Dr. Thiele: Conference Summary - 4th China International Recycled Polyester Conference

The 4th China International Recycled Polyester Conference, presented by China Chemical Fiber Economic Information Network (CCFEI, www.ccfei.net), PCI-Group (www.thepcigroup.com) and Dr. Thiele Polyester Technology (www.polyester-technology.com), 3.-4.9.2008 Hangzhou, China, was characterized by two significant improvements. At first number and quality of profound information about the Chinese and international PET recycling market was increased also boosted by the contribution of PCI and at second the number of attendees from 11 countries outside of China was nearly double compared to 2007. Total number of attendees was 250 of whom approximately 70 were from abroad or from China offices of international companies.

Recycling Market
Important figures provided by Ms. Cao Wenting of CCFEI are the total capacity of recycled fiber processing of China in 2008 of 5,5 Mio t and the expected output of 3,3 –3,5 Mio t in 2008. This number alone underlines that China is by far the largest recycler worldwide. Most significant hurdles today are overcapacity and lack of raw material which has lead to a worsening macroeconomic environment for the recycling industry accompanied by high costs and low margins. Andrew Noone of PCI underlined these figures with a more international analysis which demonstrates that about 30% of global bottle collection is coming from China but China is consuming about 60% of whole recycled polyester in the World. This misbalance gives reason for high flake prices and shortage in availability. One important conclusion of market analysis is that China is still underdeveloped in producing high quality bottle resin, A-PET film, and strapping from bottle flakes. But the contribution from Sinochem Plastics Company regarding the first bottle-to-bottle plant in China based on Bühler recycling technology showed that this area is developing. Li Songbo of Sinochem also discussed ways and methods how to establish and improve the bottle collection logistics. One major issue of all the Chinese contribution is the question as to how to reduce energy and water consumption and reduce emissions during polyester recycling. This was discussed by Lin Shidong of CCFA and Wu Dingfa of Jiangyin Changlong Chemical Fiber Co. Ltd. According to both speakers Chinas recycling industry has a significant backlog-demand for advanced recycling technology which might be a challenge for international engineering and equipment providers. Finally Mrs. Patty Moore of Moore Recycling gave a report about bottle collection experiences in California and the USA..

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Processing Equipment and Recycling Technology
A summary and evaluation of methods to remove contaminants from bottle flakes and some basics about the way to achieve FDA or national food approvals for recycled polyester was discussed by Dr. Thiele. As an application example for recycled polyester, Mr. Andre Lienert of SwissTex Winterhtur AG summarized his experience with non woven products. Mr. Xu Jian of Gneuss Kunststofftechnik GmbH introduced in detail the newly developed Multi Rotation System (MRS) which allows the processing of bottle flakes without crystallization and pre-drying. In combination with the well known rotary filtration equipment and a proprietary on-line viscometer Gneuss offers now a full technology package dedicated to polyester recycling. Ms. Sabine von Bila-Natzmer from the fibre equipment specialist Oerlikon-Neumag provided information about their turn-key project philosophy to produce synthetic staple fiber. The technology to convert bottle flakes to A-PET film, especially thermoforming film is currently in the early stages in China. Mr. Lingxiang Xu of Brueckner Formtec GmbH discussed the latest technical progress of this special equipment. Of interest was the comparison of energy consumption between twin screw extrusion under application of vacuum and single screw extrusion applying state of the art crystallization and drying of flakes. The new technology can save up to 30% of the electrical power requirement. New Roller and high output pinning systems complement the Brueckner Formtec expertise in advanced A-PET film technology. Another well established process for converting PET bottle flakes to a high value product is that of strapping tape. Sima s.r.l as the market leader for strapping equipment provided an insight to their latest process development which is replacing crystallization/drying/single screw extrusion with the new Gneuß Multi Rotation System which runs with un-dried and amorphous bottle flakes. Mr. Anindya Dasgupta of Sima summarised the technical results of an open house and 1:1 line demonstration introducing this new technology approach to the international strapping industry which was held recently. Finally Mr. Miles Tang of Bühler AG discussed different approaches for bottle-to-bottle recycling processes of different capacity. To save energy Buhler is applying a new direct crystallization system and the “SSP leaN” which has been introduced specifically for medium and low capacities. Depending on the required IV-lift and product quality the modular SSP-leaN technology operates either with nitrogen or with dry air as the process gas. Buhler new SSP concepts allow processing of regular pellets and bottle flakes too.

Dr. Thiele Polyester Technology, Bruchköbel, Germany

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