Screen changers for highly contaminated materials

Gorilla Belt, the innovative automatic screen changer developed by Cofit, is being tested from 16th to 20th December 2013 by Binova in Oleggio (Novara, Italy). This screen changer handles melts from contaminated post-consumer thermoplastics like those used for construction or farming film.
The system is based on the automatic insertion of a new filter screen belt after each melt filtration cycle. As a result, in the event of heavily contaminated materials, it is possible to carry out several filtration cycles having a duration of less than 2 minutes.
The screen changer's main strength lies in its fully automatic operation. Thanks to its programmable configuration, it does not require the assistance of personnel except to replace the screen (approximately 50 m in length). This is done about once a day, depending on the quantity of contaminants in the material. The operation takes approximately 10 minutes.
An additional great advantage is that waste is greatly reduced: with the technology used by Gorilla Belt, the only material eliminated consists of the contaminants and the plastic material that remains attached to the screen.
The production plant operator can also take advantage of a remote assistance service by connecting the screen changer to the local IT network, provided that it has Internet access, permitting faster evaluation of operation errors and faster intervention, in addition to speeding up control software updates. This guarantees the utmost efficiency at the production plant and very rapid intervention, with limited downtimes.
Maximum process temperature and pressure of the Gorilla Belt, entirely made of steel, are  350°C and 200 bar respectively. Output rates can reach 2500 kg/hour and the final applications for the pellets obtained include the production of new film.