K Show: Erema launches double filtration machine for cleaner, greener post-consumer recycling

At K 2022 this week, recycling machinery giant Erema officially launched the Intarema TVEplus DuaFil Compact, a new machine for particularly challenging post-consumer materials, with significantly reduced energy consumption.

A key feature of the double filtration machine is the gentle treatment of the melt through the process. Erema says that this is the result of combining TVEplus technology, with the new DuaFil Compact technology.

“Because there is no discharge metering zone and the melt pump is custom designed to the application, the pressure build-up required for the second filtration unit is especially efficient and only needs a much lower temperature”, said Sebastian Sochor, R&D Engineer at Erema.

“The extruder does not need to build up pressure and can be built much shorter, 10 L/D shorter compared to the previous Erema double filtration solution. The lower melt temperature of the DuaFil Compact in this area has a positive effect on the melt quality and significantly reduces energy consumption”, said Sochor.

The new Intarema TVEplus DuaFil Compact 1108 achieves a melt temperature upstream of the second filter unit that is 18.5˚C lower than the previous Erema double filtration solution when processing LDPE supermarket film containing paper, and consumes 10% less energy overall (specific energy consumption kWh/kg), according to the company.

Processing LDPE/LLDPE material streams can give varying degrees of moisture and contamination due to impurities such as paper labels, wood particles or foreign polymers. These can get into the material stream through splinters from pallets or strapping bands and can lead to the formation of odours and discolouration. Erema claims that this is where the DuaFil Compact Zone comes into its own, because operating at a lower melt temperature effectively prevents the combustion that would otherwise cause these odours.

“Ultimately, the high quality of the recycled pellets that we achieve with this system creates the opportunity to increasingly replace virgin material with recycled material in end products, meeting the current market trend and sustainability requirements,” said Michael Heitzinger, managing director, Erema GmbH.