A process covering the entire process from plastic melt to finished quality pellets - all underwater - has been brought to market by Maag Automatik.
Maag
Maag describes the Optimized Temperature Pelletizing (OTP) process as "revolutionary" for pelletising special engineering polymers.
Spherical pellets have less wear during any transportation process compared to other geometries. Less wear equals less dust formation, which results in less effort for dust removal or cleaning. The improved process gives you a better pellet quality, and therefore increased profits.
In the presence of pressurised over-heated water (> 100°C) pellets are cut and subjected to the first cooling step. In the transfer unit, the pellets are separated from overheated water and handed over to the second cooling circuit (< 95°C).
After subsequent cooling, the pressure is released and the pellets are separated by the CENTRO dryer from the process water. Leaving the drying process, the pellets are ready for subsequent processing or packing.
The closed loops result in operating conditions without any emission to the air and without contamination of the product.
Based on the higher temperature level in the isolated first cooling process, this energy could easily be used for heating purposes or transformed e.g. into electrical power, suitable for the involved consumption elements like pumps, motors, etc.
OTP pellets meet the high standards of plastics used in medical applications. Even optical applications like glasses or screens can now be handled with polycarbonate, pelletised with OTP. Also there is a large scope of utilisation in the automotive industry: Panorama roofs, cable connections or parts of the engine can be produced from OTP pellets.
With OTP, pellets "shine like diamonds, no voids, no dents, no other defects".
