Dryer-less extrusion

A dryer-less line for extruded PET sheet made of post-consumer bottle flakes has been in operation for some months at Amut headquarters in Novara (Italy) for testing and research prior to being installed at the customer's facility early in 2012.
The flakes enter the feeding section, where a dedusting device purifies the recycled material before it is introduced into the corotating twin-screw extruder, outfitted with 3 high-vacuum venting systems, to suck up the residual moisture from the material and control its viscosity.
A second smaller extruder is placed alongside the main one to produce a coextrudate with A-B-A configuration, where the inner layer is 100% recycled material and the outer layers are virgin PET. The full capacity of the extruders is approx. 1,200 kg/h.