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How NGR’s P:REACT Revolutionizes PET Plastic Recycling + Production

 

Bottle to Bottle recycling and PET fiber recycling are well known applications proving the excellent recyclability of PET. But what about PET sheet recycling?

A big challenge in PET sheet recycling is the material composition, as a PET sheet often consists of a PET/PE or G-PET structure.  Conventional Polycondensation Equipment CANNOT upcycle this product.

Next Generation Recycling (NGR) developed a revolutionary system called the P:REACT and the Liquid State Polycondensation (LSP), which uses PET’s inherent tendency to condense under vacuum in the melt phase. This condensation results in an extremely quick increase in the iV value.  The vacuum decontaminates the material by removing harmful chemicals.  This ensures that the material can be used downstream for 100% food-safe applications approved by the FDA and EFSA.

What kind of PET  materials can the NGR P:REACT recycle? 

An extremely wide range of PET materials and material shapes are fed into the system. Materials including bottle flakes, punch scrap or even PET fibers are all equally suitable.

  • PET fibers, fiber spinning
  • PET nonwoven, post industrial scrap
  • Purges
  • PET film, automotive airbag
  • PET bottle flakes, post washing line
  • PET bottles mixed color flakes, post washing line
  • PET preforms, injection molding and blow molding
  • PET wovens, post industrial scrap
  • PET trays, thermoforming
  • PET skeleton, thermoforming

NGR’s LSP method offsets fluctuations in mixture ratios of the fed materials, opening the door for flexible cost structuring depending on material availability.

How Does The Process Flow Work for the P:REACT?

  1. Feeding the Material
  2. Conveyor belt with metal detector
  3. Efficient size reduction with a shredder (optional depending on material)
  4. Extruder to melt or plasticize the material
  5. Venting to remove volatile components in the melt flow
  6. Filtration screen changer or melt filter
  7. Melt pump
  8. Gate
  9. High-efficiency vacuum container (melt reactor) to remove contamination raise iV levels
  10. Horizontal drum for perfect homogenization
  11. Discharge of decontaminated substances
  12. Melt discharge pump
  13. Filtration
  14. Ongoing viscosity measurement
  15. Transfer into downstream production

What Options Are Available For The Downstream Production?

As the reactor treats the material in the liquid phase, the result out of it is an iV upgraded, iV stabilized and decontaminated PET melt, ready to be used in different downstream technologies:

A. PET Film Production to produce clam shell containers.
B. PET Fibers for textile
C. PET Straps
D. rPellets with the amazing benefits to produce consistent high quality pellets despite varied post-consumer waste.  High quality rPET will command higher sell price.

This full turn key closed loop system will reduce production cost, time, and even virgin PET material makes it a win-win solution to meet strict plastic recycling initiatives.

 

 

Summary

  • Approved by FDA and EFSA for 100 % food safety.  LSP takes care of the contaminants in the melt phase, delivering a degree of rPET purity that is significantly higher than the current standards for food grade specified by EFSA and FDA.
  • Take PET recycling at the highest level, raises and controlling IV values with pinpoint accuracy
  • Melt phase eliminates issues with dust with PET bottle flake material.
  • Full flexibility of infeed input material to flexibility to create several different downstream production options.
  • Continuous process stability that takes a few minutes, not hours to transform contaminated PET to high-quality rPET.
  • Extremely low residence time inside the reactor equates to superb energy efficiency.
  • Output rate up to 2,200 kg/h (4,840 lbs/h) depending on type

 

 

NGR P:REACT makes it possible to revolutionize the PET recycling process. It transforms PET waste and PET bottle flakes into food-grade recycled PET in minutes.  The P:REACT continues it’s innovation with LSP technology to push PET recycling to a new dimensional boundaries that no other competitors can match.

If you have any questions regarding NGR or any plastic process equipment, please contact any of the Hirate America team members to provide a solution tailored to your requirements.

