ICMA co-rotating extruder for advanced PP and HDPE recycling

The Milanese manufacturer, with more than 30 years of experience in the development of co-rotating extruders dedicated to advanced recycling, has successfully tested a new recycling line to be installed at a major Italian group active in the industrial components sector.

It is a second line selected by the customer following high satisfaction obtained from the installation of their first one two years ago, able to reach high production yields of compound regenerated from plastic waste (so called re-compound).

At the heart of the line is an ICMA high-torque co-rotating twin screw extruder characterized by two lateral feeders managing addition of various types of fillers and with special high vacuum pump units for enhanced volatiles extraction. The extruder maintains all the high-tech characteristics of the compounding sector. Interchangeable liners in the barrel with both faces perfectly machined for optimal interface between cylinder and liners in order to grant a perfect temperature control of the melted plastics and the high-performance steels. All steel is sourced from primary blue chip suppliers and processed according to very strict manufacturing protocols, a reflection of the many years of experience and the high standard always delivered in the ICMA extruders.

The screw profile is optimized to process various families of polyolefin waste, following intensive software simulation, modelling and granulation tests in the new technology laboratory constructed recently with state-of-the-art compounding lines.

The high degree of flexibility in the ICMA extruder design combined with high-torque power allow processing various types of plastic waste into upcycling process able to deliver regenerated granule comparable to virgin resins. In addition, the simplicity of this line is a guarantee of valuable production versatility whilst maintaining the highest output yields, demonstrating further attractive benefits of ICMA’s solution.

"The ICMA co-rotating extruder, specifically designed to process waste plastics, is an almost unique machine in the landscape of available solutions. ICMA has been a pioneer in the market of plastic recycling process technology, a fact that has allowed my company to accumulate over the years a deep experience in shaping the right process in line with customer’s needs. In a very demanding market looking for no compromise over quality ICMA can make the difference," said Giorgio Colombo, Owner of ICMA.