The right recycling equipment for the Australian circular economy

With unprecedented incentives and opportunities in recycling, the ground is shifting towards Australian re-processing of valuable commodities. But markets need to be developed to take up more recyclables.

The Australian industry operates on an advanced technical and highly automated manufacturing basis. Therefore, high-quality recyclates are critical for any successful on-shore re-processing. This applies to plastics from industrial and post-consumer applications including re-processing to food-contact approved materials, glass to go back into glass bottles as opposed to down-cycling into the “road – landfill”, high purity paper streams for pulp mills, clean compost, and many more applications.

As a consequence, technologies that deliver consistent and reliable outcomes form an important part for a sustainable local remanufacturing industry.

CEMAC technologies offers a range of leading technology and equipment suppliers and combines the know-how for effective solutions tailored to local industry needs.

One example is EREMA from Austria.

The systems of the Austrian manufacturer EREMA are the successful solution for this development. EREMA is not only the world’s number one in plastics recycling machines but is also renowned for highly efficient post-consumer to food-grade recycling systems.

Amongst many other applications, the Austrian company is the first machine builder that received the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval for their process to produce food compliant post-consumer recycled HDPE (PCR-HDPE) packaging, that can contain up to 100 % of PCR-HDPE from food packaging.

This process involves the patented INTAREMA® TVEplus® RegrindPro® extrusion systems in combination with the well-proven ReFresher module.

The extruder system TVEplus® offers filtration, homogenisation, and degassing at the highest level. It also processes difficult materials like heavily printed films and/or very moist materials with ease.

The RegrindPro® turns a wide variety of regrind material into application-optimised recycled pellets through the gentle processing and highly efficient filtration.

The high decontamination performance of this machine is due to two factors:

• The pre-treatment of the material during the dwell time in the preconditioning unit of the recycling extruder
• The additional removal of low-volatility odorous substances from the granulate by the ReFresher

The high-quality outcome of this combination is the basis for the approval for food contact compliance given by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Alongside with the sustainable solution for HDPE recycling, EREMA’s VACUREMA and VACUNITE systems allow for efficient food contact compliant PET recycling.

The VACUREMA launched in 1998 and has been the global market leader for PET bottle recycling ever since.

Now, the new system VACUNITE combines a further developed VACUREMA, with the V-LeaN Solid State Polycondensation from Polymetrix.

This duo is perfectly adapted to the demand for higher use of recycled material because it is forgiving in its input quality requirements. Therefore, VACUNITE can process non-food grade recycled post-consumer PET into food-grade PET products for all applications.

The key quality and safety advantage of VACUNITE is the nitrogen and vacuum atmosphere in which all thermal process steps take place. In the end, this technology is not only compact but also consumes considerably less energy than comparable systems on the market.

Another key technology partner of CEMAC technologies is TOMRA Sorting. Renowned for developing the world’s first high-capacity near infrared (NIR) sensor for waste sorting applications, TOMRA Sorting Recycling remains an industry pioneer with a dedication to operational value and sustainability.

The latest AUTOSORT® generation features three new equipment innovations, the new generation AUTOSORT®, AUTOSORT® SPEEDAIR and an outlook to the forthcoming launch of AUTOSORT® CYBOT, which incorporates robotic recycling technology.

The next generation AUTOSORT® line brings together the latest in technological innovation to deliver advanced accuracy for complex sorting tasks, thereby facilitating higher throughput rates.

Utilising TOMRA’s FLING BEAM® technology, a homogenous light distribution for better detection and monitoring across the entire belt width is achieved, resulting in heightened performance and operational efficiency.

New sorting software also enables faster processing, with improved functionalities such as the use of DEEP LEARNING. This enables sorting processes that cannot be mastered with conventional technology, as such extending future application possibilities of the sorters to deal with the ever-changing nature of materials.

The system also allows for extended detection through its DEEP LAISER technology, meaning the AUTOSORT can detect unknown objects in the material stream through the use of an additional 3D Laser Camera. This can be further enhanced through the newly applied intelligent object recognition.

The second component of TOMRA’s new line, the AUTOSORT® SPEEDAIR, is designed to stabilise light materials such as plastic films or paper on a high-speed conveyor up to 6 meters per second. This allows operators to generate higher throughputs while enhancing sorting quality.

The AUTOSORT® SPEEDAIR incorporates speed-controlled, fan-driven air inlets that generate a constant air stream over the conveyor belt to prevent material from moving.

As the first system on the market with no belt cover, access to the unit for maintenance is enhanced, while material blockage potential is low.

CEMAC Technologies will be presenting a Solution Showcase at the upcoming AWRE Online Event on Thursday 26 November at 2:10pm – 2:25pm. They’ll also available in a virtual booth at the online exhibition during the conference. Connect with CEMAC and register free online today.