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Plastic Recycling: How To Turn Your Plastic Scrap Into Reusable Pellets

Plastic Recyling: How To Turn Your Plastic Scrap Into Reusable Pellets

Not too long ago, many plastic processors were able to get rid of their scrap material selling them to local MRF (material recycling facilities).  Then these recycling facilities would reprocess the collected scrap to reusable plastic pellets and sell off the contaminated or difficult to recycle scrap to countries in South East Asia.   This however has changed and we are no longer able to sell our scrap to these countries and they simply don’t want our trash.  Our previous methods are no longer accepted and we need to take action and build a strong recycling infrastructure locally instead of land-filling and shipping our trash to other countries.

We work with many plastic processors and they are having trouble getting rid of their scrap.  Sometimes it’s difficult to even pay recyclers to haul them away.

Requirements on plastic recycling are becoming more stringent all the time.  California is one of the states on the forefront of initiating a clean environment and have been giving grants to many companies that are wanting to recycle plastics to reduce waste.

This seems like an almost impossible task to tackle, but we need to break it down and start with post industrial recycling (PIR).  Residual products left behind by the industrial production of plastic products are a high-quality and valuable raw material. To ensure that they can be fed back into production without losses would not only great for the environment to reduce waste, but will be beneficial to the company that will be saving money over time putting recycled material back into their products and reducing virgin consumption.

Does this sound too simple and easy?

Well it’s pretty simple, Next Generation Recycling (aka NGR) has an all-in-one DUMP & RUN machine called the S:GRAN and X:GRAN.  It’s a patented system that is a shredder, feeder, extruder and pelletizer.

NGR’s relentless and continuous innovation of their technology introduces the NXT:GRAN system the next iteration of the S:GRAN, which is their most popular model.

NXT:GRAN continues to combine size reduction, feeding and extruding into one extremely efficient process (ONE-STEP technology). In doing so, it draws upon the experience gained from having over 1000 patented shredder-feeder-extruder combination installations worldwide.

  1. Material feed (conveyor belt, roll feeder, air separator)

2. The shredder chops the material being fed to the extruder via the Duo-Direct feeder.

3. The heated material is melted and homogenized in the extruder. Single or double venting systems remove volatile components in the melt flow

4. The melt is cleaned, depending on the application with a standard screen changer or high-performance melt filter

5. A pelletization unit at the end of the recycling process produces uniform recycling pellets

THE WORKING PRINCIPLE

Using the material efficiently in each process: The patented shredder-feeder-extruder combination provides maximum performance for extremely high output and quality.

First, the materials being fed are pressed against the solid shredder shaft by the hydraulic pusher.

The shredded material is then conveyed into the extruder by the revolutionary Duo-Direct feeder. What this means is that the shredder is now decoupled from the extruder so cutting speed and extrusion speed can be controlled independently.  This method enables the system to optimize production and most importantly enables the system to be very reliable.

Both of these process components feature load-dependent and fully automatic control.

In the extruder, the polymer is efficiently melted and homogenized and if necessary, the melt is vacuum degassed at the same time.

The cutter outlet and extruder intake components are placed close together so the heat generated in pre-processing is transferred into the extruder. This design feature optimizes the energy balance and gives the NXT:GRAN extremely efficient operation.

Easy Operation

The system offers an extremely user-friendly large touchscreen that monitors the entire process flow.  When your recipe is dialed you can put it in autopilot and let it run automatically.

Malfunction-free Maintenance

Your maintenance manager will love how easy this system is to maintain.  Maintenance intervals and instructions are all embedded within the touch screen for easy step-by-step instructions.  Less downtime equals better efficiency equals more profit.

Summary

The NXT:GRAN offers improved maximum performance & reliability in all areas.

Zero-waste production between input and output guarantees that the full value of the material is realized.

At the same time, as with all NGR technologies, input of work and energy are reduced to an absolute minimum.

The chart below shows the different shredder and extruder screw diameters for each model within the NXT:GRAN line.

Maximum of 1,760 pounds / hour can be achieved.

In our recycling test centers, we can prove the NGR reprocessing performance on your own scrap materials.

Please contact us if you would like to run a trial on your material, and we look forward to the opportunity to prove it to you in person.

They say the proof is in the pudding!

NGR NXT:GRAN continues to combine size reduction, feeding and extruding into one extremely efficient work step (ONE-STEP technology). In doing so, it draws upon the experience gained from having over 1,000 patented shredder-feeder-extruder combination installations worldwide.

