Italian machinery maker Union Officine Meccaniche SpA is introducing a new line for recycling of plastic waste.
The line can process up to 4,400 pounds an hour. Union said the heterogeneous material, with a moisture content of up to 30 percent, is fed via a conveyor belt, equipped with a special comb to regulate its flow, into a special agglomerating machine with a big plasticizing unit with large-diameter rotating screws.
The speed of the conveyor belt, and therefore the flow rate, are kept constant by a control systems on the engine.
Inside the plasticizing unit, the material undergoes mechanical friction and heating, which reduces its high moisture content and increases density. The molten material flows directly into a special extruder, then goes through a continuously self-cleaning screen changer before being directed to the die-face pelletizer.
Union Officine Meccaniche is based in Vittore Olona, near Milan.
Tel. 011 331 51 93 00, email [email protected].