Industrial and technological company Coperion has started operations at its Recycling Innovation Center in Niederbiegen near Weingarten, Germany.
The new facility is an ultramodern, advanced test centre for plastics recycling applications and optimisation.
The site is equipped with the latest technology to test every recycling process step, including material handling and feeding to extrusion, pelletising, compounding, material postprocessing, and deodorisation.
It also incorporates fully functional recycling systems that may be customised in a multitude of ways as per the specific requirements of the recyclate to be produced.
The new technological development includes the energy-efficient FLUIDLIFT ecodry flash drying process, the MIX-A-LOT bulk solid mixer, buffer hopper solution using the ARW discharge agitator and the Smart Weigh Belt (SWB) feeder.
Additionally, the technological firm has installed the ZS-B MEGAfeed side feeder for handling flakes and fibres.
Coperion recycling business unit general manager Massimo Serapioni said: “With this new Recycling Innovation Centre, we’re in a position where we can simulate the entire plastics recycling process.
“Our customers can test the complete process, from mechanical pre-treatment of plastics in Herbold Meckesheim’s Test Center up to compounding and pelletising, prior to making the investment.
“As a supplier of entire recycling systems, we are very proud to be able to offer our customers this enormous added value.”
Coperion’s new Recycling Innovation Centre complements the Herbold Meckesheim Test Centre, where customers can simulate and test the mechanical pretreatment of plastic.
The Herbold centre has been a member of Coperion’s Recycling Business Unit since 2022. The new site is also adjacent to the company’s existing Test Centre for Bulk Solids Handling.
Coperion said that the first tests revolving around the development and testing of new sustainable products and recycling processes have already been performed at the centre.
The technological firm claimed that its process engineers can modify the existing recycling technologies to make efficient compounds while maintaining a high level of product quality.