If you have any questions regarding NGR or any plastic process equipment, please contact any of the Hirate America team members to provide a solution tailored to your requirements.

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5 Reasons Why You Need A SRS Bi-Cutter Screenless Granulator

5 Reasons Why You Need A SRS Bi-Cutter Screenless Granulator

Size Reduction Specialists (SRS Corp.) is the world’s only provider of bi-cutter screenless granulators that generate premium, uniform granules with it’s patented two-shaft design.   These uniform granules are free of longs, dust or powder and will enhance your molding process and able to process materials like TPE’s and glass-filled resins.

1. Are you producing parts with majority of the shot being the runner?

In most cases, runners are a waste of material that most molders throw away so why not try to recapture the material loss and put that back into your process, which will yield a cost savings over time.

2. Are you wanting high quality regrind?

The SRS bi-cutter screenless granulator is able to provide clean finely cut material ready for reprocessing.  One of our customers stated that they were only able to put back only 23% of regrind from their runners back into their process from a conventional granulator to make good parts, but when they switched to the SRS unit they were able to reuse 100% of the runner regrind to make good quality parts.  This lead to significant savings of putting back virgin material over time.

The first stage cutters rotate at a low rotation speed of 15~18 rpm.

A special “S” shaped breaking blade in the first stage cuts the sprues/runners into smaller pieces, allowing the pieces to drop into the second stage cutting teeth.

The second stage rotary and stationary cutters cut into uniform size at 45~60 rpm. The uniform particles then fall into the collector bin at the base of the Bi-Cutter for removal.

3. Do you want the quietest granulator on the market?

Typically “quiet” and “granulators” don’t belong in the same sentence.  With the SRS screenless granulator, you can definitely have a normal conversation standing next to the machine because of it’s slow rotating cutters (18 RPM for the 1st stage and 60 RPM for the 2nd stage) compared to conventional granulators rotating at 200-250 RPM.

4. Do you want a low power consumption granulator?

Granulators are energy hogs due to their high speed high horsepower motors that need to drive the cutter.  As mentioned above since the cutter shafts rotate at a much lower speed, less horsepower motor is required 0.5HP ~ 2 HP motor compared to conventional granulators.

5. Do you want less down time and no meltdowns?

The tilt back hopper design makes it extremely easy for clean out since you get access to the cutting chambers.  Conventional granulators running at higher speeds can cause a melt down and cause back up in the hopper or pan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summary

The uniquely designed two-stage Bi-Cutter screenless granulator produces excellent quality granules without the use of a sizing screen.

A small, compact footprint allows the Bi-Cutter to be used press-side.

Low RPM and horsepower allow the Bi-Cutter to be a low maintenance and low energy-consuming unit.

The quiet, dependable Bi-Cutter cuts sprues/ runners into uniformly sized granules.

The Bi-Cutter produces premium quality granules with no dust and guaranteed no longs.

 

SRS Screenless Granulator continuously improves and innovates their products to be one of the quietest, cleanest most efficient bi-cutter screenless granulators for the injection molding and the plastics industry.

If you have any questions regarding SRS screenless granulators or any plastic process equipment, please contact any of the Hirate America team members to provide a solution tailored to your requirements.

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3 Reasons Why You Need a Vision Mold Protection System for your Injection Molding Machine

3 Reasons Why You Need a Vision Mold Protection System for your Injection Molding Machine

On a regular basis, we hear from customers that they damaged their molds, which causes significant headaches, loss time and money.  When the mold goes down, it’s a race to fix or replace the mold since downtime can jeopardize your project and program.  It is important to be proactive in protecting your molds before any issues occur.  Below are 3 reasons why you should have a vision mold protection system for your injection molding machines.

