Fully Recyclable Pouch – Now Also With Barrier Effect for Food Packaging.
At K22, Reifenhäuser Blown Film will be presenting a fully recyclable pouch with a barrier effect against oxygen and water vapor that is suitable for food packaging. The solution is a further development of the all-PE mono-pouch already established on the market. The Reifenhäuser Barrier Pouch makes a further contribution to higher plastic recycling rates and a functioning circular economy.
While fully recyclable pouches for non-food packaging have been established on the market for some time, the necessary oxygen barrier in food packages – and the materials and film thicknesses required for this – has stood in the way of their recyclability. The Reifenhäuser barrier pouch achieves the necessary barrier effect with an EVOH content of less than five percent and thus meets all the requirements for complete recycling. The use of the patented EVO Ultra Stretch stretching unit makes it possible: it increases the barrier effect of the EVOH by stretching and thus reduces the EVOH content while maintaining the barrier effect.
Eugen Friedel, Director Sales at Reifenhäuser Blown Film, explains: “The demand for recyclable products is growing steadily. This also increases the demand for EVOH, which is already hard to come by. With our fully recyclable barrier pouch, we meet two challenges at the same time: the pouch meets all market requirements for sustainable packaging and at the same time enables resource-saving handling of scarce and high-priced EVOH.”
As before, the film produced can be further processed and converted without any problems. Thanks to the patented position of the stretching unit directly in the haul-off of the blown film line, the film is stretched at the ideal time and from the first heat, which makes the process particularly efficient and stable.
The Reifenhäuser barrier pouch – a further development of the ALL-PE pouch – is fully recyclable thanks to an EVOH content of less than five percent.
Record Output Rates Beyond 600 Kg/h for Form-Fill-Seal Sack Applications With Reifenhäuser Ultra Cool 2.0 FFS
Reifenhäuser Blown Film is introducing a new high-performance cooling system for its “EVO FFS” blown film line, which has been specially developed for heavy-duty sack applications. This system increases the cooling capacity by more than 20% compared to conventional systems on the market. In the production of heavy-duty sacks, record output rates of more than 600 kg/h can thus be achieved from a die with a diameter of 175 mm – while maintaining the best film properties.
The production of blown film for form-fill-seal (FFS) bags for heavy goods puts manufacturers in a tough competitive environment where output is the key to economic success. Thanks to the increased cooling capacity, producers can now exceed the market’s peak output values by around 50 to 100 kg and thus secure a significant competitive advantage in terms of productivity.
Eugen Friedel, Director Sales at Reifenhäuser Blown Film, explains: “With our record output capacity beyond 600 kg/h, we enable our customers to achieve an attractive return on investment and the potential to be successful on the market in the long term. EVO Ultra Cool 2.0 FFS achieves unrivaled performance values without compromising quality or process reliability.”
EVO Ultra Cool 2.0 FFS is suitable for all common FFS formulations and applications (petrochemical, fertilizer, salt bags, etc.) while offering ease of use and high line availability. In terms of mechanical film properties and thickness tolerances, the best results have been demonstrated in all product tests, enabling high throughputs in the filling process and stability for bag handling. Long service life, easier machine start-up and reliable quality also ensure high competitiveness and ease of operation. In order to also participate in the growing market for sustainable products, the line safely processes recyclates and recyclable raw materials.
In addition to the premium version “EVO Ultra Cool 2.0 FFS”, Reifenhäuser also offers the standard version “EVO Cool FFS” for its EVO FFS lines, so that the perfect solution can be found for every requirement – but its performance is always above the market average. All EVO FFS lines are equipped with Reifenhäuser’s proven EVO extruders and blow heads, thus ensuring optimum melt quality at lowest melt temperatures.
Today, the constant further development of Reifenhäuser technology ensures the highest output rates for form-fill-seal sack applications.
Highly Wear-Resistant Screws and Barrels Enable Safe Recyclate Processing
Whether film manufacturer, injection molder or line manufacturer: the processing of recyclate involves many challenges because recyclate is a rather complex raw material and a stress test for the plasticizing unit. Highly wear-resistant barrels and screws from Reifenhäuser Reiloy give the unit a long service life and ensure high product quality.
Recyclate is often a grab bag, because it is not always clear how carefully the starting material has been sorted and cleaned, or which additives and possibly aggressive residual components are contained. In addition, high-quality recyclate processing requires special additives that enable the polymer to become a high-quality product again. However, many of these additives are also challenging because, among other things, they have an abrasive effect or adhesive tendency – others have an aggressive effect due to inorganic acids. Many colorants and fillers also stress the components.
