Thanks to a recent marketing agreement, ADG Solutions, Tucker, GA, now offers new silo-loading and resin-cleaning system options to the U.S. market that can help plastics processors and recyclers avoid pellet loss during silo loading. Ideal for molders and extruders that purchase resin or regrind in Gaylords or Super Sacks, this new equipment is manufactured by Lorandi Silos, Brescia, Italy, and is configured for American customers by ADG Solutions.

Silo-loading Systems
Lorandi silo-loading systems are packaged units comprised of a material-infeed hopper and compressor with rotary valve. Incoming resin can be dumped into the system by Gaylord tippers or from Super Sacks hung from an integral frame. Resin is conveyed pneumatically from the hopper to holding bins or silos up to a maximum height of 65 ft (20 m). The range of loaders can handle up to 55000 lbs/hour. These systems are extremely flexible and can be moved easily using a forklift to different locations in a plant.

“We have customers that receive as many as 500 Gaylords of polycarbonate and PMMA every week,” explains Sandy Guthrie, President of ADG Solutions. “They need a way to transfer that resin to silos without spillage. Otherwise, it becomes an environmental issue and, because these materials are expensive, also an economic issue.”

For companies that need to handle multiple Super Sacks, discharge stations can be installed to accommodate half a dozen or more Sacks at one time. A rolling winch, mounted on a cantilevered beam, is used to lift each bag and slide it into position for discharge into the infeed hopper of the silo-loading system.

“However, because no system is 100%,” Guthrie adds, “it is inevitable that some pellets spill or otherwise become contaminated with unwanted debris. You don’t want to simply throw it away, so you need a system to clean it and that’s where the T-Cleaner comes in.”

T-Cleaner Resin-Cleaning System
The T-Cleaner separator system is the ideal way to separate dirt, dust, paper, glass or even rocks from plastic pellets or regrind based on their bulk density. Contaminated material enters the T-Cleaner where it becomes agitated. When removing lightweight contamination, the material (higher-bulk-density pellets or regrind) falls out of the bottom of the unit, while the lighter-weight components (dust or paper) are blown up and out the top.

The airflow can be fine-tuned easily using two regulators, depending on the relative weight of the different constituents in the source material. When processing material contaminated with heavy materials like rocks or glass, the system can be set up so that the heavy contaminants fall out the bottom of the TCleaner, while the clean resin exits at the top. The maximum throughput is 18,000 lbs/hr for granules and 9000 lbs/hr for flake.

From scrap to pellet, ADG Solutions helps companies process hard-to-recycle plastic waste from industrial, commercial and post-consumer sources. In business for over 10 years, the company engineers custom systems including washing, size-reduction, densifying, extrusion, filtration, pelletizing and material handling equipment.

Now available to U.S. processors through ADG Solutions, the T-Cleaner separator system removes dirt, dust, paper, glass, or other contaminants from plastic pellets or regrind based on bulk density. Maximum throughputs are 18,000 lbs/hr for granules and 9000 lbs/hr for flake.