Technological watch

Icma San Giorgio, the well-known Milan based manufacturer of compounding and extrusion systems, has just successfully put in production a complex engineered compounding plant to a large processor of biodegradable products, specifically shopping bags or agricultural mulch.

The scope of the project was the realisation of a turnkey line designed to produce, starting from biomaterials available on the market and feedstock of natural origin, a biodegradable compound suitable for the application and with a competitive price.

The plant was designed and delivered as a “turn-key” project, from the loading systems of the different components to the packing of the final product.

The loss-in-weight gravimetric feeding system has been engineered for several components, inclusive of proper units for hard flowing powder metering and pre-heated liquids.

The ICMA co-rotating extruder is a 112 mm screw diameter, equipped with a side feeding unit, hot liquid injection nozzle and vent stuffer to achieve 1.5 tons/h capacity.

The screw  combines high-performance mixing with low energy intake and is specifically tuned for such heat sensitive materials. The cutting unit selected is an under-water system, allowing a really consistent and accurate quality and a fully automated production.

Pre-storage silos complete the line with a gentle mixing system as well as a packaging system into big-bags. Finally, an advanced control panel integrates all systems and it releases complete production reports available through company ERP / MES network even from remote channels via dedicated line expressly created by ICMA for remote assistance.

“Biopolymer compounding is one of the new and most interesting frontier of the circular economy. ICMA enjoys several years of successful experience in this process application and therefor represents a very interesting supplier for companies already active in this market space or companies eager to enter it,” commented Giorgio Colombo, CEO of ICMA.

Source: Bioplastics MAGAZINE, 2020-04-01.