Somerset Recycling Services, Inc., Somerset, KY, expects to realize a significant gain in efficiency and economy from a new Promeco PES600 densification system supplied to them by plastics-reclaim specialist ADG Solutions, Fairfield, CT. This is the first installation in North America for Promeco SpA, an Italian company based in Como.

According to Sandy Guthrie, President of ADG Solutions, the PES 600 is a highly flexible system that can convert all kinds of plastics scrap – with up to 20% moisture – into strands that, after cooling, can be size reduced in a standard granulator to yield uniform regrind that is easy to convey and process. The unit Somerset purchased is equipped with two short (15- inch) counter-rotating auger screws and can process up to 3300 lb/hr.

Somerset will use the densifier to reprocess mainly polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) film and fiber. The process is continuous. Shredded material goes into a holding bin with two metering screws that feed material to an inclined vibrating table that guides the scrap into the open feed throat of the densifier. Twin counter-rotating screws compact the material and pressure and shear forces raise its temperature to between 380 and 390°F and forces it out a die. Water vaporizes during the process, resulting in final moisture content lower than 2%.

In addition to the PES 600, Somerset also bought a Promeco calender that receives the strands of resin as they exit the die. The calender flattens the strands, forcing out trapped gas and beginning the cooling process. The flattened strands then are picked up by a cooling conveyor that sprays water on the material as it is transported to a Promeco KR Shredder – specially designed for the shredding of hot densified plastics – for final size reduction.

Alan Keck, President of Somerset Recycling, says his company decided to work with ADG Solutions because their decades of experience in the field. “I know Sandy Guthie and trust him to help us find the best equipment for our needs. As for Promeco, I traveled to Italy and I saw their facilities and I talked with Paolo Rebai, the owner, and I developed an extreme comfort level. Promeco is an engineering-based company and that’s what we were looking for.”

Keck says that, until now, Somerset has been using tub densifiers and he anticipates that the new Promeco system will reduce labor requirements, energy consumption and maintenance costs while processing more product. “We’ve been using these batch densifiers for 20 years,” he says, “but they are slower and much less efficient than our new densifying extruder. We will continue to use them for a while, but we will gradually phase them out.”

Somerset, with over 100 full-time employees and in excess of 102,000 sq ft of facilities, sells its reclaimed material to plastics molders and extruders. Depending on the source of the scrap and the condition of the resin after it has been reprocessed, it may be used to make products like plastic lumber, outdoor furniture, trash bins and more.

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 35 years, the company engineers custom systems including washing, size-reduction, densifying, extrusion, filtration, pelletizing and material- handling equipment.

Promeco has over 20 years of experience in recycling different kinds of materials and is involved in waste-to-energy solutions and sustainability. Promeco is well known in Europe, has supplied machines and plants worldwide (Singapore, Japan, Korea, Israel) and recently opened a branch in United Kingdom. Besides plastic recycling, Promeco is active in the US in shredding, screening and organics processing. More information can be found at www.promeco.it