Technology produces virgin-like pellets from PET bottle scrap

The Vacurema Multi-KT process permits recycling of washed post-consumer bottle flake that has the purity of virgin resin. The inherent viscosity (IV) of this PET bottle flake can be increased from starting values of about 0.76 to melt-filtrated pellets with IV levels of 0.82 or better, at virgin material rating, without the help of chemical assistance or conventional solid state polymerization reactor (SSP) technology. This imparts an improved cleaning effect to the process, which meets FDA standards of produced material. The manufacturer says that unlike other PET recycling processes that use extrusion, the Vacurema process features intensive drying and IV increase of bottle flake in high vacuum before the extrusion process. Pre-dried, crystalline PET is then added, which reduces the change of hydrolytic degradation in the extruder. It is also said to save up to 30% in energy costs compared to competitive systems. EREMA Ges.m.b.H., Ansfelden, Austria; +43 732 3190105; www.erema.at