Nordson installation aids plastic, textile recycling

A FastGap extrusion die supplied by Westlake, Ohio-based Nordson Corp. is being sent to help Greenful Group further its research into the production of wall panels made from recycled textile fibers and plastic.

Nordson describes the Estonia-based Greenful Group as “a leader in the innovative recycling of textile, plastic and other [scrap] into new value-added building products that outperform traditional materials while at the same time improving the environment.” Greenful has as its target to recycle 15 percent of Europe’s textile waste within the next eight years, according to Nordson Polymer Processing Systems.

“We are proud to partner with Nordson, who is bringing circular solutions to the market,” Greenful Group CEO Toomas Allikas says. “Both our companies make sustainability a top priority and I believe that by working together we can make a big impact.”

The Nordson Extrusions Dies Industries (EDI) business unit, based in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, is providing an Ultraflex FastGap restrictor bar die that will be part of a system designed to produce construction panels made from textile fibers and composite material. “The very high content of recycled material is a challenge,” says Sam Iuliano, chief technologist of Nordson EDI. “We need larger than normal clearance areas within the die so the fibers are not trapped, which can lead to blockage and sheet defects.”

Nordson says it worked with Greenful to develop a solution using the company’s Multiflow I-R distribution manifold to ensure maximum streamlining. The extrusion die will include a series of lips to cover the desired product thickness range. “We are using extensive 3-D FEM simulations to be able to accurately distribute the material by utilizing our proprietary flow channel geometry,” Iuliano says.

The extrusion die, scheduled for completion in 2023, will be installed in the laboratory of a Europe-based OEM for further product development by Greenful Group, according to Nordson EDI.