1. Eliminate Mold Damage

The important factor in investing in a vision mold protection system is to protect your mold. The Sigmax system integrates directly into the I/O signal system controls of the injection molding machine with no lag.  The unit will monitor and detect improper positioning of slide cores and ejector pins and virtually eliminate catastrophic damage of these parts as well as the need for unnecessary ejections.  When there is a problem (e.g. detection failed ejection of part) system will show an error and prevent production from moving forward.  The system will require the operator to open the safety gate door and check for any sticking parts and all codes need to be cleared before restarting the machine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Insert Molding

Insert molding is a process in which a preformed part, typically metal, is loaded into a mold and plastic is molded around this part.

The Sigmax vision system will be able to detect the following:

  • Missing insert(s)
  • Misaligned insert(s)
  • Double insert(s)

3.  Part Inspection – Short Shot

The Sigmax vision system will be able to detect short shorts, which is basically an incomplete part.  The Sigmax vision system will be able to detect sizes down to 0.001 inches or 0.25mm.  With this feature, our system will eliminate defects and crushed parts and in turn will be able to forecast shortages in production.

Every injection molder should have a vision mold protection system, but it would have to make financial sense.  There is a stigma that these vision mold protection systems are expensive, complicated to operate and setup is difficult.  The Sigmax vision mold protection system is easy to setup and operate and relatively inexpensive when compared against having to fix or even replacing your mold.

The ROI on a vision mold protection system is easy to determine: How much it will cost if a mold needs to be fixed or replaced?

Sigmax Vision Mold Protection continuously improves and innovates their products to be the best vision mold protection created specifically for injection molding machines and the plastics industry.

If you have any questions regarding Sigmax or any plastic process equipment, please contact any of the Hirate America team members to provide an automation solution tailored to your requirements.

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5 Things To Consider When Selecting Your Next Temperature Control Unit for your Injection Molding Machine

A temperature control unit (aka TCU) is an essential piece of equipment that is needed for processing plastic.  Think of a mold as the engine of a car, the TCU could be seen as the radiator to keep the engine cool.  Before we get into details on what you should consider before purchasing your next temperature control unit let’s review what it is and how it works.

 

What is a temperature control unit?

Temperature control units or TCU, are used to preheat the mold (aka tool) and regulate it at a specified temperature by recirculating water or oil.  This is to ensure the molding process is the same from the first part to the last part.  The TCU regulates the temperature of the mold so the process does not change either if it’s summer or winter, hot or cold ambient temperatures in the plant.  Oil is used for temperatures above 250F.  TCUs are used for injection molding machines, blow molding machines and extrusion lines.

How does a temperature control unit work?

On a cold start, the TCU heats up water or oil utilizing the heating elements and the pump recirculates the fluid between the mold.

If the mold gets too hot, the TCU opens a small valve as needed within the unit connected to a cooling tower or chiller water source.

 

 

5 Reasons to Choose Thermal Care’s Temperature Control Unit Over the Competition:

  1. Value

    Everybody wants the best deal and value proposition. Thermal Care’s TCU provides high-flow pumps (up to 10HP pump and flow up to 140 GPM) for more efficient cooling and better cycle times.  For the budget conscious, opt for the basic controller which is easy to operate yet effective for decades of operation.

  2. User Friendly and Easy to Use

    Four swivel casters and front facing supply and return pressure gauges make the unit extremely easy to use and see important information on the TCU.
    The controls are easy to access, view and operate.
    Basic controller: Designed for applications that require basic operation at a great price.
    Standard controller: Provides a wide array of operational and diagnostic information that is easy to access, view and operate. Unit alarms are easily reset on the control panel.
    The premium controller: Includes all the features of the standard controller plus an added level of system monitoring and control for the best user interface, ease of maintenance and troubleshooting when needed.

  3. Industry Leading Warranty and Support

    3 year parts, 3 year labor warranty
    5 year microprocessor parts warranty with $175 lifetime exchange policy
    Lifetime pump heater casting warranty and lifetime pump seal warranty
    24-hour service hotline support is best in the business providing your company with comfort knowing that the graveyard technicians won’t be left hanging.

  4. Easy Maintenance

    Maintenance technicians will love the tool-less easy access to the interior cabinet in less than a minute. Next day air shipping on spare parts is available when needed.

