Coperion has announced a contract signed at K 2022, which will see the machinery firm supply a complete system for the chemical recycling of PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate) to Renov8, a subsidiary of just right based in JAFZA, Dubai.
Nilesh Jain, founder of Renov8, Fatima Al Hammadi, Chief Commercial Officer, KEZAD Group and representatives of Coperion, Renov8 and KEZAD Group signed the contracts for the new PMMA recycling system at Coperion's K show booth in Hall 14/B19. (f.l.t.r.: Jochen Schofer, Coperion; Simon Bier, Coperion; Jay Jain, Renov8; Marouane Mansour, Coperion; Massimo Serapioni, Coperion; Nilesh Jain, Renov8; Markus Parzer, Coperion; Khalid Al Marzooqi, KEZAD Group; Fatima Al Hammadi, KEZAD Group; Khalfan Al Muhairi, KEZAD Group; Cem Kurkcuoglu, KEZAD Group)
The Coperion system for the chemical recycling of PMMA will be installed at the KEZAD Polymers Park in Abu Dhabi.
The system will thermally convert PMMA into liquid rMMA in a continuous process. The system includes material handling, two ARW discharge agitators with discharge screws and two Smart Weigh Belt (SWB) feeders, as well as a ZSK 92 Mc18 twin screw extruder with 92 mm screw diameter, a vacuum system and a condenser. Key components of the system are produced in-house by Coperion.
Nilesh Jain, founder of Renov8, visited Coperion at its stand in hall 14 at K 2022 to sign the contract. Prior to the signing, extensive tests on the chemical recycling of PMMA at Coperion's test center have taken place.
Coperion's process solution allows for the thermal recycling of PMMA to rMMA in an economical, continuous process.
The PMMA recyclate is conveyed via a discharge agitator ARW and a discharge screw to a Smart Weigh Belt (SWB) feeder. This low-headroom gravimetric feeder weighs large quantities of bulk material with high accuracy and feeds it into a ZSK twin screw extruder.
In the Coperion ZSK Mc18 twin screw extruder a great deal of mechanical energy is introduced into the PMMA via the co-rotating twin screws due to the high torque of 18 Nm/cm³. The temperature of the melt rises quickly and efficiently, allowing the material to depolymerise. Gaseous MMA is produced, which is extracted via the degassing domes of a vacuum system and then converted into liquid rMMA in a condenser. Coperion claims that its solution for chemical recycling benefits from “significantly lower” energy consumption than pyrolysis processes without extruders, or compared to recycling with single screw extruders.
The chemical recycling system for Renov8 will allow the processing of two separate product streams. Due to its self-cleaning properties, PMMA with different light transmittances can be recycled on the same ZSK 92 Mc18 twin screw extruder in a short time without any loss of quality, according to Coperion.
Renov8 specialises in the recycling of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polystyrene (PS), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polycarbonate (PC), polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE). Located in KEZAD Polymers Park Abu Dhabi, the firm operates from a 30,000 m² site.