Manufacturers of food products and other packaging-intensive goods require large quantities of uniform reusable plastic granulates/flakes. When integrated into a new or existing plastics recycling line, hot wash systems from Herbold USA help processors meet this demand.
The Herbold Hot Wash System, initially designed for PET bottles, can also be used successfully to process a variety of other items including thermoformed foils, trays, and foil used in the packaging industry, as well as PO foils.
Fatty impurities from remnants of lotions, cooking oils or sunscreen are dissolved and washed away, as are residues from labels and adhesives. The elimination of impurities at the front end of the process results in a higher volume of usable flake that is substantially cleaner. This improved cleanliness of the flake is evidenced by a significant reduction of particles found in extrusion melt filters — routinely 50% less than non-hot washed flake. The resulting clean flake also has reduced odor, is completely clear and does not yellow.
Every Herbold Hot Wash System is custom configured to best suit the needs of the application using a variety of components which may include multi-chamber separation tanks, friction washers, turbo washers, mechanical and/or thermal dryers, etc.
Typically, systems are used in-line as part of a continuous process. However, when cleanliness is paramount the hot-wash process can take place offline allowing users to adjust dwell time in agitation tanks to achieve the desired level of cleanliness.
