Pallmann granulator designed for PET bottles

Pallmann Maschinenfabrik GmbH & Co. KG, based in Zweibrücken, Germany, says it has extended its line of Panther recycling granulators by adding a model “that has been specially designed for recycling reusable materials from PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles.”

According to the company, “Every year, about 460 billion PET bottles are produced worldwide. In order to reuse waste PET bottles, they have to be recycled or shredded. With this purpose in mind, the Pallmann Panther UltraGranulator is the best possible choice.”

Individual PET bottles are continuously fed into the machine’s cutting chamber by conveyor belt, the company says. In the chamber, “Massive, angled rotor knives work with a very close cutting gap against opposing slanted counter knives and cut the bottles into flakes. The [screen] mesh size can be selected, which determines the size of the flakes and throughput rate of the granulator. Throughput rates of up to 3.5 metric tons per hour are possible with a flake size of approximately 0.55 inches (14 millimeters) and the appropriate machine size,” Pallmann adds.

After being cut, the flakes are pneumatically transported into a cleaning system, where they are separated from the polyethylene found in attached bottle caps.

Pallmann also cites the following features of the Panther UltraGranulator:

• It is a heavy-duty, compact machine designed to meet the special requirements of modern recycling operations.
• The granulator can be integrated into existing recycling lines or used as a stand-alone machine.
• It provides easy access to the cutting chamber to make it easier to clean and replace wear parts.
• The rotor and stator knives can be re-sharpened many times and adjusted from the outside.
• The screens are reversible, so both sides can be used.
   

The company says its Panther UltraGranulator is ideal for continuous operation under tough conditions seven days a week while protecting the machine’s operator by meeting all safety guidelines.

Pallmann was founded in 1903 and bills itself as a medium-sized family-owned global company with more than 100,000 installations worldwide. The company specializes in size reduction equipment for materials ranging from soft to medium-hard, brittle to tough, as well as fibrous products.

Worldwide, the group employs about 600 people at plants and offices in Europe, North and South America, Asia, including China.