Reifenhäuser is the only manufacturer to develop and produce the hard alloys for the wear protection of its screws and barrels in-house.
Reifenhäuser Reiloy offers a reliable solution for this with its highly wear-resistant screws and barrels and regularly sets benchmarks in terms of quality and performance. The components offer a demonstrably longer service life, precise matching of raw materials and additives, exclusive alloys developed in-house, and process-optimized surfaces. Manufacturers of injection molded and extruded products thus benefit from the best cost-benefit ratio in the industry. Higher resistance to wear is provided by special iron-based alloys and nickel-based alloys that match the raw material being processed. The decisive factor here is the composition of the alloys, because wear protection depends not only on the hardness of the layer.
Ralf Pampus, Managing Director at Reifenhäuser Reiloy, explains: “We are the only screw and barrel manufacturer to develop and produce the hard material alloys – and even the powders required for wear protection – in-house in our own materials laboratory. This means we offer expertise across the entire process that is unique in the market. Recent independent tests have again proven that Reifenhäuser Reiloy’s wear protection is the best on the market and that the investment pays off – because high-quality components need to be replaced less frequently, produce consistent quality and thus ensure the productivity of a line.”
Reiloy screws and barrels from Reifenhäuser regularly set benchmarks in wear protection and offer proven longer lifetime.
Reifenhäuser Reiloy has decades of experience in wear protection systems and takes a holistic approach to wear protection consulting. The Reiloy experts calculate the optimum interaction between barrel and screw for each plasticizing unit and select the appropriate surface treatment.
Cross-vendor Approach: Reifenhäuser Launches Digital Offensive That Focuses on Enablement of Film and Nonwovens Producers
Countless producers of films and nonwovens could be more productive today if they fully exploited the enormous potential of digitalization. Reifenhäuser presents therefore a digital offensive at K 2022 to help all producers get started with digitalization. In doing so, the company is focusing on the empowerment and independence of customers – and is deliberately turning away from the usual vendor-centric approaches. Instead, Reifenhäuser offers easy-to-implement, open digital solutions designed to help producers of films or nonwovens worldwide to increase their production efficiency (OEE) independently and sustainably. All customers, regardless of company size, thus benefit from a new dimension of process transparency that for the first time includes all line manufacturers and line types of a production.
The core of the digital solution is the so-called c.Hub, a middleware that ensures the secure exchange of data between different IT systems, applications, extrusion machines and line controls. This includes Reifenhäuser systems as well as third-party systems. The c.Hub becomes the single point of truth for all production-relevant data by merging and harmonizing production data streams. The central advantage is that all users can access all data from anywhere at any time and document them securely. The data is collected and stored on premises without interfering with the production process. The producer retains full control over the data at all times.
“So far, digitization in our industry has mostly failed due to heterogeneous factories with machines and peripherals from different vendors and of different ages and types, as well as applications that are not connected with each other,” says Daniel Kajan, Director Product & Operations at RE:, a Reifenhäuser Group subsidiary specializing in digital products for extrusion line operators. “Without looking at the big picture, however, production is inefficient and error-prone. Unnecessary complaints, material loss and downtime are the result. Only a cross-vendor solution maps the production reality of our customers and thus offers real benefits,” Kajan continues.
To enable customers to easily connect all their equipment in production, Reifenhäuser offers out-of-the-box connectors for the most important industrial protocols. They enable fast and complete acquisition of all production data. The associated ExtrusionOS software provides user-friendly applications and dashboards that help monitor, manage, store and analyze this data. Line operators can, for example, monitor the condition of their connected equipment and adjust it optimally based on the knowledge gained. They also have the option of monitoring defined thresholds and KPIs and, if desired, receiving notifications when thresholds are exceeded. This enables users to act faster and more efficiently, thereby significantly reducing errors and customer complaints. Legal requirements such as compliance with EFSA-relevant threshold values when processing recyclate for direct contact with food can be monitored and documented securely.
“Our open digital ecosystem helps line operators capture all production data from the first meter to the last meter of the roll, easily gain insights from it, and benefit from their data in the long run,” Kajan explains. The digital package can either be purchased together with Reifenhäuser machines or retrofitted on existing lines and servers.
Reifenhäuser Extrusion Lines Provide Carbon Footprint Calculation for More Sustainable and Economical Production
Reifenhäuser is presenting a new digital solution for carbon footprint calculation at K 2022: the Carbon Footprint Dashboard. This enables film and nonwovens producers to see how the carbon footprint changes in ongoing production and identify how they can reduce their emissions. The dashboard thus contributes both to climate protection and to economic success, because a CO2 reduction is usually also accompanied by savings in energy and raw materials. The prerequisite for the carbon footprint calculation is the standard version of Reifenhäuser’s digital solution ExtrusionOS & c.Hub Middleware and the availability of the required data.
