More recycled HDPE is finding its way into extrusion blow molded packaging for products like shower gels and household detergents. Therefore, competition is growing for sourcing high-quality waste streams that are suitable in such applications. As a result, the value chain is turning to more sophisticated technologies to use waste streams that tend to generate recyclates that have unwanted odors, poor processing performance, and insufficient mechanical properties.
Joined Forces to Optimize Upcycling
With the live demonstrations Erema, Baerlocher, PreZero and W.Müller want to highlight how a machine manufacturer, an additive supplier, a recycler, and an EBM-equipment provider each play a critical part in enabling lower value consumer waste to be circulated back into packaging applications.
For the demonstration, PreZero will supply the HDPE regrind, which was made from consumer waste using the company’s state-of-the-art sorting, washing and grinding processes. The material will then be repelletized on an INTAREMA TVEplus recycling line, where melt filtration and vacuum degassing are performed under the ideal, gentle conditions necessary to avoid degrading the material.
At the show, Erema will further demonstrate how a valuable add-on equipment, a KOCH-Technik Feeder, can expand the number of commercial opportunities the machinery can take on. This feeder is used to introduce a performance enhancing One-Pack additive of Baerlocher’s BAEROPOL® T-Blend family of products into the process. Additional value is added to the material as Erema has coupled their recycling line with a deodorizing ReFresher-module as installed at PreZero, which effectively eliminates unpleasant smells from the material.
Validation of the resulting product has been conducted by W.Müller, who shared extensive expertise on extrusion blow molding of reHDPE and provided access to their fully equipped technical center.
“We are proud to demonstrate the unique value of our additive in this collaboration between these esteemed brands,” said Andreas Holzner, head of the Special Additives Business Unit at Baerlocher. “Beyond its safeguarding of processing performance and its enhancement of mechanical properties, the dust free pastille form of our Baeropol T-blend provides yet another critical benefit. Since it can be easily fed directly into the INTAREMA® TVEplus®, every user of such equipment has the opportunity to use our additive to improve the PCR quality.”
By combining the best in terms of processing equipment with a unique additive package, PreZero has been able to maximize the added value they bring into their product, now commercial under the SKYTENE® HD brand, which can be used in demanding applications like consumer packaging.
The demonstration will take place in the Erema Circonomic Centre on the following dates and times:
Wednesday, October 19, from 10:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Monday, October 24, from 10:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
The bottles produced during this project will be exhibited in Erema´s Circonomic Centre together with many other products made of recyclate.
