Herbold introduces hydrocyclone technology

Equipment company Herbold Meckesheim says it is helping its customers successfully retrofit their film washing lines by introducing a hydrocyclone separation step in place of the common separation tank. The new step is leading to several benefits for plastics recyclers and reprocessors who have adopted the new method, according to the company.

According to Siegfried Engel, Herbold Meckesheim vice president for sales, “The quality of their washed film flakes has improved considerably; our customers are satisfied with longer service times for their melt filtration units, and they now successfully produce thinner film from regranulate than they used to” after hydrocyclone separators are installed.

The material from the hydrocyclone separation step is much cleaner, containing less contamination and fewer foreign bodies. The flakes cause fewer problems during the following stages, and customers receive a better price for their finished products, Engel says.

“Our decision to install two hydrocyclone separation steps from Herbold Meckesheim has paid off,” remarks Jörg Schneeberger of Herbold customer Walter Kunststoffe GmbH in Austria. “We said goodbye to separation tanks. The result: longer service times of the screen on the extruder and a much better quality of the film flakes.”

Kunststoffe says the cleanliness and homogeneity of his products has improved markedly, with wood, paper and foreign plastics contamination now a thing of the past.

Engel says the gravitational acceleration method of the hydrocyclone versus the comparatively static method of the separation tank makes a difference that “all customers can benefit from and notice when watching a demonstration.”

He says Herbold has a trial plant in its technical lab in Germany for tests on materials submitted by current and prospective customers. “Seize the opportunity and contact us in order to find the best possible solution to your applications,” Engel urges.

Germany-based Herbold Meckesheim GmbH designs and manufactures granulators, shredders, pulverizers and plastcompactors (agglomerators), plus systems and machines for washing, separating and drying contaminated plastics (e.g., bottles, films and battery cases).

David Lefrancois of the Herbold Meckesheim USA office in North Smithfield, Rhode Island, can be contacted at dlefrancois@herboldusa.com or 888-612-7774.