COMPOUNDING AND COMPOUNDS
Compaunds
Compounding is a new technology at JELÍNEK-TRADING spol. s r.o., launched in April 2008. A compounding line is run at the Křelov plant. The compounding output products are referred to as “compounds”. The principle of the technology is clear from its name.
A compounding line consists of 3 units.
The first unit includes a state-of-the-art gravimetric proportioning system, with a vibrating device for plastics and a twin-screw device for fillers. Four components can be fed in at a time. The unit has 2 major inlets, for polymers, and 2 minor inlets, for additives and dyes. A fifth inlet for glass fibres is planned for the near future; control panel software is ready to accommodate it. This proportioning system is the product of DS&M, Italy.
The core of the compounding line includes a heated twin-screw extruder and a filtration system, located both before and after the melt gear pump. Both the twin-screw and its housing are made of highest quality steel, owing to which the future use of glass fibres as polymer fillers is feasible. This unit is a product of TSA, Italy.
The third unit of the line is the granulation system. The line is equipped with a state-of-the-art underwater granulation facility making it possible to produce microgranules, minigranules and conventional size granulate. This granulation system is a product of GALA USA (Germany branch).
The annual throughput of this compounding line in round-the-clock operation is about 3,500 metric tonnes. The main benefit of compounding our customers can enjoy is the possibility of blending different polymers, blending original polymers with recycled polymers, and blending polymers together with mineral fillers and/or other additives. Mineral fillers include mainly talc (specification in accordance with user’s requirements), micromilled lime stone (CaCO3), and wood chips, specifically treated to the customer’s requirements. Additives mainly include flame retardants, emulsifiers, dispersing agents, and the like. Also important additives are dyes, which we mention separately, in the form of master batches (= pigments on polymeric supports). Thanks to this new technology we are capable of offering our customers quite new materials, with a high value added, at very attractive terms. The twin-screw makes for a much better homogenisation of the mixture, owing to the smaller amounts of dyes (which are uniformly dispersed perfectly throughout the final material) that can be added, thus leading to cost savings. The twin-screw technology also ensures a precise and constant level of other parameters of the output compounds, such as the flow index, specific weight, and proportions of the components.
At present we are able to accept new orders for plastics processing on this compounding line.
Additional information can be found on the company website www.kompaundy.cz. Compounding line: TSA, DS&M, GALA 2x63 mm.