Dr. Tim Pohl, Director Sustainability and Business Development at the Reifenhäuser Group, explains: “The Carbon Footprint Dashboard shows the different emission sources over the production period. In the basic version, assumptions are made about the carbon footprint of the raw materials used and the calculation is based on the energy mix of Europe, for example. This is sufficient to determine initial potential for carbon footprint reduction. If more precise information is required, we can customize the calculation according to local conditions. Such a calculation becomes exciting when in-house recycled material is used.”
Carbon footprint calculation for manufacturing companies is quite complex and starts with the different methods of calculation – at the company level, but also at the product level. The corporate carbon footprint (CCF) balances the CO2 footprint for the entire company – from energy procurement to production to the vehicle fleet. The product carbon footprint (PCF) records all CO2 emissions that occur along the life cycle of a product, i.e. from raw materials to production and use to disposal.
Manufacturers of films and nonwovens can therefore approach the topic of calculation “bottom-down” via a corporate carbon footprint, or they can do it “bottom-up” via a product carbon footprint for each of their products. The latter is ideal if a broad product portfolio with different raw materials and recycled content is processed. For this purpose, a customer-specific carbon footprint dashboard can be created in Reifenhäuser’s ExtrusionOS software solution.
From an economic point of view, the carbon footprint calculation is worthwhile in any case: Producers can show the carbon footprint to third parties and thus certify a particularly sustainable product series, for example. This opens up new sales markets and increases economic success. In addition, the savings in energy and raw materials pay off, especially in view of the current high purchase prices.
Carbon footprint of a Reifenhäuser extruder
The Reifenhäuser Group has been following the path of the corporate carbon footprint for 10 years now. The machine manufacturer is energy certified according to ISO 50001 and reduces its emission sources every year. This year, for example, this includes the installation of a new photovoltaic system with which Reifenhäuser can produce more than 600,000 kWh of electricity and save approximately 175,000 kilograms of CO2 equivalents.
In addition, the PCF of components, such as screws and barrels, and of entire extruders was determined. One finding is that emissions during the production of the line components are significantly lower than emissions during the use phase. For example, the production of a 120 extruder generates a calculated one-time emission of around 27,000 kilograms of CO2 equivalents. In contrast, the operation of the extruder causes around 3.5 million kilograms of CO2 equivalents through electricity consumption over the course of ten years. In this case, the manufacturing process causes less than one percent of the PCF along the life cycle. By contrast, 99 percent is generated during the use of the extruder – so the leverage for reducing emissions is much greater at this stage. For extruder operators, investing in energy-efficient technologies and subsequent energy-saving measures is therefore doubly worthwhile – both the wallet and the environment benefit.
Reifenhäuser Provides Trade Fair Visitors at K 2022 With Fully Recyclable FFP2 Masks Free of Charge
At K, the world’s largest plastics trade show, thousands of visitors come together to learn about the latest innovations – especially on sustainable plastics products. This year, visitors will already encounter one such innovation at the trade show entrance: fully recyclable and climate-friendly FFP2 masks. Reifenhäuser provides the masks for protection against respiratory infections to trade fair visitors free of charge at all entrances.
FFP2 masks have so far caused major problems when it comes to recycling: they are usually made of many different materials, for example functional layers of polypropylene and textile, nose clips made of metal, ear loops made of polyester. As a result, resources are lost to the circular economy, and the carbon footprint is devastating – especially due to the enormous increase in mask consumption caused by the Corona pandemic.
The mask for K 2022, on the other hand, consists of 99.7 percent polypropylene. It is therefore considered a mono-material product and is 100 percent recyclable. In concrete terms, this means that the nose clip is made of 100 percent polypropylene instead of wire. The same applies to the support layer, which is otherwise made of so-called Hot Air Cotton. The ear loops – usually made of PES (75 percent) and elastane (25 percent) – are 85 percent PP and 15 percent Cradle2Cradle certified elastane. The total elastane weight per mask is thus only 0.3 percent. The individual packaging for the FFP2 masks is also made of 100 percent PP and can be recycled together with the masks. The mask was produced by the Grabher Group, a specialist in technical textiles, using a Reifenhäuser meltblown line.
