Blown film manufacturer in Benin switches from polyethylene-based to biodegradable products with help from Coperion
Coperion has enabled Benin-based blown film manufacturer Asahel Benin to produce sustainable, bio-based films in the future by delivering a complete compounding system and sharing the corresponding process engineering expertise.
The system includes a ZSK 26 MC18 twin screw extruder, four highly accurate feeders from Coperion K-Tron, as well as a water bath, an air wipe, and a strand pelletiser from Coperion Pelletizing Technology.
Before plastic bags and packaging were banned in Benin in July of 2018, Asahel Benin had made its plastic films from PE, but the new law forced the company to completely convert its production.
Following a successful test and training phase at Coperion’s Stuttgart test lab, Asahel Benin will now produce biodegradable compounds with the aid of the ZSK twin screw extruder, and will then further process these on its existing blown film machinery into biodegradable bags and packaging materials.
David Romaric Tinkou, from Asahel Benin, said: “It was clear quite quickly that we needed a new business strategy to keep operating our blown film plants here in Benin. I’m very happy that with Coperion, I encountered experienced experts in the field of biodegradable compounds.”
“Coperion delivered not only the necessary technology, but also shared the necessary process engineering expertise with me so that we can manufacture biodegradable compounds ourselves now in Benin.”
Peter von Hoffmann, General Manager Business Unit Engineering Plastics and Special Applications at Coperion, said: “We’re thrilled that we could support Asahel Benin in switching over their production in order to accomplish it more sustainably.”
“Biodegradable compounds from renewable raw materials unite high production technical demands with environmental sustainability. Particularly for manufacturers of short-living household, industrial, and agricultural products, these compounds represent a long-term, sustainable alternative to petroleum-based raw materials such as PE.”