  5. Customization

We can customize our temperature control units to meet your specific processing needs:

SPI interface to sync with your injection molding machine and any other peripheral equipment.
Solid State Relay prevents having to replace contactors
Dual zone units allows 2 TCUs with one plug, heat exchanger and a modulating valve.
Stacking rack allows 2 TCUs to be stacked on top of each for space savings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thermal Care offers a suite of powerful and efficient mold temperature control units for the plastic industry. Each unit is reliable, easy to operate, and built for dependable operation using an assortment of quality components and is proud to produce one of the best process cooling equipment systems in the industry.

If you have any questions regarding top entry robots, please contact any of the Hirate America team members to provide an automation solution tailored to your requirements.

 

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What Are The Most Important Factors To Consider For Resin Drying?

Many engineered grade polymers absorb moisture, these resins are known as hygroscopic resins.

When moisture is not properly removed from the plastic resin, visible defects and structural deficiencies could occur such as:

  • Splay or striations
  • Bubbles in the part
  • Degradation of the polymer
  • Know your materials, if your material is hygroscopic you will need to dry the material prior to use.  Examples of common plastic resin that drying are:
    PC (Polycarbonate), PET, ABS, Nylon, Polyurethane, TPU
  • Know your minimum and maximum material throughput (lbs/hr)
  • Know your minimum and maximum temperatures your resins dry at
  • Know your resin’s highest residence time (Residence time is the time set by the resin’s supplier for the resin to reach optimal dryness)

 

 

 

 

How do you size your resin drying hopper?

Material throughput (lbs/hr) X residence time (hr) = ideal hopper size

e.g. 15lbs/hr. with a 4 hour residence time will require a 60lb hopper.

How do you want to get the resin in the drying hopper into your injection molding machine feed throat?

  • By hand
  • By gravity
  • Automatic loaders

 

 

 

 

 

 

What are your typical runs before stopping or changing materials?

If your material change overs take less time than the resin’s residence time and happen frequently (twice a week or more) then we would recommend to have additional resin drying hoppers to pre-dry your next resin. Typical ROI will be seen within a year by reducing down time.

There are many different dryer / hopper combinations to suit your process flow, here are some options below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Portable press side dual resin dryer and drying hopper ideal if you want to dry two different materials and have one on standby to eliminate downtime.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Machine feed throat mounted resin dryer with drying hopper

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Central resin dryers and drying hoppers with portability.  Conveys dried plastic resin to the machine’s feed throat via material conveying lines.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For your plastic resin drying needs, Hirate America partners with Motan and Dri Air Industries, Inc.

 

 

 

If you have a project that you would like to discuss, feel free to contact us below to schedule a free consultation.

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Everything You Need to Know About Vision Mold Protection Systems

 

Everything You Need to Know About Vision Mold Protection Systems for your Injection Molding Machine

What is a vision injection mold protection system?

The Sigmax vision injection mold protection system is made specifically for injection molders in mind and integrates directly into the control systems for the injection molding machine so communication between systems is instantaneous for high-speed processing.

The ultimate goal for the Sigmax vision mold protection is to prevent mold damage, which leads to costly repairs and weeks or even months of downtime.  This is not good for any business especially if you’re running lights out.  The unit has many other useful functionalities for injection molding.

 

What type of injection molding machine can this be used on?

Vertical and horizontal molding machines, high-cavity molds, low-pressure foam molding, metal injection molding (MIM), die-casting, micro-molding, and other forming machines, regardless of the materials being molded or formed.

 

Is there a mold size limit?

No, there is no size limit as we have several options for camera lens sizes that can be scaled accordingly.

How many molded parts can be monitored?

We have monitored up to 128 cavities, dependent on the mold design.

Is it possible to monitor injection short shots? 

Yes, it possible to detect short shots of 0.001 in size (0.25mm).

Is high cycle molding possible with the Sigmax Vision Mold Protection system?

Yes, communication is instantaneous as this unit has the capability to monitor 1 second cycles.  

What if my parts are transparent?

Yes, it is possible to monitor transparent parts as the software allows for adjustment in sensitivity and shadows.

How can the Sigmax Vision Mold Protection System reduce molding cycle time?

The unit ties directly into the I/O signal system controls of the injection molding machine there is no lag. Since you eliminate the need for unnecessary ejections, production over a period of time will be much more efficient.