Reducing the carbon footprint
The sustainable FFP2 masks are not only fully recyclable, but also cause significantly less CO2 emissions during their production than conventional protective masks. The entire production process is designed to keep the carbon footprint as low as possible: the masks are manufactured entirely in the EU, avoiding long transport routes. CO2-neutral PP resins based on Borealis Bornewables, a renewable premium raw material that offers the same material performance as virgin polyolefin but is independent of fossil raw materials, are used for production. The nonwoven is produced with green power on energy-efficient Reifenhäuser line technology. Added up, a recyclable FFP2 mask thus has a CO2 footprint of only 8 grams of CO2 equivalents – that is one tenth of a conventional mask produced in Asia.
Reifenhäuser Blown Film Provides Technical Solution to One of the Biggest Challenges in the Processing of Recyclate
The line manufacturer Reifenhäuser Blown Film presents at K 2022 a technology that makes blown film producers independent of highly fluctuating recyclate qualities and ensures a stable production process – even when processing low-quality input material: EVO Fusion upgrades recyclate qualities.
With EVO Fusion, blown film producers also process previously unusable, lowest-quality recyclates into high-performance blown films for simple end-uses, such as trash bags or mailing bags. Until now, such low-grade recyclates could only be used for simple and thick-walled injection-molded products. In addition, producers can make higher-quality film from recyclates that could also be processed in the past.
Eugen Friedel, Director Sales at Reifenhäuser Blown Film, explains, “In order to drive the circular economy, recyclate rates in blown film products must increase and classic downcycling must be limited. With EVO Fusion, we offer a unique process that enables customers to process even low recyclate grades easily and economically into high-performance products and increase the recyclate content. In this way, processors open up new fields of application for recycled products.”
The EVO Fusion process relies on direct extrusion, which eliminates the need for energy- and cost-intensive regranulation of the raw material. This means that fluff (film shreds) and all types of production waste and PCR material can also be processed directly.
This is made possible by the twin-screw technology, which homogenizes the melt better and thus ensures a stable process. In addition, processors can degas the system very easily and effectively, removing unwanted components in the recyclate.
With EVO Fusion, even fluff (film snippets) and all kinds of production waste and PCR material can be directly processed into functional films for applications such as trash bags or mailing bags.
For processing better quality regranulates, Reifenhäuser recommends the EVO Ultra single-screw extruder. Thanks to optimized barrier as well as shear and mixing parts, this extruder processes recycled material as reliably and naturally as other raw materials – the ideal prerequisite for success in the growing market for products with a high recycled content.
Precise, Autonomous, Mechatronic: PAM Calibrates Coextrusion Adapters and Dies Automatically for Best Comfort, Quality and Productivity
At K 2022, Reifenhäuser is presenting its new PAM automation option for coextrusion adapters and slot dies in flat film and sheet production, and for extrusion coating for the first time worldwide. The high level of automation makes the machine operator’s work significantly easier, thus increasing line productivity and film quality. Energy consumption is also reduced, as manual adjustment bolts replace the conventional thermal expansion bolts.
Up to now, when starting up the extrusion line or changing products, many individual operations have been necessary until the coextrusion adapter and die are set correctly. Manufacturers lose time and money as a result. For this reason, Reifenhäuser has now developed an automation option that relieves line operators of this work: PAM (precise, autonomous, mechatronic).
With the PAM option, coextrusion adapter and die can be adjusted automatically and mechatronically – precisely controlled via the line’s operating panel. This is significantly faster than conventional control by hand or expansion bolt automation, and enables faster start-up of production, higher output and improved overall equipment efficiency (OEE). Scrap and material usage are significantly reduced. In addition, recipes that have been set once can be stored and recalled at any time. They can therefore be reproduced exactly – even by inexperienced line operators.
The stored setting parameters not only facilitate future production, but also the tracing of individual products and provide proof to customers. Another advantage of contactless calibration with PAM is that the line operator no longer has to work on the hot components, which increases work safety and prevents damage to the machine. PAM is optionally available for new Reifenhäuser “Pro” type coextrusion adapters and for various dies, but can also be retrofitted to existing lines regardless of the manufacturer.
PAM for coextrusion adapters
The Reifenhäuser coextrusion adaptor Pro is the only coextrusion system on the market that allows profiling of the individual layers while the line is running. Unlike conventional solutions, elements located in the adapter do not have to be removed, processed and reinstalled in a time-consuming process. Instead, profilers can be flexibly controlled individually or together during operation via a central adjustment.
