Film Producer Installs Plastics Recycling System

The Engineered Films Division of Raven Industries, Sioux Falls, S.D., has installed a new reclaim production line designed to capture and recycle excess polymer material from its internal manufacturing processes. The reclaim line is capable of producing up to 15 million pounds of reprocessed resin pellets per year.

The Raven Engineered Films Division makes “high-performance plastic films and sheeting [including] engineered geomembranes that provide critical protection of environmental resources through containment linings and coverings serving the energy, agriculture, construction, environmental and industrial markets,” according to the Raven Industries website.

According to a Raven Industries press release, the design contains a specific line filtering system for the removal of foreign materials from the melt stream, which allows for the complete quality control of all materials produced.

Raven says it teamed up with consultants for the design and procurement of the reclamation system, electing to work with companies such as ADG Solutions, Fairfield, Conn., and Davis Standard LLC, Fulton, N.Y., because of their experience in reclaim automation systems.

“The installation of this advanced system achieves a closed-loop recycling stream for our manufacturing facility by reclaiming excess production material through a fully controlled process from start to finish,” says Anthony Schmidt, vice president and general manager for Raven Industries Engineered Films Division. “Additionally, the reclaim line achieves a critical step in implementing actions directly aligned with Raven Industries’ sustainability initiatives, by reducing product waste and municipal landfill consumption.”

Excess polymer materials are generated during the normal production process through line startups and material edge trim processes, says the company. Past practices have included transporting this material to external reclaim facilities for reuse and discarding other non-reclaim materials. With the new system, the vast majority of excess material are captured and reclaimed within the Raven Industries facility.