is not interrupted. Coperion GmbH www.coperion.com LANXESS Deutschland GmbH lanxess.com On its Coperion compounding system, LANXESSproduces highly reinforcedpolyamide compounds at veryhigh throughput rates (Photo: LANXESS, Krefeld-Uerdingen, Germany)