Schönberg, July 2010
RecyPET AG was established in 1998 and has operated Europe’s first bottle-to-bottle PET recycling plant in Fraunfeld, Switzerland, since September 2000. The PET recycling plant operates in accordance with the URRC technology developed by the United Resource Recovery Corporation (USA) together with Coca-Cola and has an input capacity of approx. 18,000 tonnes per year. Four further plants in Europe now use this technology.

 In Switzerland the collected beverage bottles are sorted in five sorting plants according to colour and quality, compressed into balls and delivered to RecyPET AG, among others, for processing. RecyPET’s goal is to close the material cycle for PET beverage bottles. The recyclate produced is used among other things for the production of new PET beverage bottles, food packing films, other films, etc.

S+S Separation and Sorting Technology supplied a metal separator of the type PETMAG to RecyPET as long ago as 2001. The PETMAG separates metal contaminants of all kinds from PET flakes. Since the flakes are also to be sorted according to colour, S+S, in close cooperation with RecyPET, adapted a colour sorting machine originally used in the glass recycling industry to the requirements of PET recycling. The result was the SPECTRUM colour separator. By means of double-sided inspection it was possible even to separate flakes contaminated with the slightest glue residues.

In 2010 the PETMAG metal separator, which during its ten years of operation caused service and spare part costs of barely 2000 Euros, was replaced by a combined system of the latest generation, the VARISORT COMPACT. Colour and metal sensors are combined with one another in this device.

The material to be examined is fed by means of specially adapted vibrating trough conveyors and unites the advantages of chutes and belt systems. This also makes it possible for the first time to remove rubber pieces from the material stream that are difficult to separate using chute technology due to varying friction. The superiority of VARISORT COMPACT over chute systems
with channels lies in the fact that the equipment is easy to clean and blockages due to larger flakes can virtually be ruled out. Even in the case of irregular parts or materials with different
coefficients of friction, the belt feeding system provides for pinpoint ejection in free fall at the end of the belt, after the material has been classified with the sensors. After evaluation of the relevant information, high-speed valves for the material discharge are activated with an appropriate time delay. By means of powerful compressed air pulses, the particles to be separated are diverted from their original drop parabola into a separate shaft.

In comparison to conventional belt sorting systems, the VARISORT COMPACT sorting system is characterised by a compact design requiring little space. Retrofitting in existing plants and the adoption of already existing chute devices is easily possible. The use of high-resolution sensors and state-of-the-art signal processing technologies allows high detection accuracy and the analysis of up to 500,000 parts per second. By means of the free-fall inspection, a very precise blow-out procedure can be realised even with high rejection rates. This is made possible by the large number of high-speed valves, which can perform up to 500 switching cycles per second.

For Kornel Büsser, production manager at the Swiss company RecyPET AG, the long-standing cooperation with S+S has proven its value: “The reliability and ease of maintenance of the S+S units convinced us, together with their performance, particularly in the separation of difficult contaminants.”

 
The VARISORT COMPACT combined system from S+S can be adapted optimally to customer-specific requirements. (Photo: S+S) 

S+S - an overview
S+S Separation and Sorting Technology GmbH of Schönberg, Bavaria, manufactures machines and systems for the detection/separation of contaminants, for product inspection, and for the sorting of material flows. Product sales primarily focus on the food, plastics, chemical, pharmaceutical, wood, textile, and recycling industries. S+S is one of the world’s leading suppliers with subsidiaries in Great Britain, France, China, Singapore, and in the USA, a representative office in India, and more than 40 agencies all over the world. The main factory in Schönberg presently employs 230 people.

Reprints free of royalties. Photo attached.

For further information please contact
S+S Separation and Sorting Technology GmbH
Brigitte Rothkopf
Regener Straße 130
D-94513 Schönberg
Tel. +49-(0)8554-308 274
Fax +49-(0)8554-2606
e-mail: brigitte.rothkopf@se-so-tec.com
www.sesotec.com

Based on a central SQL database, which can connect to several metal detectors, the software creates more transparency and efficiency in HACCP conform quality management.  Modern S+S metal detectors automatically log all data such as metal detection, product and charge changes, validations and errors together with date and time in a log file. The secure storage, evaluation and analysis of the log data is an integral part of the HACCP processes. They are the basis to recognize critical production processes and allow reconstruction of all incidents during contamination detection. The data management software NAVIGATOR is designed for HACCP conform visualisation and monitoring of all collected data.

The data management software NAVIGATOR can be installed on any network-compatible Windows® PC or laptop. Several GENIUS and GENIUS+ metal detectors by S+S can be connected simultaneously via Ethernet or WLAN. NAVIGATOR automatically collects all log data and saves it in a central SQL database. This way, all quality and process relevant data can be monitored and evaluated to improve quality management. Several filters let you fade out less relevant data and display the essential results clearly laid out, supporting you to quickly analyse the cause of metallic contamination.

Franz Penn, S+S Industry Manager for the food industry, summarizes the advantages:

"The data management software NAVIGATOR allows for a quick and hassle-free evaluation of all data recorded by metal detectors and separators. The result is transparency, efficiency and a HACCP conform visualisation. NAVIGATOR therefore breaks even within a very short period of time."

