ZSK Technology: Twin screw extruder for chemical recycling

Indaver selected Coperion’s twin-screw extruder technology to ensure continuous, energy-efficient feed to the reactor in the chemical recycling process. In addition to the ZSK extruder, the scope of delivery includes Coperion K-Tron weighing dosing units, a vacuum system as well as a check valve and a melting line to the reactor.

Added value from end-of-life plastics

When mechanical recycling of plastic waste streams reaches its limits, Indaver uses the P2C depolymerization process. The company recovers materials from mixed polyolefin and polystyrene streams and closes the cycle of these plastics without any loss of quality. In the P2C recycling process, plastic is broken down into shorter carbon chains or monomers. Basic products such as naphtha (crude gasoline) and wax are made from polyolefins (PE and PP). Polystyrene is broken down into monomers that can be reused as raw materials. ZSK Mc18 plays a central role in Indaver’s P2C process. Before the plastic waste is transported to the reactor, it passes through the processing section of the ZSK extruder with a production capacity of 3.7 tons per hour. Through intense shearing and dispersing, the twin screws of ZSK extruder introduce a lot of mechanical energy to the material flow in a short time. In just 30 seconds, the energy-efficiently collected post-consumer waste is transformed into a homogeneous molten material at a temperature of up to 350°C.