How easy is the installation?

The camera is magnetic so it can be attached above or below the mold.  Once the required input and output signals are established connection very simple. 

Can I use the Sigmax Vision Mold Protection System on multiple injection molding machines?

Yes, it is possible to use one system on multiple molding machines, but it is important to assure exact location of camera from the saved in the recipes.  The unit has the ability to save multiple recipe setups with different areas you want to monitor or different jobs/molds and easily re-accessed later, which makes this system very versatile.

How reliable is the Sigmax Vision Mold Protection system and what is the typical service life cycle?

 The unit can run problem-free for decades because there are no moving parts. The user interface is a proprietary standalone system that does NOT rely on any third party software like Microsoft Windows OS, you will not have to worry about automatic updates that may disrupt functionality and worse yet deal with viruses that may corrupt your hardware.   

 

What is the typical ROI on the Sigmax Vision Mold Protection System?

Repairs for ejector pins and slide cores can cost several thousand dollars, but if you have substantial enough damage to the mold the entire mold may need to be replaced.  Not only do you have to deal with cost of replacing the mold, but what would hurt the most is the downtime in production.  In this instance, the payback would be tenfold.

Sigmax Vision Mold Protection continuously improves and innovates their products to be the best vision mold protection created specifically for injection molding machines and the plastics industry.

If you have any questions regarding Sigmax or any plastic process equipment, please contact any of the Hirate America team members to provide an automation solution tailored to your requirements.

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3 Ways to Reduce Costs in Your Plastics Process Cooling Systems

 

Plastic processing has seen many changes over the years. We have seen significant advancements in process throughput and increased quality control as well as automation and controls. But one thing has remained surprisingly the same—the cooling systems. What most people do not realize is there are new technologies today that can reduce their industrial cooling system operating costs by over 40%.

Often overlooked or considered not as important as other parts of a plastic processing plant, process water cooling systems are gaining more attention as energy costs and concerns over water use continue to increase. There have been a number of advances in technology that provide increased efficiency to reduce production costs as well as global demand for power and fresh water.

Who doesn’t want to save a buck or two, every dollar savings counts when looking at overall operational costs annually.

1. Cut water use by 90% with Adiabatic Fluid Coolers.

Most plastic processing facilities have a cooling tower to provide cooling to hydraulics, chiller condensers, and other process equipment. A cooling tower has a fan and evaporates water to produce 85°F process water. While effective at providing cooling, it uses a lot of water and requires water treatment to control biological growth. Cooling towers also expose the process water to the atmosphere and then require constant filtering.

With limited resources and a heightened awareness of the need to reduce energy and water consumption, the use of fluid coolers has become a popular alternative to conventional evaporative cooling towers.

Similarly, a fluid cooler uses ambient air to cool the process water. However, this is done through a cooling coil and without exposing process water to the atmosphere. This method is effective but limited by the temperature of the ambient air. In most cases, the practical limit is a process of water temperature leaving the dry fluid cooler about 10°F warmer than the entering air temperature.

To expand the usefulness of fluid coolers as a replacement for evaporative cooling towers, manufacturers have added evaporative pads to their fluid coolers to pre-cool the warm summertime air through a process called adiabatic cooling. Adiabatic cooling occurs by evaporating water into the dry air entering the fluid cooler. As the air absorbs water, it is cooled and the cooler air is able to provide a consistent and stable output, leaving water temperature of 85°F to process.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although this technology uses some water, the system is extremely water-efficient and only needed during peak summertime conditions. The result is as much as a 90% reduction in water use versus a conventional evaporative cooling tower. In addition, the water is fully evaporated and not recirculated, as is the case with a conventional cooling tower, so there is no need for water treatment. More on Adiabatic Fluid Coolers.

 

 

2. Reduce energy consumption up to 34% with variable-speed chiller compressors.

When plastics processes require water cooler than 85°F, a chiller is used. A chiller uses refrigerant, compressor and evaporator to remove heat from the process water and cool the process fluid to 50°F or so.