S+S Separation and Sorting Technology GmbH will present their whole product range at Drinktec/PetPoint 2009 in Munich in hall B3, booth 206, from 14/09/2009 to 19/09/2009: Sorting

Systems to recycle plastic packaging, inductive metal separators, often used during the production process of PET pre-forms or closing caps, as well as magnetic and metal separators for contamination detection in liquid and pasty products, used during drink production. The highlight of the show will be the new Flake Purifier to recycle plastic drink packaging.

The Flake Purifier will be introduced to the public at PetPoint 2009, after its American launch at NPE 2009. Based on a modular concept, this machine can combine up to three sensors for contamination detection. In addition to the third generation of refined sensors for metal and colour separation, the Flake Purifier is also equipped with a high-performance module to recognise contamination, including different types of plastic. This means, PET flakes can now be separated from PVC flakes or organic material such as PLA (previously known to lower the quality of the recycling material dramatically or making high quality recycling impossible). The intelligent combination with camera sensors enables the Flake Purifier further to identify and separate dark blue and black particles. Inductive sensors detect metal contamination. Until now, established flake sorters have used only two sensors (metal and colour). The newly introduced multi-spectral sensor makes it possible to complete three sorting tasks simultaneously.

Depending on the application, PET recognition can be programmed as good material or contamination. The new Flake Purifier stands out through its compact and modular design and low power consumption, as no cooling unit is necessary. The Equipment can also be ordered with simple sensors, which can be replaced by multi-spectral sensors at any time, should the sorting requirements change. To sum it up, the new sorting system is a cost-effective solution, guaranteeing high quality recycling results.

Peter Mayer, sales manager for sorting technology at S+S, about the comprehensive product range S+S will present at the PetPoint 2009:

"In addition to PET recycling, we will also show equipment for quality assurance in PET production and for consumer protection in drinks production. It is the strength of S+S to offer both, Drintec visitors and the PetPoint target group alike, comprehensive and well developed inspection and separation solutions."

Since its foundation in 1965 the Zollner Elektronik AG headquartered in Zandt in the Upper Palatinate has developed from a specialist for electrotechnology into an internationally successful system services provider for EMS (Electronic Manufacturing Services). With 6,700 employees at 14 locations all over the world, Zollner today ranks among the top 15 worldwide. The parent plant in Zandt has about 2,100 employees.

The rapid growth was accompanied by a constant expansion of the company's range of products, and since 2001 the production spectrum in Zandt also includes plastic injection moulding with dedicated mould and toolmaking departments. The production hall in Zandt features 16 machines for plastics processing which primarily produce parts for industrial electronics and for the automotive industry. The production lines are designed for an extensive range covering small series of 500 parts per year through to annual production quantities of three million parts.

Environmental awareness, but also economic considerations, have resulted in the use of industry-quality granulate (regenerated material) for various products. With many articles a slight loss of properties does not prevent the use of such material. In a few cases a slight contamination with foreign objects such as metal particles makes processing more difficult. Depending on the production system this may cause unwanted machine downtimes.

The apparent economic advantage thus is quickly lost if the resulting downtimes cannot be avoided. The most obvious solution of using metal separators resulted in immediate success.

A partner who assists in meeting the requirements for maximum process reliability and highest quality is S+S Separation and Sorting Technology GmbH. For the inspection and purification of such industrial materials S+S provided metal separators of type GF Primus. After the installation of the metal separator, production could be continued without machine downtimes. It is only the use of metal separators that allows an economic processing of granulate mixed with regenerated material or ground material.

The GF PRIMUS metal separator removes metallic contaminations (steel, stainless steel, aluminium, etc.) from the pneumatically conveyed regenerated material. Installed directly in the pneumatic conveyor pipe of the material conveyor for the injection moulding machine, it reliably separates metallic contaminations, even such contaminations that are embedded in a granulate grain.

With the "Easy Mount System" the metal separator can be installed in already existing pneumatic conveyor pipes without any problems. Parts that are in contact with the product are made of stainless steel (1.4301). The outwardly sealed separating unit prevents any impairment of the function of the material conveyors due to outside air.

Product effects of the bulk material that are caused by moisture, colour pigments, or carbons, are automatically compensated, which guarantees a constant scanning sensitivity. With default settings the systems provide outstanding ease of operation. One advantage of the fast-acting "Quick-Flap-System" is the minimum loss of good material. The contaminated material is collected in a collection container and is thus available for detailed analyses.

With the "Easy Mount System" the metal separator can be installed in already existing pneumatic conveyor pipes without any problems. Parts that are in contact with the product are made of stainless steel (1.4301). The outwardly sealed separating unit prevents any impairment of the function of the material conveyors due to outside air.

Product effects of the bulk material that are caused by moisture, colour pigments, or carbons, are automatically compensated, which guarantees a constant scanning sensitivity. With default settings the systems provide outstanding ease of operation. One advantage of the fast-acting "Quick-Flap-System" is the minimum loss of good material. The contaminated material is collected in a collection container and is thus available for detailed analyses.