“The PAM option goes one step further,” explains Hanna Dornebusch, application engineer at Reifenhäuser Cast Sheet Coating. “PAM automates the setting of the layer distribution and simplifies adjustments and optimizations through integrated recipe management. This is especially worthwhile for manufacturers of films with many layers and many product changes.”
While with simple 3-layer compounds the coextrusion adapter is adjusted in a few steps, up to 70 profilers have to be adjusted for barrier compounds with 11 layers, for example. Compared to manual adjustment by a machine operator, automation saves about half an hour of changeover time – depending on the number of profilers to be adjusted.
PAM for dies
From single actuators to translator technology, PAM is the logical innovation from decades of Reifenhäuser development in the field of die control. With two manual adjustment bolts, the system combines energy efficiency with low setup and operating complexity of the control system.
The PAM option is suitable for dies in flat film and sheet production as well as for extrusion coating. The system enables autonomous and mechatronic adjustment and control of the flex lip via the line control system. Depending on the die design, autonomous adjustment of the restriction bar, width adjustment and lip opening via adjustment of the lower die lip is also possible.
“With the PAM option, we now offer our customers a highly convenient solution with a fast return on investment,” explains Tim Bänsch, die product manager at Reifenhäuser Extrusion Systems. “Compared to dies that are adjusted with thermal expansion bolts, changeover time and energy consumption are significantly reduced.”
For example, a width changeover with PAM in a cast application with internal width adjustment is 78 percent faster than with a conventional system. In addition, PAM saves energy because no thermal expansion bolts need to be permanently powered. For example, switching from thermal expansion bolts to PAM for a 3,000-mm-wide die saves of about 130,500 kilowatt hours per year.
PAM is a joint development of the “Reifenhäuser Extrusion Systems” business unit, which specializes in extrusion components, and the “Reifenhäuser Cast Sheet Coating” business unit. The PAM option can be selected independently for coextrusion adapters and dies – but in combination, the automated components unleash their full strength.
With two manual adjustment bolts, PAM dies combine energy efficiency with low setup and operating complexity of the control system.
“We are one of the few machine builders in the market that manufacture everything ourselves – extruder, coextrusion adapter and die,” says Tim Bänsch. “Due to this hot part competence within the Reifenhäuser Group, we know the process technology interfaces very well and can design everything accordingly to each other – PAM takes it all to a new level.”
Using Sustainability as a Success Driver, Benefiting From Digitalization, Increasing Productivity: at K 22, Reifenhäuser Will Show How It Can Be Done
Bernd Reifenhäuser, CEO of the Reifenhäuser Group, explains: “The world and our industry are facing major challenges. There is uncertainty, disorientation and unanswered questions on many topics. And yet they will not tolerate any delay. Now is the time to act and turn challenges into opportunities. We have know-how for this as well as great, immediately applicable solutions in our luggage, with which we enable our customers and partners to do so.”
VDMA Plastics and Rubber Machinery Association draws positive balance of the world’s leading trade fair K in every respect
The plastics and rubber machinery manufacturers are drawing a very positive balance: K 2022 was the first international plastics trade fair to be held as a regular attendance event in the wake of the Covid pandemic. “It was very important for the industry to finally come together again. The relief at being able to meet and exchange ideas in person was palpable everywhere during the entire eight days of the fair,” said Ulrich Reifenhäuser, Chairman of the K Exhibitor Advisory Board and Chairman of the VDMA Plastics and Rubber Machinery Association. He added that exhibitors from the machinery and plant engineering sector had been able to present their technological innovations to a broad trade audience, and close multiple solid deals. “The event was a great success for everyone,” said Reifenhäuser.
K 2022 has given a huge boost to the circular economy for plastics. The interest of domestic and, above all, also foreign trade visitors exceeded the expectations of the mechanical engineering companies in a major way, which, in addition to their trade fair stands, presented their innovations specifically for the circular economy at the Circular Economy Forum of the VDMA. “With the Circular Economy Forum we have pointed the way and made a strong commitment to the circular economy. This was very well received by the visitors. The exhibitors themselves were a little surprised by the great interest on the part of the trade visitors,” said Thorsten Kühmann, Managing Director of the Plastics and Rubber Machinery Association within the VDMA on Wednesday at the close of K in Düsseldorf.
For eight days, at the forum, visitors were able to see on operational machines what is already technically feasible today as well as what will be possible in the future. The same applies to digitalisation solutions, whose important groundbreaker is OPC UA, the world language of production. The networked factory is more in demand than ever, because it is necessary to utilise transparency and control options in terms of energy reduction and resource efficiency. The technologies exhibited at K 2022 have demonstrated this potential in an impressive manner.