Compressors and the use of refrigerant have been around since the 19th century, and many different types of compressors are used, but until recently they all operated at one fixed speed

. A relatively new technology is variable-speed compressors. With this technology, energy use is reduced by slowing the speed of the compressor to just what is needed for the conditions.

When the compressor slows down, there is a reduction of cooling capacity. Most chiller system designs use the maximum possible heat load at 100% production capa

city of the process equipment to ensure there is always enough cooling capacity. In most cases, the production equipment is operating at much less than maximum capacity, so the chiller is ‘over-sized.’ A variable speed compressor is a great way to save this excess energy.

Power use is a “square relationship,” meaning that as the compressor speed changes, the power use changes as a square of the speed change. For instance, if a compressor operates at 80% of its maximum speed, it will use 64% of its full-speed power.

This technology is available in a wide-range of compressor sizes. In addition, the initial equipment cost premium for this technology, depending on the hours of operating and load profile, can pay for itself in 12 to 18 months. More on portable chillers and central chillers.

 

 

3. Dramatically cut chiller energy costs with free-cooling systems.

Considering the ever-increasing need for more efficient systems, the newest trend in central chiller system design is to combine the benefits of a variable-speed compressor with that of an adiabatic fluid cooler.

These hybrid systems use an adiabatic fluid cooler to cool the condenser of the chiller during the summertime, but when the outside ambient temperature is cool enough, the adiabatic fluid cooler directly cools the process water, which means the chiller turns off completely. This saves 100% of the electrical cost of operating the chiller, which is the most significant power consumption of any process cooling system.

The number of hours of free-cooling increases when the process fluid temperature is warmer. In many extrusion applications, the chilled water set point temperature is such that the chiller may only need to run 50% of the year.

 

Who doesn’t want to save a buck or two, every dollar savings counts when looking at overall operational costs annually.  

Thermal Care continuously improves and innovates their products to be the best process cooling equipment systems in the industry.

If you have any questions regarding top entry robots, please contact any of the Hirate America team members to provide an automation solution tailored to your requirements.

 

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India Plastic Scrap Ban In Effect

The Indian government announced it’s plan to ban plastic scrap imports earlier this year and will take effect on August 31st.  Since the China ban last year, India was the top importer of plastic scrap material, rough figures around 156 million pounds, for the first six months of 2019.  The ban is proposed to cover most plastics under the 3915 tariff code, including PET, PE, PP, PS and more.

For the time being, however, clean regrind is still going to the country, traders say, and it’s mostly the baled scrap plastic that has been impacted.

The influx of material has led to greater attention to contamination, particularly when the importing country does not have adequate infrastructure to dispose of that contamination.

These issues have built significant public pressure on governments to take action in thinking green and instill people to separate trash and recyclables so that we can preserve our planet we live on to better our children’s future here on this planet.

In the US, California is taking major initiative to drive new plastic recycling facilities by providing grants.

Hirate America has solutions to provide full turn key plastic recycling systems with a combination of full wash lines with shredders (Lindner Resource, specializing in waste management)  and all-in-one shredder + extruder + pelletizer by Next Generation Recycling (NGR).

Credit to Plastics Recycling Update, see full original article here.

 

If you have a project that you would like to discuss, feel free to contact us below to schedule a free consultation.

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Push for Bag Manufacturers to Utilize Recycled Plastics

There continues to be a big push to increase recycled post-consumer plastics use in bag production especially in the state of California.

Garbage bags sold in California have been required to be made with 10% post-consumer plastic for nearly 30 years. And since 2016, concurrent with a single-use bag ban at retail stores, the state has required that all reusable plastic bags be made with 20% post-consumer plastic. That requirement increases to 40% next year.

There are several companies that have received grant funding to push plastic recycling in California.

If your company has been on the fence on turn key plastic recycling systems and processing to create product now is the time to move forward.

Hirate America has solutions to provide full turn key plastic recycling systems with a combination of full wash lines with shredders (Lindner Resource, specializing in waste management)  and all-in-one shredder + extruder + pelletizer by Next Generation Recycling (NGR).

Credit to Plastics Recycling Update, see full original article here.

 

If you have a project that you would like to discuss, feel free to contact us below to schedule a free consultation.