Co-rotating twin-screw extruder for advanced PP and HDPE recycling

The Italian manufacturer, Icma San Giorgio, successfully tested a new line for the advanced recycling of PP and HDPE to be installed at a major Italian group active in the industrial components sector. This is the second line ordered by the same customer following the installation, about two years ago, of the first one which has ensured ever since high yields in the production of regenerated compound from reground plastic scrap.

At the heart of the line there is a HT co-rotating twin-screw extruder, characterized by two lateral feeders for the addition of various types of fillers and by enhanced degassing through special high vacuum pump units for the extraction of unnecessary volatiles. The extruder maintains all the high-tech characteristics of the compounding sector, starting from the interchangeable liners in the barrel with both faces perfectly machined for optimal interface between cylinder and liners, in order to grant a perfect temperature control of the melt, which plays a crucial role in ensuring high quality.

Also all the other features of the line, starting from the choice of the steel grades, comply with very strict manufacturing protocols, resulting from many years of experience.

The screw profile design allows various families of polyolefin waste to be processed and homogenised at the highest standard. Icma experts were able to achieve all this thanks to simulation software and granulation tests at the company’s new Innovation Hub, equipped with state-of-the-art machines. These include the One-Step Upcycling advanced recycling system, suitable for very lightweight waste such as plastic films, the result of many years’ in-house development activity.

The high degree of flexibility and the high torque of the HT extruder make it possible to process various types of recovered materials and obtain regenerated granules comparable to virgin resins, ready for a new production cycle. The simplicity of a high-tech line, including all the typical features of Icma co-rotating solution, is a guarantee for high production agility, engineering standards and production yield, all distinctive features of the solutions offered by the Milan-based company.

“The uniqueness and guaranteed effectiveness of Icma’s offering are confirmed by the numerous co-rotating twin screw extruders and turnkey recycling solutions that today, all over the world, add prestige to our know-how and history. We invite all the recyclers that still do not know us to test their materials at our technology centre: we are sure that they will be satisfied with the results and appreciate the industrial level reached by our organisation”, said Sandro Re, sales manager at Icma.